Still have a pair of neats in the loft that need mending
Avantgarde Zero One’s (Pro or XD) fed by an Auralic streamer (other brands are available), which can literally be hidden behind the master speaker, makes a very neat, near full range system.
Also has an analogue input for connecting a turntable.
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I’m easily 10+ years out of date - these were the standmounts that looked like Open University logos, though allegedly the entire range was shrill as fuck.
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I’m assuming these were the M20’s - and yes they were ghastly with a horrible screechy tweeter.
I owned a pair for less than a week before selling them on the Wam.
However the later M22’s were superb and I owned two pairs, and then the Mark 1 Gems were simply wonderful.
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Didn’t the gems have some adjustment available on the back panel Paul, was this for the tweeter?
Yes, the M22’s had this as well.
They also had a switch for boundary - near wall or free space iirc.
I have looked a few times at the original Ultima Salon & Studios, and there is a pair of Studios on t’bay atm. But i remember reading there can be issues with the mid-range drivers packing up, and I wouldn’t imagine it’s easy to source replacements. I don’t know if they are ok for being refurbed by a specialist or not.
Probably a marmite speaker looks wise, but I have always thought they look great.
208’s have this switch too - never sure about switches, often seem like gimmicks.
They definitely did what they said on the tin.
The first pair of M22’s I had were only an inch or so from the wall and setting the switch to that setting definitely made them sound better. The second pair were in free’ish space so I used the other setting.
Do you mean these Stuart?
or the current version that Nintronics have for sale?
After hearing Pauls Gems I would be interested in hearing both models.
Can’t see the issue with rear switch options if it gives you greater flexibility to tune them for your room.
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The Ultima Gems I had used a tweaked cloth Scanspeak Revelator Tweeter very similar, iirc, to the one used in the LV OBX"s of the same time, hence it being so lovely.
The bigger Ultima Salons and Studios appear to use a metal tweeter so may sound harsher.
The first ones Nick. They’ve been on sale for a while now, but that may well be down to the current situation.
Also they probably fail the WAF test being a little Tron like 
Volte face, gone for these: decided against faff of separates.
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Heard the bigger ones a couple of times Nick. Sounded interesting enough to take an interest in the Studio mk2’s that’d better suit my room. They never seemed to be dem’d anywhere so never got to hear them. Casting around several first handers including owners suggested they struggled to get the bass working to any level of satisfaction. Was pretty consistent feedback. (Didn’t look into the mk1’s)
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I loved my VR-4, but these VR-4.5s are also quite old and too expensive.
Sold my VR-4 for iirc GBP 700ish.
Have VR-4 SR MK II now, but these are rare to find.
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Those were my VR 4.5s for almost 20 years. I shipped them over from the US at the end of 99. I liked them a lot.
I got a lot less than the current asking price when I sold them last year.
but now I have glorious white singing fridges which are quite marvellous 
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That was my first thought when I saw the thread title. And I own Triangles!
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Patrician choice 
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