General Speaker Advice and Recommendations

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by shotgunshane, Mar 7, 2017.

  1. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

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    The speakers in your image are three-way full-range floor standers.

    Early format speakers like large horns when out of fashion as technology changed / improved. Now speakers go out of fashion when manufacturers realize a market is available for a new speaker profile ( e.g., bar speakers for slim-tv users and apartment dwellers) or that a current market is drying up ( hopefully, bar speakers for slim-tv users and apartment dwellers) or that a current market is drying up) . Media's desire to cover the 'new' also assists by tempting manufacturers to implement unwarranted change to get press space.

    A non answer: Tower speakers are better if you like the design and they work in your room. Tech has changed, you can get good bass from smaller cabinet spaces at a price if the spouse prefers / accepts the look.
     
  2. androxylo

    androxylo Acquaintance

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    Did you try 4-way speaker setup? One pair is primary, positioned for accurate sound, second pair wide and behind, lower volume, for soundstage? Use separate amps. Should be crazy I suspect...
     
  3. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    If I wanted to horizontally bi-amp an all-balanced chain, is it as easy as getting simple XLR Y-splitters to plug into multiple amps?
     
  4. shredical

    shredical Friend

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    Has anyone heard, owned or have thoughts on owning Magnepan LRS vs 0.7i, 1.7i speakers?

    What other alternatives are there for planar speakers that have more bass extension without adding a sub or going full on with a distributed bass array or the like.

    I see a Magnepan 1.7 (not the newer 1.7i) and 0.7i for under $1000 available locally right now.

    I have fond memories of having the plinius SA-100 mk2 and 1.6QR combo from nearly a decade ago but wasn't quite fully satisfied with the bass extension of quantity of it.

    I don't have an amp to pair with these speakers so am starting from scratch.

    Any other recommendations on which speakers to look for? Room size is about 18 x 14
     
  5. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Yes, unless your source has unusually high output impedance and the amps have unusually low input impedance.
     
  6. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    I went to a store to check out the Klipsch Forte 3, even though its probably never going to shine in my 4x4m living room. They caught my interest since I've never tried a horn speaker and I've been having the itch to find something new (I also plan to move in the near future to a bigger place) so I figured why not go have a look. Doesn't help that they're discounted by a lot now that the Forte 4 is out haha

    They were placed almost right up to the rear wall and toed in so they were a bit on the bright side but I did end up liking a lot about them. I was blown away by the staging and how they disappeared with the music in the big listening room.. I liked how enjoyable it felt to be a part of the music and on well recorded live tracks you were right there in the front row! Felt a good amount of detail through the midrange as well.
    I was disappointed though with the impact I got from the bass. On slower songs - when strings were plucked, you could feel their weight but when you got into a quicker paced rock/metal song, they didn't have it. Might have been the placement or the amp being used, I don't know.

    Anyone else use these and can weigh in on the bass and space needed for them to work?
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2021
  7. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    I haven’t heard the 1.7 but isn’t it physically close in size to the older 1.6? If so I wouldn’t expect a significant change in bass.

    Among other Maggies, I used to own a pair of MG10s which were intended to be used with a sub. I tried various Yamaha and Velodyne subs with them back in the day and they were very enjoyable but weren’t totally convincing that a sub wasn’t being used. However, I’m wondering since sub tech has come a ways since then if a Rythmik and LRSs might be worth a listen.
     
  8. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    I've used a Magnepan 1.6QR since 2013. Maggies don't do bass extension, so you're barking up the wrong tree. If you want more bass extension with planars, you get a bigger planar, or you go with a hybrid design like Eminent Technology LFT-8b (similar to what electrostat speaker designers do).

    I will say that I noticed an upgrade in extension when using massive copper speaker cables (Cardas Golden Reference, which I've now sold) and when upgrading an amplifier to one that can push a crapton of current (Coda amp in my case). You're still not getting much measured response below 40 Hz, but it can subjectively feel a little lower / more weighty.

    Of your three listed options, I'd go with the biggest Magnepan you can fit in the space within budget and then try to optimize your speaker placement and listening position to reduce impact of bass nulls. I've also read good things about using GR Research dipole subwoofers or Rhythmik F12G (that use GR Research woofers and a servo amp) when paired with Maggies. Check out the Magnepan User Group on Facebook.
     
  9. shredical

    shredical Friend

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    Yeah am giving up on magnepans

    I extracted as much as I could out of the 1.6qr. Tried out Krell and ML amps. Eventually settling on the plinius sa100mk3 I had was a class A pushing 100watts and weighed 80lbs. The speaker cables that worked for me were the Crimson AUdio from AustinHifi.


    The logical step would be the 5.7 or the Carver hybrid (no longer in production) or build your own.

    But since posting this, i've been pointed to the open baffle route for my long term build, a PAPTrio clone. Plan to use SB Audience 15OB350W woofers in place of the EMience Neos. Unless i get a hook up on the Neo woofers.

    I've got the 4x10 HD miniDSP for the interim to go active while i sort out the crossover before making a passive one (long term again).

    Have a Pass DIY M2X build @dBel84 roped me into for starters and somehow also talked myself into a future project of PAss dual mono F5v3Turbo build (to PASS time this next winter) for which i picked up 50lbs of heatsink for today. :drunk:
     
  10. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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  11. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    I couldn't see an General amp advice thread, but I was curious if anyone has had ears on the Rotel Michi stuff. Rotel has an interesting history as a company, and I really dig its understated looks. I have no idea if there is a house sound that runs through all their stuff or not. Thanks for any thoughts if you have them in advance :)
     
  12. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    Anyone get ears on the newish JBL HDI-1600? Another pricey model as high as some of the audiofool small 2 way models.

    In the realm of perhaps more efficient and dynamic speakers under $700 a pair used or new, any faves?

    Super low bass not necessary, but good low volume resolution and dynamics welcome. Any standout kit or diy that you have heard that floated your boat in the budget guideline?
     
  13. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    Those JBLs kind of look like the 305 but passive, but the price tells a different story. Curious if they do a better job than the 305 then, at a similar looking footprint

    Havent heard them myself but @Psalmanazar spoke about the Focal Aria 906 recently, I think those should fit your budget used. The regular LS50 is also really cheap now that the Metas are out, but maybe too light on the bass quantity and extension. I'll edit this post if I think of others that come to mind.
     
  14. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    Focal Aria 906 is very good and pleasantly warm. You can get good discounts on a pair because it’s the same price as the very similar Shape 65 but with with a port instead of passive radiator and no plate amp. So you get better bass in better rooms and can use a much better amp and the markup is more than the Shapes so dealers will discount more.

    The focal aluminum / magnesium tweeters are very pleasing. Magnesium tends to be the only damped sounding metal tweeter. They are overdamped vs the overshooting Focal Beryllium tweeters. The most normal Focal tweeter is the Kevlar like in the older passive KRKs and K2 car systems but those are wicked expensive. The Beryllium is harsh and pretty much just overshoots. The Alumuniun/magnesium alloy ones are not but straight up colored. Not awful though. The regular aluminum ones in the Alphas are terrible. Think aluminum Seas with much worse magnet structure and sound.
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2021
  15. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    FWIW, I found the Aria 906s had a bit flabby (over damped) bass slam (not talking about depth/extension, rather transients) compared to other bookshelf speakers I tried at the time. But the most powerful amp I tried with it I think at the time was an 80w Hegel integrated. So they might need an amp with some good low end snap to wake them up a bit. They’re also getting long in the tooth, so I would not buy them anywhere close to new retail, as they’re likely to get replaced by Focal in the not to distant future. Also the wood veneer on them sucks ass IMO (it looks and feels cheap in real life, and I’m not even sure if it’s real veneer - certainly didn’t feel like it. Could be vinyl).
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2021
  16. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    The JBL hdi-1600 are bigger and about double the weight (no amps) compared to the 305s assuming you mean the smaller powered jobbies.

    Only focals I heard at length years ago were the cms 65 (I think) powered monitors which were nice. A bit soft and grainy up top though. Although it could have been the Grace dac / controller feeding them.

    Yes, the Kefs are on everyone's short list, I suppose. Still, most listings are north of $850 used shipped. I had a taste of Kef with the Q100s (for about a year or so) and they were just a bit too bright and jangling for me, even though they were warmish below 1k.. I am sure the 50s are more refined, but something with the Q100, a rising response in the 3k range, got to me.

    Still open to ideas, keep em coming.
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2021
  17. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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  18. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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  19. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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  20. ofilippov

    ofilippov Acquaintance

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    I was told by the person, who had a lot of experience with Focals, that many of their models need a lot of amplifier balls to wake them up. And that's not quite intuitive, considering Focal measurements. Similar thing with Tannoy.
     

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