February 22, 2006 by A.S. Van Dorston

Warning: Geek gear talk ahead.

I blew my speakers this winter at the end of my metal kick. It was an Infinity subwoofer system I got 14 years ago, which I guess is a decent run considering the use/abuse they got. I Elmers-glued the torn part so the distortion isn’t so excruciating, and got to work researching.

I wanted to find the best system I could for under a thousand. I have a 2,725 cubic foot listening space. I have a giant cd rack/entertainment center that I custom built (with help from a kind friend) a few years ago. I liked how the entire wooden structure became a giant bass cabinet and amplified it even more. However, my downstairs neighbor didn’t like it too much. I put bubble wrap under it to minimize vibration on the floor. I’d ask her if that helped, but she moved out already 😉 I’m limited to a subwoofer that’s no larger than 12″ wide.

I started looking at more Infinity speakers, and other all-in-one home theater setups, and quickly realized they wouldn’t past muster if I wanted to step up the sound quality. I revised my plan to just upgrade the front speakers for now. I haven’t used rear speakers for home theater in years anyway. I use my system for music 95 percent of the time, and while I review music on headphones sometimes, it’s only fair to the artists that I make the setup as good as I can.

After about two weeks of researching reviews and audiophile forums until my eyes bled, I was ready. I had a list of all the speakers I knew of that were around $800 a pair. Unfortunately I didn’t get to I didn’t get to demo Axiom, Klipsch or KEF either. Would be nice if one place had them all, but it seems every dealer tends to focus on just a few brands. I assembled a couple CDs with songs I was very familiar with that would test out the range of music I listen to. Everything from old jazz to death metal to properly torture them.

Despite the 3 degree weather, I ventured out on Saturday. First stop was Saturday Audio Exchange, where I listened to the Monitor Audio S6 on an NAD T763. Charlie Parker’s “A Night in Tunisia” and Charles Brown’s “Black Night” were brought to life without the limitations of the 1940s recordings being too distracting. Charles Mingus’ “II B.S.” was a revelation — I could the shuffling of feet, someone breathing, and the scrape of fingernails on the bass strings — details I had only heard before on my Sennheiser headphones. James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” was kind to the crisp snare drums without sounding shrill. They handled the distorted guitars of The Creation’s “Making Time” very well. But on The Stooges’ “Down on the Street” and Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On,” they were starting to feel strained. And I hadn’t even begun to truly torture them. They coasted through Curtis Mayfield’s “Little Child Runnin’ Wild” nicely, handling the range of the strings very well. The dubby 70s reggae bass of Cedric Brooks’ “Free Up Black Man” and The Congos’ “Congoman” was satisfyingly groundshaking and warm. The more pristine productions of Steely Dan and Rush sounded near perfect, and the razor’s edge guitars of The Buzzcocks and Gang of Four were sharp without being painful. I was struck by another revelatory moment in Mission Of Burma’s “Learn How” — I’ve never heard it sound so intense. The acoustic guitars on Big Star’s “Watch the Sunrise” filled the room with gorgeous ringing tones, while Prince’s “Kiss” sounded perfectly tight. Fugazi’s “Waiting Room’s” bass was lean as it was meant to be. However, the real torture laid ahead. Slayer’s “Raining Blood” started abruptly, and the speakers sounded like they were hanging on for dear life. Entombed’s “Seeing Red” was just too much — I was hearing some distortion. Public Enemy sounded a little flat (though I think they’re overdue for a remastering job), while the Beastie Boys’ “Shadrach” fared better. The rest of the songs held up well enough, from Laika to Tricky, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Radiohead, Squarepusher, Flaming Lips. Amon Tobin and Four Tet sounded particularly rich with details. But again, Mars Volta and Mastodon were a little too much. They’re definitely worth the money ($629), but not quite what I wanted.

Next was Midwest Stereo Pro Sound to demo the Paradigm Cinema 330 and Monitor 9, again via a NAD. I heard bad things about the Phantoms, because they cut corners on the cabinet construction and it literally rattles. That’s why I couldn’t find anyone who carried them. Overall the Cinema 330 sounded nearly as good as the Monitors, except when it came to the metal tunes, in which it performed even worse. And of course they had less bass, but the subwoofer would make up for that. For their price and size, I was actually pretty amazed by their performance. For someone looking for primarily home theater in a small room for relatively cheap, I’d recommend them wholeheartedly. But since 90f my time is spent on music, I need more *oompf*. The Monitor 9 certainly had it. They surpassed the Monitor in every way, and were particularly enlightening with The Stooges, Nusrat & Asian Dub Foundation’s “Tao Deem Remix,” Entombed and Four Tet’s “Hands.” Rich and powerful. Too bad I simply don’t have the room for those suckers. Additionally, their design is pretty ordinary, e.g., the WAF (Wife Approval Factor). I’m not married, but were I to move in with a S.O., I wouldn’t want them banned to the office. I’m no audiophile, and really I’m just looking for an overall tingly feeling from speakers that is not altogether logical — kind of like music in general.

Last stop was Promusica, where I sampled the Rega R5. On a previous visit I briefly listened to the bookshelf R1 and R5. Granted, the comparison is a little uneven because these were driven by a high end Naim pre-amp and amp combo, but just the same I was really pleased. Compared to the Rega, the Paradigm Monitor 9’s bass sounded a little sloppy. I liked the neutral, dry, crisp sound. My overall impression was this was the closest approximation to how the music was meant to be heard. Indeed, despite having heard parts of all 37 songs at least three times within the last two hours, I found myself getting lost in the music, caught up in simply enjoying the songs. I love the look, with the bass on the side, and because it uses a front firing port, I can place it against the wall, which is a must in my very limited floor space. I love Roy Gandy, that clever English bastard.

I was sold, and ordered a pair of R3 (they didn’t have a pair in stock to demo…I know the side-firing 5″ bass driver won’t match the 7″ on the R5, but my space is that limited). I’m confident that with my upgrade to the Sunfire Dominator D-10 subwoofer, they’ll be perfect for my needs (2,725 cubic feet isn’t considered small, but not a McMansion basement either. Reading more reviews and history, I really like Rega’s philosophy of aiming for real music lovers, not audiophiles. Hear hear. I mean, what’s up with nearly every audio review using Diana Krall as a reference? And Manhattan Transfer . . . WTF? They need to realize that a $15,000 system will never make that shit sound good.

Here’s the sweet babies:

Next step is to upgrade my receiver. I was literally just about to push “Submit” on a Harman/Kardon AVR 635 order when I thought, why doesn’t anyone offer USB ports? Sure enough, HK announced the 40s series with USB, and can work with software like Windows Media Player, Musicmatch among others. They also include XM Radio compatibility and an iPod dock. I don’t use iPods, but it would be handy in a party when someone wanted to jack in their mix. I think this makes up for the 635’s relative lack of features compared to the Denon AVR 3805 or 3806. But the value can’t be beat — only a year after its release, the 635 is available for as low as $600 compared to it’s $1,300 list price.

The 40s series are supposed to be available this month, but there’s no sign of them yet. I’m worried that the price will be much higher, since the suggested retail for the 740 is $3,499. They haven’t announced the price for the 640 or 440 yet (the 440 isn’t due until March). To complicate matters further, Promusica is trying to sell me on the NAD-773, because my use is 95 percent music. I have to be suspicious since that’s way more power necessary for my room size and speakers. At any rate, even the 763 is still far, far more expensive than the HK AVR 635. I don’t know if it’s different in the UK, but I can get the 635 for $635 USD including shipping, whereas NAD is only available at dealers, for not much below the list price of $1,399.

I’m going back to Saturday Audio on Thursday to compare the NAD and Denon. Then I’ll try to hold out with my old crappy Sony until I see what the HK 640 prices end up as.

Posted in: Audio Gear, Rants