Looking for new speakers

[AVM]

Although I have not heard the ATC, there is enough to consider these as alternatives. particularly the active lines.
When I did snoop around ATC40A was recommended amongst the actives.

 

[arj]

Arjun, I definitely don't have the budget for the Ellipsa but I would certainly get a nice kick explaining to visitors about the gorgeous finish and how many man hours were spent on polishing it... I have only heard the top end SF speakers at dealers where they obviously sound nice but never in somebody's house...

The Tannoy Turnberry is something I can get for a good price and it won't pinch that much considering how good they are and the fact that my current equipment can get the best out of them...

You have a fantastic amp which can drive most speakers quite well. as mentioned by Joshua, whats imp is the space you are going to place it in.

I can vouch for the tannoys personally and the turnberry so the only reason i bought a tannoy. DrBass is an expert when it comes to the Turnberry SE and that is one piece of equipment he refuses to upgrade despite changing everything else many-x times the price of the turnberry. So i do not see that going wrong with that choice..and you get a really full bodied sound and everything other than the deepest of bass as well.

The Maggies are great but need to be placed very carefully to get the best

The ATCs are phenomenal speakers but personally would go with their Actives to get the best out of them. in fact an Active ATC 100 OR 50 is something i would love to own even now.

I personally am not very much a Harbeth guy but the Harbeth Monitor 40.1 which i heard recently really impressed me .

 

[sidvee]

I am not an expert on Tannoys but checking the specs on the turnberry it's sensitivity is 93db/1 watt/m. IMO the luxman is a bad match for these speakers unless the room size is humongous. I have tried high efficiency speakers with relatively high powered amps in the past and was unable to find a proper listening level at any range on the volume knob (knowing that even 9 o clock will be a super high listening level with this efficiency). Panditji if you plan on getting these speakers IMO, you have to plan on getting a new amp. Perhaps a tube design with 20-30 watts push pull or even a Set though I would be wary of the single digit watters.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[panditji]

You have a fantastic amp which can drive most speakers quite well. as mentioned by Joshua, whats imp is the space you are going to place it in.

I can vouch for the tannoys personally and the turnberry so the only reason i bought a tannoy. DrBass is an expert when it comes to the Turnberry SE and that is one piece of equipment he refuses to upgrade despite changing everything else many-x times the price of the turnberry. So i do not see that going wrong with that choice..and you get a really full bodied sound and everything other than the deepest of bass as well.

The Maggies are great but need to be placed very carefully to get the best

The ATCs are phenomenal speakers but personally would go with their Actives to get the best out of them. in fact an Active ATC 100 OR 50 is something i would love to own even now.

I personally am not very much a Harbeth guy but the Harbeth Monitor 40.1 which i heard recently really impressed me .

I have heard the Stirlings and the Glen Airs and have been impressed with both.. Also both you and Dr. Bass have not upgraded the Tannoys and I can hardly see any used ones anywhere on the internet..So that means the Prestige line is the last pair of speakers for a huge majority of their owners and I can also assume they are room friendly and not very fussy about placement...

The only reason for holding back on the Maggies is their placement as I have a living room and even though the wife likes the look of the Maggies, placement and absorption panels behind is going to be a pain...

The 40.1 is quite impressive but it is too big and too expensive for what it does... A 12 inch woofer will always give a big sound and that is what the Tannoys also do at a lower price.... If only I could hear a Turnberry SE in Delhi/NCR in a regular room!!!

Again ATC actives are too expensive....The passive ones really need a powerful amp to get the best out of them but as Sid says the new versions are easier to drive...Again no place to audition....

 

[panditji]

I am not an expert on Tannoys but checking the specs on the turnberry it's sensitivity is 93db/1 watt/m. IMO the luxman is a bad match for these speakers unless the room size is humongous. I have tried high efficiency speakers with relatively high powered amps in the past and was unable to find a proper listening level at any range on the volume knob (knowing that even 9 o clock will be a super high listening level with this efficiency). Panditji if you plan on getting these speakers IMO, you have to plan on getting a new amp. Perhaps a tube design with 20-30 watts push pull or even a Set though I would be wary of the single digit watters.
Cheers,
Sid

Can't change the amplifier sir...And don't really want to since I love the yellow VU meters and champagne gold finish... Call me superficial but thats how it is...

 

[sidvee]

Can't change the amplifier sir...And don't really want to since I love the yellow VU meters and champagne gold finish... Call me superficial but thats how it is...

Panditji, nothing superficial about it as aesthetics of a listening space/equipment - at least to me as it is to you - is as important as the sound quality. Anyways do consider amp. specs before speaker selection. IMO system synergy will make or break your sq - hence the best recommendation is to audition in your own space with your own equipment. In the absence of that start with specs. - it will quickly focus your search. Anyways just my 2 paise - I am hardly an expert on any of these speakers, lot more experienced Fm's out there, so do consider this advice with a grain of salt.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[arj]

Can't change the amplifier sir...And don't really want to since I love the yellow VU meters and champagne gold finish... Call me superficial but thats how it is...

Funnily Tannoys work very well with high power in fact above 30w is recommended despite their 93db. They work well with 8w as well by you lose out on macro dynamics . My 40 w amp is a compromise and If I could would have preferred a 100w


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[panditji]

So the Maggies are out and my quest for the Turnberrys start... Lots of research to do now..will keep me busy for the next couple of days.

 

[Nikhil]

Panditji,

I have some concerns with the Maggie and Tannoy given the room size.
But I have to defer to better ears than mine on this subject.

I really like the Graham Audio recommendation and would add the Harbeth 30.1
Sid has suggested the ATC SCM19V2 but my favorite is the SCM20 from the Classic Series (budget permitting).

Looks like you have a great budget - all the best with your search!

Regards.

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

I am not an expert on Tannoys but checking the specs on the turnberry it's sensitivity is 93db/1 watt/m. IMO the luxman is a bad match for these speakers unless the room size is humongous. I have tried high efficiency speakers with relatively high powered amps in the past and was unable to find a proper listening level at any range on the volume knob (knowing that even 9 o clock will be a super high listening level with this efficiency). Panditji if you plan on getting these speakers IMO, you have to plan on getting a new amp. Perhaps a tube design with 20-30 watts push pull or even a Set though I would be wary of the single digit watters.
Cheers,
Sid

With appropriate equipment, any speaker of any sensitivity with any amp, assuming the combination is capable of the SPL levels desired, can be achieved. I reckon you only need to adjust input voltage to the amp based on the amps gain. It helps if an amp has adjustable vs fixed gain. Of course there may be controls in DACs,CD players etc.

Your post does suggest an analog chain though where such things may be a bit more difficult but still achievable with equipment that can control the output voltage from the source and the input voltage of the amp in fine adjustments. If however one's chain is one that has limitations on fine adjustments to the voltage then I could see what you mean. Perhaps that is what you meant?

Just curious, what are your standard SPL levels for listening?

 

[mpw]

Panditji

Are you open to semi DiY?

Check out the Seas A26 kit. Avbl from Madison if you can get it here by someone coming from USA.

10 inch Midbass with 35 mm dome tweeter and a simple crossover.

Just a different spin... On this topic

Regards

 

[panditji]

No DIY for me sir ...

 

[panditji]

With appropriate equipment, any speaker of any sensitivity with any amp, assuming the combination is capable of the SPL levels desired, can be achieved. I reckon you only need to adjust input voltage to the amp based on the amps gain. It helps if an amp has adjustable vs fixed gain. Of course there may be controls in DACs,CD players etc.

Your post does suggest an analog chain though where such things may be a bit more difficult but still achievable with equipment that can control the output voltage from the source and the input voltage of the amp in fine adjustments. If however one's chain is one that has limitations on fine adjustments to the voltage then I could see what you mean. Perhaps that is what you meant?

Just curious, what are your standard SPL levels for listening?

Decent levels sir but can crank up the volume when I am in a happy mood...

 

[sidvee]

With appropriate equipment, any speaker of any sensitivity with any amp, assuming the combination is capable of the SPL levels desired, can be achieved. I reckon you only need to adjust input voltage to the amp based on the amps gain. It helps if an amp has adjustable vs fixed gain. Of course there may be controls in DACs,CD players etc.

Your post does suggest an analog chain though where such things may be a bit more difficult but still achievable with equipment that can control the output voltage from the source and the input voltage of the amp in fine adjustments. If however one's chain is one that has limitations on fine adjustments to the voltage then I could see what you mean. Perhaps that is what you meant?

Just curious, what are your standard SPL levels for listening?

Sir, I am no expert, so I made a wrong statement. It has been proven by FM Arj that at-least for these speakers there is no connection between amplifier power and their sensitivity. Please ignore my statement and let us get back to Panditji's quest for speakers.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

Sir, I am no expert, so I made a wrong statement. It has been proven by FM Arj that at-least for these speakers there is no connection between amplifier power and their sensitivity. Please ignore my statement and let us get back to Panditji's quest for speakers.
Cheers,
Sid

No worries and no need for formalities, was only trying to be helpful.

Sensitivity is related to power (rather voltage) vs SPL but I understand that is a topic for another thread.

OP, good luck with your quest, my 2 cents are, and always have been, pro speakers picked out to match your taste with DSP.

If you like old "vintage" woodstock speakers, you may like some other older vintage speakers, also have a look at the JBL 4312, which is similar in style though there is no data available that I have seen for either. You may also like Cerwin Vega's XLS-215 despite their reputation, as from your list I gather you prefer "warmth", though I may be wrong, so I think the CV's may suit you. I recommend DSP regardless of the speaker chosen.

If you are interested in pro speakers, drop me a line, I'd be happy to assist.

Home audio is not my inclination but if I were choosing between the speakers in your OP, my tilt would be towards the Harbeth or the Tannoys. Do note that currently Tannoy is owned by Behringer, which may or may not be affecting its products design. Knowing Uli though, it probably is and likely in an undesirable way.

 

[panditji]

No worries and no need for formalities, was only trying to be helpful.

Sensitivity is related to power (rather voltage) vs SPL but I understand that is a topic for another thread.

OP, good luck with your quest, my 2 cents are, and always have been, pro speakers picked out to match your taste with DSP.

If you like old "vintage" woodstock speakers, you may like some other older vintage speakers, also have a look at the JBL 4312, which is similar in style though there is no data available that I have seen for either. You may also like Cerwin Vega's XLS-215 despite their reputation, as from your list I gather you prefer "warmth", though I may be wrong, so I think the CV's may suit you. I recommend DSP regardless of the speaker chosen.

If you are interested in pro speakers, drop me a line, I'd be happy to assist.

Home audio is not my inclination but if I were choosing between the speakers in your OP, my tilt would be towards the Harbeth or the Tannoys. Do note that currently Tannoy is owned by Behringer, which may or may not be affecting its products design. Knowing Uli though, it probably is and likely in an undesirable way.

Thank you sir for the help... I do like warmth as you rightly pointed out and like the Harbeth sound..But this time I am looking for a slightly bigger driver and the SHL5+ has the same driver as my Compact 7ES3s and therefore the difference is not going to be much....

I am myself leaning towards the Tannoy Turnberrys but the Indian distributor is not responding as usual and if I have to import it myself then I can get decent used speakers as well.. I am in no hurry and will try and explore all options...

Please keep the suggestions coming....

 

[Hari Iyer]

I have mixed feelings towards using DSP and finally decided not to use DSPs. Too much EQ to take care of room modes affect other sonic attributes of the acoustic chain imo. I have measured my speakers using REW in my sitting position and have applied 20 band parametric EQ to give a flat response to the sound stage. No doubt they sound okay, but again the filter Q, damping and phase go for a toss and i sounds less organic to me.

To tackle the room modes, i then went for a non-parallel wall placement to avoid room modes completely and placed the left and right speakers in such a way that any room modes will cancel out each other. I have measured this placement of speakers and i found at 120ms there are no room mode while in my earlier placement the 72Hz room mode was very strong at 120ms decay.

I would rather suggest proper speaker placement + room treatment for mid and high frequencies using some absorbent. At low freq bass traps are too impractical and can be handled by intelligent placement of speakers itself.

 

[jls001]

Please keep the suggestions coming....

I don't know how I missed out mentioning the Graham 5/9:annoyed:

Among the speaker's mentioned so far in this thread, it is the best sounding for me (I haven't heard the Sonus Faber). In fact I would say "end of the road" speaker for me for the kind of music I listen to :thumbsup:

On the forum vivek.r owns one. He will be able to describe it better. Unfortunately for him, it is not really optimized in terms of placement in his bedroom due to space constraints, though his electronics and wiring loom are highly pedigreed. When we hauled it to his main rig, it sang like a diva unleashed.

I've also heard the same speakers in a different setup where it was optimized by the Indian distributor Khushrau Jilla, paired to electronics which was many notches above what it would logically be paired with, and that's where it really shone. The Grahams were certainly not the weak link.

So I would say it's not just about the speaker + electronics + wiring loom, BUT setting it up correctly. If one were to buy the Graham it would make sense to also pay for KJ to come and set it up correctly at one's place because I've seen him raise the sound of a room from good to excellent. IMHO, of course.

 

[arj]

Joshua , for me the grahams did not do the trick I heard it at the Hifi show . On the Harbeths the monitor 40 is great but the 30 you lose a bit of the bass extension.
Panditji , does not Sid trehan deal with Tannoys ?


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[arj]

Sir, I am no expert, so I made a wrong statement. It has been proven by FM Arj that at-least for these speakers there is no connection between amplifier power and their sensitivity. Please ignore my statement and let us get back to Panditji's quest for speakers.
Cheers,
Sid

sid , technically you were spot on...jut that the Tannoys are a bit different thats all and the only reason i know it is that I own one else this is exactly what i would have gone by as well.