Tube Friendly "Big" high end speakers

[jn229]

An audiophile friend has a pair of Coincident, Pure Reference Extremes. They are tube friendly (he uses Atma-Sphere OTL mono blocks), 94db efficient and have a lovely refined non fatiguing sound.

 

[Audioclyde]

I'd urge you to listen to a pair of Daedalus Audio Ulysses (sp?); great looking, great sounding and amazingly efficient for their size!

 

[microstrip]

Hey, it's great that you're keeping an open mind (and ears!)
As for the horns, I recently heard the Avant Garde Trios, and what a kick that was! If anything, I thought the presentation was very laid back, not "biting" or "horn-y" at all. And, of course, with 4 powered subs, it had plenty of bass. With 100W of tube power, it filled a massive show room, no problem! Now I want to hear how the smaller units, in their new product range, sound like...


alexandre

Alexandre,

You are in big danger. When properly matched and setup, Avant Garde speakers are bewitching. They are not easy to setup, and most people listening in shows will have the wrong idea about them. As you say they are not hard, biting or anything similar, and disappear completely, with great micro dynamics and freedom from artifacts.

 

[JackD201]

Thanks! I'll check these out.

Anytime Brian Here's a pair being driven with either 35 or 50 wpc (Can't be sure which model of KR was being used here). Jump to the 3:50 mark.

 

[Peter Breuninger]

An audiophile friend has a pair of Coincident, Pure Reference Extremes. They are tube friendly (he uses Atma-Sphere OTL mono blocks), 94db efficient and have a lovely refined non fatiguing sound.

I reviewed these in TAS and they are outstanding.

Also consider the big Acoustic Zens, they are right on the money with some room to spare with your budget and they look and sound drop dead gorgeous.

 

[rbbert]

...Also consider the big Acoustic Zens, they are right on the money with some room to spare with your budget and they look and sound drop dead gorgeous.

The "big" Acoustic Zen are the Maestro, which I've never seen or heard but are probably outside his budget. If you mean the Crescendos, then of course I heartily concur; anyone who wants to actually buy a pair can call Robert Lee direct and he will make you a deal!

 

[LL21]

I've been upgrading my system from good to great. .... I really want a "big" speaker, something that will move some air and pressurize a room like this. My preference is for something tube friendly and I'll likely need to use my PrimaLuna for at least a few months. Not really interested in horns though.

I'm looking for a very 3D soundstage that's velvety smooth. Detail is great, but definitely nothing fatiguing as I tend to listen at higher volumes for extended periods. While I do listen to a lot of Classic Rock and Jazz, I also listen to a lot of more modern music. I want something that isn't going to make this stuff sound terrible.

I'm planning to buy used, so anything that retails up to $40-50K might be doable....
Which speakers should I be considering?

What a fantastic trip you're on. Congrats. All sounds great. My own evolution has had much of the criteria you seem to have articulated. 20+ years ago was a pair of Celestion SL6sis...with CJ 60-watt EL34 amp. Overtime, that moved to SF Guarneris...with massive DD18 sub. Then came the SF Strads...and pure Class A SS amplification (Gryphon).

While I know many people have found it tough to believe...but an EL34 tube-loving SF speaker owner...has found with his current system is more beguiling and fatigue free than his tube-driven SFs...but with an enormous ability to move air, create dynamic scale and provide shadings and nuances. When I work in the evenings til late or generally all day on Sat/Sun the system is on...so anywhere from 4-15 hours a day. I play an entire CD thru, and like a DJ...I just line them up without feeling the itch to change the track...and go back to work, getting up only the change the CD.

You really, really have to work to get the X1s to have that beguiling mid...reduce distortion from vibration, EMI/RFI, under and on top of the speaker...but the X1s are definitely within your budget of 2nd hand for something that retailed for up to $50K. And it really moves air and [set up exceedingly carefully] can make modern rock, electric sing. Again, this coming from an EL34, SF fan for nearly 2 decades. It takes real work, but that's my own personal experience as food for thought.

You might need to up your power a bit from your current one (no pun intended, but not necessarily watts...but get a high current tube amp). The X1s are 95dbs and a fairly good load for an amp to drive...the only area to watch is 17khz-20khz where the impedance loads dips to 3 and thus an amp needs to get it right in that area to keep treble flat according to Martin Colloms review of the X1 many years ago which I sometimes refer to. Good luck.

 

[MtnHam]

As a Sound Lab dealer, of course my opinion is suspect. But I am a lover of these electrostatics first, and that is my reason for being a dealer. I am located 2 hours from San Francisco and have the Ultimate U-1PX available for audition in my home in an extremely fine system. If you have an interest in hearing them, please PM me.
Tom

 

[LL21]

As a Sound Lab dealer, of course my opinion is suspect. But I am a lover of these electrostatics first, and that is my reason for being a dealer. I am located 2 hours from San Francisco and have the Ultimate U-1PX available for audition in my home in an extremely fine system. If you have an interest in hearing them, please PM me.
Tom

would love to hear them someday...have heard great things about Wavac and Atmasphere with your Sound Labs.

 

[CGabriel]

I'm not quite ready to write the DeVore's off yet. I loved the sound on 95% of what I threw at it. It may be that the room they were in was just too small for the volume I was throwing at it. They are such a bargain at $12K and that would free up budget to address the other components.

I know I said "no horns" above, but I'm realizing that at least some of the speakers I'm considering actually do have horns. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of the Avant Garde stuff. Even then, I'm realizing that I'm letting a past experience with a lower end Klipsch horn speaker that was way bright bias me against horns in general. I should probably be fair and give them a chance.

There are some great suggestions here and hopefully people will keep adding so I can investigate. I'm about to start another thread about 3 specific speakers I'd like to get feedback on.

A big +1 on the Devore 0/96

I wouldn't call it a "big" speaker although it can fill a large room sonically. And they are a beautiful piece of furniture. All the females love them.

 

[KeithR]

I didnt think the O96 was great value. I heard muddiness as well and think mdf cabinet construction at their price was somewhat weak. My Zu Def4s are better sounding and constructed at the same price IMO.

 

[rbbert]

I didnt think the O96 was great value. I heard muddiness as well and think mdf cabinet construction at their price was somewhat weak. My Zu Def4s are better sounding and constructed at the same price IMO.

Although Zu's aren't quite to my taste I think their top models should definitely be considered in the context of this thread.

 

[CGabriel]

I didnt think the O96 was great value. I heard muddiness as well and think mdf cabinet construction at their price was somewhat weak. My Zu Def4s are better sounding and constructed at the same price IMO.

Hm, well I don't hear any of that. What amp and cables were used with it?

I've used them with a Constellation Centaur, First WATT SIT and with an Ayon Crossfire. None sounded in any way muddy - quite the contrary. They are almost electrostat like in perceived speed but they are very powerful in bass response.

The Zu's are very nice although I have never owned a set. Just heard them at shows.

 

[Elliot G.]

The Nola speakers are designed to work with tubes and the new gold line are efficient as well

 

[KeithR]

Hm, well I don't hear any of that. What amp and cables were used with it?

I've used them with a Constellation Centaur, First WATT SIT and with an Ayon Crossfire. None sounded in any way muddy - quite the contrary. They are almost electrostat like in perceived speed but they are very powerful in bass response.

The Zu's are very nice although I have never owned a set. Just heard them at shows.

Sorry, Caelin- I should have clarified further. It was at a Devore dealer on a full Shindo setup. I didn't think the sound was bad- just a bit subdued for my taste. I think if one demo'd Zu or Devore, you would prefer one over the other. They have quite different sounds.

On the value front, I'm just not an MDF fan at that price level. That was more my point.

 

[microstrip]

(...) On the value front, I'm just not an MDF fan at that price level. That was more my point.

The Focal Grande Utopia EM use MDF panels up to 2" thick - do you also object to them?

 

[rbbert]

The Focal Grande Utopia EM use MDF panels up to 2" thick - do you also object to them?

That is an odd choice for speakers like that (meaning price range, etc)

 

[microstrip]

That is an odd choice for speakers like that (meaning price range, etc)

Why? Some designers consider that MDF is the best acoustic material for speaker boxes, as some others prefer exotic materials that are quite different from each other. I hope people are not considering that just because it is expensive it is better ...

 

[rbbert]

I guess I'm with Keith here, most of what I've read and heard from speaker designers suggests that MDF may be the best for the price, but otherwise has a number of disadvantages.

 

[Occam]

high efficiency (98+ dB) very low distortion speakers featuring drivers from Faital (12FH530 ) and Beyma (TPL-150H Air MotionTransformer ), paired with 4 12? powered subwoofers. Each sub driver has it’s own DSP controlled amplifier.

Shown at RMAF '14, the BMF-1s, are available from Tweek Geek in Arvada, Colorado. Surprisingly, available in your price range.
I heard the Mike Galusha designed and built prototypes, and as far as I can tell, they do EVERYTHING you want. It really has it all. IMO, if you're serious about full range, high efficiency speakers, its worth a visit to Colorado.