Holy Brightness Batman!


I recently bought some Energy Veritas 2.2i stand mount speakers, with matching stands, and I was really impressed with them until today.  All of a sudden, they seem overly bright.  I find it interesting, that at first I loved all the detail and clarity and how open they sound, but after a two weeks they are just too much now.

I also found it interesting, that even though I loved the way they sounded during the honeymoon period, I wasn’t listening to music very much.  The first day that I got my Dynaudio Xeo 6’s, I listened to them for 12 hours straight.  I’ve listened to my Tyler Acoustics for long periods of time as well.  The Veritas though, 15-30 minutes into a listening session, I’d be falling asleep, even at 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon.  I wondered if it was because my brain was processing more information because the Veritas were revealing so much more information to me.  Anyhow, this is / was not a good thing.

So, I’m wondering if any of you have had similar experiences with “overly” detailed speakers, or speakers that are borderline too bright.  I feel like if I were demo’ing these speakers next to my Tylers, I’d pick the Veritas for sure, but I’d be wrong.  I’ve always been a fan of detailed, slightly bright, speakers, but now I wonder if I would have been better off with more musical, laid back speakers that draw me into the sound and keep my attention until late into the night.

So take note, when you are trying to make a decision on which speakers to purchase, the ones that grab your attention first may not be the best choice.  
128x128b_limo
The Veritas are from 2002 time frame... I would believe they have been played for 200 hours...  My room is heavily treated, more on the “dead” sounding side.  I’m also meticulous with speaker set-up and toe in / toe out.  I was using the supplied veritas stands, which I filled with sand.  I always snug up any bolts on my speakers, along with applying contact conditioner (deoxit gold).

I wouldn’t say the Veritas were shrill but definitely open, clear, detailed and exciting. I was actually getting great bass extension in my room but the bass sounded slightly delayed (rear port, bouncing off the back wall?) and that was something else that I thought might be causing fatigue as my brain was constantly pointing out that the bass was lagging behind the music, not pushing it forward.  Which bring me to my next point.  The Veritas sounded great; I mean, they make delicate, airy, crisp noises but I don’t think they really make “music”.  I would imagine that 7 out of 10 would pick the Veritas in a 20 minute listening session.  I really wonder how many speakers grab a potential buyers attention in a short demo (key, b&w, paradigm), only to give them issues later on that they try to fix through dull sounding cables or amps.

Anyhow, I listened to the Tylers all night and am up first thing again today listening; I have the Tylers up for sale but am reconsidering even selling them now.




@b_limo - I totally agree with your analysis of knowing something is wrong with your system if only after 15 minutes you are literally falling a sleep or bored. Music should do the exact opposite. It should wake you up, make you emotional, want to move around, sing, cry, etc. If all you can thing about is "damn these speakers sound bright" then get rid of them and keep the Tylers.
@twoleftears 👍 scan speak!  Forgot about those.  Satori as well? Hiquphon?  Sb Acoustics? ...
My two cents - I've always found Energy speakers on the bright side, often even shrill. That can certainly make them stand out in the crowd when auditioning multiple speakers side-by-side, but I wouldn't be happy with them over the long term. My personal reference is how closely a speaker mirrors unamplified acoustic instruments (including voice). As with individual preferences for any piece of equipment, YMMV. 
I know exactly what you mean.Crisp,clean,transparent sounding components seem attractive initially but so many times they can't reproduce the emotion and soul of the music.