Speaker choices - anyone has any opinion on either of these? BW 800 Diamonds or SF Strads.

DSkip wrote: »

Nola may be up your alley. They are open baffle with sealed bass modules.

We are just shooting in the wind, but that's all we can do. I think right now, sf is out and b&w is the one to beat.

Regarding SF Strad vs BW800 Diamonds - one thing about the Strads that favor my situation is the 93db sensitivity. Easier to drive with my 211 FE. But I'm not going to favor a particular speaker because of the amplification. I can always change to more powerful amps later.

Heard about Nolas... can't get over the look. But I hear they are supposedly fantastic sounding.

What I really want to hear are Kharmas and Martens.... but unfortunately, the cost is a little much and to move up their line, you gotta shell out some serious dough.

DSkip wrote: »

Here is the Usher Be-10. At $17k, I don't know how they compare to the rest of the marketplace, but they do utilize the Diamond tweeter. The midwoofers are supposed to be a beryllium composite, which bumps up their cost quite a bit.

Is that their top of the line speaker?

Btw, Dskip, I appreciate you trying to help me out. I like your ideas.

Now I'm thinking of buying a pair of BE10 for the family room... why do they have to weight 450 lb for the pair.... dang it.

7K is peanuts for a speaker that gorgeous. But man, 450 lbs? That's going to take team to take upstairs. Same as the BW, but I get delivery on those per the dealer. I guess I can stick it in the 1st floor family room..... but didn't really want to get such a heavy secondary speaker. Hard to mobilize and it's going to be a pain when I move to a bigger house.

What you guys think about the SF Elipsa SE? Similar to Strads but a lower price point. Only 100 lbs each and I can move them easily. There's a good pair on sale on audiogon for $12000... would probably have to get approval from the wife on that purchase in addition to the BW 800 diamond, but if I go for the 802 Diamond, I can get that Elipsa without much pushback from the boss.

Such a gorgeous speaker... would be fantastic as a buddy to a BW Diamond.

tonyb wrote: »

Heck of a price for a damn fine speaker, 7k seems almost too good to be true.

Joey, here's a review from the 'gon, comparing the BE's to the 802d's which is another of your contenders. Note the associated gear though.

Wheres the link to the review bro?

Heard Montis but not previous spires. To me, they sounded nothing new since I'm very familiar with the Summits.

Would I like a pair inhouse? Sure. But not as the primary system. To me, there are better speakers... But I still have love for some
Logans.

My goal?

3 systems.

1. Main system - prob 800 diamond
2. Gameroom - elipsa se or strad
3. Family room - logans or magico mini 2

polkfarmboy wrote: »

I would just stay on the journey to one big speaker upgrade and dont stray from the path. On the other hand those Ushers might be something that saves you 12k as you might fall in love?Those Ushers seem fantastic and the shipping crates weigh a ton, it could be a pain for storage as you would have to dismantle them and store the wood someplace.

Joey I think your opinions on the Logans are spot on, that somethings not right. I have always stayed away from any ML's with built in powered woofers like the Vantage, Summit because no matter how good the gear your stuck with those ice amp modules for the bass.

When ever I have introduced class D ice modules into my Martin Logan speakers the result is that I would rather to my rti8 through the same amps, its not good. Now when I have high power tubes going through the system even with a solid state pre they sound amazing. I get that big meaty analog bass rush and feel the wave of the sound just traveling towards me. In those listening sessions with tubes running a digital source I find that nothings missing.

Maybe a pair of Spire should be on your list, thats what I am always interested in when they show up. I think you will miss the logans when they are out the door so best to buy a backup pair on the cheap for your fix that you will need.

tonyb wrote: »

I dunno Joey, something about "gameroom" and SF Strats that just don't sound right. lol

Lol... yeah... but it does sound bada$$.

brianle wrote: »

Look wise, the Elipsa SE look impressive

Yeah I know especially the graphite finish.

Montoya wrote: »

Go with the Sonus Faber speaker. I got a set of Olympica III and they smoke my buddys 804d he was so disappointed he sold them on audiogon. lol Better wider and deeper sound stage more dynamic impact better resolution fit and finish is beyond B&W just everything was better in both of our opinion.

Would have to disagree with you on the olympica III. Long story short the dealer for olympicas and diamonds initially preferred olympicas only to find that they do not scale with upstreams as well as diamonds meaning they are easier to get to sound good but more difficult to get to sound great. Took half of my upstreams to the dealer and set it up and compared the O3 against the 802 diamonds which are similarly priced at approx 14k a pair (by the way the 804 diamond is only 7500 which my brother has a pair) and the 802 diamond smoked it on every song we demoed back to front and front to back. So much so that we had an audience in the back of the demo room and at the end of MY audition for the speakers, the dealer was a convert himself and told me that there was no song where the o3 did anything better than the 802 diamond. And that the 802 diamond sounded far better on higher end gear and far less than a facsimile of the song and more like the event.

We then hooked both back up to mid end Mcintosh gear and we agreed that the o3 cut the delta between the 2 speakers significantly and at times sounded better than the 802 diamond.

The o3 and 802 diamonds were set up on the same wall in the same room with the exact same electronics and cabling. The demo and comparison was done back to back on the same songs.

On the other hand, Elipsas and Strads are on a different league to the O3 which makes the comparison to the diamonds much more difficult.

Montoya wrote: »

The SF just sound like music should sound demo them if possible and I promise you will hear what I am talking about the B&W is a great speaker but let your ear be the final judge. I spent almost 8 months researching and demoing as much as I could before finally making my purchase I traveled to Austin, Dallas and a few other places from Houston just to get my ears on different speakers. To me I spent a good amount of money and wanted to make sure I got the best for my dollar I'm happy it was time well spent. It can't be stressed enough to get your ears to determine your final purchase if possible.

Montoya wrote: »

The SF just sound like music should sound demo them if possible and I promise you will hear what I am talking about the B&W is a great speaker but let your ear be the final judge. I spent almost 8 months researching and demoing as much as I could before finally making my purchase I traveled to Austin, Dallas and a few other places from Houston just to get my ears on different speakers. To me I spent a good amount of money and wanted to make sure I got the best for my dollar I'm happy it was time well spent. It can't be stressed enough to get your ears to determine your final purchase if possible.

Agreed 100%. Your ears are the final judges. None of us hear the same nor are our preferences the same.

My opinion was that while I will agree that SF sound like music, Diamonds with hi end tube gear sound like the actual event. Diamonds on hi end gear sounded like I was there while the o3 on the same gear sounded similar to when they were on mid end gear and while yes the o3 sounded good, they honestly felt like I was still listening to a pair of speakers - though good speakers.

But there's a difference in my experience between Serblin's creations and Paolo Tezzons current SF line up. Not particularly a fan of the new sound as are a few others. After serblin died, it's just not been the same.

That's why I'm looking closely at the prior creations such as the Strad. Otherwise I'd be very heavily interested in the current Amati Futura or the Lilliums. Although I don't think I can afford the Lilliums given their absurd pricing.