Just to add something to Sean's post since he mentioned AR, there was that big fuss between the large Advent(a sealed system) and the JBL Century 100(which was ported)back in the 70's. The JBL had a lot of frequency deviations but would play much louder and seemed to have more drive(it was also a lot more efficient.) All of this was the "West coast sound" vs. the "East coast sound."
Seems to me the manufacturers have changed but the war goes on. Some people love the inaccurate sound(which is ok) My point is, I thought "High end" was the pursuit of accuracy in reproduction. Not that it sounded good to select people. Of course, I can also see a manufacturers position but lets be honest about it, if we are going to accept some of these speakers then why can't Bose be accepted? They cost enough for crap they are!
When you listen to a truly accurate speaker, it sounds -well-dull compared to others. However, it will sound better in a few months and with a wider variety of material once you get use to it.
On another subject, I have found that in setting up my Vandersteen subs to mate with the 3A Signatures, that when set correctly, they do sound lean. The Vandy subs can be adjusted for a "Q" of just under .5 to something along about a "Q' of 1.5.
As you go up in Q, the bass sounds more prominent. As you go the other way, it gets very, very tight and sounds lean. Now of course you can raise the level, but then output of the subs is exceeding the output of the mids and highs of the main speakers. Everything can actually be shown just as Sean explained above. The Vandersteen 3A Sigs seem to be set for a Q of about .7 or so. The subs integrate well set at about a Q of .6 to .7 You can set the Q lower but the bass becomes very lean and detaches from the music a touch. I really don't see how you get a sub to match without some control over the Q differences between the lower section of the mains and the sub.
Roy makes a valid point above about phase relationships. I became convinced sometime ago that phase and time was an issue. I still stand convinced on this subject. One of these days, I'm going to give one of his speakers a run.
Seems to me the manufacturers have changed but the war goes on. Some people love the inaccurate sound(which is ok) My point is, I thought "High end" was the pursuit of accuracy in reproduction. Not that it sounded good to select people. Of course, I can also see a manufacturers position but lets be honest about it, if we are going to accept some of these speakers then why can't Bose be accepted? They cost enough for crap they are!
When you listen to a truly accurate speaker, it sounds -well-dull compared to others. However, it will sound better in a few months and with a wider variety of material once you get use to it.
On another subject, I have found that in setting up my Vandersteen subs to mate with the 3A Signatures, that when set correctly, they do sound lean. The Vandy subs can be adjusted for a "Q" of just under .5 to something along about a "Q' of 1.5.
As you go up in Q, the bass sounds more prominent. As you go the other way, it gets very, very tight and sounds lean. Now of course you can raise the level, but then output of the subs is exceeding the output of the mids and highs of the main speakers. Everything can actually be shown just as Sean explained above. The Vandersteen 3A Sigs seem to be set for a Q of about .7 or so. The subs integrate well set at about a Q of .6 to .7 You can set the Q lower but the bass becomes very lean and detaches from the music a touch. I really don't see how you get a sub to match without some control over the Q differences between the lower section of the mains and the sub.
Roy makes a valid point above about phase relationships. I became convinced sometime ago that phase and time was an issue. I still stand convinced on this subject. One of these days, I'm going to give one of his speakers a run.
