Quest for speaker upgrade

wisnon

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Dec 12, 2011
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We're going to have the Lone Star Audio Fest in Dallas two weeks from now. Have no real idea if there might be any speaker that might be a good fit there, but will definitely be there on Sunday. Maybe I get lucky.

Very nice!
 

Folsom

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Oct 25, 2015
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LSAF is a place where you'll find people selling speakers for very little $ compared to the sound. It looks like it typically has a lot of personal showings of systems. I'm wanting to go, but not so sure it's going to happen.
 

cyclopse

Member
Jul 25, 2016
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No, Krell, but Gryphon works as well. But with WAF, I wouldn't really advise in case room got smaller...in your current room the scintilla and duetta will be unbeatable and will look great as well as they can be painted anyway. But yes, they look invasive in smaller spaces and the reason I initially suggested Heco, over better speakers, is that it is the best, low priced speaker that I know off that fits small rooms and is least invasive (compared to panels and cones)

Currently exploring one of Bonzo' speaker recommendations;-

http://[URL=http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/cyclopse14/media/20170427_182120.jpg.html] [/URL]
 

bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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Cool. On the Heco just remember what it was recommended for - it is not supposed to be a sonic competitor to some of the big names listed on this thread, but because reverendo mentioned restrictions around budget, WAF, and rooms, I suggested this. This is superb where cones and panels cannot fit in, and is not obtrusive. I don't know your room size cyclops but also look at it's bigger brother Dreiklang. And puresound can provide you an easy home demo.
 

reverendo

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Mar 10, 2014
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Currently exploring one of Bonzo' speaker recommendations;-

http://[URL=http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/cyclopse14/media/20170427_182120.jpg.html] [/URL]

let us know what you think.
I contacted the announced US distributor for HECO and found out that HECO currently doesn't have a US distribution anymore, so that takes care of the Direkt Dreiklang option.
 

wisnon

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Dec 12, 2011
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Hi wisnon, nice to see you around here. Haven't been much in CA lately.
I've heard of the Heil AMT, but never listened to them. They seem to be something special, but the visuals would probably land me in the dog house (which I preemptively don't have). Still would be curious to listen to these just out of curiosity. Thanks for reminding me of these even if it is to just get to know something different.
Best

Well, my speakers are already basement confined...and I now have the Kitharas!
18317940_10154732297821731_936024213_o.jpg

18362060_10154732295601731_1161033112_o.jpg
 

cyclopse

Member
Jul 25, 2016
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An update for everyone on the Heco Direkt.

I have had some class speakers through my rig including Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation and more recently Raidho C1.1.

It was this post from Bonzo that caught my eye;-

'Depends if you only want bookshelf, or small. The Heco Direkt, which costs 2700 Euro or so, and are 95db drivable by 10 - 25w SETs, are easily better to me than many raidhos and other floor standers as well. They come to less than waist height, are flat and thick, and lean backward pointing towards the listener, and with vented downfiring woofers. Played large orchestral on them with vinyl, no problems, at an UK show. The company has been in Germany since 1949. So technically not bookshelf, but fantastic for smaller rooms.'

Been running the Heco's for a couple of weeks now. Speakers are such a personal thing and I was looking for a change. The Direkt is a great performer and punches well above its weight. High resolution treble from the horn loaded soft dome and bass that is deep but not overpowering. More of a flat frequency range. They also have the ability of locking you into the performance and the dynamic speed of the speaker has your tapping along in time. The presentation reminds me of the Wilson Sabrina. It's a very coherent sound. I am very pleased I followed up on Bonzo's recommendation. They represent great value for money when one considers the price of entry.

Regards

Cyclopse

20170501_230429.jpg
 
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reverendo

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Mar 10, 2014
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Dallas, TX
I was considering flying to Munich this weekend, but wasn't able to do so due to work.
Am thinking about traveling to three, maybe four shops to get an idea of the sound of a few speakers.
At the moment my short list is as follows:
  • Audiovector SR 3 Avantgarde (Arrete)
  • Boenicke W11
  • Gold Note XT-7
  • Lawrence Audio Cello
  • Salk Soundscape 8
  • Von Schweikert Unifield 3 mkII
My hope is that one of these might be what I'm looking for.
I'm also curious about the Elac Adante, which I'm probably going to have a chance to listen to by the end of June. Maybe it's also worthwhile to get to know the orginal Magico S3, since the second version has just been launched, which might bring their price into my budget. After all that listening I'm going to try to listen to a good, old Thiel 3.7, that is, if I haven't found anything that has convinced me yet. If everything fails I just might fall back on the Vandersteens, which I loved, except for the HF.
Ideas are still appreciated.
 

reverendo

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Mar 10, 2014
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Those Boenicke look very interesting. That's the first time I've come across that brand.

I actually met Sven some years ago in Basel. I listened to the W20plus III at that time with some wonderful ASR amplification and Orpheus source. I've heard, though, that he has made some real strides in the meantime and am very curious to see what he's been up to. The W11 seems to be the one that I should look at. I'm especially curious regarding the tweeter, since I know he used to use (and like) ribbons.
 

asiufy

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I don't know if that's the one I heard today here, but they were very good, and very dynamic! Thin floorstanders with massive side-firing woofer.
 

reverendo

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Mar 10, 2014
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I don't know if that's the one I heard today here, but they were very good, and very dynamic! Thin floorstanders with massive side-firing woofer.

are you talking about the Boenicke? are you at Munich?
 

asiufy

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Yep, Boenicke.
And going by the pictures of the W11, it is indeed the one I heard yesterday. Very good room!
 

asiufy

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These were fantastic at the LA Show. Granted, I was sitting in the first row, almost near-field. But they do sound a lot better than their price would suggest, and they were being driven by reasonably priced electronics from Audio Alchemy as well.

Unfortunately, delivery is only in early August.


cheers,
alex
 

reverendo

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Mar 10, 2014
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These were fantastic at the LA Show. Granted, I was sitting in the first row, almost near-field. But they do sound a lot better than their price would suggest, and they were being driven by reasonably priced electronics from Audio Alchemy as well.

Unfortunately, delivery is only in early August.


cheers,
alex

I am only going to pull the trigger in August, so that's not a problem.
 

reverendo

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2014
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Dallas, TX
In the mean time I was able to listen to Rosso Fiorentino Fiesole speaker just out of curiosity and also because their bigger brother, the Volterra, could be an option.
This week I also got to listen to the Salk Soundscape 8.
Will try to report on them as soon as possible.
 

reverendo

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Mar 10, 2014
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Rosso Fiorentino Fiesole

20170531_203754.jpg

Auralic>Northstar Supremo>Triode TRV-88SER>Rosso Fiorentino Fiesole
Cables are all Wireworld.
I liked the presentation and this speaker shows great promise, since the system played on the level that mine plays, although with, imo, inferior electronics. Would probably play much better at home, so seems to be a solid upgrade. Nonetheless, I'm not looking for a monitor, but a reasonably sized tower. The Volterra from this line could be interesting, but I really don't its looks very much.
The super tweeter, which is a ribbon, has that HF extension that I like. Would need a home audition to actually talk more intelligently about this speakers, since I didn't know any of the electronics.
Had a Northstar 24/192 MkII two DACs back. It punched way above its price range at that time.
Thanks to Skip for the audition.
 

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tedtag

New Member
Jul 19, 2016
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Georgia
I had a pair of Acoustic Zen Crescendo II's and sold them on Agon for $10K. I loved these speakers and they are gorgeous. When I bought them they retailed for $18K but I got them direct from Robert the designer for $12K. They sound wonderful and are not fussy at all with room position. Also, they are very efficient and did great with my CJ Classic 60 watt stereo amp, and even better with big tube mono blocks. Might be worth checking out.....
 

reverendo

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2014
119
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Dallas, TX
I had a pair of Acoustic Zen Crescendo II's and sold them on Agon for $10K. I loved these speakers and they are gorgeous. When I bought them they retailed for $18K but I got them direct from Robert the designer for $12K. They sound wonderful and are not fussy at all with room position. Also, they are very efficient and did great with my CJ Classic 60 watt stereo amp, and even better with big tube mono blocks. Might be worth checking out.....
Thanks, @tedtag. I'm trying to reduce my list, but will still try to listen to these. Only problem is see is that they are taller than what I'm aiming at. We're starting to get into Salon2 territory here.
 
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