End Game Speakers - The Quest Continues

[Pearljam5000]

No, they are quite ugly aren’t they, they have the distinction of being the only pair of speakers my wife remarked ( disparagingly) upon and she has seen some ugly speakers here.
Keith

She has a good eye that's for sure

 

[Purité Audio]

I have just heard that Danley are making some Signature ‘demo’ pairs in hopefully pleasant colours and not matt grey, which are hard wearing but not the most handsome.
They also have some smaller ‘signature’ speakers planned which might be interesting.
Keith

 

[hex168]

For what it's worth, here's my list of speakers I am curious about at that level:

Eminent Technology LFT-8c with subs (I've heard a custom larger version could be done)
Sigberg Manta
AudioKinesis Bohemian 215 with subs
AudioKinesis Gina with "SuperStand" - don't blame me, I did not name it.

​

 

[Mr. Widget]

Compared to the other speakers he listed yeah they're very pretty
Not to mention that SQ wise they would be better than any of them.View attachment 349575

These speakers make me think of this album cover and I have the same reaction the band did.

A lot of people I respect really like Tom Danley's work... I would love to give them an audition.
If I were going to consider these, I would budget installing a scrim wall to hide the speakers behind.

 

[MKR]

Just so we don't all have to read through the last thread, it might be worth reminding us what your goals are, the room size and likely treatments, if you have amps to use with the speakers or if that is a subsequent purchase and anything else that came out as obviously relevant.

There is a separate thread for audio shows so maybe use that for general observations about the show and any large sets of pictures, and keep this thread limited to speakers you're interested in?

Fair request of course ... While I am OK with minimal room treatment, I am very against making one's living space look like a modern art museum or a padded cell in an insane asylum. Or better to say, your listening space should not look like an anechoic chamber! Such excessive room treatment should not be necessary with today's modern DSP based active systems. As I have stated in other forums, I want speakers that adapt to the room, not the other way around. This is why I am primarily focused on actives. However, I am well aware I am contradicting myself here given some of the speakers on my list (especially the passive dipole planners). But, I was so enamored with some of these in my auditions that to be intellectually honest, I need to keep them on the list (for now). So, in the case of certain speakers on my list, more room treatment (and/or external EQ and bass mgmt) will be necessary vs the DSP based actives.

Room does not exist yet, building a new home, designing it now (now you at least partly understand why the quest slowed down a bit ) ... Expected to be around 20x30x10 (feet).

As to the audio show report, thanks for the suggestion. But as it is directly relevant to my quest, I rather keep it here in this thread (unless @BDWoody directs otherwise). Which should in fact mostly be what I am interested in.

 

[MKR]

Thanks for sticking with the updates, definitely interesting.

I also heard a lot of speakers at AXPONA a few years back (as well as CES) and all I can say is they all sound like what they are - nice speakers playing in small hotel rooms with low-to-no acoustic treatment. The only speaker that made a particularly good or distinct impression on me in that setting was a magnepan, probably because it interacts with the room very differently than all the monkey coffins they had out.

So while I think going somewhere and hearing speakers in person is a good idea, at a high level... listening to $100K setups in $250 hotel rooms doesn't really give you a good feel for the capabilities of the speaker IMO. Maybe you can use the shows to make contacts for in-home demos... and/or try to catch some demos in the bigger rooms. IMO the small room setups are a bit of a farce from the jump.

Agree, which is why I stated you need to take the performance at audio shows with a grain of salt, should certainly never be used to make a final decision. But it definitely can help to narrow the field.

 

[MKR]

View attachment 349512
Did you increase your budget ? Because I think the price is for a single monitor and not a pair.

Ouch, those are pricier than I expected ... Maybe I can get a discount ;-) ... I will keep them on the list for now, but I am concerned will be very difficult to find place to audition. The ILEs may be the better choice, and not only due to cost.

 

[MKR]

You may be aware of this already?: https://www.spinorama.org/scores.html?sort=scoreEQWSUB&reverse=false

I would weight third party reviewed data more in the sorted list. Regardless of speaker, good room correction, room treatment will be necessary for most folks. Do you have a dedicated listening room?.

What are your SPL requirements?. How far do sit from speakers?, any restrictions?, consider your room, placement restriction and seating. I do own one of the speaker in the list you are considering. Generally getting a single enclosure do full range is what makes it difficult and the economics of selling such a speaker etc etc.

If you can get two subwoofers(or more) and dial in the sound the link above can be used to know which speakers can be set you could consider.

Yes, well aware of the spins, been here a while ;-) ... I will have a deviated listening room, see earlier post. I plan to have multiple subs, but eve then full range mains are a must. Also this will be dual purpose music/HT. What speakers in the list do you own?

 

[MKR]

Welcome back, looking forward to the new chapters. If you have the time, I’d be interested in your impressions of the PureAudioProject speakers. I have no knowledge of them other than their fairly sparse web presence, but I’m always intrigued by open baffle designs. Have fun!

I'm on it! Actually I had already planned to give a listen to the PAP speakers, so you are in luck ;-)

 

[MKR]

FWIW, I wouldn't discount ATC from that list. I've quite liked their stuff from a home perspective. Plus they're one of the few companies that will do actives in their domestic line, which is nice. I know the set you heard were very bright but I can't say "bright" is generally how I'd describe anything I've heard from them, not like others e.g. PMC or B&W.

Fair enough ... will give ATC another shake if I get the chance (they will not be at FlExpo, but I am sure at AXPONA)

 

[MKR]

Compared to the other speakers he listed yeah they're very pretty
Not to mention that SQ wise they would be better than any of them.View attachment 349575View attachment 349576View attachment 349577

I have always been one to prioritize sound over looks, but I do agree the HREs are not so easy on the eyes. But, I do definitely like the looks of the ILE! What a unique and beast of a speaker!

 

[MKR]

For what it's worth, here's my list of speakers I am curious about at that level:

Eminent Technology LFT-8c with subs (I've heard a custom larger version could be done)
Sigberg Manta
AudioKinesis Bohemian 215 with subs
AudioKinesis Gina with "SuperStand" - don't blame me, I did not name it.

​

Thanks for sharing! I have considered the Mantas, but I want the mains to be full range, so they are out. With that said, the Mantas look to be an excellent design based upon measurements and listening impressions rom @Purité Audio , job well done to @sigbergaudio

And indeed I should not rule out AudioKinesis, will investigate further ... From yet another excellent speaker designer we have here in our midst ... @Duke ... yes, I am talking about you ;-)

 

[sigbergaudio]

Thanks for sharing! I owed have considered the Mantas, but I want the mains to be full range, so they are out. With that said, the Mantas look to be an excellent design based upon measurements and listening impressions rom @Purité Audio , job well done to @sigbergaudio

And indeed I should not rule out AudioKinesis, will investigate further ... From yet another excellent speaker designer we have here in our midst ... @Duke ... yes, I am talking about you ;-)

You have the upcoming Sarannas too, but it appears you are aiming for even bigger speakers.

 

[MKR]

You have the upcoming Sarannas too, but it appears you are aiming for even bigger speakers.

Yes sir, go big or go home ... but never say never ;-)

 

[Pearljam5000]

You could add KEF Blade One Meta to the list at that price range
If you're not looking for actives only.

 

[Duke]

And indeed I should not rule out AudioKinesis, will investigate further ... From yet another excellent speaker designer we have here in our midst ... @Duke ... yes, I am talking about you ;-)

Thank you for thinking of me... and even moreso for thinking well of me... but I have to bow out. I have decided against doing active speakers.

I don't want to sell something that relies on components I cannot service, which would put me (and my customers) at the mercy of entities and circumstances beyond my control. And DSP is an area where the technology is evolving rapidly, such that for the foreseeable future there will ALWAYS be something better just around the corner, and I have neither the resources nor the energy to stay at the forefront in that field.

 

[AudioJester]

Any info on the bigger Dutch & Dutch speakers?

 

[kemmler3D]

it definitely can help to narrow the field.

In the small rooms I'm not really sure you get much of a useful impression unless there's something really bad about the speaker. Your shortlist is probably all pretty competent stuff, i.e. the differences will be somewhat subtle. IME the room screws up everything up to the lower midrange pretty badly in these listening situations. So whatever subtle advantages a given speaker on your list might have, could be swallowed up by the crap room.

That said, most of the rooms are really similar, so if someone will let you play your reference tracks and adjust your ears to the room a bit, you should get a lot more mileage out of the sessions. When I went, I spent about 5 min in each room, not enough time to adjust. If you can spare an hour+ to let your brain/ear adjust to the room (at least one of them) maybe you can start to hear interesting things.

 

[MKR]

My reference playlist for those interested …

Open Qobuz

open.qobuz.com

 

[Duke]

For what it's worth, here's my list of speakers I am curious about at that level:

Eminent Technology LFT-8c with subs (I've heard a custom larger version could be done)
Sigberg Manta
AudioKinesis Bohemian 215 with subs
AudioKinesis Gina with "SuperStand" - don't blame me, I did not name it.

The "SuperStand" is so named because... there is just not enough hyperbole in high-end audio anymore.

*winky emoticon*

Actually, the SuperStand does a fair amount of multi-tasking. It has a user-adjustable up-and-back-firing driver which (among other things) corrects (to some extent anyway) the spectral balance of the reflection field, and it has a subwoofer. So it's a lot of stuff shoehorned into a speaker stand.

The Bohemian 215 will probably never happen in its originally-envisioned form. I had four of the big horns turned out of wood ($$$) and all four of them had fatal quality control flaws. That being said, I am now working with a different custom horn fabrication technique, but it will not result in the horn-perched-atop-bigbox look of the originally-envisioned Bohemian 215.