Salk HT3, SF Cremona M, Magnepan 3.7 or ML Ethos?

07-08-15: Zynec
...If I see the Tritons at a nearby store I will check them out as well.

Founder Sandy Gross was previously co-founder of Polk Audio and Definitive Technology, so he has a great track record of creating extensive dealer networkds. Here's the GoldenEar Dealer Locator. You'll find that there are dealers in 46 states plus District of Columbia.

For the Ohm's and sound staging, is the idea that the soundstage is huge but the exact location of instruments, singer, etc, is "fuzzy" for lack of a better word? I'm trying to make sure I understand what you're saying

A really good stereo speaker setup throws a soundstage commensurate with the source. This is sometimes called scaling up or scaling down. For example, for fullscale orchestra and chorus, the soundstage *should* be big, but if it's solo voice and acoustic guitar, or solo cello, the soundstage should be smaller unless the rest of the soundstage is honestly presenting the reverberation and ambience of the recording venue.

As for imaging, in live performance you seldom get "pinpoint imaging." In concert halls, the reverberation and ambience creates a large soundstage, but it also makes the location of specific instruments and singers a bit approximate.

OTOH, a recording can be created that provides pinpoint imaging because the studio is more damped than a concert venue and from careful microphone placement and mixing to make each musician's location sound particularly finite.

I have a pair of Maggies (dipole), a pair of bipolar speakers (Mirage M5si) and have had two pairs of omnidirectional speakers using the late Mirage's Omniguide waveguide. They all create realistic soundstages and ensembles and soloists scale up and down depending on size. I also find the imaging to sound realistic, and I can sense accurate placement of instruments, stctions, soloists, choruses, etc.

Yet I read reviews that single out these speakers as "not being the ultimate in pinpoint imaging." Since I find the imaging of these speakers to be *at least* as definitive as a live concert, I am completely satisfied with their ability to image. In fact, you can get just about any speaker pair to image well if you listen to them in the near field. Even with completely omnidirectional speakers, I can get a very holographic soundstage--and therefore specific images--by scooting forward a couple of feet to widen and deepen the soundstage.

Of all the speakers I've had though, I get the most holographic and specific soundstage *and* imaging from the Magnepans. If you're not getting that from Maggies, the setup or room is off, and possibly the upstream cables or electronics.

@Johnnyb53 Thanks, that all makes perfect sense. It also makes me want to hear the Maggies again though, as what I heard doesn't correlate to your experience.

I do have some more datapoint now: today I had the pleasure of hearing the SF Olympica III, Magico S1, B&W 803, Focal Electra 1038BE and Focal Sopra (No2). The S1 was missing a lot on the lower end and the Olympica's were colored in the mid bass to me, despite all the news of the new SF's being more balanced. The Sopra was not broken in, so the bass was not there but it had extended and airy highs that were nice. Would like to hear these when they are broken in. The Electra was pretty nice, not quite as airy as the Sopra from what I could tell but extended in both directions with nice tonality and imaging. The sound stage was more forward and I found it an exciting speaker to listen to, although I worry if it may become too much of a good thing for extended listening sessions. The 803's were much more laid back in comparison while having similar levels of detail as the Electra's and good imaging again, but not nearly as exciting of a listen.

Overall I really liked the Electra's and probably would like the Sopra's when they are broken in as well, although I cannot say for sure. The B&W's are also good but didn't feel like I would fall in love with them.

Zenec: How did the Focals sound compared to the Salk HT3s? The new Focals look pretty nice! Although expensive.

@Wardl I think both setups were too compromised to make a definitive statement. The HT3s were in a huge room way out from the wall while the 1038BE's were in a room too small for them in my opinion. The HT3's seemed to have more air and a bigger soundstage, but unrealistic image size (room/placement effect?), the 1038BE's were superior in the bass and had more depth. The HT3's were more laid back, closer to the B&W type of presentation that I heard while the 1038BE's were more forward, but these differences might (at least partially) be down to room characteristics and electronics which were obviously different. The 1038BE's were being driven by a Plinius amp (no idea which one) while the HT3's were driven by AVA (no idea which one here either!). The 1038BE's had more impact in bass transients when it was called for while the HT3's didn't do that very well, but again that may be due to their placement far away from the back wall and in a very large room.

There was a tonality difference between the two, both have very nice tonality it is just a different interpretation I suppose... or perhaps a function of the 1038BE's being more extended in the bass region compared to the HT3's.
But I liked both in this regard. The image of the 1038BE's was more definitive, HT3's more diffuse (I keep saying this, but I am assuming much of what I heard of the HT3's is due to room/placement). I feel the 1038BE's were more detailed but it is hard to recall this aspect of the HT3's performance so take that with a grain of salt.

It is too bad that I heard the HT3's over a month ago now, but I would have to say I really liked the 1038BE's. To put it another way, after hearing the HT3's I left thinking 'yeah, those are pretty nice'. When I left after hearing the 1038BE's, I was thinking 'holy sheets, that was awesome'

If anyone else has heard these two, it would be great to hear their opinions as well! I expect I will also have some more datapoints to add to this conversation very soon... :)

Yeah with very different rooms and electronics it is hard to tell much. I expect the large room had a big negative impact on the HT3 bass. They really slam with a big amp. Both the Focal 1038s and HT3s are flat down to 33/34 per their mfg specs. But I expect the Focals sound better given how good they are at making drivers etc. and the evolution of the technology. Of course they should - the price is twice as much retail and there aren't many used Focal 1038s out there. I want to hear them sometime. I figure the best case price for admission for the Focals will be around 10k.