why doesn't everyone own a pair of spica's???

"the tc-60's coupled with a good sub apparently can compete with almost anything playing anything on the market today"....

Unfortunately that is quite a bit if an overstatement!

Spica was at the leading edge in affordable high end audio 20 years ago, but there has been quite a few advances in driver materials, measurement techniques and overall understanding of crossover design since that time.

Spicas are very coherent, with a very natural sounding midrange as compared to many other offerings near their price point. BUT.... as far as "cost no object speaker comparatives, there are a PLETHORA of high end speakers (read more expensive)that will convy much better inner detail, have faster transients with more high frequency extension not to mention better dynamics and lower distortion too! (just to name a "few" sonic improvments over the Spicas ...read; "cost no object" can potentially buy much better sounding drivers and crossover parts!).

FYI: Here is a "short list" of monitor speakers I have experienced that I am very confident will eclipse the Spicas in virtually every sonic parameter:

- Ridge street Audio Sasson Ltd
- Merlin TSM MM
- Totem Rainmaker
- GR Research Dilucio
- Cliffhanger Bulldog

I'm sure that there are dozens more, but the above list I cited I know very well. I should also note that I owned both the TC-50's and the Angelus at one time, i.e. many years ago.

Ehider,

TC 60 costs $895 including stands back at the time Audio Advisor sold them in the late 90s.

It would be fair if you give an example of speakers that costs
around 1k that clipses the TC 60 performance. How much does Merlin TSM MM cost a pair?

Audiomax ... the GMA Europas cost $999 new NOW and I'm confident that they eclipse the tc-60s. I guarantee they eclipse the Angelus (they replaced in my system just a few months ago). The TC-60s, from what I remember, are so similar to the angelus that i'd expect a similar result.

Now if you could buy TC-60s for under $400 I'm sure that NOTHING will compete with them in that price range. The trouble is I see ads for them asking for $600, sometimes more ... for a speaker that's 10 years old and originally cost $900. They're just not worth that money.

Hi Sean,

Your recommendation is noted.

I sold my TC-60 3 yrs ago and still had good memory with them.
Bass and treble extension are not up to today's standard but boy..that incredible midrange liquid with a lot of presence without a hint of agressiveness. I used all tube equipment at the time. $350 -$400 seems to be the good used price range for a 8/10 TC-60.

Hi Audiomax,

The point of my posting was to make others (including the original poster) aware that the Spicas cannot really "compete with almost anything on the market" as he hypothosized.

In terms of a "fair" price comparitive monitor that equals or exceeds the Spica I would probably point to GR Research's lower priced offerings. From my own experience, I am VERY confident that GR Research's $1,200 ribbon monitor will definately beat the Spica in all respects and I STRONGLY suspect that GR Research's $500+ standard cone monitors will do this also.

If you do some digging on the net (Audioasylum for example) I think you will find that GR Research is held in very high regard. I never saw so many one sided over the top positive assessments when I first found out about this speaker line. That's how I discovered GR Research initially. Since then I have auditioned their ribbon monitors and am damn impressed indeed!

From the postings on the net it seems as if everyone who has compared ANY of GR monitor's to other similar priced speakers are pretty much blown away by how much better the GR Research offerings sound in comparison.