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Classical speakers that do violins well??

All my serious listening is classical.

I hate nothing more than steely shrillness on violins or a glare on a soprano's voice.

I love nothing more than the faithful reproduction of the tone colors of unamplified instruments (the wood body of the violin and cello, the felt pad excting the sinewy strings of a piano).

YET, I hate bloated, indistinct, overly warm, billowy lower mids and upper bass (what I gather some think of as "musical").

Do you have any experience with speakers that might meet these needs for $2K, give or take (new or used)? Can be either floorstander or monitor, but with at least enough bass to perform decently on orchestral music. THANKS.
-Bob
hesson11
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Guido, his budget is 2-grand, so getting something higher up the VA ladder than the Bachs is going to require luck in the used market. If he could stretch for those used Strausses he'd be fixed forever, but by the time you add shipping and insurance, then you're well over his budget.

Also, with luck he could wait for some used Beethovens (Grands or Babies) but that could be a long wait.

Dave
hesson11 OP
237 posts
 
Yeah, the Strausses are a bit beyond my budget—and probably a bit larger than would fit comfortably in my humble abode. But perhaps the Beethoven Babies, Mozart Grands or Bach Grands would be possibilities. Besides, I have a real problem with a speaker named Strauss being bigger than a speaker named Beethoven!

Since we're talking about microphones, does anyone have a copy of the first Stereophile test CD? On it, J. Gordon Holt reads one of his articles through a series of changing mics. It's only a slight exaggeration to say that he sounds like a different person on different mics. The differences are really ear-opening.

Thanks again, all.
-Bob
kats
26 posts
 
Have to chime in for VA speakers. One of the reasons for buying my Bach Grands was their reproduction of mids - strings, vocals, horns - the best in their price range IMO. Add to that amazing soundstaging and musicality with great detail for a warmish speaker.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Hi Bob, well. . . size is not everything. . . old Ludwig was physically a runt, yet. . .
The Beethoven Baby Grands have no right to sound as good as they do. If you are patient you should be able to source them for under $2K on Audiogon.
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Yeah, that Stereophile Test CD is great. Every audiophile should get one and listen to it all the way through.

I love my B Babies. I paid full retail and don't regret it at all because I got great service from my dealer and they're incredible.

If you've got time to wait, save a little more and a good deal will show up on A-gon eventually. I wanted the Strausses originally but finally got the B Babies when it was apparent that I'd be in a sixth floor apartment until sometime in 2009. When I move to a larger place I may just add a REL subwoofer.

Dave
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