Listened
Just got back from listening to more speakers. Here are my thoughts:
Thiel CS 1.6
The speaker was even more detailed than the Dali Ikon 6 and just as good, if not better than the Dali at soundstaging. One of the records I use in my audition is the El Topo soundtrack. The flute player on The Desert Is A Circle was mind blowingly realistic. I swear I could see the Flute Players lips on the instrument. This same feeling was present while listening to the Dalis, but not this realistic! On the downside, the Thiel had no deep base whatsoever! Plus it was leaner than the Dali
.a little on the hot side, but not as pronounced . I guess it sounded like the leanness was more evenly spread across the high frequencies and the Dali it was litterly a bump in only the highest frequencies (cymbols). Again, not sure this speaker would jive well in my space.
PSB Synchrony One ($4500)
Out of my price range, but the dealer didnt have the Synchrony Two in stock to listen to, so I thought I would listen to these. Boy, I was disappointed in this speaker as well. Goes to show you that you cant rely just on reviews. You have to listen to the products and make your own judgments. These got a Class A rating in Stereophile! I just didnt see it. Maybe it was because I auditioned these at the same dealer where I auditioned the Thiels. John Atkinson thought they soundstage well
I cant say that I thought the same. These too were on the dark side of the fence like my signets. For $4500 they didnt sound that much better than my old $1000 Signets
.
Martin Logan Source ($1995)
Didnt listen long to these either. I just couldnt get over the off axis response. If you even move your head a little bit the high frequencies dropped off. Stand up or walk off to the side and forget about it! Plus the base frequencies coming from the cone portion sounded boxy to me.
The quest continues.