evans@mhuxt.UUCP (crandall) (04/05/85)
After having spent an enormous amount of time listening to speakers, I finally broke down and purchased a pair of Duntech PCL-5s. The speakers are somewhat unusual in that they are intended to be bolted to a wall with moly bolts (dimensions are 3' x 2' x 4"). Being in an apt. I opted to mount them to a couple of 30" x 70" x 0.75" pieces of oak which can be pushed up against the wall or left freestanding. After some effort moving things around I arrived at a configuration that sounded at least as good as what I had heard in the audio salons that I had frequented. Stero imaging is excellent (although not as good as the Polk SDA series), but the real treat is the clarity of the sound. Probably 90% of the music I listen to is chamber music and I have spent countless hours listening to the "real thing" over the last 10 years. These speakers do a better job on instruments like violins, cellos, violas, harpsichords, etc. Than about anything I've heard (including electrostatics which I consider excellent transducers for chamber music). They also do an outstanding job on flutes - an instrument that I have trouble with on some speakers. The speakers are semi-efficient being rated at 90 db per watt at 1 meter and I am driving them with a 70 watt VFET amp of 3 years vintage. If I was into things like Carmina Burana, the 1812 Overture, and lease breaking, I would want quite a bit more power. (when I go to a CD player I may have to go for a bigger amp, but that is probably true for any speakers except those around 100 db watt when one uses a small amp like mine.) The Duntech PCL-3s are also excellent and available at a much more modest price. If you are looking for speakers in the $800 - $2k range I highly recommend that you find a place that sells these Australian beauties and spend some time listening to them. Steve Crandall the opinions stated above are not necessarily those of my employer, but my wife and ferrets agree with me.