Music lovers, what do you recommend? (1 Viewer)

[DanaA]

I'm about 80% music/20% home theater. Listen to all kinds of music and absolutely love my ACI speakers. Check out the Sapphires. Also have heard great things about GR Research and Onix Reference. Here's a link to ACI. IMO, the BEST speakers I've ever owned and, given that I'm an oldster with a long time passion for music, I've owned many.

 

[JimmyK]

Von Schweikert LCR-15's across the front stage, and their VR-1's for the surrounds. The 15's are not floorstanders, but certainly go down low enough for music. These are very musical speakers, extremely smooth and lush, with great imaging and stage.

I second that. My local dealer recently started carrying them and I was very impressed with how natural they sounded.

JimmyK

 

[Yogi]

I'll third the VA mozart's for their musicality? I have them running with Proceed amps and couldn't be happier.

 

[Michael R Price]

Can you wait until CES?

 

[Tim Ranger]

I second the ACI recommendation. Wonderfully musical speakers. I started with a Titan sub to go with my Sonus Faber Concertos and then upgraded the Concertos to the Sapphires. I've never looked back. Heard a pair of the Talismans a while back and those will be my next speaker when I can afford them. The people at ACI are wonderful to work with. I blew one of the woofers in my Sapphires. I told them I might have blown it and they replaced it free anyway!

 

[Michael Yung]

Give the Infinity Intermesso 2.6 a try. Stereophile Class A rating all the way and it's currently being discontinued and selling at a great price at AudioAdvisor.com. Great return policy as well so no worries if it doesn't workout at home.

The Energy Veritas is also very nice. Another recommendation I would throw in here is the Vendersteen 2Ce Signature at about $1500 a pair. Another classic design, like the Maggies that has long been a stereophile favorit. Great imaging, great everything but a little on the warm side.

The Maggies also sound wonderful and should be auditioned but they are big and need a lot of room and power to reach their full potential.

 

[cabreau]

If you want really good mains, check out the Martin Logan Mosaic speakers. They have outstanding music (and movie) reproduction and sound rich and full. You won't miss a thing. Also, close your eyes and have someone move the speakers, you won't be able to tell where the sound is coming from, the sound stage is so wide and dynamic.
For a little less money, you can go for the Boston Acoustics like Evan M. has, I think they are VRM-90's or VR-3's - anyway - they sound SOOO sweet for music reproduction and they are just over $1000.
The Martin Logans though, holy crap they sound good and SUPER full. Even if you aren't on axis, it doesn't matter, they have superb flexibility with a super-wide, almost omnidirectional soundstage.
It wouldn't hurt to check out the Paradigm Studio 100's either. For that kind of money, you should probably get the Martin Logans though (and I'm a Paradigm lover telling you this). Those Martin Logans are a truly beautiful and rich speaker. When the time comes, I may sell my Paradigm Studios and get the two Mosaic fronts with the matching center speaker (gonna beat Evan M. to it). LOL.

 

[BobAlbano]

My vote in the monitor category would be the ACI Sapphires, Ellis 1801's, or the Onix Ref 1's...All exceptional speakers that are under $1500.00. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Chuck Schilling]

I concur with the Martin Logan recommendation. Every ML main I've ever heard sounds wonderful - they are the "airiest" speakers I've ever heard and the separation and clarity are absolutely fantastic. By all means check them out if you have the opportunity.

 

[DavidLW]

Be caraeful when auditioning Martin Logans or Maggies. Once you've listen to them you may never be satisfy with box speakers again (at least those in the same price range). The midrange and highs on these can not be beat and beleive me, you'll think twice about not wanting speakers that will eventually need a sub.(I believe the Martin Logans have a built in woofer that can be bi-amped at a later date).These speakers literally disappears from your room when they playing. You're not really going to hear a lot of difference between quality "box" speakers in this price range. But the difference in the sound of planars will be imediately noticed. Thier only weakness is in HT (without a sub). They go descently low but not low and loud.

I have ML CLS2z's with Entec subs and not one person, who has listen to them, thought I was crazy to pay that much for speakers (though they thought that before they heard them). By the way I don't use my ML for HT. I can't bear the thought of using them for car crashes, explosions, gun shots and the like. For me, they're more like musical instruments. I got some Boston Acoustics to handle the diry works of HT.

If you like to listen to music then you got to think "out of the box", you won't reget it.

 

[josh.s]

David I'm right with you and if I had the money I'd have separate stereo and HT systems. I'll never be able to go back to boxes for music after auditioning Maggie MG12s and buying the MMGs direct. Right now though the MMGs are pulling HT duty as well and probably will for a while unless I unexpectedly find a winning lottery ticket. This thread is about musical speakers though and I think you'll be hard pressed to beat planars.

 

[Andrew*L]

Ed,

I'm currently using Linn Nexus speakers for 2 channel stereo and find them to be very musical. These are bit old (from the eighties), so in your stated price range, you may want to listen to the Linn Katan Monitors, or the Linn Ninka Towers.

I know you mentioned that HT was a distant second to music, but in order to future proof your purchase and avoid difficulties later on (If your HT priority increases), consider looking at musical speakers that do offer a timbre matched center channel.

 

[Joseph Sabato]

Maggies are great but I have a caution based on where you want to put them. Planer dipole speakers are fussy about placement to get the best sound out of them, especially in the bass region. I had the Tympani Model D some years back, 3 panels per side ( 4 ft wide 6 ft tall, 1 " thick) and the best position essentially made the room dividers ( about 7 ft from the back wall!) If you put them right next to an entertainment center, which would put them about 16-18 inches from the back wall, and with no space to the side, you will not hear what they are truly capable of with optimum placement. I had friends with the single panel maggies ( like you would be considering) and the same was true for them.

Ultimately I sold them for practical reasons (my wife referred to them as the "big ugly things") since I did not have these in a dedicated listening room. Good luck.

 

[cabreau]

Chuck and David, what are you guys using to power those Martin Logans? Are they REALLY power hungry or was the salesperson just trying to get us to spend another $1500 on a more powerful receiver?

Joseph, what did you end up replacing them with?

 

[Evan M.]

Yeah......what cabreau said. Those ML Mosaics are CRAZY. They are a ribbon speaker (I think) as opposed to the elecrostats. They do not need to be plugged in and I think they would be a bit more fogiving when it comes to placement from a wall. I am a huge Boston fan and have yet heard anything that would change me from that (in the price range of course) UNTIL I heard those Mosaics for the first time. And damn THEY LOOK SOOOOO COOL!!!! I am not sure though if I would want to use them for HT.....I almost feel it would downgrade its' coolness LOL!!!!

cabreau... I am sure you will beat me to them....the wife layed down the law when I got home last night :frowning:. I was still drooling from your new sub

 

[Dan Driscoll]

In that price range you should also look at either a new pair of Vandersteen 2Ce Signatures or possibly a used pair of 3A Signatures. Other options worth consideration in your range are VMPS RM-IIs or Meadowlark Ketrals (hotrod version).

 

[Tom Fynan]

I would also strongly recommend auditioning some Maggies. Over the years I have moved up from their MMGs to 3.6s, to 20.1s that I bought last year. I love them for their transparency and sound stage, and the sensation that the music is just "there" and not coming out of a box. As some one said, once you've heard them and fallen for that sound, you can never go back. Their price is also incredibly low for the quality. They also work well for HT. I now have my 20.1s in a dedicated stereo setup in my living room, and I use the 3.6s for my HT in the den. The only drawback is their size, and the need to place them accurately, which usually means several feet away from the wall. My sister-in-law saw a picture of my living room with the big Maggies in it, and asked where those two doors went. I told her "to paradise."

Tom Fynan

 

[cabreau]

LOL. Paradise it is. It's true, they sound like the music is just 'there'. If you close your eyes, you can't tell where the sound is coming from...it's coming from everywhere. The first time Evan M. listened to the ML's with his wife, he looked up at the ceiling to see if there were speakers in the ceiling that were helping with the soundstage. The second time he listened to them, I was with him, and when the salesman turned them on, I immediately looked to the sides of the room, up and down and behind me to see what speakers were helping them out. Evan M. laughed because he did the same exact thing the first time he heard them. The damn music comes from EVERYWHERE with those things. I'm almost definitely going to get the Mosaics and the matching center next Christmas instead of the Studio 100's and the CC-570. But I have yet to hear the CC-570 ...or B&W's, but those seem pricy.

 

[Tim Streagle]

Maggies are now in the reach of two kinds of people that have historically never considered planars-(1) buyers in the less-than-$500 class, and (2) interior decorator types that wouldn't put up with the "room-screen" effect. This inexpensive system is bound to catapult Magneplanar sales to new records. Maggies that can directly compete with the big mass-marketers! Yay!

 

[Alan Pummill]

I've been looking for upgrades to my Paradigm Monitor speaker system for about a month. In fact, all but my Monitor 7's and PW-2200 sub have been sold. I have been auditioning many different speakers. BTW, the sub stays!!

The top two of my favorites so far are the Wharfedale EVO-40 ($960/pr) and the Magnepan MG1.6 QR ($1725/pr). The maggies are calling me to come buy them. The dealer has a demo pair for $1450. I spent over an hour listening to those maggies and fell in love!!