I like how those Dutch & Dutch speakers look.
hey darren. i think you might be on to something with the Maggies.
I bought a pair of Maggies a few months ago and they continue to give me goose bumps.
mine are the Magnepan 3.6R’s, powered with Bryston amplification. incredibly life like and fill the entire room. image like crazy once setup properly…and, not sure what type of music you’re into, but if it’s acoustic or jazz…man, Maggies are the ticket. i am drinking the juice.
with your budget, i 'd suggest listening to the 20.7’s.
good luck!
Sully.
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Darren, the Acoustic Zen Crescendo MKII loudspeakers have to be heard to be believed,so natural,real, with zero fatigue… I never tire of listening to them… they just plainly hit all the high marks and sound amazing. I own them, and for me and my likes…they are my end game speaker system… Superb sound, engineering and looks and a super easy load to drive…$22,000.00 retail.
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Anyone hear the new Scansonic MB-6B at a show?
As I think I mentioned before in this thread, if I didn’t have five kitties roaming around here with razor sharp fish hooks, I’d have another pair of Maggies again. They just do so many things right.
Don’t get me wrong, our kitties don’t go around scratching anything or than their kitty tree and tube thing, but still, I don’t want to chance it.
I auditioned a pair of Maggie 3.7i today. They were in a smaller room, 10’ X 13’ maybe. 2’ from side and rear walls. Sounds good, but sounded like they needed more room to breath. Center image was on to 1 side even after a couple toe in adjustments. Sold the PBS’s so they are gone. If I do Maggies, I’ll likely go with the 20.7. I have JL Audio F113v2 sub pair to help the Maggies if they need it
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Maggies can be finicky. Expect to spend a lot of time tweaking placement and room treatment if you go for them. Once you get them right, though, they’re astonishing.
I’ll second two recommendations and throw in one new one. Dynaudio for sure is worth a listen. I’ve got a pair of their bookshelves and they image beautifully without ever getting harsh or edgy.
The Harbeths, as well, are worth a listen. To date, I’ve never heard any Harbeth speakers sound bad. That includes everything from their smallest P3ESR bookshelves, up to the 40.2s. They’re just so damn engaging.
And the recommendation out of left field, Joseph Audio’s Perspectives. They look a little underwhelming for their $13k retail, though they disappeared more effortlessly than any speaker I’ve yet heard.
Keep us posted on how the auditions go!
Harbeths do sound good, but they have a definite house sound that I like. But IMO that is not the mark of a good transducer. A speaker should simply reflect the signal they’re being fed. Same with any speaker that uses the cabinet to affect overall sound. I don’t want everything sound like a Stradivarius, even if it’s the best violin in the world.
I’m going to take my time, and when I hear the sound I’ll know. Scansonic is on the list as well. I can get a great price on Martin Logan’s if I want. I was thinking maybe the 13A
Hi Darren, another thought that might help is also to what technology you might be interested in trying. There are a number of horn based speakers like Volti, to unipolar like Tannoys, electrostats, ribbons and planars along with their hybrid variants. You’ve had the standard dynamic cone based system so maybe try something different. Just a thought.
Cheers
Yes I am open to most designs, just not a fan of horn loaded. I will try to audition as much as I can, but it’s hard since many dealers in my area all carry the same brands often, so it’s too far to drive 4+ hours to hear speakers. The Magnepan 20.7 is on my short list
Martin Logan Renaissance ESL 15A , Expression ESL 13A. also on the short list.
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Since you have a sub already, don’t count out the CLX too. It has great midbass snap! Paired with subs is awesome
I have the 20.7. Outstanding speaker. How big is your room? They need space and 2’ behind is not going to cut it.
My thoughts on the Logan’s. I have Odysseys and have heard montis/summit/summit x but not the 13/15s. Transparent, detailed sound with great imaging / soundstage w no box coloration.
Where mags and Logan’s differ. I think ribbon on mags is a bit smoother and I think they have better lower mids adding more texture and body to instruments. Mags give a realistic sounding tympani that has depth. Upright bass and horns are to die for. The 20.7 has very good bass w no sub given good room placement. Logan’s will give a clearer / cleaner presentation but in so doing give up some of the lower mids the mags have. The powered woofer will give you chest pounding bass but I don’t think is as realistic.(but if you want to rock the house…) The 20.7 will give you a ginormous soundstage and does not exaggerate size of instrument or voice.
Both speakers could eat weak amps for lunch given the Logan impedance dip at upper frequencies and the Maggie’s love of power (87 dB sensitivity??)
It’s personal taste. I chose 20.7 because of lower mids , smoother highs and natural planar bass. My opinion of course
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My room is 22’ X 24’ with 8’ center ceiling then tapers down to 5’ side walls ( room over 3 car garage ).
Speakers I have used in room have been about 48" - 54" from rear wall, and 50-58" from side walls.
Great. Seems like you have the space. My room is 17x30. Let us know as your search progresses.
I’ve owned Maggie IIa’s, Tympani 1D’s and Tympani IVa’s back in the day. Also M-L ReQuests and Odyssey. timm’s comments are spot on. Both are excellent in their own ways. IMHO, the Maggie ribbon tweeter is the best in the business. And my experience is that they are both can be difficult to get sounding their best in any given room.
I auditioned both the Maggie 20.7’s and M-L Summit X’s extensively over a 1-year period, and ultimately decided on the Summit X’s. With the 20.7’s I found I needed to pump them up 4 - 6 db louder than the M-L’s to get the same “toe-tapping” involvement with the music. It was as if the Maggies needed to be biased into a range of linear operation, so to speak. Of course this means that much more amp power needed and that much more energy being pushed into your room that needs to be dealt with. But your room size would accommodate them nicely, I think.
That said, part of my preference was driven by the decision to sell our house prior to retirement and rent for several years while deciding on a retirement location. That meant that future listening environments would be a crap shoot. The Summit X’s weigh a LOT less and the bass controls make it easier to integrate into the room. As you know, the newer models feature bass DRC technology. Even better.
OTOH, I heard a pair of the Acoustic Zen Crescendo II’s at the home of a Colorado Audio Society member and was absolutely blown away. They are definitely on my short list if I ever get the itch to change speakers. Have not heard the ESL13a’s, but I did hear the 15’s at the RMAF show two years ago driven by D’Agostino Momentum monoblocks.
Drool! 
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hthaller…I can not agree enough with your assessment. I am blown away everyday with mine. And I’m not easily impressed!!!
This exactly with my set I’ve had for 4 years! I had the Magtech Monoblocks with huge power rating of 2000wpc at 4 ohms too.
When I switched to the BHK 300 amplifiers that all went away. Very linear now and great sound from low level to high sound levels. Amps made a massive difference along with all the other improvements in tonality, soundstage etc.