hi nick,
i'm curious as to what happened w/your "pursuit of full range single driver speakers". did you try stuff and not like it? or something else?
i have a few comments regarding the products you linked. i wouldn't even consider the audience speakers, unless you want desktop-only speakers. those rel's you linked are not subwoofers, they're woofers. at that price, you can do far better. you could actually get a real sub!
http://www.rythmikaudio.com/L12.html
or, get two cheaper subs, for the price of the rel:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=SW305&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xyamaha+SW305.TRS1&_nkw=yamaha+SW305&_sacat=0
(i happen to own a pair of these; seriously decent servo subs, for not a lot of $$$ and, you can use them as speaker stands.)
(what replaced the yst sw305's):
https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Corporation-America-SW315-Subwoofer/dp/B00009W8XH
or:
https://www.parts-express.com/bic-acoustech-h-100ii-12-powered-subwoofer--303-414
https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1200-12-120-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-629
https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1500-15-150-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-634
regarding the evolution acoustics', they look like they might be contenders, but at that price, i'd be looking at the boenicke w5se. (1st link is the w5; 2nd is the w5se follow-up):
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/boenicke5/1.html
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews2/boenicke/1.html
or even the much less expensive kef ls50 actives. which would be excellent, if you're wanting simplification. i own a pair of the passives, and they are great, imo; the active's are supposed to be even better.
(one of many stellar reviews):
https://www.whathifi.com/kef/ls50-wireless/review
i would also seriously consider any of the proac monitors - i own a pair of the tablette 8 reference signatures, and they're really quite astonishing, how loud they can go, in a big room - if actively crossed over to subs. in my ~26x38x8.5 room, crossed over at ~70hz to subs, they'd go as loud as you would ever want. if not crossed to subs and really cranked, they will bottom out - there's only so much a 4.5" woofer can do, haha! tone and soundstaging is superb. they've been updated by newer tablette 10 ref sigs, and proac also has other monitors - the response series, and the studio monitor series. i'd recommend trying any or all of them. i've heard other older tablettes and response monitors, as well as proac floor-standers, and all were superb.
doug s.
Hi Doug and thanks for your comprehensive response and ideas.
I’ll give my latest criteria for speakers and a sub
1 a budget reference in sound quality
2 takes up a relatively small footprint in my living room listening area
3 is relatively easy to lift, box and ship (I don’t want to rely on a neighbor or friend....)
4 will keep for at least 10 years ...just as my SP Techs that I had for 11 years
5 is $3,500 or less
I will start off by saying that I’m not pursuing single drivers any longer and my sustained exposure to them is the reason. I had a Tang Band W 1808 in an open baffle at my home and it sounded too “thin”
I did not add a sub to help out. I then listened a couple of times at Gary’s...aka gander at AN.... and his Mark Audio single drivers didnt do it for me either. I again considered the sound “thin” even though he had them in a large enclosure to help with the bass. I then researched alternatives to come up with the Audience and Evolution which I listed above. I spoke with the designer at Audience about the 1+1 V2s and asked to speak with a customer who had them. The conversation with that very seasoned audiophile helped a lot as his associated equipment, room size and use of the small REL sub...actually a woofer as you mentioned....were familiar to me. The lure of that Audience bipole design with passives on the side of the cabinets was the potentially really wonderful midrange and Ken,the audiophile, assured me they could fill my listening space. As to the subs, I dont have a need for or want bass thats in the low 20s, a sub that is heavy or awkward to lift and ship at some point.
I found out about the Evolution Acoustic Micro One’s via the What’s Best Audio forum....Guys with excellent systems who owned the speakers. Very high praise for these. I spoke with the Evolution distributor and two dealers and hope my email is forwarded to the designer as well. The knock on these for me is that theyre shipped in wooden crates and the shipping weight is about 200 lbs.
i know the associated stands are very heavy to benefit speaker performance, but I really don’t want to deal with this stuff. There is a possibility i might be moving in a year or two, so simplicty and convenience are quite important to me.
You mentioned the Boenickes and malloy...aka Paul here...had previously mentioned them. No doubt a wonderful speaker, but new they go nowadays for about $5,500 and maybe more for the se version. By the way, i forgot to mention i can get a very good price on the Micro Ones. So the Boenickes are out of my price range.
I’ve owned Proac Response 2s If I recall correctly, but that was a long time ago. I will take a look at the Proacs and search re user comments. I’m sure there are lots of wonderful speakers that would work for me, but I am truly looking for something very special. I’ll be following up on this again soon
Nick