Heard my friend's system, thinking of leaving hifi

Lots of great advice, some dealing with one's character and others dealing with speakers and room treatments. I welcome both and am seriously pondering my next move!

Regarding speakers, it's going to take some time. Both in terms of listening and saving. I would probably be able to spend around $3k new or used without alerting the fiancee. Maybe $3.5k if I can unload the 6.2's.

With respect to speaker selection: The lower end Vandersteens (2ce) seem a bit too dark sounding for me. I loved the Quattros though; but, they'll never pass the Wife Acceptance Factor test (even if a could afford them). The same goes for the Harbeth, though I have heard they sound fantastic with plinius gear. They remind of the Jensens and Marantz receiver my parents had when I was growing up. Also, I have always (perhaps wrongly) associated Thiels with more "polite" music. There are times when I like to turn up some classic rock and 90's alternative. Though I do equally like to turn up jazz, acoustic and Spanish guitar, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, and Back.

For the musical purists: It is and has always been about the music. I play guitar (acoustic, classical and electric) as another pass time. For me, I want to replicate the "live" sound experience. Hearing this system was a real eye opener. It was active speaker arrangement but it was also non-fatiguing and slightly warm.

En essence, I think that I'm missing the full range of the sound spectrum. I'm reluctant to go the subwoofer route because it's my understanding that it's hard to pull off seemless interaction. Does anyone have any ideas regarding speakers that contain active woofers, like the Quattros?

01-15-08: Shadorne said:
"Yes Active Speakers can indeed surprise you that much!! No passive crossovers and dramatically reduced IMD distortion and huge dynamics is like having a veil removed from the sound compared to passive speakers."

With all due respect, I don't think that active speakers are the key to reducing IMD, increasing dynamics and removing veils. Instead, assuming a basically competent system, it's about the speaker placement and room interaction. If you get those right then it doesn't take mega-bucks to put together and incredibly transparent, dynamic and revealing system that's pleasant to listen for hour after hour.

Dave

I second Pdreher's recommendation of a REL Storm III sub. The single biggest improvement to my system was adding an active sub, especially the REL, which gets its signal from the amps, not the pre-amp, and a seamless blend with your speakers is easier to achieve.
Borrow one, demo one, or buy one on Audiogon (and sell it without a loss if it doesn't do it for you). It really fleshes out the sound of your system, and not just on bass-heavy material. Even acapella vocals benefit -- with the sub, you hear more of the 'room' the music was recorded in. A good, musical sub adds so much more than just lower octave information!
I know the exact difference in sound you're describing when you describe your friend's system vs. yours -- yours sounds anemic and as if certain frequency ranges sound good at the expense of others; his sounds full and well-balanced.
My advice: before replacing any of your components or speakers, try supplementing what you have with a REL sub, and see how you like the difference.
Good luck!

Well, Portugal11, your last post has me thinking about a pair of Daedalus Audio DA-1's for you. Full range--check. Sound like real music--check. High WAF--check. I just sold mine for $3500, which was a very fair price. (I'm taking delivery on a pair of the new version DA-1.1's next week). I saw another pair up for sale here last I checked a few weeks back. Most of Lou's customers, like me, are moving up to the new models so more may appear soon. Email me off line if you want some more information. The DA-1's were the speaker I moved to after a two year search to replace the Harbeth's with something full range. I think my review is still floating around on the A'gon if you are interested. A truly great speaker that can be had used at your price point.