Recommended Modern Speakers

Those KEFs look great! How do you like them?

I'm wondering if I'm missing out by focusing so much on ADS speakers. Might have to look at some current speakers from the past few years, instead of just vintage.
 
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Well, having finally joined the Modern Speaker owner ranks, I will gladly recommend to anyone the Golden Ear Triton 2. Handles a large room easily, with only moderate hunger for power. Clear, honest sound over a huge sonic range, very dynamic, fast transients, and getting better every day. In the sweet spot, seating-wise, these speakers approach holographic sound qualities.
 
The PSB T6 towers are a very solid performer especially if you like the traditionally warm sound and solid, hard hitting bass (when the music calls for it) of the best of big box vintage speakers.
I'm not a bass head by any definition but I do value a warmth to the sound and there is no denying that impactful bass (if true to the performance) can add an exciting dramatic element to the listening experience.
The T6 does this much better than most (if not all) speakers in it's price range and slightly above yet also brings outstanding vocal / midrange clarity and presence as well as a nice extended non-sibilant uncolored high end.
Check them out if you are in the market- these are flat out incredible sounding and keeps the best of the traditional big bass sound.
Unless you like to really shake the walls the bass from these is so deep, tight, extended and impactful (tone controls set to flat) that you will not need the amplification, integration and space considerations required of a subwoofer.
Seriously check these out. They sound better than the Imagine-Ts (twice the price) IMHO.
 
I just got a pair of Wharfdale 10.2's that are part of a graduation present for my son and they sound terrific. They are hooked up to my old receiver and turntable which are nothing special. In the living room which is about 15x20 and they really fill the room nicely. More bass than I expected. These speakers seem like a great value at $450 for the pair. I did buy the stands for $200 more.
 
I just picked up a pair of Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand SEs in rosewood after a home audition. The build quality is phenomenal. They are an excellent match for my Luxman L-550AX. My search for speakers is over for a good long while. Here are a couple crappy pics.

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I can definitely recommend the Tekton Lore's. They are a great value and definitely worth looking into for anyone needing a higher efficiency speaker. They have a very live sound with a full bass response that I didn't get from the Klipsch La Scala's they replaced. They are also refined and very coherent. A very musical speaker. http://www.tektondesign.com/lore.html

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cubdog said:
Nice! Pendragons are at the top of my "want very badly" list. Maybe someday.

cubdog
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The Pendragons of course interested me the moment I saw them but they are way out of my budget. After now hearing the Lores, I'd definitely want to hear a pair of Pendragons. Maybe some day..
 
I just compared the Sanders 10d electrostatic/transmission line speakers against my Quad ELS57s (I had earlier compared them against the 2895's).
They sound very similar in terms of coloration (unlike the 2805s which are much darker sounding), but the Sanders have much much more acoustic and detail to them. I was astonished. Normally the Quads blow away anything else except for the bass and the maximum volume, but the Sanders better them in every way.
It only took 50 years or so...

Roland
 
If anyone is looking to buy speakers anytime soon, I would most definitely recommend Ascend Acoustics. These speakers are not well known here at AK. They are a small company n California that are hand made in house. They have a speaker for any need from the small CBM170SE to the Sierra Towers.

I have a pair of CMT-340SE. These are classified as a large bookshelf speaker.

I would keep the Ascend Acoustics on your short list to try. 30 day home trial, free shipping, and a five year warranty. Get a pair home and give them a try. A great company with over the top customer service. :music:
 
4Play said:
If anyone is looking to buy speakers anytime soon, I would most definitely recommend Ascend Acoustics. These speakers are not well known here at AK. They are a small company n California that are hand made in house. They have a speaker for any need from the small CBM170SE to the Sierra Towers.

I have a pair of CMT-340SE. These are classified as a large bookshelf speaker.

I would keep the Ascend Acoustics on your short list to try. 30 day home trial, free shipping, and a five year warranty. Get a pair home and give them a try. A great company with over the top customer service. :music:
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I have a pair of CBM 170SE's that are a little too forward for my tastes. I almost ordered the original Sierra's but was afraid they would be too much in my face. They are a good company to deal with and good product for the money.
 
JIM has the bomb in the price range tough to beat the lores..... .................without doing a DIY
 
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Another pair of speakers I can recommend are the Focal 806V. These are the most natural sounding speaker I have ever heard. When you pair the speakers with a Jolida JD102, not only is the sound crisp, clear, and natural, but I have experienced a 3D sound, a sound unlike anything I have heard in all my years being into audio.
 
MMG Maggies

I've been bringing a lot of my gear out of storage (B&Ws, early Polks, big Maggies, Infinity Monitor series) lately, in addition to auditioning some new acquisitions and restoring some classics (just did a Vifa/Morel restore on a set of Snell J's with new crossovers-- a topic for a different thread) so I've listened to a bunch of speaker combinations with my SS gear (Carver, GFA555s, Marantz) in the last 90 days. I keep coming back to one conclusion:

For a design that's still in production today, with a bunch of upgrades they've added over the years... the MMGs are still an incredible value. At that price point I'd think everyone should at least take a listen to the "cheap" Magnepans. Yeah, they could use more bass, but the imaging/detail from those MMGs still amazes me for a $600 speaker.
 
I'll submit the Polk LSiM 703's.

All of the accolades they've received in the press from The Absolute Sound to Stereophile are well deserved. The fit and finish is superb. The sound is exceptional. Midrange is life-like, lows are impressive and highs are non-fatiguing. They unseated my other equivalently priced $1.5K British stand mounts (also rated class "B" Stereophile).



A higher-end fit, finish and sound than the $1.5K price would lead you to expect.



Mahogany finish, almost black but beautiful in the light.



The binding posts mean business.
 
botrytis said:
They look very nice!!
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I agree. While I've fallen out of love with Polk speakers over the past few years, I'd love to hear those. If they sound anything like they look they will be impressive to say the least.

cubdog
 
I bought a pair of 107/2's this new years day and a couple weeks later sold my vienna acoustics beethovens mk3 v2. The VA's were the most revealing and least colored full range speaker i found under $5000.00. The old 107/2's were everything the VA's were and they played loud.
Last week I auditioned Revel's F208 and thought wow these are as musical as my kef's and they play loud, they were using an anthem integrated 225 to drive them, they also had the revel f32 and f52 which I listened to. I ended up buying a pair of f52's and now don't really know what to do!!! The f52 don't go as deep as the 107/2 but load the room with more, faster bass, the treble is a wash and the midrange is where the music is, where the magic is and iv'e been listening to kef's so long i'm a bit biased towards their slightly tipped up tonal balance. The new offerings from revel get 2 thumbs up if you like a slightly weighty'er presentation than most.
 
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