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HELP Best speakers btw 1000$ and 3000$. Real tests

anybody here have compared the Eminent technology LFT-16a (1000$) to other speakers like psb mini etc...

that planar push pull midrange with no crossover btw 250hz and 7.5kz is really really keeping me from looking elsewhere right now.... the others i'm looking at are ERAudio electrostatics mini panel(500$+shipping from autralia, but need sub and matching amp) or evolutions acoustics MMicroOne :)

the amps that i'm interested in right now in order are musical paradise mp-501 kt120 paralllel single ended no negative feedback tube amp (1300$), parasound a23 (1000$), bryston b60r (700$)...

for dac i'm looking into schiit gungnir (750$ without usb) or musical paradise MP-D1 with usb (550$ + better tube (30$)) (tube stage with AK4399 dac)
I really need advise please anybody :)

lets say btw 1000-3000$ for the speakers less $$$ is better
btw 400 and 1400$ for the amp less $$ is better
btw 500 and 1000 for the dac less $$ is better...

in total i dont want to go over 3500$ and i don't mind if i need to upgrade later some parts like the amp.

If i choose lets say the evolutions acoustics mmmicroone at 2500$.. i will of course buy a lower cost 400$ amp and maybe wait for the dac..
sinae
grr6001
104 posts
 
sorry, I have not listened to some of the speakers listed here & some I have... ( don't want to start a fire ) but i have to put a plug here for the evolution micro ones. dollar for dollar & then some, you owe it to yourself to audition these. please reads the reviews, their praises are not to be ignored.
rebbi
1,326 posts
 
Sinae,

If you look at the Reference 3A site, the line is described as "phase coherent," and the baffles are raked (and the tweeters offset) to allow for time alignment of the drivers. Whether the Reference 3A line is more phase and time coherent than other speakers I cannot say as I'm not a physics whiz and don't understand all the theory. Hope that helps a little.

Luvstolisten makes a point that I've heard elsewhere, that is, that 1st order crossovers require drivers that can cover a wide frequency range because the handoff "slope" between the drivers is not as gradual as higher-order designs. This is one reason that Ref 3A builds their own mid-bass drivers in house. In theory, they are able to work mechanical kinks out of the driver design through all kinds of mechanical tweaks, rather than having to compensate for driver misbehavior with crossover complexity. Hence also, a mid-bass driver directly coupled to the amplifier, and only a single capacitor to protect the tweeter.
dave_72
1,399 posts
 
Axiom M80 v3s, $1500 a pair.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Luvs2listen,

"Minimum phase system response is another matter altogether, and very difficult to achieve over the entire audible range with multi-way systems. A true first order crossover, one with 6dB/octave acoustic slopes over a couple octaves around the crossover can produce a minimum phase system response. But getting quality drivers with smooth response in the overlap region is a tall order."

Very good description. Those type of speakers are extremely difficult to design. That's why I recommended Vandersteen in my first post. No one does it better. When I say that, though, I'm not implying that one has to like them. I'm just saying that they are the best at getting phase and time correct speakers right. Everyone has different tastes.
luvs2listen
63 posts
 
There are big tradeoffs going for the transient perfect designs. The biggest, in my opinion, is the rather poor power response that can result. Move off the design axis, and the transient perfect character disappears due to changing the distance to the acoustic centers of each driver. It's much easier to maintain a smooth off axis response using higher order filters.

Going beyond 4th order acoustic doesn't seem necessary unless pushing drivers close to their limits of usability (metal cones near their breakup modes for example.) My personal favorites are 2nd order 3-ways. They tend to offer seamless transition from driver to driver and allow reasonable control of out of band energy, allowing each driver to perform cleanly and without strain.
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