Speakers ~$10K for rock, alternative and some pop. Not Jazz or Classical. - Page 12

Just an update. I tried to find audition opportunities by myself and kept running into dead ends. I even tried to work around a business trip and that fell through. Finally I tried contacting the national distributors and now have had some sucess. I was told there was a dealer in town who had some Salon2s so I called him. Just my luck, he had recently sold them but on the positive side he had the JBL Synthesis Array 1400s which was one of the recommended speakers from the community. Made the appointment and went for a listen. They were driven by Bryston 4B SST2 amp, Bryston SP3 processor and Arcam DV139 universal player. Very good speakers, can only imagine what they would be like in home theater. They actually look much better in person than the pictures. There is no way they would fit in my room, especially being rear ported. These need lots of room.

My take: Very good speakers and with their relatively high efficiency, I would guess they would be awesome for home theater. I listened to a number of tracks selected by my host and both of the disks that I use for auditioning which proved quite revealing. You can see the music choices on the "What Audition Music do you use" thread, page 1. Disk 2 which is more recent material (mostly) was very good, in fact as good as I've heard. Disk 1 started good also, the tracks that GoldenEar Triton2s had trouble with the Arrays did wonderfully. The 1400s do female vocals very well and also with the limited string section material I have. They did most everything incrediably well, I have a whole new appreciation of horns. They did come up short, IMO, on a couple tracks. The first was REM's Everybody Hurts. I listen for how clear the rattle from the balls sound (I'm sure a musician can tell what instrument that is) and that was not as super clear as I've heard on some others. REM's Drive at the 2 plus minute mark on the other hand was awesome, makes my current system seem a bit weak, which is in part why I am in the market for a move up. The second track was Supertramp's Hide in Your Shell which I listen for the background "Ghostly sound" to see how well it comes through. With my current XQ40s this sound is more recessed than my previous Kef Reference 103/4s. With the Array 1400s, this sound was even further recessed than the XQ40s. I also feel they could have been a bit tighter on bass on a couple songs but that is very picky.

Overall the JBL Synthesis Array 1400s were very awesome and I really enjoyed being able to audition them, they did so much so very well. No harshness, no listener fatigue, great imaging. My previous experiences with much lesser priced Klipsch had me somewhat apprehensive on horn driven speakers but these showed me how good they could be. I certainly would listen to higher end Klipsch given the chance. The Arrays would not fit my room anyway but I am now waiting to hear Studio2s and Kef 207/2s (in place of 205/2s), which should be coming soon. I can not wait.
Edited by jima4a - 6/16/12 at 9:03pm

Perhaps I am misinformed but while I am sure MLs are great sounding, a couple things kept me from looking at them. First is I believe they need to be out from the wall a ways and don't have that option in my current room (I have eliminated rear ported designs also) and second I believe they are low efficiency/high power design that is not the best for HT as this system will double for that.

Good point,I certainly would not want to complain about something for being more accurate. Unfortunately my son broke my Sony MDR-7506 headphones and then my wife bought me Bose headphones as a gift to replace them. The Bose cost more than the new model Sonys but as you know....I gave them to my son. I need to replace them.

My reference on Hide in Your Shell would be my old 103/4s and my current B&W685s when I pulled them out of the cabinet to AB with Kef IQ30s. I also listened to this track on the Goldenear Triton Twos and Vandersteen 2Ce but to be honest I was not in full audition mode, just listening for fun. However, that was not a track that I remember having issues with. REMs Everybody Hurts did not stand out either. When I get to hear the Studio2s and the Kef Reference I should know if this was just being exaggerated or not.

I don't know which Bose headphones I had only that she paid about $170 on line plus shipping 4 years ago and they did not have noise cancelling. They were not HiFi in my opinion. Not even adequate for IPod use. I know there are better headphones than the Sony Professional Monitors but none I heard until at least three times the price. So it looks like one can get Sony MDR7510s for around $130 or go to $3-400 minimum to try to get better. I'd just get the Sonys as they were pretty good.

Update 6/19/12: I guess I did not read your post well enough. My son has those headphones at the other side of the country, I don't have them available anymore. They were quite lacking IMO but he liked them so...
Edited by jima4a - 6/19/12 at 5:13pm

Well I hope to be able to audition the Revel Studio2s and Kef 205/2s next week. My guess is the Revels will a bit better for two channel but the Kefs may be better for HT. Also, the Kefs would be less $ for the front 3 as the 202/2c is quite a bit less than the Voice2 leaving a bit more for electronics.

I added a couple more speakers to the list today. One is the Totem Wind which at 87 dB efficiency would likely be only a good 2 channel speaker - can get a phenominal deal on them, I believe. The other is the Acoustic Zen Crescendo speakers which look quite interesting. However, I have not fully looked at specs and the pics show they apear quite large. Any feedback on either of these?

The other question is electronics. I was really planning on class D but after a lot of feedback (I tried very hard) I may be forced to stay with class AB. So these are just a couple options I am considering:

OPPO 95, Marantz AV7005 and ATI AT3003 (front 3) and AT1804 (heights and surrounds).

OPPO 93, Integra 80.3 with same amps as above.

I have also got a lot of feedback from others in the industry that I should opt for the Bryston 6B sst2 and perhaps go with a Arcam or Anthem receiver for the the other channels (or even the Denon 4311). Can't stretch for an Anthem or Arcam Pre/pro as I've already blown my original budget. I still would like to keep heights so Dolby Pro Logic llz would be a serious plus (they help blend my ceiling speaker surrounds).

Auditioning the Focal 1038 Be's or the Salk Soundscapes doesn't look very likely. However, if I am not fully blown away next week I will try harder to hear more futher in the list.

Thanks to everyone who provided constructive input to this process. I realize many of us are passionate about audio and as such we may get a bit heated in our communications. Measurements are important but this is still a very subjective hobby, so not everyone will like the same things that others absolutely love. I spoke to a knowledgeable shop owner today who has never been thrilled by Kef and I've owned them for 20 year plus. I still feel he has a lot of knowledge in this industry and stayed open minded (or at least tried?) in getting his input. It will still come down to what I like best and I know that does not make me right, just happy.

I only got a chance to look at Marten Django so far and they look like they would be amazing! I need more time, more money, more space for a proper setup. Then after that I would need even more money and more space...am I alone on this?! There are so many fantastic speakers to hear and so little time. I wish I had known all this when I was living in Michigan. Not as much availability in the Florida panhandle. HiFi is not as big in the south, I believe, more to do outside in winter. Anyway the 205/2s are up tomorrow.

Edit: The Djangos have Accuton ceramic drivers on the highs and mids and three 8" aluminum woofers by SEAS. Recommend checking these out.
Edit2: I read the Stereophile article when it came out on the Vivid B1 and while it received many praises I see it as niche speaker. It would also not work in my room with 2nd rear mounted woofer. Still planning to complete the list. Thanks
Edited by jima4a - 6/29/12 at 8:55am