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spendor 3/5 vs era vs avi vs vienna acoustics hayd

i may violate the cardinal rule when making a purchase. i may take a big chance and make a mistake.

i am looking for a mini monitor and have narrowed it down to:

spendor 3/5, era ($600), avi neutron 4 and vienna acoustics haydn 2.

i will not be able to compare them and may not be able to listen to all of them.

i will have to rely on judgements from dealers, manufacturers and serious listeners. i may be able to use logic and "common" sense (hope i have it) to try to wade through all of the comments on these products.

ok: i am trying to find a speaker under $1500, decent bass response (flat to 60 hz), little cabinet resonance, somewhat laid back and a soft upper mid/lower treble response.

which of the 4, if any would be the best choice, and why ?

this would be a second speaker. my primary speakers are quad 63s and maggie 1.6 .

thanks for your help.
mrtennis
aktchi
274 posts
 
213cobra: I've owned in the past S3/5, Haydn and Silverline SR16. If the poster has the space, Tones or Druids from Zu are better still.

I thought you might feel this way and it'd be good to let the OP know. Then it is up to him. (He has since then decided on Charios).

I have discovered the obvious myself, that while there may be other very good reasons to choose one or the other, a slim floorstander takes up no more room than a monitor and stand combo, and space should not be an issue.
chetlo
4 posts
 
I owned a pair os Rogers 3/5a 16 years ago, and now own a pair of Era design 5. The Rogers was driven by a tube power amp and now D5 by Cambridge Audio 840. I can only recall that the 3/5a had a thicker and sweeter sound, lesser bass and not able to handle to much of power. While the D5 gives a more neutral sound and more bass and handles more sound level. They are very different speakers and I actually like both of them.
mrtennis OP
3,295 posts
 
since i introduced this thread in early may, i have spoken to a number of audio dealers and have come to the conclusion that small boxes are a bad way to listen to an orchestra.

they cannot compete with larger speakers for scale or resolving complex information. very often there is a feeling of congestion and of stretching the capability of a dome tweeter.

for now i have decided not to pursue small speakers until i hear one that refutes my hypothesis.
bokifeac
22 posts
 
in your initial post, you didn't say nothing about listening big orchestra with any of these speakers?

it seems to me you are wasting our time with your "serious" questions about certain choices?
mrtennis OP
3,295 posts
 
in my initial post, i did not audition any of the speakers using orchestral material. sometime thereafter, i questioned some dealers regarding small speakers and iwas advised that there would be a "deficit" in reproduction relative to larger speakers.

it's interesting that none of the responses discussed the subject of listening to complex material using small boxes.

if there were a comment on this subject you wouldn't have raised this issue.

i thought one the reasons for psting questions to exchange opinions. whether a purchase is contemplated is irrelevant.
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