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December 2, 2007 - 6:45pm
#1
Floorstanding speaker questions
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At the risk of sounding condescendingly incredulous, why on earth would you order speakers without seeing them or - more importantly - hearing them?
There is nothing I or anyone else here can tell you that will be relevant to you personally. Hi-fi is inherently subjective, and you should buy something that you will be happy with.
I understand that this probably isn't what you want to hear, but I would be irresponsible otherwise.
I can say generally that, given your musical preferences, you ought to be looking at large-ish floorstanders. Beyond that, all I can say is listen.
Regards,
Thank you for your input Eric_B. I fully understand that no one can tell me anything relevant without me listening to the speakers, unfortunately, I would have to drive 100 miles to hear the focals and I have not found a Gallo dealer anywhere on my side of the country. I am forced to make an informed decision based on feedback here, and research on the internet. I am very easy to please and am sure that I would in no way be disappointed in either of the speakers that I chose. The closest thing I have had to nice towers was a pair of Cerwin Vega 12 in. towers... Need I say more? Please don't feel bad about expressing your opinions if you have heard the speakers, I will be very pleased with either. Thank you for your input!
I am not sure if the Gallos are the way to go in your listening environment. They're very good for the money, but they break up at high volumes. The bass goes first and the highs become tinny. I would recommend them for small to midsize rooms. I haven't heard the Axioms, as far as the Chorus is concerned, it too is smallish for your environment. Its bass is not as deep as Gallo's and it tends to be on the colder side as well. What's your budget? Perhaps the Paradigm Studio 100 is the way to go in your case unless you have more money to invest into a larger speaker.
Thanks for the input AlexO. My budget is about 3000.00. Would the Focal's not perform well with the assistance of the subwoofer? All the reviews of the Gallo's are outstanding even for larger rooms, that is why I had them on my list. Is the midrange much fuller on the Focal 836v? Thanks again
Gallos are good for the money, but I don't think they hold up at high volumes in larger rooms. Paradigms hold up much better.
As far as the Chorus with a sub... I don't know. That may be a way of doing it, however, I am not a big fan of external subs for music. I find that it's very difficult to seamless integrate an external sub with a satellite and you wind up having a very disjointed sound. Some people don't mind so much, but I tend to be very sensitive to that.
BTW, I also suggest that you get stuff on Audiogon, you'll save a lot of money buying used. Gallos are about 2k on Audiogon and you can get the Paradigms Studio 100 v3 for about 2k as well and Studio 100 v2 for even less (about 1500). I don't know how much the Chorus 836 goes for on the used market.
I agree with Erik, but if you must, go with the one that has a smaller bass driver and perhaps smaller overall cabinet size, seeing as you already have the Velodyne sub. This way the bass you get from your floorstanders will be that much tighter and defined. Maybe a model that goes down to 45hz or so. Obviously longer professional reviews would be the best way to go if your research is based on recomendation and not actual auditions!
That's quite an investment to make for something you want to live with that might not turn out the way you like.
I'd travel the 3 hours to Underwood HiFi in Roswell and spend a day listening to Acoustic Zens, Emerald Physics, Epiphanys, Quads, Triangles, Epos, Operas and Gallos.
One and a half hours away you can listen to Paradigms and Vandersteens at Sound Advice in Columbia, SC.
If you insist on buying unheard then I'd definitely recommend the Vandersteen 3A Signatures. http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/128/index.html
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/vandersteen_3a_signature.htm
http://ultimateavmag.com/speakersystems/506vandersteen3a/
http://www.vandersteen.com/pages/Pdffiles/3arvw1.pdf
http://www.vandersteen.com/pages/Pdffiles/m3ssrevw1.pdf
I love the sound of my Paradigm Studio 100 v2 speakers. They were a bargain at about $2000/pair. They respond very low (you won't need a sub for music) and it seems every review I read about them before I bought them was glowing. So I would consider a pair of Paradigms if I were you. Although I think the Studio 100 speakers are now in version 4. You won't be disappointed.