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Low Level, Nearfield Nirvana?

I recently purchased a pair of highly recommended Genelec powered neafield studio monitors for use with the MIDI output of a Steinway baby grand.

The good news is that it is very enjoyable to have these nearfield monitors on top of the piano, to play and to listen to CDs and the piano and the close proximity means they can be played at low volumes which comes in handy to me as a nocturnal apartment dweller. And I find something very intimate and seductive about listening so closely to the speakers.

The bad news is that to my audiophile ears, they sound like crap and could cut diamonds with their tweeters. Maybe it is just the fact that my sources are being run through a Mackie mixer or with a CD changer but the sound is really very fatiguing. I suppose for $1000.00 I shouldn't expect Jadis and Magneplanar sound....

But it makes me wonder -- do any of your systems -- especially nearfield set ups -- really sound MAGICAL at low volumes?? That would really impress me. And I would love to hear all about it.

Even systems that have sounded wonderful to me often get washed out at volumes already well above ones that maintain good relationships with urban neighbors.

Any secrets for the ultimate late night city (or sleeping spouse/children?) configuration?

Thank you.
cwlondon
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 
Hmmmmmm.......interesting that we have two votes already for Proacs.

Would anyone vote for electrostatics for low volume magic?
I recently heard the new Quads being played through Quad amps and thought they sounded pretty good, if not very punchy.

As mentioned in my other posts, I am a Magneplanar fan and look forward to soon receiving a newly restored pair of Tympani IVs but maggies do sound better cranked up a bit, in my experience...

Any other ideas?
frogman
7,437 posts
 
I use two sets of speakers that while both planar, couldn't be more different in their presentation. My heavily modified Maggie MGIIIA's sound wonderfull cranked, with a huge and dimensional soundstage. But for near-field magic and intimacy at lower volumes, I have heard nothing that equals my Stax F-81 electrostatics. Also fabulous soundstage, but much smaller, and arguably more realistic than the Maggies'; with a midrange purity that is approached only by the original Quads in my experience, and fast, fast, fast.

Incidentally, a good friend is also a Timpany IV owner, who has tried a bewildering number of different amplifiers with them. To my ears, the only amps that he has tried that allow the Maggies to not sound hazy and a little veiled at low volumes, have been Jadis monoblocks. Great speakers, nonetheless; and if you want increased transparency at low volumes, I strongly encourage you (if you haven't done so already) to upgrade the crossover caps, and ideally the entire crossover networks. The inprovement in transparency is not subtle.

Regards.
phild
603 posts
 
You might want to try an audiophile speaker instead of the Genelecs, which are considered "professional" monitors. There is a difference between the two. Pro monitors attempt to be very detailed and faithful to the source, where most audiophile speakers attempt to do that same thing in a pleasing way. The monitors are designed for nearfield listening, but they will usually be more clinical sounding. You may also want to try some other brands of pro-monitors. They're a lot like audiophile speakers in the way that they all have different strengths and personalities. The "Genelec Sound" may not be for you. I've seen pro audio sites where people disliked Genelecs, and preferred Audix or Tannoy monitors instead. There are plenty of options.
danner
202 posts
 
You might want to try a digital graphic eq. The classic approach for near field is to introduce a 'room curve' which is a 3dB/octave attenuation above 2kHz (some people use 2dB/octave). If they still sound harsh, a reduction at 2kHz (the 'presence' range) might also be necessary. Personally, I wouldn't use Genelecs for near-field monitoring without such an eq.
perambul8
5 posts
 
Try Soliloquy speakers, small musical 2 way that do not need much power and create magic and definition with small input levels...2A3's and 5.0's have been well reviewed.
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