XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Oct 25, 2008 12:57:14 GMT
Back in the late 1990s when I finally moved out of London for good I had a pair of early 1970s vintage Tannoy gold 12 inch "bookshelf" speakers with the gold tweed grills. Oh, is that with the classic dual concentric driver like the Kef IQ7?
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Oct 25, 2008 13:02:32 GMT
I've been using Opera 1.5 s for about 10 years They came in as part of a domestically/wife freindly system, but I do like them. Have considered replacing them, but I'm so out of touch with the industry now that I'm not sure what to look at! Back in my active days, maybe Jamo Concert 8 or B&W CDM1NT or Totem to be driven by Inca Tech Claymore.... Best 'speakers I've owned are Naim SBL s, actively driven by old Exposure XI, IX, 2 X IVDR, sadly long gone as they were a bit much for a newly-wed couple's first home ,with all the other gear. Well, if you are making a come back, with your wifey approval, pick up a Stereophile Recommended components issue or Hifi Choice or even the basic What Hifi issues. But don't tell me I "ruin" your life again, that's all.
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Oct 25, 2008 13:11:40 GMT
Had a pair of Spica TC-50's "back in the day" that were one of only two systems having a soft dome tweeter i ever could stand (the Dahlquist DQ-10's I wish i still had were the other) but MAN ! No matter how good they sounded,and they sounded damn nice if fed properly,they were sooooo butt ugly and hard to integrate in a room cosmetically I had to let them go. Looking back now it comes to me that almost every speaker I have ever liked or owned mostly consisted of very "non traditional" shapes and/or construction/technology and this all the way back to everything after the fist "mid fi" speakers I ever bought,and that i was pretty much ripped off on the salesperson skewing the listening session to make the sale (lesson learned young ) so either the cabinet was weird shaped like the Spica,was a panel shape like the DQ-10's,was a hybrid like my Janzens and very early EMIT based Infinity's or was a TL or horn loaded cab with nary an acoustic suspension or bass reflex "traditional box" plus dome in the bunch. I don't remember setting out a PLAN for this to happen but looking back I must have because to be honest,the only dome tweets I ever really cared for were either assisted or were mini-horn loaded (D-Horns) Oh, the Spica TC50 is a very smooth speaker just like the Celestion SL6 or 600 or 700. The Avance Concrete is much better balance with a Scandinavian sound. In fact, the Wilson Puppy looks just like it without the subwoofer. So the Puppy os not the fiorst speaker with that shape. They are aping the the concrete. The Dahlquist DQ-10's, I had heard about the praises for it but didn't have the luck to hear one yet. It should sound like a Quad ESL 57 since it looks something like that. Oh, the Infinity Reference and now the Genesis is just too awesome withe the right muscle amp like the MF Kilowatt amps. Really killer sound like the Apogee Scintilla.
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Oct 25, 2008 13:13:02 GMT
I remember listening to the Dalquist DQ-10 in Hi-Fi Buys in Atlanta back in the late 70's. What a fantastic sounding speaker, very power hungry. For the last 20 years or so I have been using a pair of DCM Time Windows 1A. Many times I have been tempted to replace them, however anything that I can afford does not sound as good as them. Ha, ha, another warmish speaker there ................. Very good for vocal. ;D
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Oct 25, 2008 13:14:13 GMT
"For the last 20 years or so I have been using a pair of DCM Time Windows 1A" When i auditioned the Dahlquists it was down to either the Time windows or the DQ-10 with the DQ-10 winning out BUT in the same room were a pair of Quad ESL-63's and they blew both out of the water Yup, bye bye once compared. The ESL 57 will be even better .........
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Oct 25, 2008 13:20:05 GMT
More like 200WPC Min ! 100 watts was way underpowered and even the Hafler DH-500 that i used then was underpowered the Hafler being about the least powerful sounding high power amp of the day but it WAS affordable (especially in kit form ) so is what i went with. I also at that time went through a boatload of "PRO" amps borrowed from buds in the music trade but they ALL,and I do men ALL had problems with the DQ-10s because for whatever reason the speakers would cause problems with the protection circuits professional amps must have to prevent shut down during a performance or recording session (time IS money) so with all the clicking and popping going on not an option. The best I ever heard on the Dahlquists ? Toss up between the original Ampzilla (wanted one but was beyong my means at the time) and the Bryston 200WPC.For the first time these puppies not only sounded good but had actual POWER and could be scary real sounding at times,especially when the DQ-1W/DQLP1 subwoofer/crossover combo was added (though the Janus W1 sub was a better match,again beyond my means at the time) the Time windows were very tempting at the time being cheaper up front and being cheaper in the long run to operate since they were a much easier load to drive and in fact were being driven by a 70WPC "Amber Series 70" at the listening session.From memory the DCMs were very smooth and cast an image outside of the speaker plane,very civilised sounding,but the Dahlquists expanded the entire room in both the side to side and front to back plane plus the openess had to be heard because describing it does no justice to the actual. Weaknesses ? A bitch to place being an awkward dimension AND reflecting rearwards as well as to the front,powering as mentioned was a real bitch to get right and they NEEDED a subwoofer for anything large scale but man,those puppies sure did sing and I STILL miss them to this day Have you tried the Krell or even the Mark Levinson to drive them as they can give tremendous current to ko any speakers refusing to obey? Ok, more down to earth stuffs, Electrocompaniets (high current stuffs), PS Audio or even the SUMO amps?
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Oct 25, 2008 13:24:17 GMT
Listened to Tannoy Westminsters once and if I ever win th lottery..... Oh, it was one of the component in a system review in one of Hifi News personal system review sometime back. A retired engineer system, if I'm not wrong.
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Post by paradigm on Oct 26, 2008 13:46:09 GMT
These are mine, but in Black and in storage
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rickcr42
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Post by rickcr42 on Oct 26, 2008 17:15:26 GMT
have not owned them for over thirty years so the amplifiers need to be in the context of what was available in 1976 at that time there was not a whole lot out there in "quality" high power (plenty of pro amps but they sucked for high res audio mostly) so your choices were the Hafler DH500 which was mamrginal,the Ampzilla which was known to sound good in combination but that had some reliability problems when used with the DQ-10s,the very obscure/hard to get Bryston which reportadly was a match made in heaven,was bullet proof,and the WAY overpriced Levinson. I say overpriced because one the mentally challenged would spend a years salary (seventies again remeber,we WORKED for a living back then and there were no overnight millionaires) to drive a set of $1,200 speakers (seventies dollars so not exactly cheap either). Later when the Threshold "stassis" amps came out my DQ-10's were long gone but if not would likely have been my amp of choice
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Oct 27, 2008 10:11:57 GMT
Later when the Threshold "stassis" amps came out my DQ-10's were long gone but if not would likely have been my amp of choice That Threshold Stasis by Nelson Pass will do .................
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Post by minivan on Nov 24, 2008 12:11:30 GMT
any1 own one of this? guarneri memento by sonus faber, i heard one of this in audio shop and was very impressed, i want one pair of this but they asked for $19000 aud i dont know if the price is justify ,but the sound is very sweet from this speaker.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2008 14:45:40 GMT
Minivan,
A few years ago, whilst in the trade, we stocked these, and yes they are fine indeed. However, at that price the competition is VERY tough.
We regularly had them head to head with ATC and Diapason, the ATCs (sinificantly larger if that's an issue) are very different but fit my preference so always won for me. The Diapason played the same game as the SF and came scarily close at less than half the money! [ATC SCMa50sl & Diapason DiamantesII].(desipte the raving reviews on the SFs)
The ATCs were the active version and require an as neutral as possible preamp (my pref. was CHORD) and excellent source.
The Diapsons, which have had wildly differing reviews, require a power amp with high current and grip, we used bridged Graaf GM20s (yummy!).
There is, of course, plenty more out there that I have not heard, so basically hear some of the competion before committing. Although gorgeous and accomplished, IMHO their musical performance to money takes "diminishing returns" a tad too far.
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Sol
100+
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Post by Sol on Nov 24, 2008 15:05:55 GMT
These are mine ... well actually these are not actually mine, but same model. They are the Proac Response 2.5 - mine are in matched cabinets made from Yew (which I believe was a£500 premium when new). I bought mine from an ebay advert I didn't bid on - I bought them on a whim after getting thoroughly pissed off borrowing speakers from the local HiFi emporiums only to be depressed at the cost or the shite sound! Att he time I had some ropey mission speakers, and prior to that some B&W 603s Ebay turned a pair up .. I made an offer to close the auction which was accepted, and I drove 150 miles with the cash in my pocket that night. I listened to them in the guys house in Brighton ... he had one of those Shanlin' valve CD players , and a couple of valve power amps. The system sounded shite! I thought I'd made a mistake until I got home. I have been incredibly happy with these speakers ... considering the risk I took buying them without hearing them with my equipment ... they match my Rocksan amps perfectly ... sound natural, have great bass extension (for a 2.5 they go so low you'd swear they was a sub bass somewher ein my system) don't seem to need huge power amps to drive them, are not overally fickle with speaker cables, and as long as you move them away from the wall, stay well controlled in that difficult bass area. They project a great stereo, and while not the sweetest upper end I've ever heard, they are darned good and better than most speakers except exotica .. and for the £1000 (new they were £3500) asking price are better than anything else I heard in the long journey to this purchase. They can even make film soundtracks sound good dealing with the crashing bass repsonse required for movie soundtracks with ease. As DIY project the specs are available on the web ... and are hugely popular as a DIY speaker offering superb performance for the compoent price. Oh ... and I love the way they look.
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Nov 25, 2008 7:01:33 GMT
Oh ... and I love the way they look. Ha, ha, good enough to consider bringing it to the graves as well ...........
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bullpup
Been here a while!
How much is that doggy in the window?
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Post by bullpup on Nov 26, 2008 22:30:27 GMT
Very nice Sol.
I always wanted a pair after having Response 1s and Response 2s on Target R1s of course! I demo'd a pair on more than 1 occasion but could never get a good trade in so in the end I ended up with a good Subwoofer to fill out the bottom end.
Prior to that, other speakers included Mission 753s, 752s, Castle Howards and Shahinian Arcs.
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Post by pmac on Dec 19, 2008 13:09:42 GMT
PMC FB1+ in my main system and Dynaudio Audience 52SE in my second system. However, I can not make up my mind which I like the best. The PMC`s have a certain attraction musically, whereas the DYN`s seem much cleaner and detailed.
If I had the room it would be nice to have both pairs connected via a switching box and I could swap them about when the urge took me.
Will post some images soon
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Post by pmac on Dec 21, 2008 11:56:17 GMT
Had an extended A/B comparison yesterday and decided that (for now!) the Dyn`s were more to my taste, so here they are: Unable to post a picture.... can anyone help by explaining how to attach an image???
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2008 12:57:15 GMT
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Post by derekrumble on Jan 22, 2009 9:10:52 GMT
My current collection is:
For main use... Spendor LS3/5A + MJ Acoustics Ref 100 sub (Spendors re-housed in Doug Stirling rosewood cabinets).
Office desk monitors: JR149
Extras:
1. Magneplanar SMGa
2. Acoustic Energy AE109
3. Home made mini towers: Audax 25mm HF + Audax 100mm paper bass/mid... 10 litre boxes with ports tuned to c45Hz. Crossovers.. guesswork and selected from junk box.
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Post by derekrumble on Jan 22, 2009 9:14:30 GMT
My current collection is: For main use... Spendor LS3/5A + MJ Acoustics Ref 100 sub (Spendors re-housed in Doug Stirling rosewood cabinets). Office desk monitors: JR149 Extras: 1. Magneplanar SMGa 2. Acoustic Energy AE109 3. Home made mini towers: Audax 25mm HF + Audax 100mm paper bass/mid... 10 litre boxes with ports tuned to c45Hz. Crossovers.. guesswork and selected from junk box. And my Yamaha S12e PA speakers! Quite efficient these.
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Jan 28, 2009 9:23:49 GMT
Oh yeah, I had forgotten to publish my main speakers as promised donkey months ago. Well, here is my pair of humble main speakers ....................... Avance Apha 44 half modified. Sorry for my messy place.
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Post by skunkworks on Feb 15, 2009 15:00:08 GMT
My quadral pico's on marble diy wall mounts
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Post by skunkworks on Feb 15, 2009 15:40:39 GMT
That's where the marble moves in. Marble has the natural ability to absorb an enormous amount of vibrations. So the neighbours aren't going to kill me immediately. It gives a nice clean sound. I only have my girlfriend and a dog at home It's a Welsh Corgi Pembroke, his name is Cosmo and he's 4 months old.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2009 18:44:06 GMT
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Post by skunkworks on Feb 15, 2009 20:00:39 GMT
HEHE his ears are to big and he allready killed the puppet once. Mr. yummy got revived by my gf.
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