Hi Bo:
Trying again! [uh oh. You've got some reading to do. But at least it should make you happy
and save you money.]
a) you have listened to some good speakers and are right to take your time.
b) you like music, so one thing you should do is subscribe to
The Absolute Sound and
The Perfect Vision. Both for $25/year (they are sister publications).
c) Yes, there are some speakers that sound good for $2500 and some that might not please that are more expensive. I'd suggest the more expensive speakers
should sound better, in the right room, coupled to the right amplifier. But, the advantage of listening is finding the least (within reason) expensive speakers with which you are satisfied.
d) Salesmen, yes, some know nothing and a few are helpful. When you settle pretty much on speakers, then a good salesman
will be able to direct you to amplifiers that mate well with those speakers. A good salesman. Yep, big box store salesmen won't ever talk about sound They are all missing the point, once you start to spend more than $1,000 on a system you are interested almost solely on sound...
e) Six different speaker manufacturers. In this month's
Perfect Vision they reviewed five 5.1 speaker systems from lessor, in my opinion, except for Paradigm, manufacturers. They really liked Paradigm's Cinema 330 system. PSB and Focal are good choices. I'll expound on Gallo and Definitive Technology speakers in the next section, they have models that are really kind of exciting. Potentially thrilling, actually. I hope there is any way you can hear both the DefTech and the Gallo's yourself, in the next month or so.
f) You really like music. I'd consider trying to find a pair of seriously good (for two-channel music) sounding floorstanding speakers that would also fit into a nice HT system (i.e. the company that makes those speakers makes a superb CC and, if necessary, really good subs too). You should
think out of the box a little, and you have the budget (within reason) to do so.
One somewhat exciting option:
Definitive Technology.
The Absolute Sound liked the Definitive Technology BP7004 speakers. In your room, the slightly larger BP7002's would probably work even better. The Definitive Technology floorstanders deserve a real hard look (listen) as two reviews (links below) make them sound like real contenders for what you are trying to accomplish. The design of both the Gallos and the DefTech speakers would require a not-so-incredibly-powerful amplifier (less cost for your a/v receiver) as they both make use of separate subwoofer amps for the heavy lifting required to adequately reproduce the below-100Hz sounds.
Either the 7002's or the smaller 7004's are apparently world class two channel speakers which would work superbly in a HT system too. Why? These towers come with tweeters and midranges and are bipolar [You need to discover what this means in terms of speaker placement and what restrictions (if any) these speakers would impose on placement. (near the rear wall? 2' minimum away from the rear wall? Etc.)] But what makes these DefTech speakers superb for both music and HT is they have built in subwoofers. This is excellent, because a) the subs are for sure designed to compliment the midrange and tweeters, and b) two subs are always better than one because with two you seldom have a node problem. (I could explain it, but first I'd have to re-read the article whose link is below. So, you read it!)
BP7004 two-channel review
http://www.definitivetech.com/reviews/BP7004ASrev.pdf
BP7002 in a home theatre system review:
http://www.definitivetech.com/review...evu_SV_904.pdf
I think the DefTech speakers are something to get excited about. BUT, if they don't sound good to you they are still
an excellent example of thinking out of the box to achieve really good musical reproduction while at the same time being part of a satisfying HT system.
I think the Gallo Nucleus Reference 3.1 speakers would be great great great.
Great! Supposedly the best two-channel speakers anywhere, for their price, and they also don't require you to worry about matching subs to your system because each of the 3.1's has a built in sub too. They might be budget stretchers since they are $3895 a pair, including the optional subwoofer amp you would want for HT use. [Add $300 to eliminate the subwoofer amp and add two powered Gallo TP-2 subs, for more serious HT use - but then you would require more horsepower from your a/v receiver and I'd think no outboard subwofers would lead to better two channel audio. Ask your Gallo dealer; in this case I know what questions to ask but don't know the answer without just calling Gallo. Which you could do.] The good news: as with the DefTech's you would only need a real good center channel ($1,200 list though, for the Gallo Reference a/v center channel) and maybe Gallo's $800/pair A'Diva Ti rear surrounds to complete your speaker system. [Really, the Gallos would put you in the $9K range minimum, for a complete system minus DVD player. But judging from every review I've read on them,
they might sound so good that you would consider springing for them.]
Quote from Gallo Nucleus Reference 3.1 reviewer:
I am a two-channel audio man at heart. While I love home theater, my primary interest is music. I would love to have a separate two-channel audio rig and a purpose-built home theater, but my house and the budget do not allow it. One system has to deliver the goods for both applications.
On paper, this Gallo system seems to be ideal for this application, and my auditioning has proven this to be correct. To let the punch line out of the bag early, I decided rather quickly that I would buy the entire system at the end of the review, rather than return it...
This is one of the Holy Grails of hi-fi: a component that improves the sound reproduction so thoroughly it's like having a brand new library of music appear on the shelves.
Link to Gallo review:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...07-part-1.html
You said:
I want speakers that sound good whether I'm listening to James Taylor or Bob Marley or Diana Krall. Speakers that especially accentuate the human voice but "disappear" on mellow jazz cuts are really important for me.
It seems either the Gallos or DefTech might accomplish just that.
Winding up here. (Believe it only when you see it though.)
g) For two channel audio I absolutely love tube preamps. If you find the DefTech's suitable (as they would leave more room in the budget than the Gallo's) one option might be using a real good a/v receiver for HT and using a tube preamp (bypassing the a/v receiver's preamp section by using its preamp input jacks) for two channel listening. Or, Musical Fidelity makes a tube buffer that is supposed to open up the soundstage and it's not very expensive.
http://www.musicalfidelity.com/produ...lx/x10v3.html#
I'm getting a little off track here, but, you could also consider the Musical Fidelity tubed DAC for reproducing great two-channel music, assuming your CD player is already pretty good and has a digital output.
http://www.musicalfidelity.com/produ...es/xdacv8.html
h) Plan on investing some real money in speaker wire and interconnects. Now, I'm a firm believer that last year's $300/pair of 8' runs of speaker wire - for $150, used - is a better investment (and will sound better) than this year's new $150 a pair speaker wire. And heck, how can you hurt speaker wire? Same for interconnects. Maybe you are already convinced, if not: I had some pretty darn good MIT interconnects from the early 1990's that were $200/pair used; my wife's new Linn Genki CD player sounded 100 times better with them than the standard $2.00/pair interconnects. However, I purchased (used, around $250 new, I paid $125) Transparent Audio interconnects with the CD player - replacing the old (expensive, in their day) MIT's made my system sound like I had doubled my expenditure on the whole system again. Budget $10/LF for used L+R+C speaker wire, for rear surrounds you might get by with $0.50/LF. Plan on $125 to $250 for one length of used interconnects to go from your CD player to your pre-amp or receiver (oops, two interconnects required if you use the Musical Fidelity Tube Buffer - it never ends). I'm not up on HDMI cables to go from your DVD player to your a/v receiver but I'm told that good ones (better than the $100/each ones from Monster Cable at the big box stores) can be had in 1.5 metre length for $60 or so, each, if you talk to the right HT guys.
j) On page three or four of the Gallo speaker review, the reviewer talked about the necessity of room acoustical treatments. I was going to suggest budgeting $1000 for this, believing it to be that important. It seems there are DIY solutions that would reduce this expenditure greatly. My point remains though, your system will sound seriously better if you can identify (a trick in itself) your room's problems and treat them.
k) Lastly! ! ! I have no experience with line conditioners or expensive replacement power cords (those darn things can run from $100 to $300, more for spendthrifts). I am sure they help, I've been staying ignorant since my two-channel system is with my wife and cats in Germany (with her overseas job assignments) and I've been in America more than Germany - with their 220v system I've just hooked up my system as good as possible, bought her a new CD player and added Kimber 8TC speaker wire, and called it good. It's real good; when we move back to America and I unpack my turntable I'll worry about making it better - including trying out new power cords, etc.
l) I lied. One more thing. I tried vibrapods under my CD player and receiver and speakers - and they worked incredibly well, another serious improvement. I'd suggest them and they are cheap, considering the improvement they afford.
Now. Good luck and let us know what you think of the DefTech and Gallo speakers, if you can listen to them in your area. Then we can talk about amplification and a/v receivers!
Cheers!
