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Looking for advice on these speakers

I'm going to trade my 180 watts tube amps for yet unknown SET amps, and will need a new pair of speakers to go with them. I'm considering speakers from DeVore Fidelity, Coincident, and Deadalus Audio. My budget is up to about $15,000. Unfortunately, I'm not able to audition any of them so I was hoping that I could get some meaningful advice from my fellow Audiogoners. Here are my potential choices:

1. DeVore Orangutan 0/96; Coincident Super Victory II; Daedalus Athena

2. DeVore Silverback Reference; Coincident Total Victory V; Daedalus Argos or Ulysses

The analog front is a VPI Classic with a Lyra Delos (soon Kleos or possibly Etna). My musical preferences are roughly 50% classic jazz and 50% classic rock.

Thank you for any advice or input.
actusreus
gsm18439
895 posts
 
Personally, I find the number of high quality speakers available for audition overwhelming. Limiting the options to SET friendly speakers narrows the options and makes the selection process more manageable.
bifwynne
2,206 posts
 
Gsm ... in a somewhat paradoxical way, your post makes a lot of sense. If I had only 2 dozen speakers to seriously consider, it would make the task of selecting a speaker, as you say, "manageable." Fair point.

Even still, many such highly sensitive speakers are not carried by B&M stores. That means, as Al suggested in the case of Daedalus speakers, going with reputation, buying with the expectation that if not satisifed, then being able to return the speaker, incurrng reasonable out-of-pocket costs re shipping and restocking fees.



gsm18439
895 posts
 
I am fortunate that in the DC and NYC areas there are B&M stores that carry a number of high sensitive speakers. However, as I learned the hard way, there is no substitute for a "longish-term" audition of speakers in my own home - with all the know vagaries in room acoustics, listening position, speaker position, etc. As a result, I consider the costs and time involved in dealing with companies such as Zu and Daedalus - who allow 1-2 month in home auditions - to be a bargain.
bifwynne
2,206 posts
 
Agreed again. That might be my next move, if and when I try it. At this point, I am inclined to tweak my rig (e.g., cables, dedicated AC power) and room, and buy hi-rez CDs and LPs. Too much voodoo out there.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
With the vast reduction of B and M stores around now there's limited opportunity to hear speakers in a showroom anymore. Once you step outside the usual high end brands the pool of candidates to hear in dealer showroom are small be they high, moderate or low efficiency speakers. As Gary said, you don't know until you have the speaker in your own room to carefully audition. So most of us face the same dilemma regardless of the type of speaker being sought.
Charles,
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