XR100 opinions

[jdandy]

I keep thinking the Bryston Model T speakers would be the way to go. Under $10K, available in several different veneer finishes, and gets rave reviews from all who hear them.

[Roni]

Me to I think XR 100's are unique, for Rock music is so great. Another option the Canton reference different doh.

[NZ421291]

Those Bryston Model T speakers sure look the goods!

[PeterMusic]

Originally Posted by crwilli

My point was if he is a newbie, he will likely be very happy with the XR100’s maybe for years. They will no doubt be a huge step up from anything he has ever heard before.

In time, he may learn of things he would prefer more or not.

Whoa! While the all McIntosh system might be the best thing he's ever heard, don't be so certain that it's somehow not worth your friend's time or it's too difficult to choose among excellent speakers. Even excellent speakers can have significant weaknesses which might be very important to specific listeners and musical choices. Case in point--my casual listener wife was deeply disappointed in bass response from the magnificent Wilson Sabrinas I demoed (and she was right).

It should be a morning of fun. If your dealer disagrees, find a new dealer.

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by PeterMusic

Whoa! While the all McIntosh system might be the best thing he's ever heard, don't be so certain that it's somehow not worth your friend's time or it's too difficult to choose among excellent speakers. Even excellent speakers can have significant weaknesses which might be very important to specific listeners and musical choices. Case in point--my casual listener wife was deeply disappointed in bass response from the magnificent Wilson Sabrinas I demoed (and she was right).

It should be a morning of fun. If your dealer disagrees, find a new dealer.

Whoa what?

[Evitzee]

It's very easy to discount any product if your experience with it is five minutes in some audio showroom or noisy hotel suite during an audio show, and most people don't have a depth of experience with any particular speaker outside of these venues. The truth of the matter is most people don't have the opportunity to listen to many high end speakers anymore, the audiophile market is pretty well dead in large swaths of the country, especially in the $10k and up range. You may be ok on the east/west coasts and a few inland oases, but otherwise most people are out of luck.

Are there better $10k speakers than the XR100's? Of course, but how do you access them? Most people can't. I have a set of XR50 3 way bookshelfs in my study (same family as the XR100) and am very happy with them. Tremendous bass (but low efficiency), huge soundstage and pinpoint accuracy, I would imagine the XR100 would have that in spades, and more. If the potential owner can listen to other speakers in this price range he should, but I suspect he doesn't have the opportunity, or desire, to want to front up to a strange dealer who wants to sell him an expensive speaker through pressure tactics.

The XR100's, and the XR50's, are beautifully finished in the typical McIntosh style. He could do a lot worse if he is getting into the McIntosh experience for the first time. And as someone else commented you do have the opportunity to light the nameplates on the speakers in the same green color. That might appear to be a small detail but when I sit down to listen to music at night with my MA7000 integrated amp, McIntosh SACD player, and XR50 speakers lit up in my darkened room, along with a nice XO Cognac, it is a very pleasant experience.

[W9TR]

Nicely articulated - thank you!

Tom

[jayvis]

Originally Posted by Evitzee

It's very easy to discount any product if your experience with it is five minutes in some audio showroom or noisy hotel suite during an audio show, and most people don't have a depth of experience with any particular speaker outside of these venues. The truth of the matter is most people don't have the opportunity to listen to many high end speakers anymore, the audiophile market is pretty well dead in large swaths of the country, especially in the $10k and up range. You may be ok on the east/west coasts and a few inland oases, but otherwise most people are out of luck.

Are there better $10k speakers than the XR100's? Of course, but how do you access them? Most people can't. I have a set of XR50 3 way bookshelfs in my study (same family as the XR100) and am very happy with them. Tremendous bass (but low efficiency), huge soundstage and pinpoint accuracy, I would imagine the XR100 would have that in spades, and more. If the potential owner can listen to other speakers in this price range he should, but I suspect he doesn't have the opportunity, or desire, to want to front up to a strange dealer who wants to sell him an expensive speaker through pressure tactics.

The XR100's, and the XR50's, are beautifully finished in the typical McIntosh style. He could do a lot worse if he is getting into the McIntosh experience for the first time. And as someone else commented you do have the opportunity to light the nameplates on the speakers in the same green color. That might appear to be a small detail but when I sit down to listen to music at night with my MA7000 integrated amp, McIntosh SACD player, and XR50 speakers lit up in my darkened room, along with a nice XO Cognac, it is a very pleasant experience.

If he's lucky enough to have a McIntosh dealer close to him, chances are very good that there are other competitive brands/dealers in close proximity. Going with an all McIntosh system is convenient, but it isn't necessarily the best way to spend your hard earned money. More time should be spent choosing speakers than any other component in an audio system.

[jimimac]

There's about A thousand speaker brands out there.You could buy XR 200's and A couple of Big Ass Subwoofers.

[DancingBlue]

Originally Posted by Evitzee

I have a set of XR50 3 way bookshelfs in my study (same family as the XR100) and am very happy with them. Tremendous bass (but low efficiency), huge soundstage and pinpoint accuracy, I would imagine the XR100 would have that in spades, and more.

The XR100's, and the XR50's, are beautifully finished in the typical McIntosh style. He could do a lot worse if he is getting into the McIntosh experience for the first time. And as someone else commented you do have the opportunity to light the nameplates on the speakers in the same green color. That might appear to be a small detail but when I sit down to listen to music at night with my MA7000 integrated amp, McIntosh SACD player, and XR50 speakers lit up in my darkened room, along with a nice XO Cognac, it is a very pleasant experience.

Are you me?

I wanted to get the XR100, but they were too large (and required too much spacing and distance) for my listening space, so I went with the XR50. Could not be happier, love the sound, and like you, I enjoy watching the faceplates light up and needles dance (see my username) when using my all-McIntosh system.

Listening to music, for me, is more than just...the music. The environment, what I'm drinking, what I'm reading, even having one of the cats on my lap, it all has to come together. The XR50/100, besides being sonically excellent, contributed in other ways to that experience as well.

I auditioned all the usual speaker suspects, and for my listening use case found the XR100 and XR50 to be very musical and euphonic.

So, to stay on topic, I certainly do recommend the XR100, and the only reason I didn't get them was space/placement.