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End Game Speakers

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rcarlbe

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I've heard a lot of speakers over the years having been to a lot of audio shows and been involved in the industry a little bit, but a handful of models have stuck with me over the years as all-time favorites with cost being no object:

  • JBL Everest
  • TAD Reference 1
  • GR Research LS9 (no longer available but pop up used for weirdly cheap sometimes)
  • Revel Ultima Salon2

That's not a comprehensive list and there are plenty of others that I liked and some I didn't but these are the ones that stand out and I seem to always enjoy. You mentioned the Legacy Aeris and I've heard those and thought they were pretty good. It was a challenging environment to evaluate much and haven't spent that much time with them. Lots of people seem to like them though, so they're fairly universally appealing at least. I don't know what your dad's preferences are. I haven't really liked ESS speakers very much.
I appreciate the opinion that the Aeris speakers are universally appealing.
 

amper42

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I don't know how old your Dad is but as we get older muscles aren't as dependable as they use to be. My VMPS SuperTower III 15" radiator in the bottom of the 7' tower needed to be repaired. After laying it on its side, replacing the surround and closing up the access in the bottom of the tower, I tried to stand the speaker up on end. It felt so much heavier than I remembered when installing them years ago. Soon after I found myself with a new hernia (even though I was wearing a safety belt designed for lifting). :D

The Legacy Aeris weighs 182 lbs each and the Shipping Weight is 301 lbs each. That size speaker will require a few men to install it in the proper location and can easily lead to a hernia if Dad tries moving it too much on his own. Have a good dolly, lifting belts and don't try to move these on your own. The Dr. bill for back or hernia can be more than a new set of speakers, if you get in the wrong position with these bad boys. A lighter speaker is a safer option for my use as I don't like to wait for help or admit I can't do it. :p
 
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rcarlbe

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I don't know how old your Dad is but as we get older muscles aren't as dependable as they use to be. My VMPS SuperTower III 15" radiator in the bottom of the 7' tower needed to be repaired. After laying it on its side, replacing the surround and closing up the access in the bottom of the tower, I tried to stand the speaker up on end. It felt so much heavier than I remembered when installing them years ago. Soon after I found myself with a new hernia (even though I was wearing a safety belt designed for lifting). :D

The Legacy Aeris weighs 182 lbs each and the Shipping Weight is 301 lbs each. That size speaker will require a few men to install it in the proper location and can easily lead to a hernia if Dad tries moving it too much on his own. Have a good dolly, lifting belts and don't try to move these on your own. The Dr. bill for back or hernia can be more than a new set of speakers, if you get in the wrong position with these bad boys. A lighter speaker is a safer option for my use as I don't like to wait for help or admit I can't do it. :p
That is actually a keen consideration that concerns me. The guy has had some hernias from home repair and frankly isn't strong anymore.
 

amper42

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That is actually a keen consideration that concerns me. The guy has had some hernias from home repair and frankly isn't strong anymore.

If that is the case, I would look at the Revel F328Be. It's 112 pounds, but mine are pretty easy to slide around on the floor if you don't install the spikes. The F228Be or F226Be would be even lighter and when paired with subwoofers they can sound just as great as the Legacy Aeris. The difference in 112 vs 182 pounds is amazingly large from a maneuverability perspective.
 

JSmith

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if you have reliable measurements for those
I don't believe there are such measurements available online, but what I can say is the owner Kiat is very honest in his specifications and approach to speaker design. I'm sure if you contacted him about a prospective purchase, he would be happy to share internal measurement information with you.


JSmith
 
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rcarlbe

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If that is the case, I would look at the Revel F328Be. It's 112 pounds, but mine are pretty easy to slide around on the floor if you don't install the spikes. The F228Be or F226Be would be even lighter and when paired with subwoofers they can sound just as great as the Legacy Aeris. The difference in 112 vs 182 pounds is amazingly large from a maneuverability perspective.
I'll consider the 328s more. I've read they are very good (more modern but perhaps not quite as good as Salons2), but I won't resurrect that debate!
 

alex-z

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If he wants to feel "end-game", the talk needs to be about the whole system, not just the speakers. The room itself, the acoustic treatment inside, the subs, the DSP for integrating the subs, and finally the speakers. It takes a lot of little details to hit that "wow" factor and then keep hitting it every day without getting the upgrade itch.

If this was my own system with no budget cap, I would do the following:

KEF Reference 5 Meta. Great peak output, directivity, low distortion, and looks classy. If active speakers were the preference, Genelec 8361A. Hard to recommend anything except high quality coaxial once you have heard the soundstage depth that can be achieved.

miniDSP SHD. Digital control + music player in one convenient box.

2 Rythmik G25HP. Bass extension down to 14Hz with minimal resonance, and enough output headroom to put you at an 80's rock concert if you wanted.

Hypex NC400 amps for each speaker. High SINAD and decent wattage. I don't think any more expensive amps are worth the money even to a billionaire.

A 20x15x10ft room, treated for a C50 value of 15dB from 50-1000Hz minimum. Tough but worthwhile for extracting all the detail that was put into the original mix.
 
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FrantzM

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Magico Q7's with Solution Electronics.
Magico seems to provide some interesting and objectively good speakers.. I'll come back to these later

Soulution Electronics..Seriously?? I know a bit about these, I have been on the other side... Expensive, eye-watering expensive. Their lowest priced model, an integrated is about 26,000 Us Dollars.. the TOL , the 701 is ... please take your time to read this, NO typo: 155,000.oo US Dollars.... and frankly in what way are these superior to a Purifi or Hypex-based amplifier? I mean , seriously????:rolleyes:
Now about the Q7... Heavy, well made , expensive (Ridiculous price and likely good measurements.. In What way would it be superior to a Revel Salon 2? Or to a fully dressed-up Genelec 8361-W371A combo, complete speaker systems by the way with no need for additional amps... ?
No! HEA offerings are not what most here consider end-game anything...

As an olive branch offering :) . There is one expensive speaker I consider end-game. It is, by all objective metrics: The Bang and Olufsen Beolab 90. A true marvel of technology and performance. Some may like its looks... I am not sure I do.


1620281-grey-natural_00-500x500.jpg

Peace.
 
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MaxBuck

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In my opinion, speakers should not be selected (entirely) based on measurements. Accordingly, I'd recommend listening to Magnepan 30.7s, Focal Sopras, B&W Nautilus and MBL Radialstrahlers in addition to the fine KEF and Revel models mentioned above. All these are likely to sound different and preferable to others in different ways.

That assumes you can find somewhere to audition them, which isn't a trivial undertaking.
 

kongwee

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Avalon Acoustic, Spectral Audio, MIT, ASC giving 2C3D. This is the end game solution for me.
 

FrantzM

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In my opinion, speakers should not be selected (entirely) based on measurements. Accordingly, I'd recommend listening to Magnepan 30.7s, Focal Sopras, B&W Nautilus and MBL Radialstrahlers in addition to the fine KEF and Revel models mentioned above. All these are likely to sound different and preferable to others in different ways.

Hi


That assumes you can find somewhere to audition them, which isn't a trivial undertaking.

HEA stands for High End Audio
I 've lived a longtime with Magnepan.. They do certain things, right. At this point in time, I know I've heard many better speakers. As for objective measurements, let's say they usually don't shine... If one has a special HEA bent, perhaps they could contemplate this speaker. As it is and likely sound based on what I lived with he SMS, Tympani, MG 1.2, 3.6 and 20.1 ... I would choose a Salon 2 over it in less than the time it takes to form the "yes" sound or gesture... Since they belong to the same HEA-world, I would also jump on a Magico A5, before I consider this unwieldy and very exigeant speaker. That would be my advice to any audiophile and I may find measurements to back me up.
At any rate, I leave it to the reader to decide what t o make of this kind of frequency response from what was for along time their TOL.....
Frm Hi-Fi news
418maggie.lab1.jpg


Yep.. those peaks and through are the FR the 20.1 ...

As for Avalon, they're very HEA-type of speakers. A look and a mystique. I didn't like these then. A lot of money for performance, I have serious doubts about. If I were to go by the FR and measurements of the Indra and I have no reasons to believe they have done better these past few years/.. The Indra cost then $20,000 in 2008 ... Currently they have a speaker called Precision Monitor, their entry-level :rolleyes: and it cost about $20,000.oo T.. If you think about the Top Of the Line (TOL for short) then prepare yourself to shell out about $325,000.oo ... I'd like to see some measurements. I know I never will ...

Spectral... Back in the days when I was on the other (dark) side, I liked them , even assigning them a sound. Fussy like hell some of these oscillate if the speakers cables or interconnect don't have a Zobel network. The amplifiers are often flat to MHz... one has to wonder why... more noise would be amplified by these amplifers due to that unneeded bandwidth, but I diverge. Spectral usually doesn't submit its amplifiers for reviews or measurements. That is their mystique, you buy if you want to and should submit yourself to their whims. A bit like another darling and nonsense HEA company, FM Acoustics. Spectral are, also are expensive, very , although in the crazy world of HEA, they are what they would call mid-tier in term of pricing .. If you were to look at their website you would not think they exist, their website looks like it was designed in 1995... by some teens playing on a an Pentium 1 PC.. One has to wonder what they offer to the solved problem of amplification... Oh they usually recommend MIT cables and sell cables made by MIT as their own, or they used to.... That is not a plus. Read the rest...

Now about MIT. They must be the poster child of HEA BS.. then again there are so many companies that would vie for this tittle.. Anyway. They make audio cables with a box at the end. They are one of the two companies that makes such cables (the other is Transparent Audio and its prices are similar) and people... They're a riot, The kind of nonsense these people write is otherworldly.. and the prices for these cables are cosmic or comic, you decide ... verging on the ... words are failing me..." obscene", comes to mind. I don't know if one should laugh, cry or report these people... Perhaps all 3.
Their TOL speaker cable.. they don't call it Speaker cable but rather the ACC 268 Rev2 "Articulation Console,Speaker Interface" MSRP or suggested price if you will is ... for an 8-foot pair, $111,995.oo... You read it right: One Hundred Thousand Nine Hundreds Ninety Five US Dollars and zero cent. Wait there is more! The Bi-Wire version cost a bit more for the 8-foot. it cost 117,995.oo ... If you need 15 feet it the pair of bi-wire cabling for your speakers you would have to shell out $125,000.oo... Need I write more..
From MIT Website this is their catalog, you can peruse it to see some prices. Some of you may need such to take their systems to the next level.
From the Music Interface Technologies Website. Their Catalog. Please click and be utterly shocked or disgusted. Spectral has an agreement with MIT for their special cables...:rolleyes:. At one point , I don't know if that is still the case, the warranty may not be honored if you use other cables ... That disqualifies Spectral IMO as a serious company.

The thing with Internet fora, is that, it can be difficult to convey some emotions. I hope the poster I quoted and replied to, does not seriously consider these particular HEA "things" , for the lack of a better word, as endgame...

No Peace as an hello to @Sal1950 :)
 
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Sal1950

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I echo the suggestion of Kii Three BXT:
If you go back and read the OP's first post you might realize the Kii's are exactly wrong for his father.
I know they would be for me

@rcarlbe I'll give them 2 thumbs down for your dad. ;)

 

eriksson

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As end game speakers I would check these out.
 
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