Sub 75k speakers in the market today for a balanced but dynamic sound

[CircleGame]

I had spotted a pair of triangles on OLX Chennai. Could be a dealer though.

MaSh

Audio Planet in Koramangala deals in Triangle

 

[DB1989]

I've heard that the Triangle Genese Trio are being offered at a substantial discount (more than 50% off their asking price) and apparently they are brilliant. Anyone with insights on those?

 

[square_wave]

I've heard that the Triangle Genese Trio are being offered at a substantial discount (more than 50% off their asking price) and apparently they are brilliant. Anyone with insights on those?

This is a classic model. On discounts abroad.

 

[arj]

This is a classic model. On discounts abroad.

The older triangles while sensitive used to have impedance dipping to 4 ohms, from what I remember their house sound was slightly forward ( not bright) and lighter sounding.

Not sure how much has changed since the last one I heard was in france over 15 years ago !

 

[shyamv]

Forgot to add, the preference is for a tower speaker. Upgrading from a dynaudio audience 40. It has to be an upgrade atleast 1 level up.

Current shortlist include.

Dali oberon 5
Q acoustics - 3050i
Elac debut2.0 F5.2

Not sure if the above are upgrades. I have zero experience with these speakers. So unable to advice anything to my friend. I have the smaller Elac speakers in my gaming setup and they sound decent but not exactly an upgrade to the audience series from dynaudio.

While the above speakers would certainly offer more scale and authority in comparison to Dynaudio Audience 40, I am not sure if it would be a significant upgrade in terms of resolution and precision. You might need to spend 1.5-2L to get the same resolution from a floorstander.

I own Dali Oberon 5 and QAcoustics 3050i from your shortlist and they both have a very different sound. QAcoustics is warmer, slightly laid-back with a solid, powerful bass and silky, rolled off treble. Dali Oberon 5 has relatively forward and bright sounding with a leaner, tighter bass and detailed midrange. I also have Audiolab 6000a and prefer the combination of this amp with QAcoustics 3050i rather than Dali Oberon 5. The later combination is sometimes a little too edgy and analytical for my taste. Rega Brio being a more warmish sounding amp would word better with the Dalis.

I have heard Wharfedale Evo 4.2 and they are bit of mixed bag. They need a lot of power, despite what the specs seem to indicate, to get them going and a more punchy amp. Paired with rich, warm amp like an Arcam SA 20 or even some Rega, Marantz amps makes it sound dull and boring. I found the pairing of Cambridge Audio CXA 61 with Wharfedale Evo to be fun and engaging. They seem to be very picky about partnering in case you are considering. Better to audition it with the partnering equipment before buying.

 

[DB1989]

While the above speakers would certainly offer more scale and authority in comparison to Dynaudio Audience 40, I am not sure if it would be a significant upgrade in terms of resolution and precision. You might need to spend 1.5-2L to get the same resolution from a floorstander.

I own Dali Oberon 5 and QAcoustics 3050i from your shortlist and they both have a very different sound. QAcoustics is warmer, slightly laid-back with a solid, powerful bass and silky, rolled off treble. Dali Oberon 5 has relatively forward and bright sounding with a leaner, tighter bass and detailed midrange. I also have Audiolab 6000a and prefer the combination of this amp with QAcoustics 3050i rather than Dali Oberon 5. The later combination is sometimes a little too edgy and analytical for my taste. Rega Brio being a more warmish sounding amp would word better with the Dalis.

I have heard Wharfedale Evo 4.2 and they are bit of mixed bag. They need a lot of power, despite what the specs seem to indicate, to get them going and a more punchy amp. Paired with rich, warm amp like an Arcam SA 20 or even some Rega, Marantz amps makes it sound dull and boring. I found the pairing of Cambridge Audio CXA 61 with Wharfedale Evo to be fun and engaging. They seem to be very picky about partnering in case you are considering. Better to audition it with the partnering equipment before buying.

Your insights confirmed what i’d thought about my pairings of the Evos with the Marantz PM6006. They sound dull and laidback and initially i’d thought it was the Evo but then, i guess a warm speaker and a warm amp dont make a great pairing.

 

[shyamv]

Your insights confirmed what i’d thought about my pairings of the Evos with the Marantz PM6006. They sound dull and laidback and initially i’d thought it was the Evo but then, i guess a warm speaker and a warm amp dont make a great pairing.

I heard the Wharfedale Evo 4.2 speakers fresh out of the box. Normally AMT or Ribbon tweeters are supposed to have a very crisp, airy treble and sometimes slightly edgy. But Evo 4.2 sounded very flat in the treble. Bass was a little overpowering and vocals were a little closed in. I was expecting the vocals to be more forward given the dome midrange driver. Overall sound opened a little with Cambridge Audio CXA61. I did not get the chance to test it with more powerful amps. Maybe it might also sound different after a breaking in for a 50-100 hours.

 

[spirovious]

Your insights confirmed what i’d thought about my pairings of the Evos with the Marantz PM6006. They sound dull and laidback and initially i’d thought it was the Evo but then, i guess a warm speaker and a warm amp dont make a great pairing.

Try different speaker wires which can be bright sounding.

 

[DB1989]

I heard the Wharfedale Evo 4.2 speakers fresh out of the box. Normally AMT or Ribbon tweeters are supposed to have a very crisp, airy treble and sometimes slightly edgy. But Evo 4.2 sounded very flat in the treble. Bass was a little overpowering and vocals were a little closed in. I was expecting the vocals to be more forward given the dome midrange driver. Overall sound opened a little with Cambridge Audio CXA61. I did not get the chance to test it with more powerful amps. Maybe it might also sound different after a breaking in for a 50-100 hours.

A good break in period is definitely required for them. Out of the box, they sounded bland and underwhelming. After break in also, they dont sound their best with marantzamps. When paired with a crown 1502, the laidback nature of the Evos diminished quite a bit but again, this was less than an ideal pairing. Looking to pair them with some more powerful high current amps to see how they react.

 

[DB1989]

Try different speaker wires which can be bright sounding.

I have tried them with Mogami 2972, QED QX16/2, C&E 14AWG and Amazonbasics 12AWG. No difference whatsoever. For that matter, my ears cant detect the difference between cables.

 

[shyamv]

I have tried them with Mogami 2972, QED QX16/2, C&E 14AWG and Amazonbasics 12AWG. No difference whatsoever. For that matter, my ears cant detect the difference between cables.

Yes, my friend (who bought these speakers in the first place) and I tried it with different cables as well but did not see much difference. I am going to get a Parasound Hint 6 on loaner this weekend for testing with the Wharfedale Evo 4.2. Will report back with my listening impressions. Note that Wharfedale Evo 4.2 has also been running non-stop for the last 4 days at my friend's empty office with Marantz PM6006 amp. So hopefully it has broken in by now

 

[shyamv]

A good break in period is definitely required for them. Out of the box, they sounded bland and underwhelming. After break in also, they dont sound their best with marantzamps. When paired with a crown 1502, the laidback nature of the Evos diminished quite a bit but again, this was less than an ideal pairing. Looking to pair them with some more powerful high current amps to see how they react.

How do you find the Crown 1502 power amp overall? Do you use it for powering sub-woofers or in a stereo setup? How do it work with your other speaker KEF Q350 or Quad S5?

 

[DB1989]

How do you find the Crown 1502 power amp overall? Do you use it for powering sub-woofers or in a stereo setup? How do it work with your other speaker KEF Q350 or Quad S5?

Its horrid with the KEFs. I don’t understand why. I’ve heard other reviewers state that Class D doesnt pair well with the LS50 either but for reasons unknown. The Crown performs admirably with the Quads but thats after i use the SR6013 as a preamp. With the Chord Mojo, the glasiness of Class D becomes rather pronounced. Also, i use the REL T9i to augment the bass and even when i switch to the crown, the high level neutrik speakon connector continues to be fed by the speaker terminals of the av receiver so i guess that helps in negating some of the class D sound attributes that otherwise militate against my listening preferences.

 

[DB1989]

Yes, my friend (who bought these speakers in the first place) and I tried it with different cables as well but did not see much difference. I am going to get a Parasound Hint 6 on loaner this weekend for testing with the Wharfedale Evo 4.2. Will report back with my listening impressions. Note that Wharfedale Evo 4.2 has also been running non-stop for the last 4 days at my friend's empty office with Marantz PM6006 amp. So hopefully it has broken in by now

Looking forward to hearing your impressions.
Hopefully the Evos have more to offer than what i’ve managed to extract out of them so far.

 

[shyamv]

Its horrid with the KEFs. I don’t understand why. I’ve heard other reviewers state that Class D doesnt pair well with the LS50 either but for reasons unknown. The Crown performs admirably with the Quads but thats after i use the SR6013 as a preamp. With the Chord Mojo, the glasiness of Class D becomes rather pronounced. Also, i use the REL T9i to augment the bass and even when i switch to the crown, the high level neutrik speakon connector continues to be fed by the speaker terminals of the av receiver so i guess that helps in negating some of the class D sound attributes that otherwise militate against my listening preferences.

This seems to mirror some of the reviews I have heard about glassiness of Crown XLS amps. I am not sure why these amps are so highly reviewed.

Looking forward to hearing your impressions.
Hopefully the Evos have more to offer than what i’ve managed to extract out of them so far.

Sure, will keep you posted

 

[DB1989]

This seems to mirror some of the reviews I have heard about glassiness of Crown XLS amps. I am not sure why these amps are so highly reviewed.

With the right preamps and some tweaking, i guess the glassiness can be neutralised to quite an extent. That may still not be ideal for music but i guess this may not be a factor while watching movies where quite a bit of power is required for speakers to reproduce big scale dynamics and the crown provides a cheap solution for big power.

 

[shyamv]

With the right preamps and some tweaking, i guess the glassiness can be neutralised to quite an extent. That may still not be ideal for music but i guess this may not be a factor while watching movies where quite a bit of power is required for speakers to reproduce big scale dynamics and the crown provides a cheap solution for big power.

Yes, some reviewers recommend using a tube pre-amp with Crown XLS amps to mitigate the glassiness. Completely agree that it's cheap clean power and ideal for movie watching or even powering a sub-woofer.

I met with Crown folks at Elkhart, Indiana several years back when they were just embarking on their Class D amp development. They were very sure about Class D amps being the main driver of professional audio. However, I am sure they did not envision it being adopted by audiophiles for home stereo applications.

 

[DB1989]

Yes, some reviewers recommend using a tube pre-amp with Crown XLS amps to mitigate the glassiness. Completely agree that it's cheap clean power and ideal for movie watching or even powering a sub-woofer.

I met with Crown folks at Elkhart, Indiana several years back when they were just embarking on their Class D amp development. They were very sure about Class D amps being the main driver of professional audio. However, I am sure they did not envision it being adopted by audiophiles for home stereo applications.

Well, certain professional studio monitors have also proved themselves quite capable in stereo/HT applications so no surprises there (PMC being the shining example). The crown still isn’t great for stereo applications yet but who knows, if they get tweak their formula right, they could very well be.

 

[shyamv]

Well, certain professional studio monitors have also proved themselves quite capable in stereo/HT applications so no surprises there (PMC being the shining example). The crown still isn’t great for stereo applications yet but who knows, if they get tweak their formula right, they could very well be.

Crown is happy servicing the professional audio business and making truck loads of money. They are well regarded in professional audio business. They won't tweak their portfolio to suit home audio consumers. Their stablemates Mark Levinson, Harman Kardon and JBL are the home audio businesses.

 

[square_wave]

While the above speakers would certainly offer more scale and authority in comparison to Dynaudio Audience 40, I am not sure if it would be a significant upgrade in terms of resolution and precision. You might need to spend 1.5-2L to get the same resolution from a floorstander.

I own Dali Oberon 5 and QAcoustics 3050i from your shortlist and they both have a very different sound. QAcoustics is warmer, slightly laid-back with a solid, powerful bass and silky, rolled off treble. Dali Oberon 5 has relatively forward and bright sounding with a leaner, tighter bass and detailed midrange. I also have Audiolab 6000a and prefer the combination of this amp with QAcoustics 3050i rather than Dali Oberon 5. The later combination is sometimes a little too edgy and analytical for my taste. Rega Brio being a more warmish sounding amp would word better with the Dalis.

I have heard Wharfedale Evo 4.2 and they are bit of mixed bag. They need a lot of power, despite what the specs seem to indicate, to get them going and a more punchy amp. Paired with rich, warm amp like an Arcam SA 20 or even some Rega, Marantz amps makes it sound dull and boring. I found the pairing of Cambridge Audio CXA 61 with Wharfedale Evo to be fun and engaging. They seem to be very picky about partnering in case you are considering. Better to audition it with the partnering equipment before buying.

Good insights. Exactly what I was looking for