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

@corelli,


'Many years ago bought a pair of Def Tech BP-10's following an all to quick audition. They were bright. I had 6 CD's that sounded great. The rest not so much. Learned to hate them. They did not "break in" nor did my ears adjust. When you have a speaker like this, it is sheer lunacy to try and spend huge amounts of money to tame a speaker you don't even like in the first place. WHY WOULD SOMEONE EVER DO THAT?

By doing some careful research I am amazed how you can often find what you love without carting numerous speakers home (pity those dealers). We should all agree that a Klipsch is going to brighter than a Sonus Faber. Now what you love is up to you. So with careful discussion with other audio friends who owned both Magnepan 1.7's and then Tekton DI's, I confidently ordered up. And not only did I LOVE the DI's, but they did exactly what others had said they did.

So do some homework and don't waste time on stuff doomed to fail. Tonal balance and some other qualities will remain a constant no matter what room and what gear you pair them up with. I'll bet with careful research and discussion you can find a speaker you love in one or two tries. Then address placement and room treatments. Then look at associated gear and cables.  If your electronics are staying put, then obviously that has implications in what speakers will be good candidates as well.'



My experiences too.

I've never had much luck with 'correcting' speakers that had serious treble issues, so I don't really much faith in the difference that placement, amps and cables could make.

I once had a pair of Ruarks that sounded wonderfully vivid and dynamic - an explosion of sound. I would have loved those speakers but for the treble which considerably overstepped into harshness on more than a few recordings. 

It was a difficult decision to sell them on as they were doing so much right - but just one all too obvious thing wrong.

Yes, I could have attempted to modify the crossover myself but my knowledge and mental abilities strongly advised against it.

I believe the OP is trying his very best to avoid 'stuff doomed to fail' whilst at the same time trying to come to terms with which of the inevitable compromises he will have to ultimately accept. Great stuff.

@cd318
Thanks for your thoughtful post. I eliminated as much as I could and narrowed down to things which would not waste dealers' time, be something I could afford, and would best suit my amp and musical tastes.

I've listened to music for most of my 50+ years but only recently ventured into significantly higher quality sound; so, the challenge for someone like me has been to "educate my palate," so to speak. People rave about all kinds of speaker *types* (electrostatic, open baffle, MTM, etc.) and I had no idea how these things would sound, to my ears and in my room. I've learned a lot, and this forum and its members have helped me understand that there are many things that contribute besides the speaker — the room, most importantly, but more generally, my goals. I didn't really know my goals with any specificity in the beginning, and so it's easy to wander forever. Values drive everything else, so as the Delphic Oracle said, "Know Thyself." (Or, "Figure it out!")

Your point about not buying a speaker that *then has to be tamed* is exactly right; it took me into my 30's to stop buying shoes that pinched in the store but which I thought would "wear in." But I followed your logic with the Focals and the Martin Logans because I did not want to buy something wrong for my room, even if it could be "fixed." (Well, maybe or maybe not.) And returning those was hard because they were huge, I had to pack them up, I risked damage during shipping, and I had already put them on my Visa. Lots of reasons to say "good enough." But despite their very good reviews and many recommendations from smart people, they sounded wrong to me, and so I shipped them back. 

All this while I was conscious I could become impossible to please (the Princess and the Pea, audiophile edition). But now that I'm coming toward the end of the process I'm realizing that this has all been the "tuition of experience." I've educated my ears, figured out a lot about my room, and learned about various technical elements pertinent to speakers, amplification, and acoustics. The speaker choice is now more than just an expensive purchase, but the culmination of this aesthetic inquiry in service of music.

ex·​pe·​ri·​ence "direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge".

There are members on this forum with strong opinions back to early 2000s and now at "ten amps ago" or "twenty speakers ago". Some could afford to buy and resell, others simply demo’d with good merchants. Never feel bad about demo’ing. If it’s right for someone, they will buy it. Each of us have different hearing and preferences. To each his own.

I’ll tell you this. I own ML Spires. Am I trading them for Motians because ML wants to sell AMT speakers instead of planars, which btw, ML is known for over 40 years? The answer is absolutely no. Spires sold new for $8500. Today you can buy those same speakers for $3500. Why sample an inferior $4k speaker when one could purchase a superior product for $3500? Headscratching. But hey, it’s your money, and spend it as you choose. But don’t whine how Motians for $4k aren’t effective in your speaker shootout when there is a superior speaker available in the Spire or Ethos. 

So what's the result of the basement shoot-out?  Inquiring minds want to know...