rayjay@ihuxr.UUCP (john wray) (10/10/83)
There are a number of speakers that I can recommend based on my
personal experiences. Some I liked better than others but all are
good products and should do a satisfactory job.
Magnepan MG-2B-This unit is what they call a bipolar radiator. With
output coming from both the front and back of the speaker, room placement
is critical. Each unit ia about six feet tall,two feet wide, and about
two inches deep. They are similar to electrostatics in sound and require
at least 100 watts to do them justice. The mid-range is the real
selling point of these units. Set up properly and with the right
reflecting surface, they are astounding. Bass and high-end are a little
lacking in comparison to the mid-range. (Price $1000 the pair, used
$650 )
Vandersteen 2-C's-This is a more conventional design with a three way
setup using a 10 inch rear-firing passive radiator. The unit is a
floor standing model that sounds best on stands and must be far enough
out in the room to "load up" bass-wise with the wall behind it. The
overall balance is good and a moderate power amp of 50 watts sholud be able
to do the job. Earlier versions (2a' &2b's) had some problems that the lates
version does not seem to have. (Price $1000 the pair, used $700)
Mission 770's-These seem to be the current darlings of audiophiles around
here. They are more like what used to be called large bookshelf spkrs
with cabinets 24"x12"x12".
They are two way ported enclosures with an 8 1/2" woofer & 1" dome tweeter.
Needless to say they are very efficient.(30 watts will do ya)
The sound is very very snappy with obvious mid-range projection. The
bass, though, seems to be there along with the high end. They must be on
stands so be prepared to fork over the bread ($75 for their versions)
to get the most out of them. Aword of warning, I am currently listening
to a pair of 710's (the 770's smaller brother) and like the 770's, they
can "get on your head" when the mid-range is not mixed right on the
disc. (Price $1200 the pair, used[the way to buy 'em] $650)
Some other units that I like but have not really listened to enough are:
Daybreak Model 22's (Price $1100, used $700)
Kef 103.2 (Price $950, used $550)
J. K. Wray
BTL-Naperville