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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
furiouslyadrift
42 posts
 
With ceilings that low, you are getting massive reflections. I would be very aggressive in knocking that effect down. Go with tweeters that have very little vertical dispersion (RAAL or AMT) and put 3 inches of rockwool overhead and in front of the speaker location. You might want to get some little mirrors and a laser pointer to figure out the angles to make sure you’re not sitting right in the worst spot.

As far as speaker suggestions... try looking at Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2 line. RAAL tweeters and ruler flat response curve.
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hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,974 posts
 
Thanks for the summary, decooney.
Ceiling has a thick blanket across entire area of reflection points, same with front wall. No side wall reflecting problems. Floor is carpeted, by the way. To quote my OP, “No terrible reflection points; room not overly live or dampened.”
audioconnection
1,271 posts
 

I feel your pain because many of my customers complain about the same thing. My experience is that many speakers are deliberately designed for an immediate positive Hi-Fi response in order to make sales. This starts a vicious sequence of changing electronics, cables, room placement, power line conditioners, and other expensive band-aids when a look at these speaker’s measurements would reveal the tweeter is playing louder than the rest of the drivers. What was charming is now an aggravation. I noticed your list does not include Vandersteen which you should audition as they are always very musically engaging and transparent.

Best, JohnnyR


djones51
4,947 posts
 
If you can't do a lot of room treatments like most of us you might consider something like a minidsp and use some room correction software. It can help for less money than room treatments depending on the model. With that low a ceiling it might be your best investment.  Then again Those Salks with a nice flat FR might be the ticket or try Revel speakers. 
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