Mark Stryker Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 I'm high on speakers from Vienna Acoustics -- very natural "acoustic" sounding, not overly clinical, balanced between sound of the room and details, flat response, excellent for jazz and classical music. Value for the money. I just bought a pair of floor standing "Bach" speakers from VA (first new speakers in literally 30 years, upgrading from old reliable Allison 7s). The company makes bookshelf speakers. I think the "Haydn" is the line to look at, and I think they were around $2K from my guys in Ann Arbor, but they have been less and certainly prices vary around the country and from various sources. Might be $1,500 option I'm not aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted February 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Wow. Mark, I have to admit I've never even heard of that company. Thanks for hipping me to them. Will do some research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) I haven't heard Vienna Acoustics speakers in many years but the last time I did, I thought they sounded great but they were pretty expensive. Music Direct has several inexpensive bookshelf speakers on clearance from Focal. I've never heard nor seen them in any stores around here. Has anyone? Kevin Edited February 15, 2014 by Kevin Bresnahan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcy62 Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) A part money and neighbors, is any other reasons to go the sub/satellite way? I had sub/satellite systems in my life, infinity and wilson, and at the end of the day I think the very low frequencies from the sub are more a problem rather then a solution. I think that good single speakers with a frequency range down to 35/40 Hertz are better then full range speakers unless you consider very big listening rooms heavy treated and very expensive speakers. I was very suprised that a clean and coherent double bass and piano from speakers limited to 40 herz have more "bass" and punch that from full range speakers, at least in my listening room. Unless you listent to movies, subs are an hassle and useless IMHO. edit: the Zu Omen looks like an excellent solution, and you can spare money on wires. Edited February 15, 2014 by porcy62 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcy62 Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 I will not argue about that, I am glad you're glad with your system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted February 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) I haven't heard Vienna Acoustics speakers in many years but the last time I did, I thought they sounded great but they were pretty expensive. Music Direct has several inexpensive bookshelf speakers on clearance from Focal. I've never heard nor seen them in any stores around here. Has anyone? Kevin I haven't, but one of their floorstanders was in the speaker of the year discussion from the cats that do the AVForums podcast. They even hipped me to the fact that most people pronounce the name fo-kull, but that it's actually pronounced fo-call. Edited February 15, 2014 by Scott Dolan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted February 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) I will not argue about that, I am glad you're glad with your system All except for the mains at this point. And that's not to trash my Polks, as they are actually a decent quality speaker. BTW, the key to putting together a great sub/sat is setting your crossovers manually. I couldn't do that with my previous receiver. But my Emotiva pre-amp allows me to manually set all of my crossovers. So I found an old graph for my Polk R50's and found out they started rolling off at 60Hz. So I set the low pass on the back of my Velodyne all the way up (which I believe is 120Hz), then I set the crossovers for both mains and sub on the pre-amp at 60Hz. The integration was absolutely mind-blowing. Now the muddiness from those little 6" woofers on the Polks trying to replicate anything below 60Hz is completely removed from the soundstage. And the sub gets to do what it does best without any competition. They truly sound like two large floorstanders. You wanna talk about a clean and fast double bass punch? Oh brother! Edited February 15, 2014 by Scott Dolan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Wood Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Scott, I believe you have an excellent system, and are continuing to expand on it with the speaker search, but I am ALWAYS dubious about anyone's claims that his/her system can match or exceed another's. What you have built is the perfect system for your tastes. Audio forums are littered with such claims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted February 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Scott, I believe you have an excellent system, and are continuing to expand on it with the speaker search, but I am ALWAYS dubious about anyone's claims that his/her system can match or exceed another's. What you have built is the perfect system for your tastes. Audio forums are littered with such claims. I think I see the problem now. I meant strictly concerning the tight, clean, powerful bass. Not the system as a whole. I'm deleting that post because that did NOT come across the way I meant for it to. My apologies. I haven't heard Vienna Acoustics speakers in many years but the last time I did, I thought they sounded great but they were pretty expensive. Music Direct has several inexpensive bookshelf speakers on clearance from Focal. I've never heard nor seen them in any stores around here. Has anyone? Kevin You know, I've been reading a ton of Focal reviews since seeing your post this morning, and those 807V's are looking incredibly attractive for the absurd sales price they have on them right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 You need to go start auditioning. That's when the real fun begins! Another brand you may want to consider is Monitor Audio. I've never heard their bookshelf speakers but the floorstanders I've heard delivered pretty darn good bang for the buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted February 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 Welp, as it usually goes with me, my final choice kinda came out of left field (somewhat). I had been looking at Dynaudio speakers previously, but was looking at the Excite X14. Which I incorrectly listed as X16 in a previous post. But, after reading so many glowing reviews of the older X12, such as the Stereophile review that concluded, "With the Dynaudio Excite X12, there are no tradeoffs. It sets a high standard of excellence in every meaningful sonic parameter, whether in absolute terms or with respect to its price and size. Having heard so many excellent speakers in recent years, I thought it would be hard to find an affordable bookshelf model that would stand out from the pack. I was wrong. The Dynaudio Excite X12 has become my new benchmark for loudspeakers costing under $2000/pair." Or the fact that GoodSound named it loudspeaker of the year in 2009. Or that it won Stereophile's Budget Component Of The Year in 2010. Or most impressively, the fact that it was a runner up for Stereophile's Loudspeaker Of The Year award. Check out the company it was in. http://www.stereophile.com/content/istereophileis-products-2010-loudspeaker-year So, the trigger has officially been pulled, and I should have my Dynaudio Excite X12's by next weekend. Went with piano black. As for the stands, I went with the glass and steel Transdeco 24" stands. Very happy, very excited! Can't wait to get my new toys. This has been a really fun build. First one I've done in well over a decade. Almost kinda sad to see it come to an end, but at least my wallet will get a chance to cool off. And thanks again, very much, for all of the suggestions and opinions. They all really helped me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted February 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) Jesus... I just did the math as to how much I have wrapped up in this main system. Made me turn green... It's funny how quickly that stuff can add up. Good thing at least half of it was spread out over many years... "Budget" my ass! Edited February 16, 2014 by Scott Dolan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted February 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Wood Posted February 21, 2014 Report Share Posted February 21, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted February 21, 2014 Report Share Posted February 21, 2014 I've owned the Paradigm Studio 20 v4 for many years now and just love them. Current version is v5 with curved cabinet. Previously had the B&W CDM but they didn't do it for me. Some say the Paradigms are a bit bright, but I found the CDMs a bit dull & lacking in bass. The Studio 20 has beautiful detail & clarity. Also consider the Goldenear Aon 3. $1,000 list. It's got a folded ribbon tweeter that's to die for. So clear & smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted February 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2014 Thanks, Peter. I received my speakers yesterday, and so far I'm truly blown away. The depth of the soundstage, clarity, and the way they handle vocals is just wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 Bumping this thread as I'm in a similar boat to the OP, albeit 7 years later. I like speakers that aren't too harsh or tinny, as I mostly listen to LPs. Have been told to steer clear of Klipsch and Polk at around the $1000-$1500 mark, as they are low quality. Any advice? FWIW I am running a Rega amp and Music Hall/ProJect TT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 1 hour ago, clifford_thornton said: Bumping this thread as I'm in a similar boat to the OP, albeit 7 years later. I like speakers that aren't too harsh or tinny, as I mostly listen to LPs. Have been told to steer clear of Klipsch and Polk at around the $1000-$1500 mark, as they are low quality. Any advice? FWIW I am running a Rega amp and Music Hall/ProJect TT. I have a pair of B&W bookshelf speakers that cost around $500 maybe 6 or 7 years ago. I mounted them to the wall. They are excellent. I typically listen at low to medium volume. Good top and bottom ends with the bass and treble set in the flat positions. I sometimes boost these if I am listening at.a low volume, but for medium volume, they are great speakers for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 cool -- I have no bass/treble controls on either of my amps. With the Snells I have in the main room hooked up to the Rega, the sound is great. I probably will use my old Creek with whatever new speakers I get in the small office zone. Still in the adjustment period of a new house and new areas for sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 20 hours ago, clifford_thornton said: cool -- I have no bass/treble controls on either of my amps. With the Snells I have in the main room hooked up to the Rega, the sound is great. I probably will use my old Creek with whatever new speakers I get in the small office zone. Still in the adjustment period of a new house and new areas for sound. If you don't have bass or treble, I would recommend demoing speakers using an LP or CD that will work for your purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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