leo Posted July 4, 2016 Posted July 4, 2016 I have a pair of Castle Warwick speakers from the days of old and will probably be taking them to my grave.They are truly about the music,and I just love them.
buddyev Posted July 4, 2016 Posted July 4, 2016 These excellent Vienna Acoustics Mozarts — smallish floor-standersfor not much more than those Castles — would be an excellent alternative. Well, I would say that wouldn't I. http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php/topic/106820-fs-vienna-acoustics-mozart/ You're welcome to have a listen.
hifiscot Posted July 6, 2016 Author Posted July 6, 2016 G'day folks, Not been able to respond for a while but thought I'd let you know I made it down to the hifi show on the wknd - was very impressed by a lot of the high end stuff but most of it waaaay out of my price range, but I guess that's what a show is about to showcase your best gear. The VAF Evo's speakers on display blew me away the most and just thought they sounded amazing as well as looked awesome too (Is $3k out of my price range???!!....probably, but I nearly convinced myself on Saturday before having a moment of clarity and telling myself to hold off for a minute!! Also Whatmough (sp?) had a small set of standmounts that sounded awesome - the guys were good enough to take off their main system to let me have a good listen (twice) and I was really impressed and at $1300 are probably close to in range - I'll probs go to their place and have a longer listen without all the distractions / background noise. Anyway, I reckon the performance of these 2 efforts described above and a couple of other factors relating to looks, convenience, concern about floorstanders bothering my neighbours late at night and the fact I might not always have as big a room are leaning me toward sticking with standmounts. I reckon I'm closer to jumping for an LP12 too. On that front, I would love to find somewhere that might have a heap of 2nd hand turntables and speakers in the one place to browse / listen to, does anyone know of any places in Melbourne?? (I might post this in a separate thread to see if can get any hints). Roho - Had a look a the legend speakers, interesting stuff - looks like they only do one bookshelf type speaker the Joey which i'll do some homework on. All Linn, you are a purist! AI.M / Eggcupthedaft / Jebediah - After seeing some of the serious speakers on show at the hifi show I'm seriously looking at 2nd hand to try upgrade my sound - makes sense altho I wonder what risk (if any) there is with old speakers, chance of being damaged, no warranty etc. but this should be limited as long as I can get a good listen to whatever I look at which is a must. Arcade Fireman - I have researched Ariston turntables a little bit, they get close to that classic look I am wanting but not quite as cool as the Linn IMO. I read somewhere that they have a bit of a connection with the Linn in terms of design history too. Buddyev - Thanks for the offer. I think I'm still leaning towards bookshelves at the moment but we shall see! Thanks again, HifiScot 1
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted July 6, 2016 Posted July 6, 2016 Arcade Fireman - I have researched Ariston turntables a little bit, they get close to that classic look I am wanting but not quite as cool as the Linn IMO. I read somewhere that they have a bit of a connection with the Linn in terms of design history too. Good to see you are focusing on speakers. That is where you will gain the most. There is a good reason why the Linn looks like the Ariston. Linn copied the Ariston design. 1
muzzagruzz Posted July 6, 2016 Posted July 6, 2016 G'day folks, Not been able to respond for a while but thought I'd let you know I made it down to the hifi show on the wknd - was very impressed by a lot of the high end stuff but most of it waaaay out of my price range, but I guess that's what a show is about to showcase your best gear. The VAF Evo's speakers on display blew me away the most and just thought they sounded amazing as well as looked awesome too (Is $3k out of my price range???!!....probably, but I nearly convinced myself on Saturday before having a moment of clarity and telling myself to hold off for a minute!! Also Whatmough (sp?) had a small set of standmounts that sounded awesome - the guys were good enough to take off their main system to let me have a good listen (twice) and I was really impressed and at $1300 are probably close to in range - I'll probs go to their place and have a longer listen without all the distractions / background noise. Anyway, I reckon the performance of these 2 efforts described above and a couple of other factors relating to looks, convenience, concern about floorstanders bothering my neighbours late at night and the fact I might not always have as big a room are leaning me toward sticking with standmounts. I reckon I'm closer to jumping for an LP12 too. On that front, I would love to find somewhere that might have a heap of 2nd hand turntables and speakers in the one place to browse / listen to, does anyone know of any places in Melbourne?? (I might post this in a separate thread to see if can get any hints). Roho - Had a look a the legend speakers, interesting stuff - looks like they only do one bookshelf type speaker the Joey which i'll do some homework on. All Linn, you are a purist! AI.M / Eggcupthedaft / Jebediah - After seeing some of the serious speakers on show at the hifi show I'm seriously looking at 2nd hand to try upgrade my sound - makes sense altho I wonder what risk (if any) there is with old speakers, chance of being damaged, no warranty etc. but this should be limited as long as I can get a good listen to whatever I look at which is a must. Arcade Fireman - I have researched Ariston turntables a little bit, they get close to that classic look I am wanting but not quite as cool as the Linn IMO. I read somewhere that they have a bit of a connection with the Linn in terms of design history too. Buddyev - Thanks for the offer. I think I'm still leaning towards bookshelves at the moment but we shall see! Thanks again, HifiScot Do look at the Legend speakers and don't discount the little Joey's as they are magnificent. I'm biased as my house is full of Legend speakers. They have more than one bookshelf speaker: Kanga, Joey, Kurre, Isobaric Small Red and the new Mini. I have the Kanga 6's and Kurre 7's - lovely. Beautifully built and in Jarrah, they are a lovely looking speaker. Have fun choosing. Tricky
hifiscot Posted July 18, 2016 Author Posted July 18, 2016 Folks, Slight update for those that may have been wondering... Looks like I'm gonna take the rather deep plunge and get VAF to send me a pair of their new Evo 1's which I saw and fell in love with at the hifi show - anyone with experience with VAF speakers would be great to hear any thoughts? The upscale spend on the speakers matches a few comments on here about investing a higher % of my budget on speakers. Still on the hunt for an LP12 which I'm pretty set on, just need to find the right deal and specs for which I'm in no major rush given I'm waaaaaay over budget on the VAF speakers ($3k RRP!!!). Do have a couple of options which I will probs go on soon tho. Amp will remain my faithful SU-7300 but can see this getting upgraded very soon to match the quality of the VAFs and probs up the power rating a bit. Thanks again for the thoughts - please shout out if you think I'm being crazy with my intention on the VAFs - my theory is what the hell, you only live once and they are a long term investment and should be pretty re-sellable if I grow to not like them or I need the cash back! Cheers Hifiscott 1
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) NOW you're cooking! VAF don't know how to build a bad speaker. Every model in their range is excellent. I have not heard the EVO-1, but I am certain they are excellent. Edited July 18, 2016 by Zaphod Beeblebrox
Guest jakeyb77 Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 I wouldn't trade my TD160's for a Linn at all. Just my preference. And the money you save you can spend elsewhere.
Guest Eggcup The Daft Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 You still have a big room and the VAFs are still small standmounts. Did you see them in a room the size of yours at the show? If the demo room was smaller, I'd still be a little concerned. I'd also ask re your amp before ordering, just in case, though I'm sure that they can provide you with a nice and suitable amp that's even more over your budget. In case you haven't noticed, everyone here will push you over budget as a matter of principle
hifiscot Posted July 18, 2016 Author Posted July 18, 2016 Yes eggcupthedaft the display room at the hifishow was bigger than my room, i think thats partly why i was so impressed. Have asked about amp sizing and admittedly they said they wouldnt go any lower than my 40amps per channel to get the best out of them. My listening volume requirement wont be buge so hopefully not an issue and im open to a new amp relatively soon anyway. I did mean to add to earlier post this hifi bug is great but highly addictive and potentially expensive!!
hifiscot Posted July 28, 2016 Author Posted July 28, 2016 Just auditioned a pair of Harbeth P3ESR' and ATC SCM11's.....wow!! Both great speakers. Now im even more unsure on whether to plump for the VAFs!!
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