The Two Channel Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by purr1n, Nov 10, 2016.

  1. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    I really liked Lundahl with my YggyA1. Added a little bit of smoothness and sweetness, tastefully done.
     
  2. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    How efficient? How loud do you listen? What's your room size? How far is your listening position from the speakers? Your amp is rated at 50W/ch into 8 Ohms, so gotta see what can work.

    And that's $2500 including cost to ship, duties, etc.? How do you feel about buying used? Maybe you can swing a used passive ATC with a 6" driver.

    What was wrong with the Fortes? Too bright?
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2020
  3. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    yes I did, the PR-102 is not as good of a value as the GT-102 unless you can really make use of all its features (most users won't). it does use op-amps and relays for all amplification and switching functions. considering that there are sonically superior tube pre-amp kits or even finished products for a similar price out there I can't really recommend it.

    I feel you about importing headache, we get to deal with that in Canada as well although not as severe. I know that there is an active vintagephile community in India, they seem to hang out on https://www.hifivision.com/ my friend doctorjohn has just written a virtual home visit article about two serious audiophiles from Mumbai https://cheaptubeaudio.blogspot.com/2020/06/emt-950-jbl-4343-quicksilver-integrated.html

    if I were you I would definitely try to befriend some of these guys, do home visits, listen to their setups, pick their brains. I can try to get you their email addresses if you like. this will yield much better results than reading forums and magazine reviews, picking something blindly and hoping for the best. the used, vintage market is where you will best stretch your dollar. other than that, kits like the Seas you mention are a good second choice.

    p.s. do not write off horns based on your experience with the Forte3. IMO modern Klipsch is a travesty and not representative of what they were manufacturing over 40 years ago.
     
  4. EagleWings

    EagleWings Friend

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    The room is 15'x14'. I am currently listening in near-field position (4.5ft) because the room is not treated. But I want to apply some basic room treatments and move to mid-field distance (9ft) because the near-field position is not providing the ambience feeling. As for efficiency, I am shooting for 8/6ohm loads with sensitivity of 90dB or higher.

    That's correct, $2500 inclusive of shipping and duty. I don't mind getting used gear, as long as the risk involved is minimal. As for the small ATCs, the unanimous complaint is that they lack bass. Also, I feel that ATC might be too revealing for my taste. Although I do look forward to listening to the SCM50 someday.

    Forte wasn't particularly bright per-se in terms of tone. But more like very forthcoming and slightly aggressive in the presentation.

    Ah, I see. I'll PM you tmw regarding the tube pre-amps you mentioned. It's something I could put to use now and in the future too.

    You are right. I think I should stick to my original plan, which was to get my ears on some setups before pulling the trigger. I had just started demoing speakers in Feb and then the pandemic happened. Then I grew impatient and got myself a pair of studio monitors. I have been mening to join HiFiVision. May be I'll do it in the coming months.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2020
  5. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Have you seen the Wharfedale Linton Heritage? Very well reviewed so far and the stands are a fair price...British, so maybe easier to get in your neck of the woods?
     
  6. sacredgates

    sacredgates Audio-Technica's high priest

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    Unison Research Max mini ?
    They might lack a bit in refinement/smoothness and deep bass, but very good sensitivity and good dynamics.
    They might be hard to get in India... Wharfedale Linton suggestion by @rlow makes probably more sense.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2020
  7. EagleWings

    EagleWings Friend

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    A dealer had a very good price on a pair of Linton a few months back and I came very close to pulling the trigger. But a friend's friend, who is a speaker aficionado, advised me against it. Apparently, the Linton has very good tone and timbre and a spacious stage too. But falls short in depth, layering, imaging sharpness and refinement. So I decided not to pull the trigger blindly. I was very interested in the LS6, particularly after your review. But the Indian Graham dealer for Graham does not carry non-BBC models.

    Yea, I doubt it is available in India. Won't hurt to look into it though.
     
  8. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    Atleast you aren't considering Harbeths, so that's good.
     
  9. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Which Harbeths have you heard @RobS?

    @murphythecat likes the SHL5+, and the 30.1/30.2 seem decent (at least based on the the measurements), so I would be open to giving those a listen, but for the 30 series in particular I do have a fear they would be too “polite” or soft sounding and rolled. Also they’re fairly expensive for what you get, although the cabinetry is pretty damn nice. Also the SHLs are pretty big for a “bookshelf“.
     
  10. sacredgates

    sacredgates Audio-Technica's high priest

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    Another speaker which fits your wishes and which seems to be available in India is the Cabasse Bora:
    - coaxial midrange-tweeter: 12 cm ring – 2.7 cm dome and woofer 1 x 21 cm Duocell
    - 90 dB sensitivity
    Again a model that gives up a little in refinement for excitement (this will be often the case with high sensitivity speakers...).
    Lot´s of info and tests can be found, as this is a long established model from Cabasse.
    Indian shop/dealer:
    http://hometheatreindia.com/shop/product/bora/

    I like the PMC twenty5.22 but it would need more power to go loud and exceeds your budget when bought new. Woofer is only 17 cm. but the transmission line technology helps out with bass very nicely.
     
  11. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    Does it matter? No Harbeth is good. Overpriced BBC shit. I wish I hadn't heard any after how much they hurt my ears. I prefer good speakers.

    At least the Graham Ls6 are like Harbeths but not shit.
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2020
  12. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Yeah it matters.

    For one, I’m interested in others who have actually heard those speakers, and have a lot of experience with other speakers and can provide their actual impressions.

    Second, don’t be a Psal meme and just call Harbeth shit without having heard it, or at least 1 or 2 in their range. And the P3ESR doesn’t count either - it’s tiny and it’s a sealed cab, and it’s not meant for loud volumes or bass. I have a negative feeling about of the C7s, but the 30.1/30.2 and upward I am open to hearing. Herb Reichart, who your pal k4 seems to respect and refer to, loves the 30.2s.

    I’m not saying they’re good or bad at this point, I’m just saying I’d like to hear them before declaring them all shit. Yeah they are expensive, but like I said, the cabinetry work is frickin amazing, and also, they’re not nearly as expensive in the UK (and possibly other parts of Europe/Asia but not sure) as they are in North America.
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2020
  13. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    I wouldn't say all harbeths are shit they have their place in society. It is safe to say they are very expensive relative to the performance you get but they can afford to charge those prices and have a long wait list for all their models at all times, their small UK business is doing very well. for the buyer they pay a premium for a brand and a certain approach to sound but there are people who will be buried with their monitor 40s, a large one-time investment to get a life-long speaker satisfaction can't be argued against too heavily.

    my friend had the 30.2 anniversary edition so I heard it many times. it is on the polite side but less so than the 30.1 I heard at dealers and the p3esr. the two-way bookshelf market is just chock full of speakers whose price tags are not really justified and whose performance deltas are largely a difference of kind, not magnitude. harbeth is just another flavor.

    I like the monitor 40.2 which I have only heard at dealers. I would not hate on someone who chose it as their desert island speaker. for small format BBC monitors there are much better value options than Harbeth, there are plenty of british firms making LS3/5a and LS5/9 clones. i would say LS3/5a clones are an acceptable choice for $1500/pr for smaller spaces and music tastes where bass extension is not a priority. they enjoy a lot of popularity in Hong Kong for this reason. but buying P3ESR for a desktop system I cannot really get behind.

    I used to think Herb Reichert was deaf but then I read all 17 issues of Sound Practices and his articles consistently provided high quality insight. I like him and respect his writing, I think his writing talent is wasted at Stereophile which is just a high-end audio ad agency disguised as a consumer magazine at this point
     
  14. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    Lol cabinetry work. Chopping board speakers that butchers music. They are horribly designed. All Harbeths are objectively bad, just like Maggies. They seriously lack in dynamics and detail. I don't care what Stereophile thinks.
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2020
  15. EagleWings

    EagleWings Friend

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    What's the next best thing to Harbeth or BBCs, for someone lusting the euphonic sounding mids they are popular for?

    (of course without limpdick bass and softened dynamics)
     
  16. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Check out Spendor. Their compact floor standers are supposed to be pretty dynamic sounding, with big staging and great imaging too. I’ve been on the watch for a set of A7. They also have some larger standmounts with bigger woofers as well.
     
  17. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    Spendor classic series might be up your alley as is the a series mentioned above. The D series probably isn't.

    You mentioned an interest in Quested. They are neutral and a bit dark but might not be lush enough in the mids, it really depends on the upstream gear. Never harsh though. Think tube pre and or some transformers somewhere in the signal path for maximum effect.

    I can easily hear changes in cables on mine but i still insist on making my own.
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2020
  18. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    I wouldn't describe the Spendor D7's mids as euphonic. I wasn't a fan of the D7 during my dealer demo, which admittedly could have been in part due to positioning.

    Of the speakers I've demoed semi-recently (impressions: one, two), I'd say the most "euphonic" mids were probably from the Dalis (proprietary midrange drivers with pulp cones) and the Aerial Acoustics (SB Acoustics midrange driver with papyrus blend cone). Dali wasn't my cup of tea due to the excess high frequency energy, but the midrange sound and detail was great. My sample size is admittedly small compared to some here.

    Posted right before I clicked "Post Reply". ;)
     
  19. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Yeah the D series I understand are more on the analytical side than the A series, and the Classic series more like traditional BBC. D series I assume would be outside his price range so I didn’t mention it.
     
  20. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    I lust after a pair of Classic 100 or 200's. They are quite pricey though. But they have made this line going back decades so they're probably available used but finding them is the hard part.
     

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