Speaker advice redux?


Hello all,

I have already benefited a lot from advice on this site helping me to pick out speakers for a new system. I am close to a decision, and having finally thought through the various factors wanted to put my finalists to a vote here on Audiogon.

Here are the factors:

--the amplifier is the Creek Evolution 50a
--the room is small 9x11 (I will be able to pull the speakers out about 2 feet from the wall.)
--this is a row house, so I need a speaker that performs well at low volume. (i.e. neighbors).
--my musical taste is eclectic. I listen to jazz, acoustic, rock, and r and b.
--I would rather not use a subwoofer, although I wouldn't rule it out down the road.

So I am looking for an easy to drive speaker, that is not too fussy about placement (although will not be jammed against the wall), matches well with the Creek 50a, performs well at low volumes, and does a range of music well.

I had nearly settled on the Dynaudio Excite x12 before reading that they really sound best with quite a bit of volume. This has led me to go back and reconsider two of the speakers that Audiogon members seemed to suggest for conditions like mine most often:

The Harbeth PS3er

The Silverline Minuets Supreme Plus

So I wonder if those of you who have an opinion would care to vote as to which you think is the better choice, given the above described conditions? I should say too that the cost differential is not a huge factor to me in that both are within my speaker budget, and while I recognize the Silverlines are a great value, I am going to live with this decision for a long time.

With many thanks again,
Margot
mcanaday
there is a nice pair of Totem Staffs for sale on Agon. I feel they would do the trick for you ant low and med volumes.
Oh man, I'd hate to have to make this decision. My wallet made my decision for me.

My knee jerk reaction would be to say get the Harbeths. On the other hand, the Minuets are very nice. I have a pair.

I also listen to a very wide range of varying types of music and I have been on the hunt for the "perfect" speaker for me.

Just to play devil's advocate, I'd say that the Harbeths are a good bit less efficient. Just going by the specs, the Minuets should play about twice as loud for any given amount of power, for the times when you can. The Harbeths are also rated pretty low for power handling, at 50 watts. The Minuets are rated at up to 300. I also didn't like the Harbeths playing rock music, although they did everything else very well.

The Harbeths also don't go as low as the Minuets do. I often run my Minuets without a sub and don't miss it at all. When I do run a sub, I have it crossed over at 50hz, for what it's worth.

I think that I would characterize the Harbeths as being very civilized. They don't play all that loud and they don't go very low, but they sound excellent with what they can do.

The Minuets are a great bang for the buck speaker. I've had Dynaudios, Paradigms, System Audios, etc. and the Minuets have sounded the best in my room. What I've found with them is that they sound good no matter what. I mean, I can set them up to sound really good, but they sound at least good regardless of how I set them up. They are very forgiving.

To tell the truth, I feel kind of silly recommending the Minuets over a pair of Harbeths, but the Harbeths just weren't for me, although I will acknowledge that they are recognized as being a better speaker.

If you can afford the Harbeths, I'd recommend finding a used pair of Minuets. You can get them for $500 and under. Then I'd find a used pair of Harbeths and get those too. If you decide that the Harbeths are for you, then stick the Minuets in storage because everyone should have a pair at their price.

If the Minuets are for you, you can sell the Harbeths.

For their price and the countless number of hours that I've enjoyed the little Minuets, I cannot fault them for anything. Hours literally fly by when I'm listening.
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