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Old 20 years Shahinian ARC or Compass what is better?

In my view nothing at all. I've never heard anything sound more "right". If I couldn't have Shahinians, I'd look for an old pair of Epos ES14 or Royd Sintra and pray they lasted as long as possible. If that stuff wasn't available, I'd go for a vintage Tannoy as there is plenty of expertise and support available to keep them going.
 
I’ve a set of ES14’s and they are great, what Shahinians do is quite unique though.

I liked my Compasses but I loved my Obelisks. The wife did not though so they went to Cesare of this parish.

I now have Event Opals (~£3k a pair), I have to say they are amazing and give a real window into the music. Vocals are
particularly good, something they share with the Epos’s). But I do miss something about the natural presentation of the Shahinians.
 
Cost me waaaaay more wedge than 3K to improve on my old ARCS / OBS.

I'm not up-to-date re what is out there at the moment in that price bracket; I think active / cardiod speakers are a definite step up from the Shahinians (albeit very, very different presentation) but they cost substantially more. Used Shahinians are a bargain.
 
I'm not saying they are better than Shahinian but NVA speakers used to be a steal at the price for the performance they offered. A semi omni design with an up firing mid bass and a forward firing tweeter. The mid bass was doped and had no low pass filtering, the tweeter had a single series capacitor (much like the Epos).
 
I used to own Shahinian Obelisk's and loved them, but I am now using NVA Cube 3's and I love too. The Cubes work well in a smaller room, whereas, the Obelisk's would struggle.
 
I’ve got 20 plus year old Arcs and they sound great. My dealer says the latest version has been upgraded but the price is pretty frisky. I believe that the rubber speaker surrounds can sometimes loosen - although there is a fix - so check if looking at second hand. They need to be away from the back wall.
I also have c 12 year old Compasses in my second system and they are easier to place. They don’t have a rear facing bass radiator speaker like the Arc.
 
To OP: I've had several pairs of Shahinians or varying vintages and still have a set of the tiny Larcs in storage. Loved them with a sweet spot for Super Elves. Also had a set of Decware ERRs which were a step above both sets of Arcs I've had, as I couldn't get hold of Obelisks at that time. However I have moved on to MC Audio conventional standmounts (ex-MBL designer and bought from the former importer), and I'm no longer looking back.
 
Rushboy said:
Hello,
what is better from today's production of 3000 GBP than an old Shahinian?
Click to expand...
Probably loads. I bought a pair of 1 year old (or thereabouts) Compasses in 1999 for £300. They were great value at that price. They were not, however, £1k+ standard speakers at the time, although they do things differently so if that sound is your thing the options are more limited. I do wish I'd held onto them, though, since they were easy to move, position and would work great in a second system. But better than what you could get for £3k now? Not a chance.
 
New Compasses ( Mark 2) retail for £4995 in the U.K. - which is way too much. Following my earlier post I have switched my Compasses into my main listening room as I was concerned that the room was too small for the Arcs. My room is 5m x 3m with a 2.4m ceiling. I have to have the speakers firing across the room but was finding that the room was too excited and was getting a harshness on some vocals - so I have installed 2 foam corner bass traps in the front wall corners.
I am finding the Compass a more balanced listen than the Arcs in this room - somewhat to my surprise.

Before trying the room treatment I had home auditioned Dynaudio Special 40 on their dedicated stands - too intrusive physically - before sequentially Spendor A4, A7 and D7.2 - each of which was better (and bigger!) than the one before.

so to respond to the OP if you can audition older Shahinians you may find that they suit your room but otherwise I would be very tempted by the Spendor A7s which are around £3k and lower ex demo - I may yet re- audition them post room treatment. The D7.2’s were pretty big and too big for my room whereas the A7’s are very neat.

also be aware that Arcs and to a lesser extent Compasses need decent amplification - I’m using Naim NAP300 although I have run the Compasses with a Naimuniti (mark1) without difficulty.
 
I have always been intrigued by Shahinian speakers and was very tempted to go for a pair of the Elf
models recently.
Mainly because of their size, which is close to my favourite small speakers such as LS3/5as, Harbeth P3s, etc.
I’m told they would sound very different to LS3/5as, but would doubtless enjoy listening to them.
 
I haven’t heard Elfs although looking at pictures online they seem to be rear ported which would likely give them a different sound signature to the L3/5as which are sealed I believe.
 
I've tried many 3K and above modern speakers at home in place of my Shahinian Compass, including models from ATC, Kudos, PMC, Audio Note, Naim, Linn, Harbeth, Rega, Dynaudio. I still use the Shahinian.
 
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