$30K Budget - On the quest for my "end game" speaker

[petezapie]

@MKR, thank you for this thread!

I've been following it with great interest since my goals and budget seem similar to yours. I'm looking for beautiful, furniture-like casework, which rules out all the utilitarian black boxes (but not necessarily the KEF Blades) because my speakers will be visible in my media room and an important part of the décor. I love the looks of Sonus Faber, but my experience with their sound has been mixed. In some of their speakers I've heard considerable sibilance emphasis that I couldn't tolerate, but it seems like different models are voiced differently, so maybe there's no way to predict how any given SF speaker will sound.

Do you happen to have a list of the speakers that you're still considering?

out of curiosity which SF's models have you listened to?

 

[FrantzM]

HI @MKR

If you have the time or a dealer near you, see if you can listen to a pair of Bang and Olufsen Beolab 50.
Serious.
Bang & Olufsen is not what we would think of when great speakers are discussed about yet, they have surprised more than one.
These IMO beautiful and underrated. MSRP is above your budget, but you can always haggle...

These are active and come, yes, with their room correction built-in.
The complement of amplification for each speaker is staggering... they can play loud while remaining clean, louder than most people can tolerate.
I was personally floored by a pair of their precursor the Beolab 5. They sound goooood.

This from their brochure:

Power Amplifiers 1 x Bang & Olufsen ICEpower 300 watts (tweeter) 3 x Bang & Olufsen ICEpower 300 watts (midranges) 3 x Bang & Olufsen ICEpower 300 watts (woofers) Speaker Drivers 1 x 3/4” tweeter – double motion Acoustic Lens Technology 3 x 4” midrange 3 x 10” woofers Maximum Sound Pressure Level @1m 120 dB SPL (pair) Bass Capability @1m 116 dB SPL (pair)

And, after audition .. REPORT!!

Peace.

 

[steve59]

Axpona is a half hour drive from home and I look forward to going every year. Regarding listening impressions tho’ other than the next level room all the other rooms are either waay bigger than my room or the little hotel rooms crammed with folding chairs and people! The Legacy Aeris was really impressive enough for me to bid on them, but even then I was concerned that listening room being 4 X the size of mine would give false impressions. If you know what you want and want to save money on a show demo it’s a good place to do it. I think we’ll get to see and hear the new Dali Kore this year.

 

[juliangst]

I wonder why so many 'audiophiles' always dismiss B&O speakers. Is it because they look 'too good' for hifi speakers or because you cannot change anything about them like amps and DACs?
I think that they're among the best speakers you can get with all that DSP genius inside and room calibration.

 

[benanders]

Scaena on list. Any wagers on how much their choice of cables will be over this thread’s budget?

Their location is unclear: Epiphany Booth - search Epiphany in turn and find no listing or booth number.
How intuitive.

Wisdom not on the list. Too bad their “small” LA’s won’t be an option to hear.

Bob Carver Co. on the list. Wonder which speakers they’ll use.
At least their amps should be a good choice for anyone into higher-#-KT series; with the output tubes rated to last decades, could be a safer bet since the KT-120/150/180 factory seems down-for-the-count!

 

[benanders]

I wonder why so many 'audiophiles' always dismiss B&O speakers. Is it because they look 'too good' for hifi speakers or because you cannot change anything about them like amps and DACs?
I think that they're among the best speakers you can get with all that DSP genius inside and room calibration.

Interesting standpoint. Which model do you use?

 

[juliangst]

Interesting standpoint. Which model do you use?

I don't own any B&O speaker (I wish I did), but there is a B&O dealer nearby.
From my first impressions they're indeed really competent speakers and on a similar level as normal hifi speakers like KEFs.
I wish I could do a A/B comparision but B&O dealers obviously only sell B&O while normal Hifi dealers are not allowed to sell B&O along other products (in most cases).

 

[chouca]

out of curiosity which SF's models have you listened to?

In the mid-90s, I auditioned the Extrema in a showroom. I don't remember it very well, other than liking them and being unable to afford them! I bought a pair of used B&W Matrix 801 S3 instead.

In the mid 2010s, I auditioned the Venere 2.5 for a few days in my home. I was bothered by sibilance emphasis that I heard and passed on them in favor of Proac D15s, which still sound wonderful in that room with a marvelous, natural midrange and not a trace of sibilance emphasis.

More recently, I heard the Olympica Nova III in a showroom and thought they sounded hot in the sibilance and upper treble.

I think Sonus Faber makes the most beautiful-looking speakers, so I'd love to know if there's a speaker in their lineup that I'd enjoy listening to.

 

[Bugal1998]

I wonder why so many 'audiophiles' always dismiss B&O speakers. Is it because they look 'too good' for hifi speakers or because you cannot change anything about them like amps and DACs?
I think that they're among the best speakers you can get with all that DSP genius inside and room calibration.

I spent a bit of time listening to the Beolab 90 in a moderately treated room (I controlled the music selection and volume and sat in the sweet spot; no one else was around so I was told to "have fun" and the salesman left). As @juliangst said, they reminded me of Kef speakers as well... I don't love Kef (they're well engineered, just not my preference) and based on that particular experience I don't really get the hype about the Beolab 90. I also think there was a bit of a high frequency lift to the tonal balance in the system I heard, so it could have easily been a setup issue.

 

[MKR]

out of curiosity which SF's models have you listened to?

Several in past many years (never cared for a single one) … but most recently, see below …

From my first trip report …
Sonus Faber Il Cremonese
Driven by McIntosh monos. Horrendous. $65k of a mushy soupy mess. But, they were gorgeous to look at! But that’s all I would do if I owned them, just look at them. Nice furniture is about all I can say.

 

[MKR]

HI @MKR

If you have the time or a dealer near you, see if you can listen to a pair of Bang and Olufsen Beolab 50.
Serious.
Bang & Olufsen is not what we would think of when great speakers are discussed about yet, they have surprised more than one.
These IMO beautiful and underrated. MSRP is above your budget, but you can always haggle...

These are active and come, yes, with their room correction built-in.
The complement of amplification for each speaker is staggering... they can play loud while remaining clean, louder than most people can tolerate.
I was personally floored by a pair of their precursor the Beolab 5. They sound goooood.

This from their brochure:


And, after audition .. REPORT!!

Peace.

Even more difficult to find a place to audition Beolab than JBL. They only have showrooms in the largest cities.

Anyway, if the opportunity presents itself, I will certainly do so!

 

[MKR]

Scaena on list. Any wagers on how much their choice of cables will be over this thread’s budget?
View attachment 268629

Their location is unclear: Epiphany Booth - search Epiphany in turn and find no listing or booth number.
How intuitive.

Wisdom not on the list. Too bad their “small” LA’s won’t be an option to hear.

Bob Carver Co. on the list. Wonder which speakers they’ll use.
At least their amps should be a good choice for anyone into higher-#-KT series; with the output tubes rated to last decades, could be a safer bet since the KT-120/150/180 factory seems down-for-the-count!

Will definitely try to listen to them!

 

[MKR]

In the mid-90s, I auditioned the Extrema in a showroom. I don't remember it very well, other than liking them and being unable to afford them! I bought a pair of used B&W Matrix 801 S3 instead.

In the mid 2010s, I auditioned the Venere 2.5 for a few days in my home. I was bothered by sibilance emphasis that I heard and passed on them in favor of Proac D15s, which still sound wonderful in that room with a marvelous, natural midrange and not a trace of sibilance emphasis.

More recently, I heard the Olympica Nova III in a showroom and thought they sounded hot in the sibilance and upper treble.

I think Sonus Faber makes the most beautiful-looking speakers, so I'd love to know if there's a speaker in their lineup that I'd enjoy listening to.

Everyone always comments how beautiful they look, but rarely how beautiful they sound

 

[MattHooper]

Anyone here going to attend AXPONA? As I have not yet made my decision and AXPONA only ~one month away, may as well take advantage. Not many situations like this where you can listen to so many different systems in one place. Of course not at all the same as spending an 1-2 hours with a dealer listening to your music, but at least you can fairily easily rule out systems that are terrible vs some that may have promise … may add some additional speakers I was not aware of to the short list, plus Legacy will be there and can spend more time checking those out, maybe even have a chat with Mr Dudleston! … If anyone is attending, be great to connect and meet some of you face to face.

And yes, before you ask, I plan to post my listening impressions and maybe even a few photos in this thread

Good idea hitting AXPONA.

At least to my way of thinking. I'm a "no stone unturned" guy when doing a serious new speaker purchase. Although it seems almost an audiophile shibboleth at this point "Shows Are Useless For Judging Speakers" I don't find it to be the case. I can think of 4 speaker purchases I've made over the years that were directly or indirectly due to impressions made at an audio show (and they were all awesome speakers to own).

You might hear something you love there, but on the other hand if you don't it's all the more piece of mind in making your decision afterward.

 

[Andysu]

Howdy All,

Just found this site few weeks ago, been a lurker since then, trying to learn, my first post here.

Been in the audiophile "game" for decades, been through many systems, had some great ones to be sure, but always felt I was missing something. NEVER considered active speakers until I started researching all the excellent material and forum on this site. Seems to be a no-brainer based upon reviews, but not being able to play with amps is a strange thought to be sure ... But no matter to me ... If I can get "end game" sound with active speakers, then so be it, I am agnostic!

Based upon all the reading on this site, my short lists are below ...

Active short list:
Genelec 8351B + W371A
Genelec 8361A + W371A
D&D 8C (plus subs?)
Neumann KH420 (plus subs?)
Kii Three + BXT

Passive short list:
KEF Blade Two Meta
Magico A5
Revel Ultima Salon 2
Revel Performa F228Be
Perlisten S7t
Vivid Audio Kaya 45

Note for this kind of money, of course I plan to listen to as many of these systems as possible, but would like to shrink the list a bit if possible, and that's where I need y'all's kind assistance.

My room is roughly 20'x40', with 10' vaulted ceilings. Will be primarily for music, but definitely plan to pull double duty also for home theater. Music preferences are everything (literally) except country (yuck).

So ... Opinions on the above choices? Anything not on the lists that I should consider?

Thanks all, really appreciate your help on my quest.

MKR

mm, yes end game and mm, where's pictures of your room as this thread is totally useless without pictures even video , end game , yeah sure and this thread is 99 pages

 

[MKR]

mm, yes end game and mm, where's pictures of your room as this thread is totally useless without pictures even video , end game , yeah sure and this thread is 99 pages

Huh?

 

[Andysu]

Good idea hitting AXPONA.

At least to my way of thinking. I'm a "no stone unturned" guy when doing a serious new speaker purchase.

no stone speaker guy ?
guess not seen my thread way i think males all rest here seem like prehistoric lol in terms of thinking

 

[Andysu]

Huh?

pictures of your room for this end game speaker

 

[MattHooper]

no stone speaker guy ?
guess not seen my thread way i think males all rest here seem like prehistoric lol in terms of thinking

Sweet.

Thanks for dropping by.

(I like dogs).

 

[MattHooper]

Already provided dimensions of my room way back … no need for pics, what’s the point of that?

And here comes the derailment

Oh, forgot to mention, I hate cats, love dogs

Don't worry, you needn't expect many words to follow. If you dare look at the output, you'll see "AndySu" has to be the strangest account on ASR. Over 1,500 comments, almost all seem to be of similar character. Baffling.