Speaker with excellent PRaT, with hard hitting and deep bass, strong dynamics and SLAM

I know this is a bit unfashionable, but have you considered Monitor Audio speakers?  The silver range is stunning!

Another vote for Dynaudio and I listen mainly to rock and metal. Slam and big clean powerful bass!

gary yeowell posted:

Peder posted:

Wugged Woy posted:

J.N. posted:

Oooh; Saras - that's triggered a 'blast from the past' pleasant memory. I've owned a pair. Self-flagellation stuff. In a good way.

John.

Beasts to drive if I remember correctly ?

Yeah,..Sara needs Power,and must stand "rock solid".

Difficult to install if they are to play optimally.

/Peder???? 

A Nap250 chrome bumper was fine, 135s better. Sara stands, four steel nuts with tiny amount of blue tac to hold them in place between speaker and top plate of stand. Carefully leveled stands on solid floor against solid wall. Sara heaven! Few speakers match the punch of a snare drum like a Sara.

???? Gary Yeowell,....I agree,..at least NAP 250.
They were constructed against Naim 250/135,so with Linn LK280 amps it was far from just as good.

Linn came with their amps in 1985,and then Sara was demonstrated with Linn's electronics,...as I said,not as good.

I have never run them with blue tac against the speakers,had always original spikes up...so how it played I do not know.
However,..they were heavy,had a high centre of gravity on the tripods...this made them difficult to get to optimal.

But the rest you write is correct,..Solid wall, preferably concrete and even flooring,then you were almost at home ????.

In Sweden,a renovated pair of Sara with original stand was sold for € 450:- a couple of months ago.
/Peder???? 

Peder posted:

gary yeowell posted:

Peder posted:

Wugged Woy posted:

J.N. posted:

Oooh; Saras - that's triggered a 'blast from the past' pleasant memory. I've owned a pair. Self-flagellation stuff. In a good way.

John.

Beasts to drive if I remember correctly ?

Yeah,..Sara needs Power,and must stand "rock solid".

Difficult to install if they are to play optimally.

/Peder???? 

A Nap250 chrome bumper was fine, 135s better. Sara stands, four steel nuts with tiny amount of blue tac to hold them in place between speaker and top plate of stand. Carefully leveled stands on solid floor against solid wall. Sara heaven! Few speakers match the punch of a snare drum like a Sara.

???? Gary Yeowell,....I agree,..at least NAP 250.
They were constructed against Naim 250/135,so with Linn LK280 amps it was far from just as good.

Linn came with their amps in 1985,and then Sara was demonstrated with Linn's electronics,...as I said,not as good.

I have never run them with blue tac against the speakers,had always original spikes up...so how it played I do not know.
However,..they were heavy,had a high centre of gravity on the tripods...this made them difficult to get to optimal.

But the rest you write is correct,..Solid wall, preferably concrete and even flooring,then you were almost at home ????.

In Sweden,a renovated pair of Sara with original stand was sold for € 450:- a couple of months ago.
/Peder???? 

Peder, the blue tac was wafer thin, just enough to stop the nuts from moving. A thin piece above and below the nut. I ran Saras like this, in preference to spikes after much trial and error. One of my favourite all time systems of the many i've owned. 1984 ish, LP12 /Ittok/Asak 'T'/32/Snaps/250/Saras (XLR socket type).  Joni Mitchell never sounded so good!

Sounds like a description of my Dynaudio Contour S3.4. For more bass extension and extra slam I added a REL R-328 sub and have a second on the way (delivered tomorrow) for a stereo pair. With my 250DR this boogies with the best I've heard.

RaceTripper posted:

Sounds like a description of my Dynaudio Contour S3.4. For more bass extension and extra slam I added a REL R-328 sub and have a second on the way (delivered tomorrow) for a stereo pair. With my 250DR this boogies with the best I've heard.

Doesn’t that need for a sub (or two) rather counter the Contour 3.4 as having the deep bass desired by the OP?

Innocent Bystander posted:

PMC MB2SE

Of course, if you want to go serious, get the XBD version...   But its probably not for the average home!

Innocent Bystander posted:

RaceTripper posted:

Sounds like a description of my Dynaudio Contour S3.4. For more bass extension and extra slam I added a REL R-328 sub and have a second on the way (delivered tomorrow) for a stereo pair. With my 250DR this boogies with the best I've heard.

Doesn’t that need for a sub (or two) rather counter the Contour 3.4 as having the deep bass desired by the OP?

I didn't say they "need" a sub. However, just about any loudspeaker benefits from a sub, so my comments in that regard apply to just about any speaker. The S3.4 sound great without a sub, but are even better with one. I may get a pair of Confidence C2s (which have dpper bass than the Contour S3.4), and I'll still use the subs.

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Where to start?!

Dynaudio, Kudos but more at the Titan end,  Neat but Ultimatums,  Focal Sopras.   

As ever home demo essential.  

+ 1 Fical Sopra 2

JanÅ posted:

Gents!

Looking for a speaker with excellent PRaT, with hard hitting and deep bass, strong dynamics and SLAM.

Please recommend a few in different price ranges, preferably pre-loved ...

THANKS!

Based on your requirements the only solution that makes sense is DBLs with a six pack.

Try the Harbeth Monitor 40.2?

At Bristol show I remember being very impressed with the Kef Reference 1's - they sounded effortlessly dynamic in a medium sized room ... I was quite surprised - very un-Kef like.

Richieroo, what about the Kef Blades - I like the looks more than the reference series:

I promise you that even passive DBL's on the end of a 500DR will make you jump!

There's a local pub I go to that plays live music pretty much every night. Leaving there and coming home to play my system makes me appreciate how close a good domestic system can get to the live sound levels and dynamics I've heard earlier.

I can generally get the fans on the 500 to provide me with heating by the end of the evening but it's not very eco-friendly!

Geko posted:

 

I can generally get the fans on the 500 to provide me with heating by the end of the evening but it's not very eco-friendly!

Whether electricity as space heating is any more or less eco-friendly than whatever is your normal source depends on how it is generated, and what is the other source... 

Peder posted:

Wugged Woy posted:

J.N. posted:

Oooh; Saras - that's triggered a 'blast from the past' pleasant memory. I've owned a pair. Self-flagellation stuff. In a good way.

John.

Beasts to drive if I remember correctly ?

Yeah,..Sara needs Power,and must stand "rock solid".

Difficult to install if they are to play optimally.

/Peder???? 

Owned 2 pairs Sara (one pair Sara the other Sara 9) during 20+ years.

Tried them a few years back in my system (Linn KDS/KK/Solo) and Majik 140 and Majik 109 was more musical. Kan is a lot better but the bass is absent...

Thanks for all suggestions so far!

JanÅ posted:

Peder posted:

Wugged Woy posted:

J.N. posted:

Oooh; Saras - that's triggered a 'blast from the past' pleasant memory. I've owned a pair. Self-flagellation stuff. In a good way.

John.

Beasts to drive if I remember correctly ?

Yeah,..Sara needs Power,and must stand "rock solid".

Difficult to install if they are to play optimally.

/Peder???? 

Owned 2 pairs Sara (one pair Sara the other Sara 9) during 20+ years.

Tried them a few years back in my system (Linn KDS/KK/Solo) and Majik 140 and Majik 109 was more musical. Kan is a lot better but the bass is absent...

Thanks for all suggestions so far!

I had a pair of SARAs from the late 80s until about 5 years ago. They were originally part of a LP12/42.5/HC/140 system. I tried my pair of Dynaudio Audience 52SE in their place one day, and the SARAs sounded like muffled garbage in comparison. I ended up selling them and getting a pair of Dynaudio Contour S1.4 (subsequently replaced by the S3.4 I have now).

If you have only heard Saras with a little amp, you have never heard what they are capable of. Simple.

gary yeowell posted:

If you have only heard Saras with a little amp, you have never heard what they are capable of. Simple.

At low volumes in a smallish room, with an Arcam Alpha 9, they couldn't keep up anymore. Maybe it was their age. The grills had already crumbled away to the dustbin of history.

RaceTripper posted:

gary yeowell posted:

If you have only heard Saras with a little amp, you have never heard what they are capable of. Simple.

At low volumes in a smallish room, with an Arcam Alpha 9, they couldn't keep up anymore. Maybe it was their age. The grills had already crumbled away to the dustbin of history.

Kans will wipe the floor with Saras unless they have a minimum of a Nap250, preferably 135s. An Arcam Alpha would struggle to get the cones moving at all.

A speaker with excellent PRaT, with hard hitting and deep bass, strong dynamics and SLAM.  

Well that sounds like hard work, listening to such would give me a bloody earache.

gary yeowell posted:

RaceTripper posted:

gary yeowell posted:

If you have only heard Saras with a little amp, you have never heard what they are capable of. Simple.

At low volumes in a smallish room, with an Arcam Alpha 9, they couldn't keep up anymore. Maybe it was their age. The grills had already crumbled away to the dustbin of history.

Kans will wipe the floor with Saras unless they have a minimum of a Nap250, preferably 135s. An Arcam Alpha would struggle to get the cones moving at all.

Yes, I heard them with my 250 briefly before I got rid of them. The Dyns were all over them in every way. Like I said, maybe they had just seen their day. They could no longer be serviced.

Ok fair enough, maybe they had seen their day. My friend is a Dynaudio dealer, and i've heard most of the range, and i know that none of them beat the Saras on song for me. My Saras were brand new and they were used with the system of the day, designed for them.

ProAc, choose one.

Dynaudio. I missed my Audience 52. Now with Neat IOTA and missing the 52 bass low end.