2. speakers
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Budget $3000-3500 new or used

I listen primarily to acoustic jazz, chamber music, singer/songwriters, new and old folk, and love stringed instruments. I also love solo piano and female jazz vocals, which can sound harsh on the wrong speakers in the wrong room. I love every model of ProAc speaker I have ever heard and currently own the D13 small floor standers. However they are not great in my big listening room, which is 21 x 17 ground floor rec room, wall to wall carpeting on cement slab, some GIK Acoustics bass treatment columns on back wall. Room is well damped with floor to ceiling bookshelves of books, CDs and LPs. I have BAT VK55SE mono blocks and VK32SE preamp, with PS Audio DAC2 and transport, Marantz SACD player, Linn LP12/Lingo/Linto, and Squeezebox Touch. I have been happy with the sound in my room for 16 yrs. Recently my Genesis 500 speakers developed a problem and I have to change. I have listened to a few speakers in my price range locally but most local salons focus on home theater not 2-channel audio and so far the only speaker I heard that remotely satisfies me is the new Focal Aria 926. I was not able to hear the more expensive Be floor standing model but heard the Be stand mounted monitors and did not like it as well as the Arias so perhaps the Be tweeter is not for me even if I could afford it. I also compared the B&W CM9 and CM10 (I owned 801 Series III before the Genesis) but still preferred the Arias. I do NOT like the B&W Diamond tweeter models. I have a REL Storm III sub I can use if necessary but prefer not to if I can get away with it. I am tempted to buy some new Silverline Sonatina IV's or some used older Sonata II's offered in my price range, but have never heard either of them. I have no idea how they would compare to the Focal Aria 926 that I also liked. I know neither is comparable to my old Genesis but I am no longer in the market for $15,000+ speakers. I know I like the Silverline sound from the tiny Minuet Supremes I have in my living room with an ARC CA-50 tube integrated amp. I am also curious about the various Zu models available used in my price range, but again have never heard Zu, only read about them. People have recommended KEF and Joseph Audio to me but I have never heard either of these brands. It's foolish to buy speakers you have never heard even in a shop, I know. Can I take a chance since I have some information about the Silverline sound? Has anyone else heard the new Focal Aria line?
sc53
rhljazz
1,255 posts
 
Viewing current listings, the ones that would be tube amp friendly and full range are: Alon/nola V mk3 for 2200.00, Silverline Sonata 2 for 2000.00 and Coincident Super Eclipse 3 for 3000.00.
Would you consider buying used, unseen and unheard? Those listings look entertaining, at least to me. It might be worth a gamble.
I also subscribe to the UK magazine Hi Fi Choice. In the current edition they review the Magnepan 1.7 powered by a 55w tube amp from Canor electronics and found it was an entertaining match. You have double that amount of power.
sc53 OP
722 posts
 
Thanks RHLJazz--I had two of those on my "watch" list, not familiar with the Alon/Nola sound at all. I have owned Coincident monitors in the past, very nice sound, comparable to Silverline IMO.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Rhljazzm they my be an "entertaining match" but having owned 4 pairs in last 30 years i guarantee you it takes at least 400 ss watts at four ohms to sound as good as they can.
And 400 is a bare minimum .
whitecap
122 posts
 
Here's a random thought. Although a just a bit above your budget, there is a pair of Linn Akurate 242 for sale here on A'Gon right now (no, I am not the seller). HUGE value even at the asking price of $4,500. I had the Akurate 212 (the monitor) for several years and your musical tastes should shine with the Akurate line. That said, I cannot comment (don't know) how your amps would mate with them, and obviously that's a key consideration. I drove the 212s with SS horsepower (McIntosh then Pass), but always had tubed pre-amps up front (CJ then Einstein) and the Linn Akurate showed beautifully. I used a sub with the 212, the 242 full range might be just the answer for you.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 

05-01-14: Schubert
Silverlines are great on strings, far better than Maggies.
This flies in the face of about 98% of the audiophile press and my own experience, having grown up with a professional cellist, and having owned speakers with phenolic ring, silk dome, doped fabric dome, fabric-damped titanium dome, and finally Maggie quasi-ribbon tweeters in the Mag 1.7s, whose success prompted Magneplanar to redesign the rest of their line.

Of course, I respect Schubert's opinion and am sure he has plenty of reason to have formed it. But I've found these Maggies (which depart significantly from previous dogma about Maggies) to be very revealing of upstream components and cabling. I got a complete change of personality from switching amplifiers. I'm currently listening to Lynn Harrell's rendition of Dvorak's Cello Concerto, and if there's anything not lacking, it's the string sound.

I tune up my ears on this matter regularly with yearly subscriptions to the Seattle Symphony. I don't want to get into a pissing contest; I only urge you to give a listen to the latest iterations of the Maggies. If your room is right for the 1.7s, use the rest of your budget for a pair of Magneplanar's DWM's or some other quick subwoofers. I use a pair of small, enclosed, powerful ones with mine and they always come through.
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