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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
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reg19
82 posts
 
To the OP: given the 60XT’s impedance curve, it seems that they would not match well with tubes at all. Tubes require relatively stable impedance over the frequency range.

They also perform quite poorly when driven with Denon / Marantz receivers (as the impedance goes down below 3 ohms at some frequencies). Hence, you get all these posts on how they underperformed in speaker comparisons at Magnolia.

Pair them up with a good solid state amp (I use the Parasound A21) and you’ll realize how good they are. No brightness / harshness in treble at all. I had them side-by-side in my house for a month next to the Monitor Audio Gold GX-300 speakers (way more expensive than the 60XT) and the 60XT won out clearly.
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,277 posts
 
Wow, beat the Monitor Golds?  Maybe I’ve overlooked those ML’s..
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,994 posts
 
@reg19 Thanks. That ship has sailed (I bought other speakers) but @decooney will be interested to hear your claim about tubes and the ML 60s. He has the ML 40s (perhaps a different curve) and has a tube amp, albeit a more powerful one. 
decooney
2,109 posts
 
re: ML Motion 40/60 speakers

Yeah, they get kind of a bad rap when paired with mediocre home theater receivers and nests of cabling and switchers at Magnolia stores. A well used demo set at the store sounds different than a new pair not burned in.  

I listen to them every night for home theater with a 200w x 5ch home theater setup. Great for movies, better suited and more transparent than my former Totem Acoustic Signatures for HT purpose.

For 2ch stereo listening, tested them with various Class A tube and solid state amps too. 10w, 50w Triode and 100w tube amps. They can sound nice with quality amps and good cabling in the right room, ymmv.
mesch
3,520 posts
 
This year you have driven down a great audio path and I have very much enjoyed the ride with you. Your approach and attitude has garnished a great deal of support, ending with your having put together a great system via education and experience gained in your own environment. Congrats! 
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