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My Journey to find the "perfect" speaker... - Page 50

post #1471 of 6914
5/8/08 at 7:44pm
I'd drive. If I ever have time.
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post #1472 of 6914
5/8/08 at 7:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mziegler View Post

I'd drive. If I ever have time.

Well in that case....if we take your car, we will need to stop at a track for a couple of laps too.
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post #1473 of 6914
5/8/08 at 8:59pm
It's a 42 hour ride from my home. You guys have a walk in the park compared to my drive to do this audition.
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post #1474 of 6914
5/8/08 at 9:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rydenfan View Post

Since Funkmonkey is in SoCal I really think he needs to hook up with Matt (audioarchitect) so he can listen to the Monitor Audio Platinum PL300's and the Dynaudio Sapphires and give us his thoughts on those speakers plus how they compare to the Salk HT3's. Anyone else agree?

I made that drive to hear the Adagios, and if I can get a weekday off I would do it to hear the rest of the cream. Who knows if there is an actors strike, I may have lots of time on my hands again...
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post #1475 of 6914
5/8/08 at 10:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by funkmonkey View Post

I made that drive to hear the Adagios, and if I can get a weekday off I would do it to hear the rest of the cream. Who knows if there is an actors strike, I may have lots of time on my hands again...

Hey Funk -

How much longer til you get the new speaks? You figure out an amp / pre combo yet?
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post #1476 of 6914
5/9/08 at 6:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by funkmonkey View Post

I made that drive to hear the Adagios, and if I can get a weekday off I would do it to hear the rest of the cream. Who knows if there is an actors strike, I may have lots of time on my hands again...

Matt is around on the weekends. No rest for the weary around here
I am dring about 90 minutes next weekend to listen to the PL300's and give the Sapphires a second audition.
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post #1477 of 6914
5/9/08 at 7:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rydenfan View Post

Since Funkmonkey is in SoCal I really think he needs to hook up with Matt (audioarchitect) so he can listen to the Monitor Audio Platinum PL300's and the Dynaudio Sapphires and give us his thoughts on those speakers plus how they compare to the Salk HT3's. Anyone else agree?

Agreed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cschang View Post

I do!

I would like to get down to AudioArchitect's as well...but it is about a 2 hour drive, and at least as long for funkmonkey too.

That's not bad at all. If you do go, please post a review here in this thread. I'd love to get your opinion.
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post #1478 of 6914
5/9/08 at 11:00am
If you guys are driving down to San Diego to check out the speakers that AudioArchitect has and also want to check out some Vandersteen 5A's your have an invite. I live in San Juan Capistrano not far off the I5. Drop me a line.
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post #1479 of 6914
5/9/08 at 11:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuance View Post

Agreed.

That's not bad at all. If you do go, please post a review here in this thread. I'd love to get your opinion.

You guys don't know LA traffic.

When I had an 20 minute round trip commute everyday, I thought the same thing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bhaaf View Post

If you guys are driving down to San Diego to check out the speakers that AudioArchitect has and also want to check out some Vandersteen 5A's your have an invite. I live in San Juan Capistrano not far off the I5. Drop me a line.

My favorite local shop carries Vandersteen.
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post #1480 of 6914
5/9/08 at 12:27pm
Thread Starter 
The 5A's? Man...those are the best speaker's I've ever heard. I can only wish...
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post #1481 of 6914
5/9/08 at 12:52pm
They are very ugly speakers though...
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post #1482 of 6914
5/9/08 at 12:57pm
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder?? I would definitely leave the cover on but I am sure they sound great. $16.9K starting MSRP?

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post #1483 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:14pm
Thread Starter 
They are the best looking speaker they have. I too would leave the top grill cover on. Honestly though, when something sounds that good, I don't care what it looks like. Now that is a speaker in which I can say with certainty that you do not need a subwoofer for 2-channel performance.

I will say, it is odd they don't use a ribbon, though.
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post #1484 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:30pm
I would guess that the 5A would not need to be placed a great distance from the rear wall? That is a strong advantage for people with small rooms.
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post #1485 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuance View Post

They are the best looking speaker they have. I too would leave the top grill cover on. Honestly though, when something sounds that good, I don't care what it looks like. Now that is a speaker in which I can say with certainty that you do not need a subwoofer for 2-channel performance.

I will say, it is odd they don't use a ribbon, though.

You think if Richard felt a ribbon would work best he wouldn't use one? At these prices??
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post #1486 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:35pm
In the 16K range my top speaker choice is the Dynaudio Sapphire.
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post #1487 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rydenfan View Post

In the 16K range my top speaker choice is the Dynaudio Sapphire.

Me too!!
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post #1488 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonygeno View Post

You think if Richard felt a ribbon would work best he wouldn't use one? At these prices??

I hear ya, it's just odd. Ribbons have huge horizontal dispersion, image like a son-of-a gun, are just smoother and more detailed IMO. It just baffles me that he didn't use one. But like you said, I'm sure he picked the best driver for the application.
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post #1489 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:42pm
Thread Starter 
I haven't yet heard the Dyn's, but I'd like to.

You guys heard the 5A's yet?
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post #1490 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mozvz View Post

Me too!!

They better be!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuance View Post

I haven't yet heard the Dyn's, but I'd like to.

You guys heard the 5A's yet?


I have heard the 5A's and was very impressed with them. I just find the Sapphires to be so effortlessly musical. The 5A's were tremendous, and if I were shopping in that price range they would get a lengthy audition from me.
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post #1491 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:48pm
I think at that price range, speakers should all kinda blow you away at some level. The question you ask yourself if you audition a bunch is which one fits your personal tastes.
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post #1492 of 6914
5/9/08 at 1:56pm
Thread Starter 
^ True.

How much do the Dyn's cost again? Aren't they a tad cheaper than the 5A's? If so, wow...what a bargain! Oh...how low do those Sapphires extend?
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post #1493 of 6914
5/9/08 at 3:07pm
Retail is $16,500 on the Sapphires, but there are always price breaks if you look for them. I can tell you they extend low enough that I had to get up twice during the audition because I did not believe the sales guy that the REL sub was not connected
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post #1494 of 6914
5/9/08 at 3:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rydenfan View Post

Retail is $16,500 on the Sapphires, but there are always price breaks if you look for them. I can tell you they extend low enough that I had to get up twice during the audition because I did not believe the sales guy that the REL sub was not connected

Probably the wrong thread but I think Nuance is still looking for a sub. Did you hear the REL? If so, which one and what did you think? I've heard the B1, B2, B3, and R505.
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post #1495 of 6914
5/9/08 at 3:23pm
Thread Starter 
^ Nah, not the wrong thread. Honestly, I don't care what we talk about here. I made this thread to help me along my journey. My journey ended up being a lot more than just speakers, so it's all good, especially if its helpful and useful information for me and others. In fact, if it helps others, I'd rather that than me being helped. If even one other person besides me was helped by the creation of this thread, it's worth it.
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post #1496 of 6914
5/9/08 at 3:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rydenfan View Post

Retail is $16,500 on the Sapphires, but there are always price breaks if you look for them. I can tell you they extend low enough that I had to get up twice during the audition because I did not believe the sales guy that the REL sub was not connected

Fair enough.

Well, I must say, I do prefer the look of the Dyn's, but those 5A's really kicked my butt. I've never had a speaker produce bass so deep that I could feel but not hear it. Awesome!

I'll be researching them and searching for a place to audition. Of course, I'll never be able to afford them, but it will still be fun.
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post #1497 of 6914
5/9/08 at 3:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuance View Post

Ribbons have huge horizontal dispersion, image like a son-of-a gun, are just smoother and more detailed IMO. It just baffles me that he didn't use one. But like you said, I'm sure he picked the best driver for the application.

As long as we're talking overly broad generalizations here; ribbons can be pretty hard to get a flat response curve out of and can have some weird break up / distortion modes....
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post #1498 of 6914
5/9/08 at 3:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by scientest View Post

As long as we're talking overly broad generalizations here; ribbons can be pretty hard to get a flat response curve out of and can have some weird break up / distortion modes....

Agreed. It's not an easy thing to implement, that's for sure. But when done correctly, even if at times the ribbon gets a little "hot," I still like the overall sound better than most domes. There is just an effortlessness to it; quite the experience when done "right."
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post #1499 of 6914
5/9/08 at 5:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuance View Post

Agreed. It's not an easy thing to implement, that's for sure. Still, I'm going to have to agree with Funkmonkey (or was it Rydenfan...or maybe Tim? LOL) when they said even a poorly integrated ribbon sounds better than a dome when it's performing the way it should. There is just an effortlessness to it; quite the experience when done "right."

I'm going to have to disagree with that generalization (and most other audio generalizations--except the one about the crossover being the most important part of a speaker--that's true). A poorly executed ribbon will sound about as bad as a poorly executed dome. And a top-notch dome crossover will beat even a fairly good ribbon crossover every time. I've been spending just about every waking hour for the past two days trying to get one of my dome designs to sound better with a ribbon. So far, no luck. It's not just the top end that counts--it's how well the tweeter integrates with the mid or woofer, plus a number of other factors I haven't quite sorted out yet.
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post #1500 of 6914
5/9/08 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hifisponge View Post

Hey Funk -

How much longer til you get the new speaks? You figure out an amp / pre combo yet?

No clue when the speaks will be ready. I think the main thing I am waiting for is for the new woofer supplier to be up and running... same as the old TCSounds with minor improvements. No update from Jim this week. Last i heard from him he had about 50 pairs of speakers in various stages of production! I'm not sure when he sleeps....

amp/ pre combo still up in the air. Musical Fidelity A5.5 might be the winner for me, as it has a couple of features that I like a lot. Namely the HT bypass, and usb in (with a good DAC I could run it right off my computer, and skip the squeezebox/sonos), and it would save some space. On the other hand I still really dig the Halo amp, and the McCormack but I am still pretty clueless about a stand alone pre-amp...

Either way, I have some more time to figure it out.

And we are still waiting for some detailed impressions there Monitor-boy !!!
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