so much research, so much indecision

[d to the g]

I know that most everyone is probably sick of the "help me" threads, but I've been doing my h/w and I'm still at a loss.

Ok, I'm at the point where I "need" a new pair of speakers, the rest of system is relatively mature and I feel that my speakers (and my room) are what's holding me back right now.

My room is 14'x10', with 10' ceilings, a piano, and a table. It's also known as a dining room in our family, but it's where I can listen. System is set up on the long wall, with about 24" of room on either side before WAF kicks in. I'm not about to buy a house just so I can have a dedicated room, so that's enough on that.

I have a single source (turntable, CJ sonographe sg-e, rb-250 arm, multitude of carts) a Pass Pearl preamp, and gainclones. I also have a PSE Studio ONE/TWO combo, and an Adcom 535 amplifier to use when other gear goes offline.

I've been contemplating mileva, metronomes, and a host of other speaker designs.

Let me know what you think is best and why... please!

[Nanook]

or a photo?

Mileva's are very high in WAF or SOAF... and nicely finished ones will look great (only listened very briefly).
Fonkens are very pretty as well, and sound great! I expect the floor standing version might suit better as there would be no need for stands...good ones cost $$$ to make or buy. I lived with a pair for a month to 6 weeks and miss them every day. Absolutely startling. see my review of the Fonkens here at Affordable$$Audio

Metronomes are reportedly very good too (I've only heard a pair very casually).

I'll put a plug in for the Hemp FR4.5c in a Fonken style enclosure (Dave has worked on some but due to a lengthy delay getting a replacement pair hasn't for some time). They may also work in Mileva enclosures. But please see my disclaimer in my signature.

If you have fairly large Gain clones, perhaps the Jordans may be a nice alternative or CSS FR125...

You've been looking in all the right places.

[d to the g]

I'll take another pic when I get home... this is all I have right now.



yeah, i know there is a discman sitting on the PSE preamp, I broke down the analogue barrier for some smashing pumpkins but have since gone back on the wagon.

(the AR is/was a dedicated mono deck, but I'm pretty sure that it will be gone in a trade to get these bad boys built)

[Nanook]

Seriously...let me know...


stew

[ronc]

Ok, I'm at the point where I "need" a new pair of speakers, the rest of system is relatively mature


So am i , and i dont sound good.

Gainclones, excellent!

Something in Daves site should work.
I would aim for a 6" or< driver.

ron

[GM]

Originally posted by shallbehealed

Let me know what you think is best and why... please!

Seriously, a good pair of tube preamp driven headphones for what I hope are obvious reasons.

GM

[planet10]

Your system should work well with a WIDE range of systems... and all of them good in the right context.

What placement constarints do you have? What are your current speakers> Mileva & Met indicate you'd rather have a floorstander... (BTW, Mileva started out with the idea of folding a Met in half). What kind of music & levels do you require?

Start by eliminating some choices ...

Smallish room, listening no further away than 7-8 feet... look to a smaller driver. Too close for a double mouth horn to coalesce. Probably something that can live close to the walll and doesn't stick out too much -- front needs to out 12" or so, or the drivers need to be higher than the rack (how high is that?)... no corners so probably not a BIB (it would need to be inverted because of the ceiling height). I don't think an OB would work.

Now take the short list and see which one she likes

dave

[d to the g]

Originally posted by GM


Seriously, a good pair of tube preamp driven headphones for what I hope are obvious reasons.

GM

I've got a SOHA and a pair of grado sr60's at home, but I do quite a bit of headphone listening at work so I'd like to keep that at a minimum while at home.

More importantly, my wife also really likes to listen with me. Every night at dinner we sit down to something new. Last night it was "Savitas: the music of spain", the night before that it was "Caroline Now" a compilation of obscure brian wilson covers, and the night before that it was "Taboo: the exotic sounds of arthur lyman". We usually only listen for an hour or so everyday to relax, then we're busy again trying to prepare for tomorrow. It's a great time to spend some time together and chill.

Musical choices, in order of most often played:
rock (from beatles to radiohead), jazz, dub (bass heavy reggae minus the vocals), classical, techno, other.

Present speakers are a pair of klipsch towers I've had for about 10 years. They're typical Klipsch floorstanders, tractrix horn with an 8" driver. They are currently placed with their backs about 5" from the wall, and toed in slightly. Why do I think they're the culprit? With as much effort as I've put into the rest of the system, I think that it's time to upgrade my speakers. Yes, they sound better as my components get better, I just don't think they're up to the task.

To answer the other questions:
Yes, floorstanders. We have a 5 month old who's starting to move, the last thing I want is him tipping over a speaker stand. Stands are inherently less stable.

We never listen loudly. For us it's neither natural nor relaxing. We do however, like our bass (one thing I think the Klipsch is lacking). A sub is really out, so the speakers have to go reasonably low. This is one reason I really like the graphs on the mileva.

The rack is 31" high. It's an expedit shelving unit from ikea. It's got all the material properties that makes the "lack" so popular for turntable placement, but it also stores records. Highly recommended, cheap piece of furniture.

stew: i've sent you some mail.

[GM]

Greets!

Well, my suggestion was predicated on the WAF issue since I've found that women who actually enjoy just sitting and listening to music don't make 'waves' with intrusive speaker systems as long as they have styling to suit the decor.

Anyway, as Dave noted/implied, a close listening distance requires a fairly wide dispersion system, so WRT 'FR' drivers, the smaller the better to push up its beaming BW corner frequency, which unfortunately means its LF BW corner frequency rises also except for the Jordan JX92S, so all things considered, a wide/flat aspect ratio, low tuned TL or MLTL to blend into the wall combined with Jim Griffin's ribbon tweeter mod to get the HF dispersion/~near-field clarity seems a good choice.

GM

[Nanook]

ya, Doug I got it.I'll reply shortly if I haven't already....


Well I think one of Dave's designs would definitely fit the bill...perhaps the Fonken floor-stander Mk ll---you can load ballast into the bottom cavity to help reduce the likelihood of a "rollover". If they are remotely similar in sound to the original Fonkens, really a no-brainer. I would suggest spending the $$$ and buy the modded and EnABLed drivers from Dave--but get in line, cause I hear it's growing every day (the line that is). Only thing is that they have a rear opening "port". Dave and Chris know these best, so if they will work that close to the wall...or perhaps the Milevas.

I imagine the gainclones and either of the speakers would be a very nice listening experience.


stew