The fact that your impressions of the Kantas did a 180 is suspicious. Same exact setup? That’s... odd. They didn’t move them since you were last there?
5-10k budget... so many choices
So its that time of year where I get to combine my tax return and annual bonus. I am looking at stepping into the world of hi-fi and the more I research the more questions I have. I am mainly looking at creating a 3.2 soundstage for 50/50 home theater and music listening. I originally started out with a budget of 5k but after listening to step ups I am open to increasing my budget to ~10k. I have listened to the B&W 702's, 804's, 803's the GoldenEar Reference, the Focal Kanta 2's, and Martin Logan 60t's. After listening I was quickly able to eliminate the ribbon style of the Martin Logan, as for the GoldenEar's and the lower B&W's I was impressed with the accuracy and composure of both speakers and could have otherwise been quite content but it all changed once I heard the Focal's and 803's. I truly felt them, they gave me that indescribable goosebump feeling and I dont know if I can go back. So far if I had to pick one, I would hands down go with the Focals, but since I am starting from the ground up I want a speaker that can grow with my setup. Initially I will be using a Marantz 7012 AVR but will eventually add either 2 channel or dual mono block amplification. At any rate I was curious what other speakers in this range give that feeling of experience and presence, the goosebumps. Ideally I would like to be able to incorporate a center channel and dual subs but at this point I put more priority on the quality and clarity of the towers as they are the stars of the show. Anyway I appreciate and thank you for any feedback and ideas.
Cheers
Cheers
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@lowspark Great update on your Saturday demos! I also want to commend you on keeping the thread updated with your posts and journey and in such a detailed and excellent manner. So many Post Originators (OPs) disappear or contribute minimally. As you found out, even the short journey so far has some interesting twists and turns. |
I’ve been reading this forum thread, and in particular the speaker comparisons of @lowspark and others, with great interest since I am also thinking about buying a new pair of speakers in the $5-10K range and upgrading my AVR system. I’m hoping to be able to soon listen to the new Elac Adantes, which have received rave comments from people who have listen to them. I’ve also been reading the Tektron DI’s rave reviews, but find these speakers to be too big. Unfortunately living in the California Bay Area, my home is small and we only have space in the living room for the AVR/stereo system. My wife would probably get a heart attack if the ungainly DI’s were suddenly placed in the living room. I’ve been considering the smaller, but still imposing and somewhat ungainly, Tektron Electrons as an alternative to the DIs. Another alternative are the soon to be released Magico A3s, which were recently favorably compared with the Sopra No2s. (http://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/product-debuts/magico-a3-december-2017/739-magico-a3-louds...). I’m also checking for used B&W 803 D3s, but these speakers seem to elicit widely diverging comments (some people love them, while others hate them). I guess that I have to spend more time listening in addition to reading forums and reviews. |
Eh, the only thing that would give me pause about the Kantas is that they are a bit "smallish" for the price. I wonder about the deep bass capabilities. The 1038 BE ii are larger, heavier, with more bass drivers, and are rated deeper in the bass, and you still get the beryllium tweeter. You also can get them for around $7K. I'm afraid I wouldn't be satisfied with the deep bass on the Kantas. I'm guessing that they live up to the reviews in all other areas. |
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