Yes, Bosch obviously has very fine taste! 😉
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.
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.
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- 299 posts total
To Fritz Fans, Most agree Scanspeak and Satori drivers are good, ...I’ve used more than a few in DIY builds myself. Also owned older Totems and Signature Model One too for many years as a baseline reference speaker. Totem Acoustic has evolved beyond the few models listed so far, comparatively.
Which ones?
If yes, can you share likes or dislikes and which Totem model, Thanks. |
Interesting how many of us suggest lengthwise vs widthwise. I was also wondering if a lack of lows is contributing to the brightness. You’d think though with how close he is to the back wall when setup widrhwise, he’s have exaggerated bass. I wonder if he’s got a suckout like suggested. Hilde did mention to me that he felt like the lows on the Carbons were rolled off so I’m wondering if that is the suckout or the overall size of his room and the little carbons not being able to pressurize / grip the room bass wise. His AP speaker cables and front end should not be the culprits. I don’t have any experience with those focals or ml’s he was experiencing the brightness from... |
@b_limo I was also wondering if a lack of lows is contributing to the brightness.There is no lack of lows in my room. The lows are fine, deep, right, taut. No problem. Why "rolled off"? Specs say: Carbons 38Hz-35Khz +/- 3 db Focals 39Hz - 28kHz +/- 3dB ML 60 xti 35–25,000 Hz ±3dB In actual listening experiences, bass notes were present in the towers that were not even registering in the bookshelves, while slightly higher pitched bass notes were not taut in the bookshelves, even with solid state. Kind of didn’t expect them to be, and they weren’t. But they’re bookshelves, right? They sounded really good. But down at the bottom, how could they compete? Maybe if I had a 300w amp, the difference would disappear, especially since the bookshelves are harder to drive. |
- 299 posts total