The day we auditioned the 3+ and 2+, we played around with positioning quite a bit. I thought both models were very forgiving of room placement (they do want to be toed in, but they don't need to be very far from the back wall) and both models had quite a wide sweet spot - an absolute must for us as my spouse and I usually listen to music together. I HATE narrow sweet spots and would never consider speakers with that limitation.
With the Goldenears fed by a Saturn R, we both found the timbres realistic on acoustic instruments and vocals, much more so than anything else we auditioned in a comparable price range, and they were not at all dull (dealer began our day by pushing Focals and Paradigms BTW). None of the other speakers really passed the "massed strings" test. My husband is a retired symphony bassoonist and clarinetist, and he is extremely picky about natural sounding music reproduction, as am I, a mere former singer.
As for dealer comments, I welcome them, as long as they declare their status. Dealers are NOT the enemy - they are a resource. I;ve learned a lot from audio pros over the years, Ultimately, it's my ears that will decide any purchase.
With the Goldenears fed by a Saturn R, we both found the timbres realistic on acoustic instruments and vocals, much more so than anything else we auditioned in a comparable price range, and they were not at all dull (dealer began our day by pushing Focals and Paradigms BTW). None of the other speakers really passed the "massed strings" test. My husband is a retired symphony bassoonist and clarinetist, and he is extremely picky about natural sounding music reproduction, as am I, a mere former singer.
As for dealer comments, I welcome them, as long as they declare their status. Dealers are NOT the enemy - they are a resource. I;ve learned a lot from audio pros over the years, Ultimately, it's my ears that will decide any purchase.