Help me find a speaker that matches my tastes (1 Viewer)

[GuyL]

Okay, I'm looking for some mains under $600 hundred a pair with at least 90 db sensitivity. A powerful, dynamic speaker that can rock. I like for guitars to be loud and thick with a little bit of a bite My listening room is 17 by 14 and the speakers will be driven with a H/K 310. Low end is taken care of with a SVS 25-31. Here are the speakers I've auditioned so far and what I didn't like about them.

KEF q series - too laid back

Boston Acoustics vr series - too laid back

Klipsch reference - don't like the horns too aggressive and harsh

JBL Studio Series - too much emphasis on upper midrange and a little shrill when turned up loud

Infinity Interludes - require too much power

Polk RTI's - too muddy

Briefly auditioned PSB Image but didn't have any cd's with me and all the dealer had was the soundtrack to Titanic, so I don't know how they would sound for rock, but they seemed a little bright.

Haven't tried B&W or Paradigm.

I had no idea how hard it would be to find replacements for my big old cheap 3 way Pioneers. They have the tonal characteristics I'm looking for, but suck in the imaging and soundstage department.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Eujin]

Guy,

You should definitely check out the B&Ws and Paradigms. I believe you should find something you like in the B&W 600 series or Paradigm Studio 20 (you can find them for around $650). But the best speaker in this category IMHO is the Triangle Titus 202--I wouldn't trade them for anything under $2000. Its rated sensitivity is 90db and is one of the most exciting speakers I've ever heard, with amazing imaging and soundstaging. If you do a search, you'll find a long post I did on the Titus quite recently. They sound very much like what you're looking for and since you already have an SVS, the Titus' 60Hz cut-off won't be a problem. In addition, I'm powering them with a HK 320 which is sonically identical to your 310. They retail for $495, but I've gotten quotes about 10% off that from many dealers. Good luck!

 

[Barry Barnes]

You might also look at the Divas. I directly compared them to my Kef Q50's and they are much more detailed without being harsh. If the Divas are still too laid back for you, you might also consider Paradigm. They are about one more notch up on the "brightness scale" from the Divas.

If you thought the Kefs were too laid back, you probably aren't going to like B&W either. They are also an English speaker and have a similarly laid back and warm quality, although like the Divas, they are more detailed.

 

[GuyL]

The Titus sound like something I would like to listen to, but I couldn't find a dealer locator on their website. I'm also happy to report that through calibration and tweaking, I'm getting the BA VR950's I'm auditioning to sound more like what I want. Still could use a little more punch and bite though. Can anyone tell me how they compare to the Paradigm Monitor series or PSB Image series? Also, after a little more break in time and replacing the grills, the JBL Studios are becoming much less shrill.

 

[stephen_z]

Their web site is www.triangle-fr.com. The U.S. distributor (assuming you're in the states) is as follows:
Triangle of America
VMAX Services PO Box 570 CHAZY NY 12921
Tel : 1 800 771 8279 / 1 514 932 77 86
Fax : 1 514 931 88 91
E-mail : [email protected]
SITE INTERNET : www.vmaxservices.com
Their website is still under construction. Calling toll free gets the best response (no response when I e-mailed). They were able to tell me about a dealer in San Francisco. It's well worth the effort to seek them out for a demo. Mine are on order (4 more weeks to go!)

 

[Eujin]

Mine are on order (4 more weeks to go!)

Man, I feel for ya. It's getting increasingly difficult to find the Titus 202 and I'm glad that I was lucky enough to find one pair left at my dealer. The monthly allocation for Triangle dealers is 3 pairs per model. My dealer said that he'd ordered the maximum allowed for February and March and only received 2 pairs (one of which went home with me). It's been a treat the last couple of weeks to go home and listen to music on these puppies--such a cliche, but I'm hearing details in the music that I didn't know were there. Ah...nirvana.

 

[stephen_z]

Eujin,

The dealer had a pair in ebony, but I prefer the standard finish even though it is vinyl. Have you demoed the Triangle sub?... as pricey as it is ($995), I may go with it. He didn't think the SVS would keep up with the Titus on bass response.

 

[Eujin]

stephen_z,

I too, prefer the standard finish--for vinyl it really is gorgeous, at least to my eyes. Besides, I really like the contrast with the black baffle and grill. I did not demo the Triangle sub as my dealer did not have one set-up. On top of that, I think it is extremely pricey especially since it really does not go all that low according to their specs. I'd try the SVS first if I were you and see if it works out. I agree that the Titus has extremely fast bass response, though.

The other reason I haven't been anxious to add a sub for the bottom end is because I don't listen to a lot of music that has very much low end so I'm pretty much happy running the Titus alone for 2 channel listening--I already have a sub that does my HT duties adequately. I'll eventually upgrade that, but I'll add the Sextan center channel before I do anything else. For $995, I'd look at other subs before going with the Triangle sub, maybe an ACI Titan II? If you're just looking for the lower end in a 2 channel environment, you would probably be better served by moving up to the Zerius, which runs about $1500. Let me know how your sub decision works out as I would be most interested.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Guy, I think I may have one very good possibility for you, the Axiom M60s:

These are 3 way speakers with a 1" Titanium tweeter, a 5.25" Midrange, and 2 6.5" woofers. It can handle up to 250 watts, and has a frequency range of 32hz to 22khz, 8 ohm load, 95dB efficiency, and video shielded. These are known to be very loud, very detailed, and very forward and "upfront" sounding. Not harsh, as I understand it, but not at all laid-back.
You can get these for $640 from the factory outlet page at axiomaudio.com (barely blemished finish, currently available only in black and maple) here: http://www.axiomaudio.com/products.cfm?productID=M60FO or completely unblemished for $660-70 USD (depends on daily exchange rate) from here: http://www.audioshop.on.ca/axiomspeakers.htm
For about $100-150 less, you can get the Axiom M50 which is the same speaker without the midrange driver.