$9000 speaker Orangutan or speaker + amplifier

Kiddman,

I agree with you about the Orangutans, Tannoys and Zus. I like the Tannoy Kensingtons I heard at a local dealer. It sounds reasonably lively while not being exremely colored like many lively, higher efficiency speakers can be. But, like all other speakers, it has its weaknesses and strengths and requirements for coupling with other components. To me, there is a slight raspiness in the midrange that needs to be tamed with the use of the right kind of amp and careful setting of the controls on the speaker. Still, I enjoyed it very much.

Hi Larry,

Not surprised we agree....those traits are there, if folks want to ignore them, fine, but they ignore the reality.

Re: Kensigntons, they have a small degree of raspiness, but so much less than Zus....and so can the Orangutans. SETs help, but this is a coverup and like all coverups, not completely effective.

For no rasp Tannoy performance one must go to the pepperpot waveguide, which is on the Prestige series.

He seems to want DeVores, guessing he'll go there. That's not a mistake speaker, and they do not gloss so many things over like the Harbeths....which are pleasurable, but we have to be truthful and say that the honey is due to nice colorations and forgiving some of the real detail and bite of some instruments. To me, far better than harsh gritty speakers that over emphasize things yet seem so popular.

OP says "Of all the speakers I have heard (which are not many)...."

For that much outlay, unless that is a small amount for you, is there any way you can go out to do more listening?

RMAF is coming up.....

Before you go, if you could find some unamplified concerts (orchestral, chamber, jazz with no PA, which can be found in small venues, friends who play instruments) so you can get a dose, a good dose, of the real thing sitting in your short term memory?

Good and interesting impressions of various speakers. I'd suggest Coincident speakers as another easy to drive and very balanced and honest sounding speaker.Zu seems to be very polarizing brand, there doesn't appear to be a middle ground. There are people who's judgements I respect that say the new Druid V and the Definition IV models are excellent, I've heard neither.

Tonian Labs and Ocellia are two other considerations to mate with lower powered amplifiers. I agree wholeheartedly with Kiddman regarding listening to live acoustic instruments, there's no substitute for hearing the real thing. Live jazz (and also my own trumpet and our piano) are unbeatable templates. There's more full body and warmth of tone with live instruments that many speakers/components tend to thin out and sound artificially lean and colorless. Live is very vibrant with harmonics, tonal and timbral color
Good Luck,
Charles,

10-02-13: Essrand
Dover, Do you really think an upgrade on TT will be better than an upgrade on the speakers (going from VA Haydn to Harbeth) or an upgrade in amplifier (Aleph 3 to Coincident Dragon). Also I am new to Vinyl and this is my first serious TT.

Hi Essrand - you have some nice gear in your present system. If you spend $9-12k on speakers the potential of the speakers will outstrip that of your turntable. The question of where to spend your money depends on how much are you going to use the vinyl front end. If you are going to invest heavily in more vinyl records, then I would suggest you would be better off spending $5k on your TT, and the balance on some speakers that work with your existing gear. On the other hand, sometimes it is more economical to buy the best components you can each time that you buy to reduce the changeovers and the inherent cost of changing gear more often, so if you find some speakers that you really like go for it. Whichever way you go - good luck with your upgrade. My best advice would be to listen before buying whenever possible.