Speakers around the $4500 range (1 Viewer)

[JohnBrianW.]

My vote would be for totem's forest and hawk.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I'll have a new pair in a week or two and if you're in LA, let me know. But if you get a chance make sure and get a listen somewhere.

Maybe I will stop by.
I would love to see how they perform against Maggie 20.1s. That's my favorite speaker ($11k) under $75K.

 

[Shion_ca]

Hello Anny,

There are two places in Ontario that will sell new Mezzo Utopia's for 13,500 Canadian. That works out to very close to your price range US. I can't recommend enough that you take a listen to them. They're an excellent deal as the new model is coming out and they used to retail for 20,000 Can.
(one of them is American Sound to which I am in no way affiliated, never even bought anything from them)

 

[Lee Scoggins]

There are two places in Ontario that will sell new Mezzo Utopia's for 13,500 Canadian.

I also have to recommend these as I think JM Lab is one of the better speaker brands currently. I have heard very good sonics from the Mezzo Utopias. And with current price breaks, they are a fairly good deal.
Also check out the Maggies in the same range.

 

[John A. Casler]

I would love to see how they perform against Maggie 20.1s. That's my favorite speaker ($11k) under $75K.

Hi Lee,

If you like ribbons, (and the 20.1s are true ribbons) then you will probably like them.

It really depends on if you like your Maggies when set up correctly, or if you like them for their pleasing "room interaction".

I have yet to find a pair that were set up against fully treated front walls. If they are not, then you are playing your room "and" speakers together, and no one can reproduce the actual event by using their room for ambience.

I have had several pairs of Maggies since 1972 with my first "Magnepans". I really liked the sound, but found the difficult placement, the lack of dynamics and bass, bothersome.

I found they worked best if they were placed at least 3 feet from the wall and then I hung a very absorbent drape, a foot off the wall, from floor to ceiling.

How are yours set up?

All the best,

John

 

[John Royster]

I thought planars were supposed to be setup with a neutral front wall (sheet rock or softer, no hard surfaces) and a semi-dead back wall?

Others have tried diffusers on the front wall with good results as well.

The idea of a dead front wall is really new to me. Is this really how planars are supposed to be setup? I'm curious because I'm re-doing my room and will be putting panels on the rear wall.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I found they worked best if they were placed at least 3 feet from the wall and then I hung a very absorbent drape, a foot off the wall, from floor to ceiling.

I agree with John on his reaction to this statement. My listening room does not use drapes yet I am not overwhelmed by room effects. I am quite sensitive to room effects as I work on this stuff in the recording studio part-time.
I recently heard a pair of 20.1s driven by large ARC tubes and I have to say the sonics were among the best I have heard. Something about ARC tubes and Maggies (some like solid state) - maybe because of the Minnesota connection...I just find the instrument tonality and overall midrange to be dead on versus what I hear in the studio.

 

[John Royster]

I guess someone already mentioned them...Martin Logan.
Pros - incredible speed, vocals are spooky real, detailed, transparent and deep soundstage
cons - incredible speed, detailed show every flaw in your system, hard to place, integration of woofer and ESL panel.
But they're my cup of tea and I enjoy them everyday.
Anny, there are many good offerings at this price range. Maggies and Logans are fabulous speakers for the price, but take a lot of work and TLC to work their magic. If you don't want to put that much time in matching components and placement then they may not be appropriate.

 

[Newell]

I strongly recommend (I own) the Vienna Acoustics line. Very musical and the finish is furniture grade plus (high WAF for both looks and sound). Sumikoaudio.net

Good luck. It really boils down to a matter of personal taste.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

No, the statement is based on hearing the various systems in that category, and also the fact that the system was selected as "Best of Show -CES" in Las Vegas last year against systems of that worth.

John,
I'm curious about these speakers but it seems that no mainstream high end press has reviewed the RM40s yet.
Do you know of any reviews in Stereophile or Absolute Sound?
It is great that they won CES but clearly this is not as prestigious as Best of Show at HE 2002.
I do like the ribbons. I wonder how they integrate with the woofers, however as this has proved tricky in the past.
Let us know your thoughts. I would like to do more research on these.

 

[John A. Casler]

I'm curious about these speakers but it seems that no mainstream high end press has reviewed the RM40s yet.

Is there supposed to be a "mainstream" high end press? Isn't that slightly oxymoronic?
Be that as it is, how about Peter Montcreif of IAR.
http://www.iar-80.com/page46.html
I think Marty DeWulf (Bound for Sound) just did a RM40 review with the new TRT caps. He like them so much he put them in his "Big RIG" system as his reference.
Cheney doesn't really cater to the "audiophile" press but Tony Cordesman has always been a big fan as is now DeWulf, and his various Towers have been on Stereophiles List a few times.
Visit Harmonic Discord forum to see what owners have to say.
http://www.harmonicdiscord.com/forums/index.php
It is a more "audiophile oriented" discussion forum.
Regards,
John

 

[JordanS]

Anny

I have had the opportunity to listen to the B&W Nautilus 804s with McIntosh Gear running them.

It blew my damn mind! I was so impressed with these speakers. Very true to the source, accurate, and just a lovely sound. Also, they look amazing.

The saxophone on "Your Latest Trick", from Dire Straits, never sounded so full and vibrant. It was breath-taking to say the least.

Good luck.

 

[RichardH]

Hate to be disagreeable but these things sound terrible. The fact that a lot of engineers use them is more often considered a negative - have you heard recent pop recordings? ouch!

Lee:
The reason that popular recordings sound bad has nothing to do w/ the Genelecs. It has to do w/ radio, record labels, etc. If you get your mix to sound awesome on the 1031's, but then you compensate after listening on the NS-10s, then what do you expect??

I still hold that a pair of Genelecs w/ sub in a treated room and properly calibrated will sound amazing on the better recordings. That's the big point, I guess. If you want speakers that will sound pretty good on most things, then you better be looking for speakers that are forgiving and/or hype the sound somewhat. If you want to hear exactly what's on the recording (I come from this school), then you'll want accuracy at all costs.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

If you want to hear exactly what's on the recording (I come from this school), then you'll want accuracy at all costs.

Wow! We went to the same school. If you read my example, that is exactly what I am saying.

Cheers!

 

[RichardH]

Lee:

Which example do you mean? You know, I think you and I would agree on many things. I just noticed your sig, and I'm into SACD as well, although I haven't gotten a player yet. I wonder if PWM will eventually replace PCM?? I sure hope so.

It's funny that you mention Maggies, because I used to have a pair of the MMG's, which I sold after 2 years or so. I always wanted to move up to the 1.6 or 3.6, but never had the space/money. Maybe someday I'll have the pleasure.

I'm curious, in your experience, which pro monitors do you think are the most accurate?

I had the thought once that "wouldn't it be great if mixing engineers could mix in a perfect room on something like huge Dunlavy's?" It seems to me that the industry is backwards where the mixing takes place on NS-10s, and then the mastering takes place on the nicer speakers.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

It seems to me that the industry is backwards where the mixing takes place on NS-10s, and then the mastering takes place on the nicer speakers.

I agree completely... why not use an accurate playback monitor throughout the whole chain?
If you need near field monitoring, you can use Stax headphones for hyper-clarity of the musical details. Just get the more expensive tube amp to go with it.