Opinions on Summits vs Vantages?

[wings]

My dealer just informed me that my Summits (which were to be delivered this week) have a part on back order; hopefully they will be delivered in two weeks!

My question to all you Summit and Vantages owners...without starting an internal war...should I stay with my order or get a pair of Vantages...now? :devil:

Let me interject this one little titbit before you answer...after I ordered the Summits (at a rather nice price), I came across a Decent subwoofer at the Tweeter store closeout sales and purchased it for a really killer price.
So I have that as well.
Now with the Decent and the Vantages do you think that approaches the sound I would be getting from the Summits?

 

[Caerus]

If you ask me or Dave (aka twich54) we certainly think Vantages with a good sub and good electronics can approach Summits. But only in smaller to medium rooms that is a big factor. If you have a much larger space the Summits would be a better choice.

I have Vantages and the new Depth i and I love this combination. So even with the older Descent you would certainly be in great shape with Vantages. I think this is a great bang-for-the buck option versus the much more expensive Summits ($11k vs. $5k).

That all said, with Joeyitis, I would comtemplate getting Summits, but only used at a great price and selling my Vantages at a descent price. Looking used to used, my price point would be $3k more for the Summits. Looking new to new at Vantages at $5k and Summits at $11k, that is way too much to pay. Even supplementing a new Depth i at $2k and Vantages at $5k for a total of $7k is to me a better value than Summits at $11k. You can get very good electronics for the additional $4k.

Good luck.

Brad

 

[jtwrace]

My dealer just informed me that my Summits (which were to be delivered this week) have a part on back order; hopefully they will be delivered in two weeks!

My question to all you Summit and Vantages owners...without starting an internal war...should I stay with my order or get a pair of Vantages...now? :devil:

Let me interject this one little titbit before you answer...after I ordered the Summits (at a rather nice price), I came across a Decent subwoofer at the Tweeter store closeout sales and purchased it for a really killer price.
So I have that as well.
Now with the Decent and the Vantages do you think that approaches the sound I would be getting from the Summits?

Personally, I would wait for the Summits. Better yet, I will sell you mine that are on the classified section for much less then you will pay for new ones. Check out my ad here http://www.martinloganowners.com/~tdacquis/forum/showthread.php?t=4410

Jason

 

[nsgarch]

Room size

Now with the Decent and the Vantages do you think that approaches the sound I would be getting from the Summits?

and listening mode(s) (HT, 2ch, both) would be nice to know.

 

[stesom]

If you have the money get the Summits, you will have no regrets. Its only a couple of weeks and will be worth it..............Steve

 

[meall]

If you ask me or Dave (aka twich54) we certainly think Vantages with a good sub and good electronics can approach Summits. But only in smaller to medium rooms that is a big factor. If you have a much larger space the Summits would be a better choice.

I'm wandering what is the big differences between the Summit and the Vantage. But, reading here, I saw at least 2 times that the bass on the Vantage may not enough and adding a sub to then could help.

My room is about 14' wide and 22' long, my listening post is a something like 15 feet of my speakers.

I'm considering changing my JMLab Electra 915 to the Vantage (based on my vendor recommendation, see my other post on this) or adding a Depth to my actual setup to add more bass, as I find it a little bit thin. So, if buying a Vantage set and considering I'll have to add a sub anyway, that makes the decision quite easy: just keep the set I have and add the sub. Sure, the ESL can add a little bit more 3D sounds to my listening, but it is more expensive for sure

Or maybe there's something I do not understand...

 

[ralflar]

If you are buying from Tweeter, get the Vantages now. You will have one year to uptrade them to something more expensive such as the Summits - or CLXs! Tweeter will also let you uptrade from your current Descent to the Descent-i if the latter will cost at least 50% more than what you paid for the Descent. One or two Descent-is together with a pair of CLXs should be heavenly. If your room can not accomodate all that gear go with the Summits and no subs.

Unless your main interest is HT or multi-channel music. In that case I'd go with Vantages plus Descent. The 6 grand you'll save that way buy a lot of gear, for instance center and surround speakers.

Also, would your electronics benefit from a 6k monetary injection? Jason sells Pass stuff in addition to his Summits. So does Diamonds, in the Classifieds. I hear Pass Labs components are ... nice.

 

[meall]

If you are buying from Tweeter, get the Vantages now. You will have one year to uptrade them to something more expensive such as the Summits - or CLXs! Tweeter will also let you uptrade from your current Descent to the Descent-i if the latter will cost at least 50% more than what you paid for the Descent. One or two Descent-is together with a pair of CLXs should be heavenly. If your room can not accomodate all that gear go with the Summits and no subs.

My room may be large enought, but I would prefer to invest in the right thing just before I buy! I'm in Canada, so I won't buy from Tweeter...

Unless your main interest is HT or multi-channel music. In that case I'd go with Vantages plus Descent. The 6 grand you'll save that way buy a lot of gear, for instance center and surround speakers.

Stereo music only in my case. HT will be something aside and smaller, as I do watch film much less often than I listen to music.

Also, would your electronics benefit from a 6k monetary injection? Jason sells Pass stuff in addition to his Summits. So does Diamonds, in the Classifieds. I hear Pass Labs components are ... nice.

I think my electronics may be up to the task. I have a full YBA kit (CD1∆ and pre/amp 2∆) that I know are capable of nice sound. So changing or investing in my electronics are not considered at the moment. I hear, 2 years ago, a CD converter (around 8K$ CAD) that could also be a nice choice, if electronics were my focus.

 

[stesom]

I have Summits and 2 subs. Subs will still help even with the Summits base response. The Summits will play louder before becoming compressed. If you do not wish to create realistic volume with large scale music or rock, then I expect the Vantages will be fine. I had Vantages for a week and exchanged them for Summits. Look at Joey_V he traded his Vantages for Summits and is running the darned things in a dorm room. The Vantage will never be the Summit no matter what you do.

Even the Summits give out and get compressed at higher volume. I wish the new CLS(CLX????) was comming out soon or I need to move on. You can only get so much sound from this sized panel before its dynamic range is reached.....Steve

 

[ralflar]

meall,

You posted while I was composing. My post is a reply to wings'. Sorry if that caused any confusion.

 

[Burke]

For 2ch music, wait for the Summits or see jwtrace. I traded up my 6 month Vistas for the Summits could not be happier.

 

[ralflar]

Steve,

New Vantages do not reach their capabilities until after many dozens of hours, just like Summits. One week is too short to judge the potential of new Vantages.

Also, my ears clip at those realistic rock concert volumes you mention. I have absolutely no desire to reproduce that at home. I'd rather keep the volume down enough to preserve what is left of my hearing. And avoid upsetting the neighbors too often.

 

[meall]

meall,

You posted while I was composing. My post is a reply to wings'. Sorry if that caused any confusion.

Thanks, makes more senses now :bowdown:

 

[meall]

Steve,

New Vantages do not reach their capabilities until after many dozens of hours, just like Summits. One week is too short to judge the potential of new Vantages.

Also, my ears clip at those realistic rock concert volumes you mention. I have absolutely no desire to reproduce that at home. I'd rather keep the volume down enough to preserve what is left of my hearing. And avoid upsetting the neighbors too often.

I'm also one guy that prefer to listen at reasonable volume. Low volume, high quality anyway, with a good setup. I do not have any desire to listen too loud to music either. The sound system should be able to reproduce music in good quality even at lower volume. If it can't, it is because it is not well setup or match!

As for your first comment, I agree. Any sound system component (from CD to speaker) is not really good until it has a full week (full time 24/7) of listening time to it. The first few hours are worth nothing but to forge the component to its full potential.

 

[stesom]

Steve,

New Vantages do not reach their capabilities until after many dozens of hours, just like Summits. One week is too short to judge the potential of new Vantages.

Also, my ears clip at those realistic rock concert volumes you mention. I have absolutely no desire to reproduce that at home. I'd rather keep the volume down enough to preserve what is left of my hearing. And avoid upsetting the neighbors too often.

I understand about break-in. But Vantages will never be Summits just as Wilson WP8s will never be MAXX IIs. So it depends on what one holds important. If you have the money and your taste can descriminate the difference, then Summits are the way to go.

The Vantages are fine speakers and I am not putting them down. I am just stating that when money is not the issue, then Summits is where I would go. At that point you have speakers that will not need to be upgraded for a long time unless you are going way up in price and looking for that next level of reproduction.

I also am not talking about blowing my ears out. but I am concerned with the ability to recreate the recording as close to what I approximate would be its natural live level. That can require an ability to reach over 110db for short periods of time depending on what you are listening to.

I also feel that the greater the headroom the less likely you are going to push your system to distortion. Thats my 3.5 cents......Respectfully....Steve

 

[Joey_V]

Had the Vantages, moved to Summits. Never looked back.

I'm going to have to side with Steve..... but the Vantages are not bad at all, awesome speakers!

Joey

 

[FatJ]

I'm going to have to side with Steve..... but the Vantages are not bad at all, awesome speakers!

Joey

Ditto... The Summit is certainly worth the wait. The extended mid-range presence will be especially useful when listening at lower volumes not mention the fact that when your in the mood (and you will be after you've had a taste ) they really jam. :rocker: I've had a few clients upgrade from the Vantages to the Summits and they just can't stop raving about the difference!

Oh, and congrats on the sub purchase... Very nice :bowdown:

 

[wings]

Summits vs Vantages with Decent Sub

The speakers will be in a 2 ch system only, I have a modest 7.1 HT set up in a seperate family room.

The 2 ch room is 14x26x8, when I got the sub I was thinking I'll put it in the TV room but I hooked it up to the stereo rig temporarily and was really floored by the results. I believe the ability to control the 25hz area is key, providing nice deep tight bass. In the past I've tried Sunfire True, Vandersteen 2Q, Infinity and a few Velodyne subs, but was never really please with how they intergrated with the other speakers.
When I was out listening and comparing speakers, one dealer had both the Vantages and Summits; the Summits were more 'relaxed' and less 'strained'. But...with the addition of the Decent, that may level the playing field.
Money...well, I do have the Summits on order, however; buyers remorse set in (since they had to be ordered) and I got to thinking of all the other things (amps, speakers) I could get for the difference in price.

I do like to tinker with SET amps as well...but, that's another story.

 

[edwinr]

I had Vantages in my home then I traded them on Summits. Summits are not just about how loud they can go. Although they can go very loud. It's more to do with their ability to reproduce the dynamics of music at all sound pressure levels. I liked the Vantages and in smaller rooms they can sound fantastic. But the Summits will do things in larger rooms that the Vantages can't do. The Summits have a big soundstage and a big sound. I don't believe this is easily replicated by Vantages connected to a subwoofer - not in bigger rooms anyway...

If you can afford the Summits they are definitely the correct chioce.

 

[meall]

I liked the Vantages and in smaller rooms they can sound fantastic.

I would like someone defining large room vs small room in term of physical size. Large vs small is very subjective...