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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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In Reply to: Poll - What *type* of speaker ended your search? posted by Presto on May 30, 2012 at 12:03:30:
I have owned, and researched and auditioned several speakers over the years.(I've owned some large B&W mini-monitors, the DM-1600 I believe; then the Martin Logan Sequel IIs; then the original Revel Studios; and finally the aforementioned Andra II speakers.)
Speakers that I have greatly admired, but not owned, over the years include the Avalon Eidolons, the Apogee Divas, and the Rockport Antares.
The Rockport Antares are the finest speakers I've heard that cost less than $50K, which was, and still is, well beyond my $10K price range. Even used these are still around $30K. (FYI, my friend owns these, and his system is the best I have ever heard, bar none.) These have incredible bass response due to its 13" bass driver; a well extended and refined treble, (thanks in part to the Dynaudio Isotar tweeter it uses); and it has a mid-range that is very refined and incredibly transparent. These speakers disappear from the soundstage better than any other dynamic designed speaker I've ever heard. (The only minor issue with these speakers is that they are rear ported, so you need to provide a fair bit of room around them. But ported speakers are the norm, so it is what it is.) Their build quality is second to none, and they look incredible with their lamborghini silver finish. (FYI, these weigh over 400 pounds each, and my friend actually had piano movers come and set them up to avoid both the back breaking job of moving them and the possibility of scratching their fine finish.) So these are the speakers that I measure all other speakers by, and the ones I most wanted my future speakers to sound like.
The Apogee Divas were in my price range, and I loved the way the sounded many years ago. They imaged and soundstaged incredibly well, and were also very transparent. They were slightly soft in the deep bass region, but for that kind of sound, I could easily live with that minor omission. But being out of production really made me nervous in buying these used. (I know there is plenty of support still, but still, it made me think twice about getting them.) Plus the fact that they require lots of power, and due to their planer design, they need to pulled well out into the room, which also made me hesitate. (However, these were incredible sounding speakers, and if a really nice pair were to fall into my lap, I would probably give deep consideration to swapping them out for my Andra IIs; well, maybe; no, definitely, I think so; ah, almost certainly I think I would, but maybe not. Argh!)
The Avalon Eidolons were the one speaker that I highly considered in direct comparision to the Andra II speakers. They too image and soundstage incredibly well. (Both disappear from the soundstage nearly as well as the Antares.) Their mid-range is very transparent. The treble is very good, (albeit not quite in the Rockport Antares league though). The bass response though was definitely a concern as while they had very good bass, (nearly the equal to my Revel Studios at the time), they definitely were lacking deep bass response. They do require a good deal of power to get the full amount of bass response out of them, and they too are ported, so again, they need to be pulled out into the room a good amount. They also have a very flat frequency response, across the entire frequency spectrum. They are an excellent speaker IMHO, and are an equal to the Andra II speakers, just with different strengths and weaknesses. (The Eidolon Diamonds have great treble response, the equal to the Antares, so those were a consideration, (albeit at half again the price of the regular Eidolon - used of course). But the bass response is still a bit lacking. (FYI: On the other hand, the Avalon Isis is a true masterpiece; but the cost is way more than I could ever even contemplate, ... unless I were to steal my other friend's pair. Hmmmm. Something to thing about...) ;-)
Which brings me to the EgglestonWorks Andra II speakers. When I first saw the pictures of these, I was not too thrilled with them. (Their overall look reminds me of a barn to be honest.) However, when I saw them in person, they looked much nicer than in the stock pictures. Those polished black granite upper side panels look gorgeous, and accent the piano black finish of the lower body very nicely. The build quality is very high, (admittedly not as high as the Rockport Antares though, but what is?) They weigh 225 pounds each, so they are fairly rock solid. Listening to them, I immediately felt that they were very close to the Avalon Eidolons, as they image and soundstage at a very high level, (not quite as good as the Antares, but very close). In addition, they have a great bass response, very much like the Antares. (This is due to the twin 12 inch woofers, mounted in an Isobaric fashion.) They use an Isotar tweeter, like the Antares, so their treble response is very similar. (This is where they clearly beat my previous speakers, the Revel Studios, because while they were well extended, they lacked the refinement that the Isotar tweeter brings to the sound. It was the first thing I notice when I substituted them into my system.) The mid-range is provided by twin 6 inch drivers, and is very transparent as well. The other thing I really liked about them is the fact that they are a sealed system, so I did not have to worry about a port, or bringing them out into the room really far. (Although I do have them into the room by a couple of feet from the back of the speaker.) The only minor issue I have with the speaker is a minor mid-bass hump. (Some of this was due to my room, which I have now treated, somewhat successfully; but I still think there is a small rise in the mid-bass region.) However, in as that as I listen primarily to rock, I somewhat appreciate that additional power in the mid-bass region, so it is of little concern to me. I look upon the Andra II speakers as the Rockport Antares' little brother, so I feel that I have, for the most part, accomplished what I set out to find.
My three cents worth, (as this is rather long winded, it is more than the traditional 2 cents!) ;-)
Edits: 06/01/12
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Follow Ups
- Well for me, it was the EgglestonWorks Andra II speakers - Raiderman 09:01:55 06/01/12 (0)
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