2. speakers
  3. 129340-13625

Speaker recommendation for married couple

I am the guy who opened the thread "Harbeth Love". Unfortunately, wife didn't like them at all. She listened to ATC, nope. Spendor? Nope. I do trust her ears too but we need speakers that we both like. I remember her liking this Sonus Faber speakers (can't recall the model but I know newer Fabers). She also likes KEF LS50 which I find good but not outstanding. Any help for this married couple?:)
celo
gnostalgick
88 posts
 
  Were the Sonus Fabers & LS50 paired with the same amp? Same room? Same source/music?
  I wasn't overly impressed by the KEF LS50 either, but their new Reference 1 are rather amazing, if they're in your budget. The R300 or R500 might also be options.
  And what didn't she like about the Harbeths anyway?  (Its probably not relevant to your situation, but my GF & I settled on ProAcs--still having the British midrange I enjoy, but framed in the more lively & bassy presentation she craves.)
 
  
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Agree with audiotroy in that it is odd that she liked both KEF LS50 and Sonus Faber which are two totally different animals.

Maybe totally different sonically, but perhaps they were the two smallest speakers that she saw.  ;^)

I recall my wife many years ago pushing for those cute little Bose Cube speakers. She thought they were adorably unobtrusive, unlike my "normal" full range speakers.
She envisioned them being very easy to "hide".

I never did buy the Bose Cubes, and eventually she just gave up trying to steer my audio purchases. I allow her to run her fashion sense in every other room in the house.
rrwolfgram
14 posts
 
My better half, eventually found what she liked, which is all that matters at the end of the day.  That is married life!  

The only other thing I can say listen To them, a lot of them and eventually she will have her choices & hopefully a few of yours. 

If they are a high high end shop or independent dealer they should allow you to demo them in your home.  

Good luck and be patient.  
audiokinesis
2,734 posts
 

Celo, good for you, for fully including your wife in the process!  My suggestion is, don't be in a hurry - ENJOY the quest together! 

I can't begin to predict what speakers lie within the intersection of what you like and what she likes.  If the visual appeal is indeed a high priority for her, flip though some of your audio magazines together and that should give you some general ideas. 

And maybe the two of you would enjoy a weekend together at an audio show?  

Best of luck to both of you, wherever your quest may lead. 

Duke

rackon
301 posts
 
The spousal unit and I have just completed our first speaker search as a couple. My spouse, a musician, initially wanted stand mounts (Genelec, B&W). Based on past experience, I wanted floor standers (as close to full range as we could get for our budget). After considerable auditioning, we decided on a pair of GoldenEar Triton 3+. You could say that they have both "detail and warmth". They also had attributes we both considered important: large soundstage, generous sweet spot, transparency, coherence, dynamics. (Much to our surprise, neither of us liked the LS50s.) 

I am with audiotroy - what specifically did your wife like abut the Sonus Fabers and LS50s. (The house sound of these two brands sound nothing alike to me.) What kind of music do you both listen to? What's your budget? I assume you both brought along some of your favorite music to the auditions.

Just for the record,  I am the wife, and I am the audiophile.  So now, jnovak, you've heard of a wife who cares more about how a speaker sounds than how it looks. ;-)
More to discover