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State-of-the-Art Loudspeakers

Purité Audio

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If the natural acoustic has been recorded then a good speaker will reproduce it, as to the wetness or dryness of the room’s acoustic that is really a personal preference , a speaker with good constant directivity will sound good in both .
Keith
 

Kal Rubinson

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It's not the footprint, it's the total volume of the combo even if they take up the same amount of floor space. It's just a visual thing.
To some people but, to others, its the real estate they occupy. My wife has often said that she doesn't like stand-mounted speakers because boxes on stilts are ungraceful and the space under the box is wasted. Her's is a purely esthetic analysis but it fits with my preference to take advantage of that space to improve bass.
 
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Dialectic

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Does anyone have any thoughts on Magico, ATC, or PMC? They are all brands that I've heard a handful of times, but I don't have an informed perspective on any of them.
 

Ron Texas

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To some people but, to others, its the real estate they occupy. My wife has often said that she doesn't like stand-mounted speakers because boxes on stilts are ungraceful and the space under the box is wasted. Her's is a purely esthetic analysis but it fits with my preference to take advantage of that space to improve bass.

It's definitely a matter of taste and probably a lot less elusive than judgments about SQ.
 

Purité Audio

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We took on ATC because a few customers said that although the Kiis were good, they wouldn’t be a patch on ATCs ‘dome midrange ‘.
They are solid loudspeakers and I have heard them sound fantastic, soffit mounted in a properly treated studio, but in my domestic rooms, placement was problematic as they have no adjustment in terms of output.
They just sound a little coloured compared to the Kiis and 8Cs , bass lent extend as far, cabinets are larger and they are much more expensive.
The large PMCs I have heard sound fine, Magico... never had any here, but they appear to measure well for passives.
None of them are state of the art, not this century anyway.
Keith
 

Blumlein 88

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I am not sure about current US pricing, but I still think that Quad electrostats are as good as it gets for many types of music (I own a pair of 2805s). They are superbly neutral and free of distortion, with a spectacularly natural spatial representation. They have two weaknesses, and the smaller models in particular: limited low frequency extension (though much better than in the past) and limited dynamic headroom (again better than in the past). Both can be cured to some extent by using subwoofers. People always say that they are very hard to integrate, but that is only because as dipoles they suffer far less from room modes than ordinary subwoofers. Use multiple subs and dsp room eq and they will integrate very well (I know, I did it). The larger 2912 model goes lower and louder. Also, there seems to be a new XL model. For me, the 2805 (now 2812) was as large as I found domestically acceptable (each to his/her taste) so I went the subwoofer route.
For those who are into more dynamic music, I think the larger Harbeth models may well be the best that their money can buy.
You only say this because you own them. :)

It's okay. I owned ESL 63s for over a decade. I get it.

I always wanted someone to use the the timed delay sections like Quad on a floor to ceiling model to create a quasi line source. I think that would be a better way to make a bigger Quad.
 

Ron Texas

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Since electrostatics are in play, anyone got something to say about Martin Logan?
 

amirm

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Does anyone have any thoughts on Magico, ATC, or PMC? They are all brands that I've heard a handful of times, but I don't have an informed perspective on any of them.
I have heard the ATCs at shows and like the active ones. I discussed that with them as they had two suites next to each other once: one with active and another with passive. They agree their active is definitely superior.
 

Purité Audio

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Thomas savage

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Word on the street is that many B&O stores are desperate to unload Beolab 90s and will do so at cost, which is a little less than half of the US$80K MSRP. The usual B&O market has not sprung for them. I visited a B&O store in China last year, and the salesperson told me they'd already sold through their Beolab 90s.

B&O's commercial disaster may result in the serious audio enthusiast's bargain, as long as the 90s remain available.
I believe in the UK at least the stores have to buy them up front and they've not sold well so no one's bothering to do that again.

Harrods is the only place still offering them I think .
 

Soniclife

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Does anyone have any thoughts on Magico, ATC, or PMC? They are all brands that I've heard a handful of times, but I don't have an informed perspective on any of them.
I've not heard the professional PMCs, but the 20 range and the fact range I've spent time with, had the fact 8 and 12 at home, the 12s were a disaster in my lounge, something horrible in the bass, before I measured things so I don't know what was going on. The 8s are lean and bright, they sound great with some music.
 
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Dialectic

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Here's another name that I hadn't thought about in a number of years until I saw giant, probably insanely expensive ones in Seoul last autumn: Avalon. Anyone have experience with them?
 
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amirm

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vitalii427

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What do you think about YG? They measures well, but no modern directivity control, passive and expensive still.
 

RayDunzl

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Since electrostatics are in play, anyone got something to say about Martin Logan?

I've had mine for 21 years now. $4500 list with "buy one get one half-price" speaker promotion at Sound Advice.

I guess you like them, or you don't.

The good that I hear outweighs the bad that I don't.
 

Blumlein 88

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I've had mine for 21 years now. $4500 list with "buy one get one half-price" speaker promotion at Sound Advice.

I guess you like them, or you don't.

The good that I hear outweighs the bad that I don't.
Like the low distortion you get with them. That would be the bad you don't hear.

I know they've no compelling reason to do so, but I'd like to see a Harman test of two panels and two predicted to be superior box speakers with the listening panel made up of long time ESL owners.
 

Ceburaska

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They have reliability issues and horrible support.
Not my experience. My Vivd B1s were serviced by Laurence Dickie, the designer, himself, and he came to my flat to fine tune. OK, it helps I’m in the U.K., like him.
Obviously, others have had a different experience, but I’d like to provide a positive data point.
 
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