I've finally come around to getting a decent pair of loudspeakers.
Since I live in an apartment, I limited my choice to standmounters instead of floorstanders even though the room is pretty big. I think I'll get by firing them across the room and that way there won't be too many angry neighbours.
My budget is 1000 euros and I listen to a lot of music, mainly jazz and rock (but also some metal, classical, etc...)
The first audition was of the Amphion, B&W and MA at the end of a Marantz 5003 (I own a PM6005). The volume during this first audition was pretty loud (95 - 98 dBA on a smartphone app).
The Amphion was too bright for my taste and I think I would have been tired when listening to it for too long, amazing amount of sound from a speaker that tiny though. It also was slightly above my budget.
The B&W's were very nice to listen to indeed, very amusing and good rhythm. I wanted to keep listening to more songs.
The MA's were something else entirely and were my favorite of these three, their size and larger drivers gave a lot better bass definition and depth. They filled the listening room more easily and the highs were good as well.
After this first listening, I asked if it was possible to hear the Focals, since I had heard that these tend to agree well with Marantz as well, he ordered a demo pair and we did another listening session last Saturday. The Marantz amp was sold, so I had to listen on a Naim 5si (60W/ch), which is a little more powerful then my Marantz but not too much. I tried listening at a more modest level (82 - 85 dBA), because I tend too listen at these levels more often and the speaker should perform well at this volume. I was glad I did:
The B&W's had lost all of their liveliness and sounded flat. They seemed to be playing in the background and did not present the music to me. I liked to get pulled in, so I was a little dissapointed.
The MA's were a lot better in this respect, they kept filling the room and their bass helped a lot in keeping things exciting.
The Focals were even better I think! They might not go as low as the MA's, but every bassnote was more clear. There was a lot of detail to be heard when playing music through the Focals. They were still very exciting to listen too and pulled me into the music (just in a different way to the MA's).
I think that for higher volumes and party music the MA's might be better, but the Focals will be getting a place in the apartment when I get back from vacation!
Since I live in an apartment, I limited my choice to standmounters instead of floorstanders even though the room is pretty big. I think I'll get by firing them across the room and that way there won't be too many angry neighbours.
My budget is 1000 euros and I listen to a lot of music, mainly jazz and rock (but also some metal, classical, etc...)
The first audition was of the Amphion, B&W and MA at the end of a Marantz 5003 (I own a PM6005). The volume during this first audition was pretty loud (95 - 98 dBA on a smartphone app).
The Amphion was too bright for my taste and I think I would have been tired when listening to it for too long, amazing amount of sound from a speaker that tiny though. It also was slightly above my budget.
The B&W's were very nice to listen to indeed, very amusing and good rhythm. I wanted to keep listening to more songs.
The MA's were something else entirely and were my favorite of these three, their size and larger drivers gave a lot better bass definition and depth. They filled the listening room more easily and the highs were good as well.
After this first listening, I asked if it was possible to hear the Focals, since I had heard that these tend to agree well with Marantz as well, he ordered a demo pair and we did another listening session last Saturday. The Marantz amp was sold, so I had to listen on a Naim 5si (60W/ch), which is a little more powerful then my Marantz but not too much. I tried listening at a more modest level (82 - 85 dBA), because I tend too listen at these levels more often and the speaker should perform well at this volume. I was glad I did:
The B&W's had lost all of their liveliness and sounded flat. They seemed to be playing in the background and did not present the music to me. I liked to get pulled in, so I was a little dissapointed.
The MA's were a lot better in this respect, they kept filling the room and their bass helped a lot in keeping things exciting.
The Focals were even better I think! They might not go as low as the MA's, but every bassnote was more clear. There was a lot of detail to be heard when playing music through the Focals. They were still very exciting to listen too and pulled me into the music (just in a different way to the MA's).
I think that for higher volumes and party music the MA's might be better, but the Focals will be getting a place in the apartment when I get back from vacation!