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Lets see Home Theater: Paradigm/Snell. Tube Stereo Vandersteen, Office Solid State Maggies/HSU Different types for different applications and differeent whims. TOTEM will be on the next purchase though!.
We get requests all the time from readers who want to know what audio components others have purchased. What we're looking for is a description of what loudspeaker products you own and why you like them. Here goes . . .
My wife and I own DQ-12's which are bi-wired with Kimber 8 strand. We are music lovers first,and equipment geeks second.Also we are parents of a young child ,so time and resources have to be allocated accordingly.Which brings me to our choice of speakers.The DQ-12 is an affordable,sweet sounding speaker,although admittedly not the newest.They have given my wife and I much pleasure ,and that is, after all what we all listen to music for.I believe many audio dealers have forgoten that very important point.As funds permit we would certainly consider new speakers, but for now the joy of music (of many differant types )is our primary concern.
We bought a pair of Vandersteen Model 5's to replace a vintage set of Model 2c's when the the Five's first came out. We have been pleased with the looks, sound and performance of them. We also use Vandersteen's VCC-1 Signature for a Center Channel speaker and four Vandersteen VSM's for our Home Theater and feel like they we are getting some of the best sound available.
I have a pair of B&W CDM-1s hooked to about $15,000 of front-end and amplification. Seem wierd? Sounds GREAT! As I live in a small apartment, it makes no sense to spend more on speakers. Especially with the raving reviews that the little B&Ws seem to get from you guys!
Genesis 400s reside in my system. Those round ribbon tweeters are great! My old Dali 8s live in my girlfriend's room and simply make wonderful music. Her Klipsch KG5.5s sit in the living room and add a lot of impact to movies. My ancient Fanfare Tempo II speakers are collecting dust at my mother's house. Recently traded my old Magnepan SMGs to a friend for a new car stereo when the Blaupunkt died in the 928.
Thiel CS1.5 I have a small (15' x 16' x 8') room. I needed a small speaker, with low or moderate sensitivity. For the most part, the thiel CS1.5 satisfies my needs. The only thing is, it sounds better, when listened to at least ten feet away. In my room, I would have to have my back against the wall, in order for that to happen.
I just traded in my beloved Spendor S20s on their big brothers, the SP100. This speaker can do everything. I know you hate it when people whine uncontrollably when certain products fall off the Recommended Components listing, but this is a speaker you guys should seriously revisit.
Magnepan 10.1 planar speakers and a Vandersteen 2WQ sub. A magical combination. Magenepan markets the 10.1s as home theater speakers, but they are really planar minimonitors (as mini as planars can be). The Vandersteen sub is incredibly fast (with 3 eight-inch drivers) and uses a novel crossover method. Bass is rolled off before the amp with a 1st order high pass filter(frequency roll-off depends upon the crossover setting and amp input impedance). Taking its input from the power amp's speaker terminals, the sub woofer's amp then compensates for the roll-off by boosting bass in the opposite way it was rolled off. Character of the power amp is therefore carried over into the sub and perfectly integrated with the main speakers.
Proac Response 2. I bought them used about 3 years ago and since then they have served as anchor for my system. I find that as I make improvements or conduct comparisons, differences are revealed in a highly musical manner. Under every condition the Proacs strenghts remains that of musicality and balance.
Hooked on planars - second hand Magnepan MGIIIA's to be precise! After an initial Wife Acceptance issue (size), I now realize that it will be a long time before I need to replace the speakers in my system (and then with newer, better Maggies, no doubt!). Despite being a little current hungry, a little light in the bass and having an odd "cabinet' resonance, they have wonderful microdynamics and can develop a great "you are there" soundstage (after experimenting with listening positions). Unfortunately they have highlighted the inadequacies of my current source component - so do I (a) go back to analog, say, Rega Planar 25, (b) upgrade my CD player to a Naim CD3.5, (c) add a better DAC to my Pioneer DV414, or (d) wait and see what happens in the digital format wars?