Which Budget Friendly Floorstanders Next?

Kalali,

It's very specific. :) To be honest, not everyone agrees with me regarding Mundorf MKP's, so it's also a bit personal.

Brands I know which benefit are Focal, Wharferdale and old Thiel.

Focal and Thiel seem to have used Solen's. Wharferdale generics. Focal uses re-branded caps, but are still apparently Solen.

It also depends on what the original maker uses. B&W had a line of 2 identical speakers, the only difference was the quality of the crossover cap. $8 cap added $300 to price.

In the top-end, B&W uses mid-range Mundorfs. Magico uses only top-end Mundorfs, and lots of them.

Personally, I prefer Clarity Capacitor house sound to Mundorf. Certainly if you buy a Magico, and immediately want to trade caps, there's something seriously wrong with you. :)

But with working-joe speakers (like I can afford)  and the brands mentioned above, these are worthwhile experiments.

Best,


E

There's a newly listed pair of Revel Performa F208s on the site for $2950. Those would be a worthwhile upgrade, and you could probably get most of your coin back if you didn't like them.

Erik, thanks for the detailed response. I'm tempted to experiment a little bit with my ML Aerius i speakers since access to the crossover is quite easy.  The only element of complication is they also have the power supply components on the same board making toying around a bit more risky without the knowledge of the circuit. It still boggles my mind that some companies charge so much for their speakers but skimp out on using a little higher grade components. 

@10000_hz_legend 
I have mentioned this kit here twice on this forum before and probably will again.  I know of no other speaker that you can buy new for less that 2 to 3 times the cost of this kit.  It is fairly simple to build and the designer is good enough to be hired at ANY speaker manufacturer.  The parts cost alone if buying these parts separately are considerably more than this kit cost.  The crossover is well thought out..... but they are 4 ohm and would require an amp with reasonable current. 
https://www.parts-express.com/solstice-mltl-reference-tower-speaker-kit--300-708

Kalali,

It is weird. Magico and B&W are two brands which I think well balance internal and external components, and I say this being a fan-boy of neither, but appreciate their internals. :)

What I think happens is this: Builders decide they need a speaker worth $x. To achieve a perceived value of $x they must get drivers worth at least x/10, and the internal, invisible components never make it to the equation.

Of course, this formula is heatedly argued by the less informed (zing!) but it seems to hold true outside of purely in-house drivers. With the right brand it’s x/20. With the wrong brand x/5. Still the median is x/10.

But also of course, not a lot of people think there is a difference between a $1 capacitor and a $200 capacitor. Sometimes the $1 sounds better. :)

So price alone is no reason to pick a cap, going up or down, either.

Building my own speakers, I spent about 1/3rd of my parts cost on the crossovers. With $500 tweets, you can do the math. :)

Best,


E