Jeff's Getting a New Stereo System

[Folsom]

Lol....and you were expecting?

Yes. He is interested in exploring performance and not $ figures, so ya, I expected maybe to see some more interesting choices.

 

[RogerD]

For TAD, I don't see why you wouldn't go with the Evolution Towers for nearly the same price as the CE-1 and get a 2nd woofer and no need for stands.

However, the issue with going with smaller speakers, including the TAD Evo towers or any smaller floorstander, is lack of woofer surface area... you just won't/can't get reference level bass performance out of two <10" woofers. For a review system this seems like a problem.

I tend to agree Dave as I believe bass is the foundation any good system is built upon. But building a system using satellites and subs can be done,my system is configured that way..lot's of work though to make the whole completely invisible.

 

[morricab]

Yes. He is interested in exploring performance and not $ figures, so ya, I expected maybe to see some more interesting choices.

Agreed, and with a $40K budget he sure left himself with better options than those mentioned. I heard the Magico S5 MkII last weekend at a dealer who is normally able to get excellent sound out of lots of combinations...well he failed miserably with the S5...it was horrible...boomy bass, gray tonality and lacking even an iota of dynamic excitement. Now, maybe it is just "reporting what the gear feeds it", except I have heard a kind of sound like this before with Magico and Soulution...just a tighter bass.

 

[Lee]

In my experience, Magico is very finicky with upstream electronics. I've hear great systems with Magico and bad ones. Maybe setup expertise is critical.

Agreed, and with a $40K budget he sure left himself with better options than those mentioned. I heard the Magico S5 MkII last weekend at a dealer who is normally able to get excellent sound out of lots of combinations...well he failed miserably with the S5...it was horrible...boomy bass, gray tonality and lacking even an iota of dynamic excitement. Now, maybe it is just "reporting what the gear feeds it", except I have heard a kind of sound like this before with Magico and Soulution...just a tighter bass.

 

[Lee]

I would also look at the Wilson Alexia 2, assuming some accommodation pricing or at least the Yvettes.

 

[Jeff Fritz]

Agreed, and with a $40K budget he sure left himself with better options than those mentioned.

I'd love to hear what you have in mind. Thanks.

 

[DaveC]

I tend to agree Dave as I believe bass is the foundation any good system is built upon. But building a system using satellites and subs can be done,my system is configured that way..lot's of work though to make the whole completely invisible.

Sat/sub can be very good but not quite reference level good, and I say that as an owner of Pioneer S-1EX which have the same drivers as the TAD Evo towers except overhung VCs on the woofers. Compared to my prototype speakers with 15" AE woofers the S-1's bass is lacking, although without that comparison they can seem impressive and they have two 7" woofers per side. IMO you still need lots of surface area above subwoofer frequencies... with the current selection of speakers mentioned bass will be lacking, even with subs, vs a speaker with more surface area. Of course for $40k you can't get TAD, Magico or Wilson with larger woofers, so I'd be looking elsewhere for a solution that CAN achieve a higher level of bass performance for the money. This is where you might have to do some investigation of alternative brands and not go with the luxury dealer-sale brands.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Jeff, I'm going to run Zu past you.
I've been in deep discussions w Sean Casey, and he's really proud of the new Experiences flagships he'll be releasing in the next few months.
$25k-30k will get you 60" X 18" X 18" towers, w Carbon fibre/resin loaded monocoque cabinets, full range drivers, top of the range Radian Supertweeters, and for all you bassheads, 4 X 12" subs, 2 front firing, 2 side firing covering 14-40 Hz, in built 300W/ch amps covering subs duties.
True 101dB eff.
If you can wait, I'm sure Sean can deliver.
He's been working on these for over 3 yrs now, and he's still perfecting them.
But if you want the standard pick, there are plenty of alternatives...

 

[DaveC]

Jeff, I'm going to run Zu past you.
I've been in deep discussions w Sean Casey, and he's really proud of the new Experiences flagships he'll be releasing in the next few months.
$25k-30k will get you 60" X 18" X 18" towers, w Carbon fibre/resin loaded monocoque cabinets, full range drivers, top of the range Radian Supertweeters, and for all you bassheads, 4 X 12" subs, 2 front firing, 2 side firing covering 14-40 Hz, in built 300W/ch amps covering subs duties.
True 101dB eff.
If you can wait, I'm sure Sean can deliver.
He's been working on these for over 3 yrs now, and he's still perfecting them.
But if you want the standard pick, there are plenty of alternatives...

Zu gets better every year and are now more refined and clear-sounding than in the past when their Pro Audio/Celestion roots were more evident. They've always been excellent speakers for their high efficiency and ability to play at high SPLs, with a new more inert cab and their current drivers I think it will easily be their best speaker yet.

I'd also consider Vapor Nimbus/Joule and Volti Vittoria ALURA, will see if I can think of any more...

 

[SuperDave]

I'd love to hear what you have in mind. Thanks.

I don't have much if any experience with the speakers mentioned but I love my Rockport Aviors which are just shy of 40k. I enjoyed reading your review of the Cygnus.

Dave

 

[RogerD]

Sat/sub can be very good but not quite reference level good....

Hmmm if your goal is to push enough air to say reproduce a large pipe organ or the Dallas Wind Symphony, I don't see how you do it without the largest mega speakers. It is not impossible to integrate a sub system well. Imho

 

[spiritofmusic]

Thank you Dave, there's not enough love and/or respect for Zu on this forum.
The Definitions 4s in my room are now startlingly good.
I suspect Jeff may go for the safe option however.
If you consider what Sean is packing into the Experiences, they'll hold their head up proudly with a lot of spkrs at 3-4x the price.

 

[Folsom]

Endeavor E-5
DeVore Fidelity Gibbon X
Ubiq Audio Model 1
JBL M2
Piega Coax 711 (Maybe MasterOne, not sure on price): this one has more bass drivers than most, at 4x, without having a massive footprint.


Vapor yes, but it REALLY depends on time table for me. I'd rather pay a bunch more extra $ to get them within 3 months. Whether or not it's an option I don't know, don't know the latest news.

Those are musts for my list, to consider.

 

[jeff1225]

Endeavor E-5
DeVore Fidelity Gibbon X
Ubiq Audio Model 1
JBL M2
Piega Coax 711 (Maybe MasterOne, not sure on price): this one has more bass drivers than most, at 4x, without having a massive footprint.


Vapor yes, but it REALLY depends on time table for me. I'd rather pay a bunch more extra $ to get them within 3 months. Whether or not it's an option I don't know, don't know the latest news.

Those are musts for my list, to consider.

Flosom,
You should check out PBN Montana's take on the JBL M2. He created a proper crossover for the M2 horn and duel compression driver.

http://pbnaudio.com/speakers/m2-5-loudspeaker

 

[Folsom]

Very cool. But I'm not sure I could go for it without the 2216ND woofers... The JBL 2235H has too much inductance for instance.

 

[jeff1225]

Very cool. But I'm not sure I could go for it without the 2216ND woofers... The JBL 2235H has too much inductance for instance.

If you look at the specs of the 2216ND you'll see that it's a poor choice for non-DSP usage. Just 86 DB and can't go below 50hz with out the DSP.

 

[asiufy]

Funny, I was going to suggest a YG Hailey... Then I went to Jeff's website, and saw that someone did it before I could

http://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/feedback/767-consider-yg-acoustics-hailey

We've showed them at the LAOCAS meeting this past January, and they filled a huge ballroom, all powered by a D'Agostino integrated amp (and alternatively, by a darTZeel CTH-8550 integrated amp).

 

[Folsom]

If you look at the specs of the 2216ND you'll see that it's a poor choice for non-DSP usage. Just 86 DB and can't go below 50hz with out the DSP.

Still, wouldn't trade the extension for that inductance.

 

[jeff1225]

Still, wouldn't trade the extension for that inductance.

Have you ever heard the JBL 4344, 4355, and 4430's? Their best sounding studio monitors all had the 2235H. It's a proven winner with horns.

 

[morricab]

I'd love to hear what you have in mind. Thanks.

Are we talking only new speakers or is used also on the table? You bought a coda amp already for this new system too?