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Speaker shootout update; aggressive treble eliminating some (fairly?)

I've been trying out speakers in a complicated shoot out, both bookshelves and towers — all in my home with my gear. I'm looking for speakers obtainable up to about $4k but could go up (or down) a bit if the right thing came along.

Basic facts: All speakers were run in at least 100 hours. Room is 27 x 14 x 6.5 ceilings. Powering with all QS tubes, 60w, NOS, tube R2R dac, and decent cables. No terrible reflection points; room not overly live or dampened. REL R 328 sub available but I did most listening without it.

Recent auditions, type:

Klipsch RP 600-M (budget singleton of the group)
Fritz Rev Carbon 7 mk II (bookshelf, 2 way, soft dome)
Focal 936 (tower, 3 way, inverted metal)
Martin Logan Motion 60s XTi (tower, 3 way, AMT)

Coming soon:

Salk SS 6M (bookshelf, 2 way, beryllium)
Dynaudio Evoke 30's (tower, 3 way, soft dome)

Let me speak just to the problems, rather than what was good about the speakers. So far, I've found the Klipsch, Focal, and especially the Martin Logans were all too bright — forward, aggressive, "turn it down" treble.

The ML's were the most impossible to tame and hardest to listen to on more tracks. (I did a lot of hanging of towels and other dampeners and other soft things to try to see if I could bring them to heel. I varied the recordings used. Changed cables/wires. No luck.)

The Focals were occasionally too bright; their bigger problem was a bit too much energy in my small listening space. They were better when I plugged their ports with socks.

I'm looking forward to how the next two speakers sound. The Dynaudio towers, I notice, are 10 inches shorter and half the weight of the other towers; not sure what that might mean, but it could just be right size for my space. I'm looking forward to seeing if the Salks bring more detail to the treble without also being too rolled off or harsh.

Hearing is very personal for physiological and taste reasons. However, if anyone has any thoughts about why I might be experiencing some of the phenomena I am (harsh treble, especially) based on my room or gear, etc., that might help me understand factors I'm not fully appreciating. Thanks.


128x128hilde45
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,274 posts
 
Interesting.  I didn’t realize there were 2 different satori BE tweets.  I just looked at mine and have the neodymium instead of the ferrite.  Whew!

Hilde, BE tweeters are awesome!  They are detailed like the metal domes you have been listening to but have much less fatigue and aren’t too bright.

Have you ever heard any Beryllium tweeters yet? 
And also, are the Fritz Carbon 7’s your favorite this far amongst the speakers you have auditioned?
donvito
400 posts
 
You should see if you can audition the Vandersteen 2ce. Years ago I heard them at Audio Connection with QS gear and they were outstanding!
https://www.vandersteen.com/products/model-2ce-signature-iii
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,974 posts
 
I don’t think I’ve heard a beryllium tweeter before.

vandersteens are on my short list. 

Are the fritz my favorite so far? That is a hard question because I have had them in my house and I’ve really liked them but they were certain things that other speakers did better in my house (soundstage, bass, both better in ML and Focal) and there were things that still other speakers did better in stores. But Fritz, overall, has been batting .400, as they say. It is hard to say. This is one reason I am getting the Dynaudio back into my house. Their towers are going to give me a sense of whether their soundstage plus soft tweeter competes, and the Salks are going to provide a window into mids, highs that may be new and attractive. We will see.
djones51
4,947 posts
 
The Salk SS 6M has a nice flat FR with a dip around 1.5 Khz and another smaller dip about 3 Khz Interesting to see your impression of them.
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,108 posts
 
I have had many very good speakers 
Amphion  makes excellent time aligned
wave guide technologies with a Precision Seas drivers ,and rear passive tuned Radiator. made in Finland speakers are now being sold more in studios then in the home 
 The  3S  Or 3SL.  Are in the $3-4 k range They bring out lots of detail lost in  many speakers.
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