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Time to choose speakers after some narrowing down...

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Roy_L

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Thank you all!
We're down to 2. Despite my initial intention, my original #1 contender and the reason I got my interest back, the BMR, is off the table due to the whole international shipping thing being either complicated or expensive (not to mention taxes). Also, since it's still guesswork, if I don't like it, the resale value here is going to be quite low. Maybe someday when I'm reacher. Next week I'll order one of the other two. Maybe I should flip a coin :)
 

ryanosaur

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Thank you all!
We're down to 2. Despite my initial intention, my original #1 contender and the reason I got my interest back, the BMR, is off the table due to the whole international shipping thing being either complicated or expensive (not to mention taxes). Also, since it's still guesswork, if I don't like it, the resale value here is going to be quite low. Maybe someday when I'm reacher. Next week I'll order one of the other two. Maybe I should flip a coin :)
Where are you at?
 

tw 2022

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Following the discussion below:

I've decided it's finally time to make a choice, and narrowed it down to 3 options. As you can see it the picture below, my living room is rather small, so I think a pair of floorstanders won't be ideal. Also, the current Polk R200 provide respectable bass and attack. I would appreciate some more, but not much. I don't think the room can handle much more (maybe in the nest apartment...).

So...

Option 1: BMR monitors. The problem- shipping + taxes may pump the price to unreasonable levels (I've contacted Salk sound, don't know the quote yet, but not optimistic). If the price stays reasonable, it's a serious contender. The plus for me, on top of great measurements, is the extra bass and attack compared to regular 2 way 6.5 inch Bookshelf speakers.

Option 2: The budget option, Revel M106. According to every indication, I just can't go wrong with them. Caveat- may not provide the extra bass and attack I want compared to the Polks. However, they're probably generally better. Also, given the price (I can even get a discount, a friend of mine is a dealer)- it's very tempting.

Option 3: The expensive option, Dynaudio Contour 20i. I can get a good price from my dealer friend, but they are still very expensive. I have very good experience with Dynaudio (owned the old contour 3.4 and loved it). However, I couldn't find any measurements of the 20i, only of the 20 in Stereophile (which were good but not great, if I understood correctly). Possible advantages- the tweeters are great; Also, it's a bigger speaker (larger volume) with a bigger woofer (7.1 inch). From experience, Dynaudio's woofers can handle a lot of power and produce great SPL without ever bottoming. So probably this one can punch lower and harder, emphasis on "probably" because I have no experience with Revel. Problem- price, that needs to be justified (within the law of diminishing return).

I'd appreciate any concrete thoughts.


View attachment 207028
It's no contest.. Bmr's all day long .. At least for value..you may like one of the others better, but if accurate representation of music is the goal...BMR
 

tw 2022

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Thank you all!
We're down to 2. Despite my initial intention, my original #1 contender and the reason I got my interest back, the BMR, is off the table due to the whole international shipping thing being either complicated or expensive (not to mention taxes). Also, since it's still guesswork, if I don't like it, the resale value here is going to be quite low. Maybe someday when I'm reacher. Next week I'll order one of the other two. Maybe I should flip a coin :)
The revel's then...
 

Steve Dallas

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If your speakers must be that close to the wall, and it looks like they must, I recommend a front ported speaker. The Revel F206 is a good candidate. The reason is, when that close to the wall, the wall becomes an extension of the port and changes the port tuning frequency. You may not be experiencing much of this problem with the Polks due to their 'PowerPort' thingy that is supposedly designed to distribute airflow in such a a way as to minimize the effect.

As for rear ported speakers, I am a bit confused as to why the KEF R3 has not entered this conversation. Its narrower directivity should sound more balanced in a room with one distant side wall and no opposing side wall. Revels and BMRs are wide directivity speakers. BMRs are VERY wide.

[Disclosure: I have been a fan of Polk's LSi series for decades, and I currently own Revel F206s, KEF Q100s, KEF R3s, and Philharmonic BMRs.]
 
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Roy_L

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I have actually listened to various kef speakers on quite a few occasions, Never fell for them. They didn't sound bad or anything, but also nothing special (for me).

Which actually reminds me of a point I want to make- I'm not sure the FR linearity promises my subjective preference (I think maybe low distortion is more important). A little while ago, a friend and I had a speaker shootout which included his recently bought Kef ls50 Meta, his older pair of Proac d2, and my old Morel Octave Signature. His room is a well treated small listening room. Long story short- we both, hands down, preferred the Octave, which in terms of FR measure much worse. From an objective standpoint, the ls50 Meta should have been a clear favorite, and it clearly wasn't.

I've also had similar experiences with headphones. I own the Drop HD6xx and Audio Technica ath-50x (among others). To me, the HD6xx sound great, and with a little more bass- even better. The 50x's, which are also supposed to measure quite well, sound to me just terrible, in a way no EQ can fix. Also, I really like my Grado's which measure worse! I just can't explain it.

I'm not trying to say that the measurement's aren't important of course (or I wouldn't be here). I just don't know, for me subjectively, which ones can produce a better prediction (or perhaps which combination). That's why I think I tend towards the Dynaudio between the remaining two (despite the price), simply because I've had really good past experience with an older pair of same line.

Man, this is confusing... :facepalm:
 
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Chromatischism

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The speakers are also used for movies (there's a projector there), and sound great in their location anyway.
I mentioned it because the biggest thing in the way of achieving the best sound quality in that space is not your speakers but the horrible echo between those walls. There is no empty space behind you to reduce the strength of reflections and provide spaciousness to your surrounds.
 
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Chromatischism

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If your speakers must be that close to the wall, and it looks like they must, I recommend a front ported speaker.
Or a passive radiator. Check out the Buchardt S400 MKII. Danish design. Controlled, even dispersion and neutrality from low to high. Probably better than most Dynaudio designs. Doesn't mind near-wall placement, just use room EQ to flatten out the bass rise.
 
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The Buchardts got my serious attention a long time ago. I might buy those in addition eventually, out of sheer curiosity.
 

kokakolia

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Your current speakers are so good and you just have a hole burning through your pocket! I would spend that cash on a vacation instead. But that's just me. Hey, you might consider moving the speakers around. The sound could improve in a near field position 1.5 meters from your position.
 

Darvis

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I think you should consider floorstanders. They would look good in your room and would have a fuller, more enjoyable sound. There are great floorstanders with front or downward port, so this wouldn't be an issue. Wharfedale Evo, Focal Aria... I saw you don't like kef, so I don't include it ;)
 

Kal Rubinson

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I think you should consider floorstanders. They would look good in your room and would have a fuller, more enjoyable sound. There are great floorstanders with front or downward port, so this wouldn't be an issue. Wharfedale Evo, Focal Aria...
...........as well as MonitorAudio and Revel.
 
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Roy_L

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Just to put things in context, I've had quite a few floorstanders before, including my last pair of speakers before the Polk R200 (Dynaudio S3.4). I've also had Proac, PMC, Vienna Acoustics, Sonus Faber, Kudos, Neat Acoustics, Von-Schweikert, Monitor Audio, Focal, Polk Audio, Vandersteen- all floorstanders, and in some cases more than one model of a certain brand (I'm probably forgetting some). I've also had plenty of bookshelf speakers, too many to remember (but never owned Revel Speakers of any kind). As I wrote earlier, I worked in Hi-Fi for 3 years, and when you're in it there are endless trade-ins and opportunities you can take home and resell afterwards. It's been quite a few years ago so the rate I'm replacing my speakers had subsided, but it's still happening every now and then. Usually I also have more than one pair. BTW, I've also moved between several rented apartments and experimented with different living room sizes. So, according to my accumulated experience, in this kind of apartment (not a rental this time), I think either big bookshelf speakers or compact floorstanders are the best fit.
 
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Steve Rogers

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I am in central Israel.

Roy, as far as i know Revel is no longer distributed here (weirdly jbl is) so i am curious, how will you buy them?

As your listening is close field owing to your room maybe powered monitors would be the way to go?
 
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Roy_L

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I am in central Israel.

Roy, as far as i know Revel is no longer distributed here (weirdly jbl is) so i am curious, how will you buy them?
They are distributed by Kahane Group. They have no presence in stores, I believe they sell directly to costumers of their architectural projects. As a private costumer, my only way to get prices and model availability was by knowing someone from that sector who works with them.

As your listening is close field owing to your room maybe powered monitors would be the way to go?
Like I wrote earlier, that PassLab amp isn't going anywhere... And in any case, I'm sitting 2.7 meters away, it's not *that* close.
 

MaxBuck

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Thank you all!
We're down to 2. Despite my initial intention, my original #1 contender and the reason I got my interest back, the BMR, is off the table due to the whole international shipping thing being either complicated or expensive (not to mention taxes). Also, since it's still guesswork, if I don't like it, the resale value here is going to be quite low. Maybe someday when I'm reacher. Next week I'll order one of the other two. Maybe I should flip a coin :)
Apparently "Haifa, IL" isn't in Illinois.

Who knew?
 
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Roy_L

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that's quite funny! That possible interpretation never crossed my mind... :)
 
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Roy_L

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It's good to have friends working in hifi! Eventually, my friend managed to arrange for me a home audition of the Contour 20i. TLDR: they stayed. :cool:

Disclaimer: Auditions and comparisons were made as objectively and blindly as possible. If anything, I hoped to find out there's no reason to replace the R200, or perhaps I'm tricking myself. In any case, read as much bias into it as you want.

In detail: I've compared the Dynaudio 20i's with my existing Polk R200, in a blind test (with the help om my wife and a friend). The 20i's were considerably better, despite the R200 measuring so well (I don't know how the 20i's measure).
The 20i's had more bass, but this wasn't the main issue. The main issue was that comparatively, the R200 sounded coarse, "shouty" and "boxee". The general tonality was similar, but the 20i's were considerably cleaner. There was a sense of relief when switching from the R200 to the 20i's. The R200 felt "noisy", while the 20i sounded smooth, clean and with more depth. Music from the R200 sounded like music from speakers; From the 20i's it sounded much more real. Just to be clear- I didn't notice any of these things as long as I didn't make a direct comparison, and I still think the R200 are great for the price, but they do not compare to the 20i's by a long shot. SO, that's my living room now...

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