"price no object" component (ex/spkrs)

[gmgraves]

If the audiophile fairy granted you one

component excluding speakers, price

no object, to complement your existing

system; you would choose.........?

 

I would go for the top end mega-buck

W20 aurender music player.

 

pb-

 

 

That's easy. Pair of Martin-Logan CLX speakers with matching sub-woofers OR, a pair of Sound Labs U-1PX (no sub needed), but then you said excluding speakers (why, I wonder?). In that case, it would likely be a pair of Pass Xs150 (or Xs300 although I don't need that much power) Class-A mono blocks.

[gmgraves]

Full boat Linn Sondek LP12. About $16,000.

 

 

I remember (and it wasn't all that long ago, either) when an LP12 with Linn arm and cartridge was only about $1000. What happened?

[gmgraves]

A Bösendorfer 170 and a Martin D-45. ;-)

 

 

Now, a Bosendorfer 170 is a great idea! Only in my case, I would have to spring for the DisKlavier E3 installed as I don't play. BUT, it would certainly be the ultimate "hi-fi" system. No doubt there! A Martin D-45 would be nice to - if I could only play one, but there is, to my knowledge, no such thing as a "DiskGuitar".

[gmgraves]

What wonderful instruments to learn on ...

 

Old Dog, New tricks. You get the idea!

[gmgraves]

Hah! We agree, if you swap the chairs one likes around. I like 30's styles, but not 50's and 60's.

 

 

I'd love to have a pair of Mies van Der Rohe's "Barcelona" chairs in tobacco brown in my living room along with a matching Barcelona couch! Unfortunately, the "real things" are very expensive. a Knoll brand single Barcelona chair will set you back US$8000 or more.

 

I think one of the most beautiful rooms I've ever seen was on the cover of "High Fidelity" magazine back in the early 1960's. It pictured a room with a thick, fine-pile light tan carpet over hardwood floors, with the aforementioned tobacco brown Barcelona chairs (with matching ottomans) and long couch grouped around a low, glass-topped coffee table. Against the facing wall was an Altec Lansing "Paragon" stereo speaker system in oiled walnut. Ever since then I've wanted something similar (well maybe not the Paragon for SQ, although it couldn't be beat for looks) but "life" has always gotten in the way of that particular dream. Sigh!

[gmgraves]

Boy Howdy you can say that again!

 

Those are the "X" chairs right, with the buttoned leather upholstery? The do look exceeding cool and comfortable though. Never seen one in the tobacco leather though.

 

I like his Brno chairs with the flat metal best though. Utterly modern and timeless

style.

 

 

Here's a tobacco brown one:

 

 

It still looks so fresh and modern, that it's hard to believe that Van Der Rohe debuted the chair in the German pavilion at the Barcelona International Design Exposition in 1929!

 

Yes, the BRNO chair is also a classic and timeless "Art Decco" design as well, but it's more of a chair for a table or desk than it is a lounge chair (IMHO, at least).

 

George

[gmgraves]

Knoll? Another West Michigan firm! Btw, it is JBL Paragon, and not Altec Lansing...

 

 

Yes, My bad. It is indeed James B. Lansing rather than Altec Lansing. Beautiful piece of furniture, irrespective of which Lansing company made it. I haven't heard one since the early sixties, and I wasn't really impressed with the sound at that time. Of course, my tastes have certainly changed since then, and I really would like to hear one again.

[gmgraves]

Please excuse the pedantics, it just sounds wrong to hear as Altec - same man, different company. The chair and speaker would make stunning combo!

 

In their day, the Paragon was the most expensive speaker on the market. IIRC, they were like US$1800 in 1960 and each took over 100 hours of hand finishing to complete. From 1957 to 1983 when production ended, only about 1000 have ever been made!

 

 

Simply gorgeous in oiled walnut!

[gmgraves]

We were very fortunate in being able to buy our Boesendorfer 225 thirty years ago. In 1985 the US dollar was the strongest it has ever been, before or after, and for comparison the GBP was about $1.10 and the French franc was 9 to a dollar. We (my wife) picked out our 225 in Vienna at the factory finishing shop where they did the final voicing of all their pianos (and where she had the choice of four different 225's to choose from.) They had given us a tour of the factory the day before in Weiner Neustadt, south of Vienna (the Vienna New City which was about 1000 years old). We found that the Paris dealer gave us the best deal, so we paid in French Francs. They trucked the piano from Vienna to Paris and then flew it to LA, where it was trucked to our home in the SF Bay area. Total cost including shipping was $24,000 US. I believe the US price at the time was about $60K. The 225 has 4 extra keys - 92 instead of 88. The biggest models, the 290 (and I think the 275) have 97 keys. All the extra keys are at the bottom of the keyboard and there are a few pieces that have been written for the extra keys. The model numbers indicate the size of piano (metric length - so the 225 is 2.25 meters long (7' 4" ) while the 170 is 1.7m long (5'7", the size of a Steinway M). Our 225 is called a "Halbkonzert", half concert, and is often used in smaller concert halls, with the full concert grands, the 290 is 9' 6" are used in big concert halls. A 170 fits nicely in most living rooms.

 

Larry

 

PS. There are other great pianos - Hamburg Steinway and Fazioli are two. My wife particularly is enamored of the sound of the Boesendorfer and I have been playing quite a bit recently, a great sound and great touch.

 

 

A New York Steinway ain't too shabby either. Neither is a modern Mason and Hamlin which is also a pretty good grand piano - at least as good as a Yamaha or a Kawai (in fact I prefer the sound of the M&H to either of the two Japanese grands) Also, one mustn't forget the Bechstein and I understand that there is a Korean-made grand piano that is highly rated, but I don't know anything about it. It also wouldn't surprise me to see a mainline Chinese piano brand or two show-up on the international market before long (if they haven't already). I can't speak as to how any of these play; I appreciate the sound of pianos, I don't play one - at all. I agree with you about the Bosendorfer. They are magnificent sounding instruments and congrats on your timely purchase. I suspect that a new 225 today would be more than US$150,000 and a 290 would be pushing a quarter of a million!

[gmgraves]

If the audiophile fairy granted you one

component excluding speakers, price

no object, to complement your existing

system; you would choose.........?

 

I would go for the top end mega-buck

W20 aurender music player.

 

pb-

 

 

Sound Lab Majestic 945PX speakers (US$40K/pair)

 

or

 

Martin-Logan Neolith Speakers (US$80K/pair)

 

or

 

Martin-Logan CLXs with a pair of M-L "Balanced Force" 212 subwoofers (US$34K/pair)