Your favorite Smallish Full Range - Larger Bookshelf speakers?
Apr 5, 2006 at 11:31 PM Post #17 of 41
Quote:

Originally Posted by 1911
what about boston acoustics bookshelfs?


I have a pair of Boston Acoustics cr77s and they sound pretty decent when mated with a good sub.Not enough bottom end with out one.
 
Apr 6, 2006 at 5:35 AM Post #19 of 41
Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleestack
Merlin TSM MXs are da nutz... but they do come with a full range price tag.


Second the TSMs. And you get to talk to the owner/designer of Merlin personally at anytime during working hours. Bobby@Merlin is the most friendly guy and gives very good advice. Now that's priceless.
 
Apr 6, 2006 at 6:36 PM Post #20 of 41
I must be about the only person around that hates the Merlin TSM. Dry, analytical, boring, and lacking in bass weight & dynamics. Reminds me too much of the Grado HP-1000 series, but at least the HP-1000 has bass dynamics. Yes the TSM is pretty clean & smooth, but to me it sounds lean and dead unless cranked to the 80-90dB range, much louder than I'd ever listen. Might be because they use Dynaudio drivers, and I've hated every Dynaudio speaker I've heard other than the Special 25.
 
Apr 6, 2006 at 10:15 PM Post #21 of 41
Quote:

Originally Posted by aerius
I must be about the only person around that hates the Merlin TSM. Dry, analytical, boring, and lacking in bass weight & dynamics. Reminds me too much of the Grado HP-1000 series, but at least the HP-1000 has bass dynamics. Yes the TSM is pretty clean & smooth, but to me it sounds lean and dead unless cranked to the 80-90dB range, much louder than I'd ever listen. Might be because they use Dynaudio drivers, and I've hated every Dynaudio speaker I've heard other than the Special 25.


You would be in the minority in your dislike, however, the Merlin's are considered to one of the best monitors which has them tuned more for accuracy than many other speakers. I can understand why some people consider them dry and lacking in bass b/c they are very neutral in their presentation. The Eggleston Andra IIs that I have in my HT use the Dynaudio drivers and have a similar sound to the Merlin's, however, have much more bass.
 
Apr 6, 2006 at 11:08 PM Post #22 of 41
Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver
Why does it have to be bookshelf? By the time you get a bookshelf that has great low end impact and dynamics, you should just spring for a floorstander.


There's some wisdom in the statement above. I haven't heard a bookshelf that can bring the bottom range by itself. Perhaps bookshelf speakers + sub. But at that point, perhaps you circle back to the quote above again. Good luck...
 
Apr 6, 2006 at 11:53 PM Post #23 of 41
Quote:

Originally Posted by djbnh
I haven't heard a bookshelf that can bring the bottom range by itself..


I would have thought the same, but the Proac's that I heard cured me of that belief. I did not believe my ears or my eyes. They were the smallest things, but boy they could put out music. Granted, it was a short audition, but nonetheless, they performed very well.
 
Apr 7, 2006 at 1:12 AM Post #24 of 41
Quote:

Originally Posted by djbnh
There's some wisdom in the statement above. I haven't heard a bookshelf that can bring the bottom range by itself. Perhaps bookshelf speakers + sub. But at that point, perhaps you circle back to the quote above again. Good luck...


there are some bookshelves than can go fairly deep, but never without a midbass hump. listen to a monitor and a floorstander from the same brand, same lineup, and you'll notice. the upper bass down into the mid bass will be a smoother, flatter line with the floostander, where the monitor will likely have a hump before dropping off below about 55-45hz (the deepest most monitors will go).
 
Apr 7, 2006 at 3:41 PM Post #25 of 41
Yeah, I've read nothing but glowing things about the Merlins on AA and Audiogon, but and this is the first negative write-up I've seen. Well, I have not heard them, so I have no first-hand info, and it's a quite a personal taste thing when one gets to that level. They are all good; but vary in flavor.

I noticed Totem was mentioned by the original poster. I have recently acquired the Totem Hawk speaker. I cannot speak about the Arro's or the Sttaf's first-hand, but have read nice things about them. Great imaging, speed, good bass for the small, sleek size, and nice tonality. The Arro's (and the Mites and the very inefficient Mani-2s) get lotsa good comments about their ability to image well. The Mani-2s are very highly regarded, but folks say are very difficult to drive.

The Hawks, which retail for $2500, are also strong in those aspects (imaging, speed, tonality and bass; great freakin bass for such a narrow/small floorstander). I love mine. I upgraded from some Vandersteens (1C's, and they were very good, outstanding for their price, $850, but not small) and am pleased in every respect. The downside with the Totems are that they priced on the relatively high-end of the spectrum compared to their small/sleek competitors, and not efficient. The Sttafs are 8 ohms/88db at 1w/1m, so they are more driveable than the others in the line. My Hawks in comparison are 6 ohms/86 db.

There's lots of smallish floorstanders and monitors to choose from. Audio-Physics, as very favorably reviewed small/narrow floorstanders, come to mind. I have heard the A-Ps, and they are quite good (but like the Totems, not inexpensive). I also encourage you to look into the smaller manufacturers mentioned earlier (Tyler Acoustics; Reimers). I think you get very good value and sonics from these guys. You cannot try, but you can return the Tylers if you don't like 'em. Both carry monitors that are not too expensive (I dunno your budget).

Used speakers offer a great value, and many are available on Audiogon, but if you do go used, make sure the seller has the original boxes.

- walk
 
Apr 7, 2006 at 3:55 PM Post #26 of 41
I did some listening to Totem speakers a while back, impressions here. Since then I've heard a few more of their floorstanders and remain unimpressed to say the least. The only models which I think are worth buying are the Wind and the Mani-2, the rest of them are handily outperformed by other speakers in their price range. Even the Mani-2 is on shaky ground since it requires a lot of power and hefty stands, and it's not exactly a small speaker. The Living Voice Avatar takes up about the same floor space, is far more efficient, and kills it in speed, detail, and soundstaging. It does cost $1000-2000 more the last time I checked, but to me it's well worth it.
 
Apr 8, 2006 at 6:17 PM Post #27 of 41
Quote:

Originally Posted by aerius
I did some listening to Totem speakers a while back, impressions here. Since then I've heard a few more of their floorstanders and remain unimpressed to say the least. The only models which I think are worth buying are the Wind and the Mani-2, the rest of them are handily outperformed by other speakers in their price range. Even the Mani-2 is on shaky ground since it requires a lot of power and hefty stands, and it's not exactly a small speaker. The Living Voice Avatar takes up about the same floor space, is far more efficient, and kills it in speed, detail, and soundstaging. It does cost $1000-2000 more the last time I checked, but to me it's well worth it.


it's funny. i've listened to totems and i agree with you... and i've listened to totems, and i disagree with you. i think totems can be easily overwhelmed in a larger room, and they're definitely power hungry. my first time hearing hawks left me underwhelmed, but then i heard them again (and the arros and sttaf) in a smaller room, and they were much more satisfying. i also think they can be mass-loaded to taste (if i recall correctly). oh yeah, and i recall them being finicky about placement.

their strength is definitely in disappearing and details. i found them pretty involving, but less than satisfying in the low end. however, i think a manhattan living room on the small side is probably an ideal setting for a pair of totems.

for small floorstanders of that size, however, i preferred the audio physic speakers i've heard (the yara and the spark, i think?). whatever they were, they had a down-firing woofer, were efficient and fairly forgiving of less-than-ideal placement. and like the totems, they looked real purty.
 
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