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Silver Member Username: MordecaiTexas Post Number: 417 Registered: Jan-09 | I've read the Stereophile review of the RS6 version and they sound impressive. I'm thinking of demoing a pair since I can buy them at Best Buy. I know I need to here them but would like to here current and previous owner opinions. I have a NAD 372 IA and Nola Mini bookshelf, speakers. I've never owned towers although these are small towers. |
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Gold Member Username: Nickelbut10Canada Post Number: 3587 Registered: Jun-07 | woh woh!! Did you say you can buy MA speakers at Best Buy? |
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Silver Member Username: MordecaiTexas Post Number: 418 Registered: Jan-09 | Not every Best Buy. Certain Magnolia Store Best Buys. I have two in the Dallas Metro area. I can buy them, take them home and listen to them for 45 days (I'm a Silver Reward Zone Member), and return them if I don't want to buy them. Nuck, don't you have these speakers? |
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Gold Member Username: KbearCanada Post Number: 1131 Registered: Dec-06 | RS or RX? You mention both. Had the RS5 for a bit. Liked them a lot. Very detailed and quick with an overall forward balance. However, the top to bottom balance was way off. The highs just overpowered the rest of the frequency range. Others online have commented on the RS speaker's tendency towards brightness. As far as I know the RX series toned this down. I had the RX2 for an in home demo and this time the bass was far too prominent. I'm guessing the RX1 would have been a better match for my room. Other than that they sounded good (on songs that didn't have too much low end energy). MA makes a good product. Heard the new GX line at TAVES. Now those really impressed, but this comment probably isn't very helpful as they are much more expensive. The way I see it you've got a very reasonable (more than reasonable) 45 days to try them out, commitment free. At the end of the day only you can decide based on what you hear. I know what I'd do! |
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Platinum Member Username: ArtkAlbany, Oregon USA Post Number: 14914 Registered: Feb-05 | Didn't like the Dali's? |
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Silver Member Username: MordecaiTexas Post Number: 419 Registered: Jan-09 | The store was supposed to transfer the ikon2's from another store and call me and they never did call. I made a previous trip to the store expecting them to be there and they weren't. I've heard the RX6s in store but not in a good listening environment. I'm thinking about bringing a pair home for a listen. I've also read a little about the LSA 1's. They sound like a quality speaker. Just kicking some tires and doing some test drives. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 16960 Registered: May-04 | . Mordecai, I've only heard the current MA's at one dealer's (paired with Rotel, I believe, and in a very small demo room with several other systems crammed into the same room). I'm therefore not that familiar with their current line. But historically MA has been a speaker line with a house sound that is fairly easy to dissect. They are a high value speaker manufacturer - but MA's have always come with the caveat emptor of careful system matching. Quite commonly this means a speaker has emphatic high frequency response paired with a somewhat forward presentation and this is certainly the trademark of MA's past. However, in a budget oriented speaker this can mean something a little different than when you see the same warning applied to, say, a $10k Theil. Where the Theil has a philosophic reputation of being "revealing" to systemic flaws in front of it, the budget oriented speaker quite often has pushed technology just a bit too hard. Case in point would be metal domes tweeters with their high resonant frequency and well known sonic signature. Such drivers often come with a fingerprint which isn't always friendly to budget oriented components. I'd say this is fairly true of the MA line on the whole and has been for quite some time. More over, a sense of heightened detail retrieval and a forward nature are, IMO and I think most listener's opinion, almost diametrically opposed to the house sound of NAD. While it is a common assumption that "forward" should be paired with "laid back" to achieve an amelioration of each component's individual ills, IMO this is exactly where you should not head in your system matching. "Bright" paired with "warm" results - IMO - in a mish mosh of neither component performing to its best. I've often suggested on this forum and to my clients they should be selecting their system choices based upon priorities which are complementary to each other component in the system. The result then being one of each additional component building upon the strengths of the others and downplaying the weaknesses of the least amongst them. In that respect, and IMO, the NAD paired with the MA's are oil and water. Certainly the NAD will tame the MA's signature sound but at what cost? You seem interested in floor standing speakers. Why? What is your present system not doing that makes you want to change from the well respected NOLA's? Have you established a priorities list and checked off "good" and "bad" aspects of your present system's performance? What's driving this itch to change? Just change itself? . |
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Silver Member Username: MordecaiTexas Post Number: 420 Registered: Jan-09 | Thanks Jan for your detailed response. I'm really just kicking tires. I've owned two good speakers (Nola and Vienna Acoustics) so I'm still learning what I like sound wise. I'm not sure what I'm looking for really. I really like what I have now but I've never owned a tower speaker. I'm more curious than anything else. I listened to B&W PM1 bookshelves the other day and was impressed by the realism of the music. I was listening to the Superman soundtrack and the horns sounded real. Do I have to spend $2500 or up to get that kind of realism? I just don't know what I like and may not till I hear it. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 16961 Registered: May-04 | . My typical reaction to anyone who is in your situation would be to suggest you first reconnect with live music itself. It tends to disspell many "hifi" priorities and replaces them with needs and desires based upon music and its performance rather than whims of audio reproduction. Listen and think, then allow the music to take you where you should go. http://www.stereophile.com/category/j-gordon-holt/ http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/are_you_a_sharpener_or_a_leveler/index.html http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/1296awsi/index.html . |
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Silver Member Username: MordecaiTexas Post Number: 421 Registered: Jan-09 | Thanks for the articles Jan and the suggestion to listen to live music. I've not been to a live concert in a few years. I think I've been a leveler the last year. I've really enjoyed the music. I've made some free tweaks and really sat back and just listened. I think I'm moving toward being a sharpener now that I've listened more. I am listening more critically as I try to hear all instruments and placements. I do realize that no system can reproduce the sound of live music. For me, it's always about managing my expectations. This has been a challenge for me my whole life. I strive for balance between being a leveler and a sharpener. I think this best describes me "It's more fun to get fabulous performance from a moderately priced system than to get good sound from an expensive system." I enjoy the quest of getting more from less. I doubt that I will ever spend $3k on speakers for instance. I just can't justify the cost benefit ratio. By the way, I do have a REL sub in my system too. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 16966 Registered: May-04 | . Hit some of the free music venues around town. I can't always afford to pay the somewhat remarkable prices to hear a concert of either classical or pop/rock/blues music but I can fairly easily find a resaurant or local college that is offering high quality music for the price of a meal or not much more. Red, Hot and Blues has started to have a nice selection of "free" artists performing on the weekends - bring a few bucks for a tip to the performers. You can hear most anything from a solo acoustic act to a small amplified combo. If you get the chance to hear Joel Foy doing solo acoustic blues, you won't find a better player in all of Texas IMO. The Dallas Beethoven Society sponsors free concerts during the year, their season at the Dallas Museum begins in February I think. Check with the main library for their schedule in the main floor performance space. With the DSO's monetary issues, I doubt you'll see much coming from them this year. But even if you just find yourself at The Kessler down in Oak Cliff (the new "Austin"), it's live music being made by real performers at a reasonable price. We recently hear Leon Redbone do a truly wonderful show there and Ann Armstrong and her husband are worth the very meager price of admission. http://thekessler.org/ 1_103200_AFTHjkQAAX%2FuTrVr2QqtJUICdAc,1_104240_AFbHjkQAAWdMTrQx9Q7ugEzRyGc,1_105087_AFPHjkQAAGCkTrMklg4QyzIWlDA,1_106285_AFXHjkQAAHwlTrG%2FmADhO33F%2BIY,1_107343_AFPHjkQAAEodTrGxoARBT3i%2BuIo,1_108369_AFTHjkQAAGSjTrF4YwW4pVXqOz8,1_109435_AFfHjkQAABWKTrD5ZAt7BxK5gLY,1_110149_AFPHjkQAAN5hTrBCWAvF9l1njBE,1_111430_AFTHjkQAAIXYTq8qtwowIDMw5e4,1_112426_AFPHjkQAAPx%2FTq8JpQTwbj1tNz0,&sort=date&order=down&startMid=100&hash=a556fb7601baa85c444de55dffd9cbc7&.jsrand=8569901,http://us.mc810.mail.yahoo.com/mc/welcome?.partner=sbc&.gx=1&.tm=1323021678&.rand=1g4kf5d44tbms#_pg=showMessage&sMid=105&&filterBy=&.rand=384430410&midIndex=5&mid=1_107343_AFPHjkQAAEodTrGxoARBT3i%2BuIo&fromId=aabuss@sbcglobal.net&m=1_102470_AFfHjkQAAJpbTraCNgPoWgGyHms,1_103200_AFTHjkQAAX%2FuTrVr2QqtJUICdAc,1_104240_AFbHjkQAAWdMTrQx9Q7ugEzRyGc,1_105087_AFPHjkQAAGCkTrMklg4QyzIWlDA,1_106285_AFXHjkQAAHwlTrG%2FmADhO33F%2BIY,1_107343_AFPHjkQAAEodTrGxoARBT3i%2BuIo,1_108369_AFTHjkQAAGSjTrF4YwW4pVXqOz8,1_109435_AFfHjkQAABWKTrD5ZAt7BxK5gLY,1_110149_AFPHjkQAAN5hTrBCWAvF9l1njBE,1_111430_AFTHjkQAAIXYTq8qtwowIDMw5e4,1_112426_AFPHjkQAAPx%2FTq8JpQTwbj1tNz0,&sort=date&order=down&startMid=100&hash=a556fb7601baa85c444de55dffd9cbc7&.jsrand=8569901 . |