Speakers for Rock

I'm guessing you are shopping in the 1500 or so range. I would have a listen to vandersteen 2's , b&w 601's, proac 2's, and ariel 7&8. The van 2's would be my choice. I think the 801's are one of the best used buys out there - if you can power them (300w ss amp), and have the room for them.

Dagny, I'm on the same page musically. I would chime in too that although B&W and Thiel make some good speakers, they may not be your best choice. Really good rock comes out of such brands only at the high end (CS6 and Krell FPB!). I have heard 801's rock when hooked up to Levinson 33H monoblocks. I would need a second mortgage to pay for that setup. And if you go with Heresy's please get a tube amp because they have made my ears bleed the only times I heard them, which was years ago with Mac solid state. Their main virtue is the ease with which you can damage your hearing. Big deal: you can do that for free at the airport. If you want tuneful bass and no upper mid/low treble emphasis, which exaggerates rock recordings' most common problem, and you don't want to drop 20 grand, you must hear the venerable, warm, slightly wolly but phat, Vandersteen 2ci. Cheap, not hard to drive, nearly indestructible. Should work fine with a Rotel. The limit is that it will not play 120dB. It will play 105, however, and that is plenty loud.

Another good choice in rock speakers that have some pedigree is the Aerial 7 (or 8), which you might find used on this site. They are harder to drive and much more revealing, but with a good high current amp (McCormick DNA, perhaps) they can shake the house, and they will welcome upgrades in your front end better than the 2ci. My point is that you should avoid anything that shouts at you, and some of these "rock speakers" are PA-style screamers. I think you want something that has audiophile qualities but with lots of immediacy and punch. I had Vandies for a long time, hooked up to a Linn front end, and that modest rig had what takes to make a mountain man leave his home.

For what it's worth, I agree on the Thiel's -- they need some muscle behind them to rock well. For the 2.3's, I'd suggest 200w per channel minimum for rock and for the 6's, 400+ is better (a watt is not always a watt, but you need the current flow that is typically associated with these kinds of amps IMO). The Thiel's also need the right cabling -- i.e., MIT speaker cable -- to really sound right. They can definately rock, but it takes the right combo to help do it.

The B&W's are a little too laid back to rock well (for me). If you switched out the cross-overs, that could help but I didn't think that was in the budget.

As others suggest, you may want to look at the alternatives mentioned above.

As a unconventional alternative: If you really want the bass impact at a lower price, you could also consider combining a reasonably priced full range speaker with a subwoofer. The balance needs to be right and that can be tricky -- it's hard to get it so the bass is not overpowering and is seamlessly integrated. That allows you to get a full range speaker which may bottom out at 40-50 Hz and still get the bass slam from the subwoofer addition. Full range speakers that get way down the bass curve normally cost a lot more or sacrifice something else along the way. Good luck.

Klipsch Forte 2's or Klipsch Chorus 2's. Horn mids/tweets
and 12" woofer/15" passive radiator (Forte 2), 15" woofer/15"
passive radiator (Chorus 2). Mate these with a smooth-
sounding copper speaker cable like Anaylsis Plus oval 9 or
oval 12, and you've got a very rock-ready setup.

With these speakers, you're better off using an amp with a
wider presentation (b&k tends toward wider soundstage but
less impact), rather than a congested soundstage with lots
of impact (like an acurus), as the horns will really project
their sound into the room, and won't need any help in that
regard. The suggestion for tube amps here is a natural, but
I would check the impedance curve of the Forte and Chorus
to make sure they didn't dip too too low before comitting
to that path.

Good luck, and let there be rock!

PSB Stratus GOLDi's: You'll love them. Stereophile Class B recommended component. Approximately $1,800.00 US$/pr. Accurate, tonally neutral, impressive clarity and detail, stable stereo image, awesome bass extension and power handling! Look no further.

peter jasz