Best Speaker Direction??

[Chorus]

I recently sold my Tannoy FSMs after 3 & 1/2 years of pleasure in order to pursue something different and better.
I would welcome suggestions based on this background:

- Gear: Pass Labs INT25, Innuos Zen Mk3, Uptone Audio Etherregen, ANK 4.1X DAC, REL 5TX Subwoofer.
- Medium sized, well treated room
- Female vocals, Acoustic instruments, some electronic
- Listening level never exceeds 75 db
- Budget $6k new or used
- Function well at 18" or less from back wall

Speakers I have listened to that left me wanting more:

-Monitor Audio Gold 200's
-Fritz Carerra 7BEs

Speakers in my sights:

- Dali Rubicon 8's
- Wilson Benesch Act/Curve
- ProAc D48Rs
- Madisound Kits with Satori BE tweets
- Vivid Kaya Audio
- Paradigm Founders
- Decware
- Ascend Audio Sierra Tower with RAAL

My ultimate but beyond budget would be Boressens or Vimbergs.

What have I missed in my parameters?

 

[sbnx]

How about Sonner audio?

 

[Chorus]

Thanks for the idea!
I was unfamiliar with them.

 

[thedudeabides]

The first question to answer is what you did not like about your Tannoy speakers. And what does "different and better" mean? Depending on your response, I suspect you may get more informed comments. Good luck.

 

[Chorus]

Dooby, Good point, thanks.
The Tannoys did vocals and midrange well but were less good on the highs.
I had the Fitz Carerras for a few weeks and they sold me on the Satori BE tweeter.
The 6 1/2" mid was very good except no real visceral feel.

Oh, did I mention it need to be as close to 90 Sens. as possible and not dip below 4ohms?

I know I am not making it too easy!!

 

[Cellcbern]

I recently sold my Tannoy FSMs after 3 & 1/2 years of pleasure in order to pursue something different and better.
I would welcome suggestions based on this background:

- Gear: Pass Labs INT25, Innuos Zen Mk3, Uptone Audio Etherregen, ANK 4.1X DAC, REL 5TX Subwoofer.
- Medium sized, well treated room
- Female vocals, Acoustic instruments, some electronic
- Listening level never exceeds 75 db
- Budget $6k new or used
- Function well at 18" or less from back wall

Speakers I have listened to that left me wanting more:

-Monitor Audio Gold 200's
-Fritz Carerra 7BEs

Speakers in my sights:

- Dali Rubicon 8's
- Wilson Benesch Act/Curve
- ProAc D48Rs
- Madisound Kits with Satori BE tweets
- Vivid Kaya Audio
- Paradigm Founders
- Decware
- Ascend Audio Sierra Tower with RAAL

My ultimate but beyond budget would be Boressens or Vimbergs.

What have I missed in my parameters?

Bache Audio Tribeca 001 or Urban 002.

 

[Chorus]

Thanks for the suggestions. They all look promising. More to see at Axpona I hope.
Meantime I am leaning toward a Madisound package called Sasandu . Lotta work
but seems quite promising.

 

[Asa]

How about an AudioNote UK speaker? Fits back in the corners, or close thereabouts...driven easily by your Pass...mates well with your listening preferences...

 

[Chorus]

Asa, Here is my thinking. I listened to Audionote speakers at a show and they sounded good even there.
But they do not have the sparkle in the high end I enjoy. Probably similiar to what I sold.

 

[bazelio]

Well since you like Satori and probably should opt for a front ported design, I suspect the Salk 6M would beat the Fritz.

Salk Sound

www.salksound.com

I would probably personally prefer the 7M which is in your price range, albeit with different drivers.

Salk Sound

www.salksound.com

 

[gleeds]

Some good choices on your list, although nothing outside the box

Looking at your price target, use requirements, sound preferences, and your system (especially the wonderful Pass Labs integrated I have something, not in my line-up but a very strong recommendation. That is the Sound Kaos Vox 3f from Switzerland. Designed to pair brilliantly with refined, low-powered SS amplification such as your Pass Int-25, First Watt, Bakoon/Enleum, etc. they feature side-firing woofers for 35z bass extension, a wide-bander, and the outstanding Raal ribbon tweeter in a very interesting alignment.

The price in euros today is 5250 euros or roughly $5880 + shipping. If you're located on the east coast you can experience them at Prana Distribution in the Boston area. I am happy to tell you more off-line if the Vox 3f peak your interest. Good luck finding your perfect loudspeaker!

 

[Fred Crane]

That's a tough call. Quite a bit out there. Of course I love the SoundKaos Vox 3's, not only because they are small and go to 32-34hz depending upon the model. They have tone, and a massive stage....just love them.

But in the interest of looking at something I don't have a relationship with, I might take a gander at the Trio 15 Open Baffles from the Pure Audio Project. Modular, so you can begin with the Tang Band as your 'full range' driver and work your way through various options should you wish to upgrade...they start at around $5500 and go up incrementally depending upon the main driver...the top is a field coil Voxativ, (around $18k) but there's also a 10" coax, a horn, a Heil AMT...all at varied price points.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Fred Crane]

Of course you may not want OB's next to the back wall...so to revise my thought, how about Tekton?

High-end audiophile speakers made in the USA | Tekton Design

High-value, audiophile-grade speakers custom made to match any need - from studio sound to music playback in the home.

tektondesign.com

 

[bazelio]

Some good choices on your list, although nothing outside the box

Looking at your price target, use requirements, sound preferences, and your system (especially the wonderful Pass Labs integrated I have something, not in my line-up but a very strong recommendation. That is the Sound Kaos Vox 3f from Switzerland. Designed to pair brilliantly with refined, low-powered SS amplification such as your Pass Int-25, First Watt, Bakoon/Enleum, etc. they feature side-firing woofers for 35z bass extension, a wide-bander, and the outstanding Raal ribbon tweeter in a very interesting alignment.

The price in euros today is 5250 euros or roughly $5880 + shipping. If you're located on the east coast you can experience them at Prana Distribution in the Boston area. I am happy to tell you more off-line if the Vox 3f peak your interest. Good luck finding your perfect loudspeaker!

View attachment 90460

Would these work well in near field? I've never seen an upward firing tweeter like this. And I'm just wondering if things would sound disjointed closer than some minimum seating distance.

 

[gleeds]

Jumping back in -)

The top-mounted Raal’s upward-facing ribbon tweeter is fixed to a 2mm bronze plate firing upwards to extend the brilliance range and boost ambiance by turning a room’s ceiling into an omnidirectional diffuser. The wide-bander runs fully open at the bottom to roll off gently at 10kHz via a single cap), where the Raal’s take over, extending to 35hz. The coherence of this design is remarkable and excels at nearfield because of the nearly full-range performance of the front-firing main driver.

Besides those attributes which Fred eloquently expressed, dynamics are considerably above average for a stand-mount based upon their efficiency, hence the recommendation of using them with the superb Class A Pass INT-25 or similarly excellent low powered amplifier. Hope this helps address your furter question.

 

[bazelio]

That's a good explanation. I didn't look close enough to realize this was a wide bander. Which wideband driver is used in the 3f vs 3a?

 

[gleeds]

The 3F uses a Tangband driver.
The 3A is a custom Alnico driver I believe furnished by Enivee.

 

[Solypsa]

I have heard PAP Trio15 with Voxativ field coils and Pass XA25 in a smaller room and 'pretty close' to the back wall. In this case 2 small subs to support LF and it all worked nicely; so this could be an option, despite OB working best further away from wall by textbook...

 

[bazelio]

The 3F uses a Tangband driver.
The 3A is a custom Alnico driver I believe furnished by Enivee.

Ok. How would you describe the sonic difference between the two? Assuming you've heard both versions.

 

[pdubya]

Ok. How would you describe the sonic difference between the two? Assuming you've heard both versions.

Srajan (6Moons) does a thorough comparo.