2. speakers
  3. 161474-89896

Looking for more detail in a speaker

Kind of a long first post but needed the space to set up my situation. 
I decided to do something about my speaker situation after demoing a pair of B&W 805d’s. One of the tracks played was Sympathy for the Devil. At the beginning of the song, a percussion instrument, either a guiro or cabasa, just popped out at me on the left speaker. I’ve heard that song a million times but never noticed that percussion instrument coming at me like that. I came home and played the track through my system, through my streamer and turntable. My speakers are Golden Ear Triton One’s. That same presentation just isn’t there like with those 805’s.
The GET1’s are certainly decent speakers; are they not designed for this type of detailed presentation? Is it my room? My listening room is a odd shaped man attic with a 3.5’ wall on one side with an 8’ wall on the other side peaking a 9’ in the middle. My listening position is about 17’ from the speakers.  I’m sure the room is acoustically challenged. Also, I have a long speaker wire run, like 40’. Does that contribute to the lack of detail? I figured out a way to trim about 15’ of speaker wire length from each run and plan to do that ASAP. I’m using AudioQuest construction rated wire. I believe they’re 14 gauge.
So, why not buy the 805’s? I’ve thought seriously about them but concerned they’ll be kind of small for my room. Seems like I need floor standers. I’d like to keep any replacement speakers at $4k. I have an opportunity to pick up a pair of Dynaudio S5.4s for $4k but haven’t made a move in them yet. 
Any suggestions on a speaker selection or adjustments to my room or speaker wire are appreciated. To sum it up, I’m looking for more instrument detail with good sound staging either by making tweaks to my current set up or getting another flavor of speakers. Thx. 
Ag insider logo xs@2xbfoura
erik_squires
16,118 posts
 
Always consider the room as the first place to make things better.

Otherwise, I agree with Duke.

Certain speakers are tuned exactly to be "revealing" but I call it "accentuating" certain types of sounds.  Not very neutral, can get tiresome over time.  So I would never suggest you trade because one brand did 1 note more noticeably than your current speakers. 
sgordon1
435 posts
 
Suggestion: adjust YOU!
Sit 5' to 8' from the speakers.
Take the room out of it, to a greater extent.

Then, try moving the speakers closer together,
and possibly closer to the front wall.

With the limited information about your room,
I would pursue working your current gear, first.
tweak1
3,666 posts
 
Get a pair of Harbor Freight dollys, put them under your speakers and start moving them around. First I suggest you cut the distance between you and the speakers by ~ 50%
hth
dill
2,530 posts
 
Bring your listening position to 10' from the speakers. Put your speakers 10' apart (measured at the center of the tweeter). Position yourself 10' from an imaginary plane between the tweeters, dead center. Angle both speakers so you can see just a sliver of the inside wall of each speaker at your listening position. Also, adjust your listening position so your ear (height from the the floor) is as close as the tweeter height is from the floor. Do not use a cloth covered , high back chair for listening. I would also suggest shorter, higher quality speaker cables, but only after you have done all of the above.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
I do not think any of the good dynamic loudspeakers corner the marker on detail. They are all about the same in that regard. It is all a matter of frequency response and where the peaks and dips are. For better transient response you have to move to a planar speaker , horn or ESL but your budget won't allow for this.
Room alterations to quiet reflections will certainly add to detail as will the ability to monkey around with frequency response but that has to be done in the digital domain. Check out a DEQX Premate. So unless you are prepared to move to a different type of speaker. Working with the room and/or digital EQ are the way to go.
More to discover