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My Demo results: I feel like I'm at a frustrating block in my speaker journey

Hi all,

New poster and longtime lurker. 

As the title says, I feel like I'm at a frustrating endpoint in my audio quest, and hoping to draw from your guys' experience for some direction.

I bought my first speaker system a couple years ago because at my old house my tv speakers were not cutting it. 

First I bought an old budget pair of Klipsche bookshelves (P15s?  I dont really remember)  They were really shrill, and I sold them fairly quickly. 

After reading a bunch of the mainstream audio review sites (I now understand these platforms are often pay to play) I purchased the ELAC Unifi UF5 Towers.  These had beautiful, lush musical bass but sounded about engaging as energetic as a sponge.  They also had kind of a dark muffled sound at times- like there is a wet blanket over them.   Paradoxically, they also sound inorganic and kind of metallic. 

In the past few months I decided to start demoing speakers to see what I like.  Ive found some speakers that do certain things right, but not everything right.  Every one of the high-end, expensive speakers I have tried have had certain large flaws. I've been kind of shocked at this whole experience, because to my ears my $60 set of logitec computer speakers handily beats a number of speakers 50x more expensive. Like, they dont have great detail retrieval or clarity but at least they dont color the sound a ton, and they present very engagingly.

Im still lookijng for my goldilocks speaker.

  • Various Kefs- very similar to the ELACs but worse imo- very metallic and unengaging
  • Various B&W- Metallic, boring, no dynamics
  • Warfedale Evo 4.4- nice highs!  Absolutely sloppy bass (for my room at least) and terribly muddy mids
  • Tannoy Revolution 6XTE- Similar to above.  Very, very dark speakers.
  • Martin Logan 35XTI bookshelves-  Eureka!  These are much more organic and clear.  Guitars actually sound like guitars instead of a bad digital rendering of them.  Theres energy in what I listen to.  This is what I was missing in the others... things sound like theyre supposed to!   Only issue is they arent as full-bodied as towers.  They just cant play very loud and I wish they had more bass to be better full range speakers.    Somewhat more minor issue is that they sound slightly grainy.  Though thats not a total dealbreaker. 
  • Martin Logan 60XTI Towers- I had high hopes for these.... but where did the magic for the 35s go ML?  These are very "meh".  The highs and satisfying acoustic resonances are gone.
  • Focal Aria 906 bookshelves- holy clarity batman!  But it sounds almost too clinical to the point that theyre not engaging.
  • Focal Aria 948 Towers-  Holy clarity and body batman!  These sound almost perfect- but they dont quite come alive until higher volumes (and I have a small space), and there's still something missing... a certain *zing* in the acoustic guitar resonances. 
  • Def Tech 9060- Hard to describe.  Sometimes they sounded good, sometimes they sounded imprecise and like the drivers were way too small.  Bass gets bloaty in my room.  Theyre also ugly as hell. 
  • Ascend Sierra Tower with RAAL-  After all the others, I had only tthe ML 35XTIs and the focal 948s remaining.  I was hoping, based on my extensive reading of forums, that the ascend towers could give the best of both worlds- the clarity/full body of the focals with the acoustic resonance/energy/zing of the MLs.  Unfortunately I was once again disappointed.  They seem unbalanced to my ears.  Like, they have very punchy bass but they color the sound to be sweet and there seems to be something missing in the middle of the sound.... some body that just isnt there.  The highs are very sweet and engaging, but almost a little artificially so.  Where the MLs sound like an actual acoustic guitar being played in front of me, the Sierras make it sound unnaturally sweet or high.  Theres unnaturally sweet zzzing out of string instruments that I dont think actually sound that way....  Im bummed because I really wanted to like these speakers. 


I think I've established a list of qualities Im looking for:
  • The etched sound of the MLs
  • Full body and clarity of the Focals
  • The forward, engaging nature of the ascends
  • Not overly smooth
  • Not metallic (I dont think I like aluminum tweeters)
  • wide horizontal dispersion (my room is wider than it is long)

Where do I go from here?  Im at a loss.  Id appreciate any recommendations you guys have. 

mjt8
larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,009 posts
 
I sure would consider buying Focal speakers.  Even the Area 948"s lacked bass.  I think they should advertise them as "Where's the Bass".  I think they are made to play classical music.

I listened to about 60 speakers and ended up with a pair of Paradigm 85F towers.  They were balanced.  Of course, no one in this group would every stoop so low but to admit these are decent speakers for the money.

I just wish I had held off because at the RMAF in Denver I heard a pair of SALK Song3 Encores' priced at $6,000 and they sounded better than a pair of $60,0000 speakers down the hall.  Problem is they are sold direct and the only place you can hear them is at an audio show.  Jim Salk sells direct because he is not willing to give up the build quality and drivers to be able to sell to the dealers who make all of the money.  This will all make sense when you hear his speakers.

After I added a pair of REL S2 SHO subwoofers to my system, the sound is incredible.  Their high level connection makes the difference because they allow them to play as addition woofers so they blend without noticing them.  There is nothing better than to fill in the lower.  I wanted to hear more of the recording and these really made the difference.
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
The Salk Song3 BeAT's and the Encore's both indeed great.  The BeAT may be the slightly better speaker overall, but it doesn't go so low.  But given the journey the OP's been on, the Salks would be a gamble.  Hence recommendation for a brand with fairly wide distribution.
jb1
97 posts
 
Since you seem to gravitate toward the ML 35’s but they were volume challenged and lacking bass. The solution is simple buy a sub. M-L Dynamo 800x is great option, designed by the same team as the speakers. The built in Anthem Room Correction can help to with room issues. Upgrading the receiver can’t hurt either. 
mattarms
2 posts
 
You seem to have already found a few speakers you actually like. I suggest picking the one that gave you the most enjoyment, and stick with it for a few months. See if you can try them out with better source components.

One thing I've learned: especially as a beginner, and especially at lower price points, breaking sound down to its component parts (like they do in audio reviews) and trying to check all the boxes is the wrong path.  Instead, find stuff that makes the music sound good to you. If you aren't moved, it isn't working. Don't over analyze it.

Speakers are about tradeoffs and your tastes are likely to change over time. Think of it like dating. You've got to live with a choice over a period of time to really know. Sometimes what you don't notice at the start can end up being the most important positive or negative thing, and may change the way you look at things going forward.

Also: source components matter. I wasn't satisfied with any speaker until I got rid of my crappy AVR.

oldears
386 posts
 
I recommend for you to pursue a really good headphone system.
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