B&W VS Dynaudio .........

Damon, I have been told by a very trusted dealer friend that Verity Parsifals(I hope I spelled it correctly) are great sounding speakers. As for Jeff, the Wisdom's are planar speakers but they require doubling the amps and that could be expensive. I like the sound of the Marten Logan Odysey. Any suggestions on planars would be welcome. Back to B&W I like the detail I'm hearing and I'm trying to understand, this is why I will go to as many dealers or other music lovers homes to learn more. I will be going to any Michigan audio clubs within reason to make friends in this hobby and learn as well as share my experiance. With sites like this and good folks like Jeff and yourself this hobby can be fun!! Peace and good listening, Pat.

Hi Damon,

It's true! It's difficult to find a floorstanding loudspeaker system that images in the same league as a good minimonitor, while still giving you the dynamics, bass extention, and overall size of the presentation.

Also, I read in this thread that planar magnetic speakers are the answer. Perhaps. They do image very well, however, you have to be in their narrow "sweet spot" to get the benefits of their capabilities. As soon as you stand up, the highs are muted, or move out of the ideal area, and you've lost much of what makes them so special. Should you go this route, Magnepan has been offering a starter program that can get you into a pair of their entry-level MMGs for only $550.00/pr. delivered. Add a good, quick sub (i.e. Hsu Research or REL), and you have a very well-rounded, musical system for the buck.

With that said, if you want "your cake and eat it too", the two least expensive floorstanding models that will accomplish this are the Silverline Audio Sonatina II and the ProAc Response 2.5. You should be impressed with either one of these examples. And with a good tube preamp, you might be done upgrading (well, at least for awhile -such is the audiophile). ;-)

H a p p y L i s t e n i n g !

Authorized dealer for Silverline Audio and Hsu Research.

Best regards,

-Donald

I too am a happy listener with Parsifal Encores, which are essentially 2-way monitors with bass pedestals.
The key to fine imaging with ANY speaker system is mostly in sensitivity and response-matching of the driver pairs.
That simple! I was surprised to hear that the lowly but VERY carefully-matched Spendor 3/5 imaged much better than N803, and almost as well as my Encores (which have archived driver pairs matched to +/-0.25 dB! This costs money, folks!)
The B&Ws are cranked out by the hundreds with a driver sensitivity production range that's financially acceptable to B&W. If you have consecutive serial numbers then that may indicate pair-matching, but I doubt it. If not, then you simply have a pair with fairly differing tweeters. Nautilus series is voiced fairly brightly, with a recessed midrange. As tweeters are the most difficult driver to manufacture within a tight sensitivity range, it's a likely bet that you have two N803s that simply lie fairly far apart within their tweeter sensitivity ranges.
OR: your sidewalls are too asymmetric? Try swapping the L & R positions. Better? Worse? Will probably be one or the other, again indicating a difference in tweeter sensitivity.
Driver-matching is an expensive proposition. Whereas I'm not an industry insider, the companies that tightly control driver pairs include verity Audio, Snell, Revel, and probably many others at the high end. The fact that Boston Acoustics manages to tightly control its tweeter production is an efficiency marvel! Too bad their midranges sound like crap....
Also, realize that the N803 (like all Nautilus) require a long listening distance to allow the woofers to cohere with the midrange, as they're crossed at a highish 400Hz. That shouldn't affect the soundstaging as much as the tweeter variability, however. Play around with your sidewalls and speaker positions before you try amp changes....Good Luck.

Hey Damon,

I've got my Dynaudio 1.3MkII's driven by a Plinius SA-250 MkIV and the sound is magic. I plan to move the 1.3's to rear ch duty and purchasing the 3.0's for the fronts. I'v heard the 3.0's with the same amp and they are a match made in heaven but I don't feel that an amp upgrade would mean as much as a cdp upgrade would. I have the Metronome CD2V Signiture which sports a tube output stage. I love this cdp. It is just so smooth. I feel with the Dyn's and a better cdp and you would be set.......John

Damon,

Not being familar with your room or your musical preference it's hard to narrow down specific models, not to mention interaction with your gear.. I've owned Apogee Duetta II ribbon speakers (God I wish I had never sold them), and currently own Martin Logan Quest Z and Aerius speakers in two different two-channel systems. Planars need lots of current, no getting around it; I love my BATVK500 amp with my Quest Z's. Many feel there's a narrow sweet spot with electrostatics, I find it quite the contrary. The relative height of the panels mean they sound damned good whether you're sitting or standing, but like any good speaker they require some trial-and-error to get the right postioning in the room. Once set up properly they really are special transducers, and like most fine things in life are an acquired taste. If you'd like details on my systems please email me and I'll send the list of gear that I use that got me about as far as I feel I need to go in this crazy hobby (for now).