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November 9, 2019 - 11:15pm
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Speaker Choices
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The best advice anyone can give you on this subject is this: no matter what you read, how many specs you examine or however long you research speaker recommendations (or, for that matter, any components), the speakers that will sound best will be the speakers that sound best TO YOU. Unfortunately, in most places, there are fewer and fewer audiophile quality stereo shops out there that afford the ability to spend a day doing critical listening and A/B/or comparison shopping. The best you can do is identify your budget range and, if possible, go out and spend some time listening to as many different speakers as possible, preferably played through components as similar to yours, in a room(s) as similar to your listening room, as possible, and narrow down what your ears like. Any reputable dealer will let you take equipment home and play it there for, at least 30 days, to make sure it measures up to what you want. That being said, the speakers you are considering are all very fine choices. In addition, I would suggest also considering Monitor Audio, Wharfedale, Elac, Vandersteen, Martin Logan, Ohm, Paradigm and others in your budget range. Of these, I've heard (not necessarily the same models) Focals,, KEFs, Warfedales, Vandersteens, Ohms and Paradigms. I've liked the sound of all of them but, obviously, some more than others. Happy hunting!
Can’t do it. Either buy used and keep trying different stuff in your room with your own gear like i do but be warned shipping will eventually get you. As to buying from reviews you really need to know the actual reviewers style because these guys will tell you what the shortcomings are within a glowing review if you’re really paying attention. Kef and revel are both notorious power hogs and can be tricky to get the best from with the gear you would expect to use. Focal has a pretty good sound despite using probably the cheapest drivers of the 3. Welcome to hifi and try to stay focused on the music and not the gear.
Really? I find these to be easier than most.
i Counted over 50 parts in a single kef r105/3 speaker so I wasn’t surprised so much when I ended up using 2-200 wpc amps per speaker to get any reproduction below 50 ha, similar problem with the revels although I never actually cracked open one of those to count the parts inside
Lol. I speak from my experience and you speak from yours.
magnepan LRS the best deal in audio.700 a pair. Only thing is you need a really good amp. High current. I've got them and they are superior to dynamic cone drivers in a wooden box. Even overpriced magico speakers are inferior.
KEF made a separate accessory eq for the 105/3 that was intended to enhance the FR at the low end.
It didn't turn these into bass monsters but my experience with them (I owned a pair for several years) was that the eq went a long way towards creating a more satisfying experience. Without the Kube, the 105/3 does sound a bit anemic. Of course, adding LF eq will make additional demands on the amplifier but I never found these speakers difficult to drive either with or without the Kube. Curiously I now have a pair of Salon 2s and although they require abundant power for best performance, they are particularly friendly in respect to room placement and do not make demands that an appropriately high quality amplifier will not meet. In fact, room friendliness is a distinct feature of the Revel design (ie, flat off axis response) and the KEF Uni-Q approach is also aimed at smooth at providing smooth off axis response. Gotta agree with Kal's observations on this one.