These really struck me today. New Vienna Acoustics Klimt series. Concentric midrange/tweeter units adjustable for tilt and toe-in. Murata supertweeters. Eton spider-cone woofers. 22Hz - 100kHz.

The black one makes me think of Barad-d

Gryphon Colosseum 

VITUS MP-M201

Accuphase A-200

I was only able to enjoy these because of the deal I got on them from Todd. So I didn’t know what people have for experience with some of these newer brands/models. I have a pair of Audioengine A2s at work, which needless to say, are several steps below. But with the market flooded with lots of reasonably priced options, does anyone have any recommendations for active monitors? I don’t know that I have a hard budget, but I’d like to keep considerations below $4-500. 
 

Thanks!

So, does anyone know of a source for Cicada drivers? Does anyone happen to have one or a pair even that they are not using and would be willing to sell? Apparently, Nelson Pass bought all of Craig's stock and then wouldn't sell any of them back to him. NP had some kind of DIY kit with the Cicada drivers and a subwoofer but I don't think those are available anymore, and I don't want a subwoofer. 

If you have any leads, please let me know. Thanks 

I'd like to replace my old receiver and add some nice speakers for both 2 channel listening when the mood strikes me and if possible, use those as the front channels in a home theater speaker setup(I think this is the best way to go but correct me if I'm wrong). Is there a receiver that will do justice to the speakers and be compatible with the latest technology or do I really need to think dedicated amplification? At this point, I just don't think monoblocks or uber amplification will be in the cards but if it takes a separates to do the speakers justice, oh well . I don't want to short change the speakers, but I doubt I'll be looking at top end amps for a good while. Heck, I might just break out my old Hafler 500 and see how it does after all these years. I loved that amp back in the day. Also, I'll probably add a nice but not so expensive DVD player to use until the format wars come to an end and there's a clear HD winner. Still cringe over the laserdisc era. Btw, for my source in 2 channel listening, it's going to be computer based.....the Transporter will be at the heart of it.

So, anyone got some ideas? As for budget, I'd really like the best bang for the buck so I can snag one of the nicer plasma/LCD/DLP units out there. Oh and one more thing, when considering speakers, the WAF applies. She won't be too thrilled with a couple of big honkers staring back at her from across the room. Oh and that home theater/listening are is 19' X 21' with 8' ceilings.

I have been on a killing spree listening to speakers to find my next purchase and so far the only ones I liked were the Devore O/96 and Fleetwood Deville.

So.. I'm curious if any of you guys heard the O/96 and O/baby ?

The O/baby really is way cheaper than the O/96 that I loved but the store here doesn't carry them.. given that the O/baby has same new tweeter as their more expensive Reference and same woofer as the O/96 but smaller cabinet, maybe they could represent even a step up in sound or similar one.

Also if you guys think I should try some other speaker brand shoot me.

Kind of dig their retro vibe too.

Who is buying them first?

http://atcloudspeakers.co.uk/professional/loudspeakers/scm20psl-pro/

https://vintageking.com/atc-loudspeakers-scm20psl-mk2-pair

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3737[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]3738[/ATTACH]

I am very tempted to buy them, but I will need to get rid of my Apogees since I simply don't have space for forth speaker pair.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3739[/ATTACH]

Looks like Stax should play nice with my DNA-1 or Symphonic Line amps and give me a completely different presentation of what I have now. Do you think I should side-grade?

Coming from the headphone hi.end I must say it has been pretty disappointing on the performance side with speakers..Most need to get the volume up to lvls where it gets shouty or annoying to get some kinda engaging sound and most just sound thin.. specially if music is not perfect jazz records, some get crazy details but again, music is nowhere engaging. 

Enter the Zu's, I heard the Zu Omen Dirty Weekend II on the dealer(have never heard of them) and loved the sound, totally different from most known brands, this speakers can truly rock. They have such a dynamic and forward sound, the mid range is a bit in your face. All this without sounding too aggressive or bright, paired with an Hegel. Also heard them with the Leben tube amp and the system just turned to a very sweet tone while still keeping all that force.

Very engaging speaker, it kinda reminds me the type of sound of the HP1000 which is my favorite headphone for the kind of music I listen mostly, rock and metal. Now I'm curious about the higher models, unfortunately the dealer has no stock and is only ordering after purchase. 

So I'm wondering if any of you have any experience with this brand models, or know other speakers with this kind of sound?

btw, to my taste they look rather beautiful specially for such entry price:

DBX-1A's

I had a chance to buy two pairs of Stax ESTA 4u speakers.

Both pairs look nice, but all four had imbalance issue and I decided to check what is inside and if I can repair them.

As you can see, drivers are easy to open. The disintegrated foam's particles got into drivers and stick to the diaphragm (foam was layered with some glue).

I had to clean it all from this and use Licron on diaphragms (I did that only with one pair atm).

Now the one pair works well, bas is not so strong, but it is enough to work with some active sub.

The stereo sweet spot is really thin, but when you seat in the right place the image is sharp and precise.

I'm thinking about rebuilding the second pair, but to use drivers to make custom speakers, rather tall, just to use it as computer speakers.

Naked driver.

https://www.kefdirect.com/review/product/list/id/1350/category/241/

After years of seeing Siegfried Linkwitz and his awesome creations at burning amp I'm seriously considering setting up a LXmini + 2 setup for my small apartment.

http://linkwitzlab.com/LXmini/LXmini+2.htm

The prices on both the kits and the pre-built models seem pretty reasonable.

SL seems very bright, plus he is a local here in Marin County. I'm thinking of asking him if I can come by his house and have a listen.

Does anyone here have any experience with Linkwitz's stuff? Any advice would be much appreciated!

https://www.svsound.com/pages/prime-wireless?trk_msg=5C779H17RDT4J40JEJ1495T5U4&trk_contact=8T0747KP65NMVFNSLND94PJNEK&trk_sid=PS3AM98N4C4R54KDQ88DCBH5A8&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Prime+Wireless+Has+Arrived+Image&utm_campaign=SVS+Prime+Wireless+Now+Shipping!+Smart.+Immersive.+Magic.++

My first question is what would be the big difference between an Aleph 2 and XA100.5 as far as sound goes?

And about the XS150, has anyone heard them or have insights into their design?

Do you think any of the Aleph or XA.5 amps can provide adequate voltage for V hungry electrostatic speakers, especially on very dynamic music?

That's all for now

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=153645.0

So I shoot Kent at Electrostatic Solutions an email to tell him about the problem. He writes me back and politely says its difficult for him to make a diagnosis without seeing the speaker for himself. I spent a day or so mulling over what will no doubt be an upcoming joyous shipping experience. Then while I'm sitting in my car with my girlfriend in the Wal-Mart parking lot waiting to go meet our friends for sushi, my phone rings and its Kent. We ended up talking for about half an hour about Quad, the universe, and everything. He said it was really weird that I was getting the squealing with no apparent loss in output (when I play a mono recording its razor sharp in the middle of the speakers), but he ventured he could have something to do with old foam surround. But, if it was a problem with a panel, I was still covered under his warranty, which is pretty cool. Even if it is something unrelated to the panel itself, repairs should be (relatively!) inexpensive. Kent got excited when I told him my first electrostatic experience was with the Omega II (though I think I spoke in error, I might have owned the SR-Lambda first), apparently he also thinks its the end all be all in terms of resolution. He said its the best for setting up a turntable. Bottom line Kent is a really cool cat and I enjoyed talking with him. He says if I can get the speaker boxed up he can have a freight service pick it up, which is great because I was dreading a trip to the UPS store. The alternative is to go ahead and pay Kent to ship his special shipping box to me, which I can then load up the speaker in and have the freight service pick up. I might opt for this path just because it would be such a pain in the ass to procure all the packing mats and find a suitable LCD TV box or similar. The speakers are in awesome cosmetic condition; they look great in my den and I

I'm looking for stereo system components which reveals cables, records, even stands which they stands on. I want to call what I want characterless or boring to listen.

I want this system for A/B testing. And of course I'm on a budget like 6000 Dollars. I'm going to look for second hand components. and XLR is must.

The brands I've heard from people are;

PMC (I'm going to listen some of them in saturday) and ATC for speakers, Bryston for amplifier, and I'm looking for a studio dac (I think mytek has best price/performance ratio)

Do you have any ideas about any other brands? Any cheaper alternative to Bryston especially?

I hope I can deliver my thoughts properly.

Thanks for advices guys.

would love to hear anyone's thoughts on this. For the price it looks too good to be true. I've been eyeing on an upgrade on my emotiva dc1 for a while, more so as a preamp vs DAC (so far my DAC usage has been cable tv from the oppo and Apple TV optical for tv/movie purposes). Fully discrete dual differential balanced both on the input and output side, but the kicker for me is that it will take the rca in and perform the balanced output "correctly" to feed my stealth monitors. Below is from the designer commenting in a 6moons review. 

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/wyred8/3.html

I've been asked to purchase a PA system for speaking events, and I'm trying to narrow my choices down to 2 portable, compact systems.

The Bose L1 1S is slightly more expensive, and it requires a power cable. The JBL Eon One has a battery for cordless use.

I've read that the Bose sounds better and it has a wider dispersion pattern. Otherwise, the two are similar, with bass units at the bottom and compact built-in mixers.

Does anybody have experience with this new generation of compact PA speakers? I think either speaker will be good, almost overkill, since we probably won't need them for music playback very often.

"Oh, and I’ve saved the best for last. Not only are the 30.7s the handsomest-looking large Maggies of all time (in their blue trim and snow-white panel covers), they are also among the best deals Maggie has ever offered. They cost $29,000 the pair (release slated for January). That’s not chump change, I grant you, but compared to the price of the six-figure speakers they so successfully compete against, it makes them, perhaps, the greatest bargain in ultra-high-end history. "

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/magnepan-307-loudspeaker-part-one/