Talon Khorus x or B&W 802

Marakanetz...All of the Talon speakers sound great with low or high loudness levels. At the lower levels, you do lose some of the dynamics and small micro-details, but not to any large degree. With that said, the Talon line plays louder while still retaining the EXACT qualities at low volume levels, than any other speaker I have heard. In fact, when you first spend some lengthy time with Talon speakers, you have to be very careful because you will find yourself listening at louder levels than with other lines. The biggest reason for this is the extremely low distortion present in the Talon design. My dad and I have thrown EVERYTHING you can think of at the Talons and they have NEVER lost their composure. Usually, we end up clipping amps most of the time and I still don't think we are any where near the limits of the Talons.

I can remember when we got our first pair of the original Khorus some time ago and to break them in we would turn the volume to max and go outside for the day. The Khorus' NEVER even batted an eyelash. It was pretty funny actually because it seemed like the entire showroom was moving from the outside. We also had to wear firearm ear protection to go inside and turn it down and it was also pretty warm inside the listening room ;-)

The things we will do in this hobby ;-)

Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio

Mike, or anyone, have you heard the sim/EMC/Edge/Talon combo with the Edge NL10? Do you think that the sound would be that much better than w/ 8? Seriously looking at the 10.

...I bet that no sound-proofing in the appartment building where I actually live will help to break-in Khoruses!:^)

***Sorry you feel that way.***

Feel what way? I didn't say I felt anyway. I clearly said that as a dealer you have to sell products you like. I used to sell audio equipment, and I've sold photo equipment and professional video equipment. I always liked selling my favorites better than other equipment, as I felt my choices as to quality per dollar spent helped the customer get the best bang for the buck. I assume that really was the point of your post. Don't spend money on B&W 800 series when you can get a much better speaker for the same money (couched in MY OPINION). Why not just make THAT statement and quit trying to run around the fact you want people to see? YOU think there's a better product for the money. That's fine -but just say it. Instead, you hide it in a comparison of "valuable information."

As to writing a comparison, this is a bit like an umpire owning a baseball team and claiming he can officiate a game with his team playing and be fair. I'm not offended by your "OPINIONS," or the "valuable information" you attempted to convey. I just don't find them valuable because I don't know that I can trust your opinion.

It's another Ford vs. Chevy, Nikon vs. Canon post that is essentially useless (MY OPINION - and I get to have those too) - because the person conveying the information is biased towards liking a certain product over another product, and will therefore, slant his opinions towards a favorite product.

I would be suprised if the person didn't find reasons to like his choice better than another product. I bet if I went to a Wilson Audio dealer, he'd find reasons to like the Watt Puppy 7 better than your Talon Khorus X speakers - and would be ready to convey much "valuable information" about his favorite product too.

OK guys. I think it goes without saying that by identifying himself as a Talon dealer everyone reading the post understands where he's coming from and approaches his opinions in a little different light. But don't we all seek dealer's advice when visiting their showrooms? They are obviously in the business because they love audio as much as we do. I don't know anyone who's become rich selling audio gear. We may not agreee with them but we can all be educated some how, for better or worse, by them. I wouldn't anticipate a dealer recommending a component or speaker to me that he didn't sell. Could it happen? sure, but not very likely, in audio or any retail business. To paraphrase Xenon, we wouldn't recommend an F-150 if we make our living selling Silverado's would we? I think we would all like to think that a dealer prefers a particular product after careful evaluation and feels it fills a niche in his offerings because he will sink a good amount of money and energy into displaying the product. But I lose respect quickly for those that run down or demean others' products based on pure subjective evaluations.

One good point, however, is that perhaps all members should have to reveal any affiliation with the industry, be it manufacture, service, or sales, lest any of us that aren't be lead astray in advice or opinions. If no one took advice from this forum then there would be no advice asked on the forum would there? We could pick and chose the information we feel is valid knowing up front if there are any agendas. The stereo mags have all become prostitutes to the industry so it would be ideal to have a forum that is as "pure" as possible.

There is nothing more subjective than audio. Just as I may prefer dynamic cones to electrostats, SS to tube, 2 channel to multi-channel, someone more expert than I may prefer the exact opposite. But that doesn't invalidate either personal preference. We all know that you must listen for yourself to form the only opinion that matters anyway, yet we still seek out opinions from our 'phile bretheren for various reasons.

I like to read posts and hear others' opinions because it's entertaining and I learn a lot. I may check out a component that I'm not familiar with as a result of these boards, but I'm not sinking my hard earned cash into anything I've not personally auditioned first, which rules out a lot of products to which I don't have access.

Thank you, Mike, for your honesty and for expressing your observations and I may just have to check out Talon next time I have the chance.

Speeddeacon