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Impossible speakers?

Tom60300

Tom60300

The truth hurts.
Hello all,
According to the collective PFM wisdom, does a pair of good-looking, nominal 8 ohm and over 90db, stand-mounted, neutral sounding and not stupidly-priced speakers exist on the market today? It's like searching for a needle in a haystack. What about the poor folks who need to satisfy these criteria?
Seems I would have better luck spotting Nessie and taking a selfie with Bigfoot...
 
Good looking is a matter of taste, but for me either of the Fyne Audio F1.8 or Vintage 8 would fit the bill. It also depends what you mean by ‘not stupidly-priced’ of course and it may be that £7k-ish doesn’t fit that criterion, either.
 
Second hand Audionote AX2s - around £500 when you find some. They are just boxes with a tasteful but hardly alluring vinyl wrap. Various ProAc Tablettes nearly fit the bill.
 
I had interpreted the OP’s phrase ‘exist on the market today’ as asking whether any new speakers fit the brief. It’s a useful question.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
Good looking is a matter of taste, but for me either of the Fyne Audio F1.8 or Vintage 8 would fit the bill. It also depends what you mean by ‘not stupidly-priced’ of course and it may be that £7k-ish doesn’t fit that criterion, either.
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It would be interesting to see what the OP considers good looking. I find those F1.8s ugly, but not the Vintage 8s.
 
kernow said:
standmounts
*throws up in mouth a bit*
Click to expand...
There was a time when stand-mounts were pretty much all there was. Even very large speakers like Isobariks, ATC, Spendors etc were on stands. Manufacturers were pushed into floor standing speakers by customer demand.

I remember it well. Floor-standing speakers looked cooler than stand-mounts, especially larger ones, so that's what people were buying. Despite them almost always sounding worse than the stand-mount equivalent. For example, ATC stuck with stand-mounts for studios but introduced floor-standing versions for domestic market. Everyone knew the floor-standers sounded worse but they looked nicer and that's what people wanted.

It's the same process that's led us to the horrid little Bluetooth, lifestyle abortions we have today. People are more concerned with style and convenience than the primary function of playing music. I keep hoping that we'll see a renaissance, proper hi-fi being cool again, and there are encouraging signs. The popularity of retro products like the Wharfdale Lintons and vinyl. More choice in the market than I thought we might have at this point.
 
I’d go second-hand every time as most modern speakers are reactive inefficient small-driver boxes designed for (ugly IMHO) looks over performance. The one current speaker that seems to fit all requirements is the Mo-Fi Source Point, so if you must buy new I’d definitely check them out. DeVore may have something too, and there’s a (I think) Canadian company making very interesting looking Altec 604-influenced speakers too. This is certainly the area I’d be looking if I wanted an easy to drive efficient modern stand-mount, though none will be cheap.

PS Fyne are no doubt very good too, but most are just so deliberately hideous, looking like some over-ornately lacquered drainpipe or urinal. Their ‘classic’ ones look decent enough though.
 
Not mine, but a very good stand mount at a good price..

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In what delusional universe do ATC fit the bill if over 90db sensitivity is a requirement?

Im guessing the op is a valve user?

Unfortunately high sensitivity and attractive rarely go together.

Maybe a pair of b&w 702? But they’re floorstanders.
 
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