I listen to classical music and use Paradigm Studio 40v3's with an Era Sub 10 (designed by Michael Kelly of Aerial Acoustics). I am very satisfied with the sound. If you have specific questions I'd be happy to answer them.
For most I use my two-ways but for cannon blasts I use my towers. My two-ways can get into the 30s and have a nice midrange and twinkling highs but when things get serious it's nice to have a separate mid-range that isn't trying to do the high excusion stuff and violins at the same time.
My Ascend 340s do very well with classical and jazz.
With classical I lean towards solo piano, piano concertos, and violin concertos rather than symphonic stuff. And the occasional pipe organ 0rgy.
Classical and Spanish guitar are also magnificent on them.
I have been told that Magnepans reign supreme with classical and jazz though they really demand a top notch amp...if I had no WAF issues (read: a dedicated listening room) and could afford both I would probably go that route.
That is probably so TW as it's all part of Signal Path. The Era speakers are very nice and the subs unbelievable. Michael Kelly was given the task to build a sub that would compete with REL at a lower cost. He did. My friend who owns the Eugene, Oregon audio shop that sells Era owns Magnepan 3.6's. He said he never could find a sub to mate with them until he took the Sub 10 home. I love it. BTW he also sells Magnepan, Vandersteen, B&W, Paradigm, Epos, Creek, Musical Fidelity, Marantz, Denon, Rogue Audio, Music Hall and more. And his store is only my second favorite.
Eddie, I owned Maggies they are WONDERFUL, but TW is right they are just too fussy. I sold my Maggies and bought my Studio 40v3's (in a multi step process of climbing back up). What did I have before the Maggies, Studio 40v2's. Such is the life of a poor audiophile.
Jesus! I take it you didn't exactly come out ahead after all those transactions? You must really love the Studio 40s though to keep coming back to them like that...
Art I would love to have the 1.6s,I really think at $1725 they are the best value in audio,but with a but.Your equipment must be up to the task,and even worse your room has to equally be up to the task,which most of us poor people dont usually have 'both',so its like a treasure chest with no key sad isnt it.
Is my older NAD 7240PE receiver a good match for Magnepans or the Totem Rainmakers if I should decide to go for one these? I mainly listen to two channel stereo and do not want to invest in a new receiver. The Rainmakers look exciting.
I had both the room and the equipment for Maggies. What I did not have was patince for a speaker that didn't was so uneven relative to playback of all music types. Also Maggies are not the most detailed speaker. The Studio 40's reveal much more of the music. The only way that I would own Maggies again would be if I could afford the 3.6. BTW I did a side by side comparison with Maggies and Vandersteen 2ce's and I preferred the Vandy's. I was comparing with the music of Cassandra Wilson who I had seen the night before in concert.
believe it or not there are actually some people who preferred the Ascends over the Vandersteens...I ran into a few on the avs forum after posting to somebody that if I could afford $2000 speakers I probably would never have even looked at the Ascends, and they begged to differ.
I'll have to venture into one of these really high end shops one of these days to see...I think there is only one such high end dealer in Houston, they are an authorized Magnepan dealer so they probably have other pricey stuff too.
neil - Before John A. gets here to remind you, speakers should not reflect a bias toward any one genre of music. As you can see from the responses to your question, the decision regarding what speakers do well with classical music is a matter of personal taste. Listen to what's available, bring a few pair into your own home and system, and make your decision based on what you hear, not what others own or recommend.
It wont be the Lings Jan,he is talking about the Emmas they are not out yet.Art I thought Vandies were a little too warm in the bass for but,when I listened to them I had the Arros at that time so that may explain it,and Eddie your right a guy on Audio Review replaced his 2ce with the Epiphony and he said wasnt looking back.Thats not the first time I heard someone replacing their 2ce,personally I like the 1c much better and its cheaper and it doesent have that signiture Vandy Bass warmth
Edster - Upon first listen many speakers are preferred over the Vandersteens. They don't impress in the way many other speakers do. The key is when I listened to them vs the Maggies, I used music by an artist whose music I listened to live the night before. The other 2 people that I listened to them with actually preferred the Maggies. I knew that Cassandra Wilson's voice on the Vandy's sounded like Cassandra, not so with the Maggies (they had not seen the concert). Some people prefer their music embellished.
I just hate it when Art tells us what he can hear in his "2nd favorite" audio store. Heck, anyone want to preview cheap H-K and Yamahas, not the reference line stuff, and some JBLs, Klipsch and BAs, come on down to Spokane, WA. Now, that's hi-fi for ya. "Maggies, we don't need no stinkin' Maggies."
P.S. - Now, you know why I begged Tim to compare something to the Ascends.
"...speakers should not reflect a bias toward any one genre of music."
I agree with that. The reason is that the speakers should deliver the original sound, whatever it is. But there are still special cases. Small speakers usually have bass extension together with accurate, neutral sound only if they have low sensitivity, and, then, they don't make very high volumes of sound - no good if you want to shake the room. So there are trade-offs, and the right decision can depend on what you most like to listen to. It is still not really a question of "classical" as against anything else. For example, organ is usually "classical", but there you need speakers that go a lot lower than for, say, a string quartet, where imaging might be a better way to spend your money. The lowest note from a cello is 64 Hz, if I recall. So, if all you listen to is chamber music, a good sealed-box bookshelf speaker is ideal, and you are wasting money on something that can go down to 30 Hz and vibrate the floor. The same applies if you like solo singer/songwriter stuff, and never bother with heavy rock and five-string bass guitars.