2. speakers
  3. 179062-20609

Speakers To Replace Castle Edens

My Castle Edens (stand mounted monitors)  may be on their last legs. The woofer is bottoming out with more dynamic passages at louder than average volume. If I could find another working pair, or a pair with, say, damaged tweeters, I could take the woofers out and put them in mine. The company no longer exists, so getting a new set of woofers is rather remote.

 

The midrange on the speaker is gorgeous. It's detailed, tactile, rich, spacious. I was up at an audio shop with them and we compared it with several others, including some costing a few thousand.  We both agreed that the Eden was, by far, the best. Instruments and voices were 3-dimensional and placed distinctly in the soundstage. And the speaker is very communicative. 

 

So... the closest to these Castles I have heard is the Sonus Faber Minima, but that's $5400 with stands ($4000 w/o), more than my budget.  I'm going to listen to the Fyne 500SP, although from reading, I'm not sure if I'll like them. 

 

I've heard a couple of the lowest level Reynaud speakers. I know those who rave about the better ones, including an old friend who had a pair of Offrandes. The ones I've heard (Trente and Twins) were really warm, generous, and communicative, but not detailed and frequency response was uneven down below. 

 

The closest dealer to me, Bob Neill of Amherst Audio, is no longer the distributor. He thinks the Bliss Jubilé is a great speaker, more immediate and lively than the previous Bliss models, but not as warm as previous Bliss. They could be in my budget. But I'd have to order them without hearing them. From what others tell me and what I have read, I'd probably like them, but that's a gamble.

 

BTW, I live on the north shore of Boston. I don't know if there's another dealer within New England.

 

Any thoughts on this? 

analogj
analogj OP
105 posts
 

So I'm not sure of what to do. The lower end Reynauds I have heard were flawed, but oh so musical. So I'm tempted with a better one. The Bliss Jubilee w/stands come to $3000 US. I could eventually get a pair of demos to try from the importer, Mike Planka.

Or, there's a pair of Cantabile Jubilees that would cost me about $3600 (retail $5000) to get them to me from Canada including shipping and import fees, but I wouldn't be able to hear them first. That's about the outer edge of my budget.

Or, I could reeaalllly stretch to get a pair of Sonus Faber Minima at $4000, which I have heard, but wouldn't be able to afford the stands for a while. I have 22" stands which I used for my Castles. The Minima stands are 29".. They're beautiful, but cost $1400, bringing the total price of that speaker to $5400.

 

I would feel more financially comfortable at $3000 (that'd be the Bliss Jubilee), but at $600 more, the Cantabile is supposed to be a better speaker, although I have never had a floorstander in my 12'x12'x11' room before, albeit a small floorstander.

 

I'd guess that I'd really like the Cantabile, but that's only a good guess based on the lower end Reynauds I have heard. Is it worth the gamble since I haven't actually heard those particular ones?

dekay's avatar
dekay
5,845 posts
 

Go to hifishark.com and run a Reynaud search (Bliss Silvers currently listed).

 

DeKay

analogj OP
105 posts
 

I think HiFi Shark is largely for the European market, no? I have gone there and not seen US listings.

analogj OP
105 posts
 

Well, there IS one listing for Bliss Silvers, but they're in Chicago, local pickup only. 

dekay's avatar
dekay
5,845 posts
 

The Bliss seller entered shipping info in the ad.

You have to register to see the shipping quotes.

Also there are filters for searching (I use North America/United States or whatever it's called).

Perhaps try contacting them to see if they are willing to ship (if they have the original boxes).

Shark is my main search tool (been looking for Audio Note AX Two Sig's for a couple of years now).

 

DeKay

 

 

More to discover