bifcake
bifcake's picture
Offline
Last seen: Never ago
Joined: Nov 27 2005 - 2:27am
Speaker musings
tom collins
tom collins's picture
Offline
Last seen: 11 years 6 months ago
Joined: Apr 3 2007 - 11:54am

alex:

you might consider something used. some might consider this heresay, but many people who upgrade have lovingly cared for speakers they need to sell. my dealer took back a pair of Aerial 6 that had been used as the rear speakers in a surround sound system for about 3 years. he ran a full battery of tests and pronounced them fit. with the finish on them and the tax, they would be $4,000 new. i bought them for $2,000. that was a lot more speaker than i thought i could afford at the time and that i would have gotten for that same amount. they came in the original boxes and look completely new.
just a thought. good luck.

tom collins

CECE
CECE's picture
Offline
Last seen: 5 years 3 months ago
Joined: Sep 17 2005 - 8:16am

How many watts you got, Focus for $2500? That's CHEAP!!!! Do they work? What shape are they in? Not 20/20's the earlier versions? Still cheap....but they sound best with lotsa watts, even though they are kinda efficient. Had em, traded up to Whispers....Get FOCUS then you keep em, and don't want teh other speakers. they sounded good with just a few hundred pc, when I bi amped'd em, they really got better, more defined bass, they can take a lot of power, great stuff

bifcake
bifcake's picture
Offline
Last seen: Never ago
Joined: Nov 27 2005 - 2:27am

Hi Tom,

All of my considerations are on the used market. I wouldn't be able to touch these if I were to pay retail. Besides, these are interim solutions, so I don't want to take a hit by buying new and having to resell a year later at a substantial loss.

DUP, the Focus are the earlier models, not 20/20. I have a 200 watt amp. I don't want to invest in an amp right now because I'll get the Melody amps once I get the Duo's. So, whatever it is that I decide to do now has to work with my current setup.

Do you think I should even bother or just sit tight and save my pennies for the Duos?

CECE
CECE's picture
Offline
Last seen: 5 years 3 months ago
Joined: Sep 17 2005 - 8:16am

The Focus are a great speaker, have you tried em out? Fit and finish are fine furniture also, sound GREAT. I sold mine for about that price I think, when I went to the Whispers. i had mine for about 9 years.

Buddha
Buddha's picture
Offline
Last seen: 12 years 5 months ago
Joined: Sep 8 2005 - 10:24am

Hi,

If you have your heart set on the Avantgardes, then anything you buy will never truly satisfy you in the interim.

I'd vote not to buy anything in order to save up for the Avantgardes as quickly as possible.

However, on the pro buying side, if you buy any of the speakers you mentioned on the used market, you may be able to recoup almost all the cash you spent when you go to sell them.

In that case, by the pair you find most intruiging!

bifcake
bifcake's picture
Offline
Last seen: Never ago
Joined: Nov 27 2005 - 2:27am

Dup, have you heard the Avantgardes? It's a very different sound from Legacy. Your post makes it sound as though the "Focus should be my goal. Another thing, are the oldr Focus substantially different from the 20/20 model?

Jeff Wong
Jeff Wong's picture
Offline
Last seen: 13 years 2 days ago
Joined: Sep 6 2005 - 3:28am

When I think about all the little marginal things I bought over a period of time and how if I had just saved the money to get that one significant item that I deemed too expensive at the time, I could've actually bought it. I say save for the Duos if that's a speaker you feel will give you what you crave.

bobedaone
bobedaone's picture
Offline
Last seen: 10 years 2 months ago
Joined: Feb 1 2007 - 12:27am

Amen, Jeff. It's amazing how attractive a ~$100 speaker cable upgrade can seem when you have your heart set on an $1100 turntable.

Hold out for the Duos, AlexO! Good things come to those who wait.

(Will you bring me a P3-24, Santa? I've been good!)

Elk
Elk's picture
Offline
Last seen: 3 years 7 months ago
Joined: Dec 26 2006 - 6:32am

Avantgardes, +1

Nothing else I have heard sounds like these speakers. They are both great and distinctive.

As you are saving most of your play money for the speakers, perhaps treat yourself with the occasional extra CD that you would not otherwise have explored.

CECE
CECE's picture
Offline
Last seen: 5 years 3 months ago
Joined: Sep 17 2005 - 8:16am

Focus (HD) is on it's 2nd gen since the pair I had, now they have changed from 20/20 to yet another bunch of IMPROVED drivers. new ribbons, new tweeters, new mids. It's always a slow steady improvement, as dirvers get better. The 20/20 wasn't as big a change. For $2500 the FOCUS will certainly do a great job. I have not heard the other, Advantgarde. If you are going for the. The goal is not FOCUS, the goal is HELIX!!!!! If the Legacy or Advantgarde sound "different" which one is REAL? LIVE? Here we go......

bifcake
bifcake's picture
Offline
Last seen: Never ago
Joined: Nov 27 2005 - 2:27am

The only speaker that I've heard that gave me the feeling of a "live" event, with a sense of being there, perfect envelopment and reproduction is the Avantgarde Trio with the bass horns. Alas, those things are too big and too expensive to be practical. The Duos are a very nice compromise. I can live with the Duos for a long, long time.

I never heard the Helix. However, those things are too big and too expensive as well, so they wouldn't be an option for me.

bifcake
bifcake's picture
Offline
Last seen: Never ago
Joined: Nov 27 2005 - 2:27am

Update:

Went to listen to the Gallos yesterday and walked away with a feeling that whereas they're good for the money, it's not what I'm looking for even as an interim solution. It's not all that much better than what I have.

Heard the Sonus Faber Elipsa - I was disappointed. I thought it was going to be much better than it was. It lacked certain refinement, it was a bit gritty, the highs were a bit shrill and I missed the smoothness of the Amatis. I also heard the Stradivari - THAT was a nice speaker. It really did everything well. I would put it on par with Focal's Nova Utopia.

Having heard the Gallos and even the Sonus, I am leaning towards just saving my pennies and getting the Avantgardes. I think the Duos are probably some of the best sounding speakers for the money. I'm probably going to make an appointment to hear the Legacies, but unless they completely enthrall me, I'll most likely just stick with what I got and get the Duos.

CECE
CECE's picture
Offline
Last seen: 5 years 3 months ago
Joined: Sep 17 2005 - 8:16am

Find out how many watts are used driving whatever Legacy you listen too. It does make a difference. I've used teh Focus on a single amp, then bi amped, then bi amp X4, each time it just got better and better, not louder, BETTER. and they areall the same amplifiers. Just kept adding more, through phase inverters from AVA. Now 4 P500 OmegaStar EX P500 which are slighly mo' potent , actually a lot more potent than Hafler DH500 OmegaStar AVA ckts. Much larger transformers, much bigger, it matters. If you hear a Focus on a small amp, they ain't doing what they are capable of.

bifcake
bifcake's picture
Offline
Last seen: Never ago
Joined: Nov 27 2005 - 2:27am

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.

Log in or register to post comments
-->
  • X