Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned here, but cleanliness of power is key to detail retrieval in my experience. Good conditioners, fuses, cords, outlets, and various noise reducing tweaks might be what you should focus on. Everything matters.
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.
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.
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- 90 posts total
There's a pair of 805 D2s for sale on this very site for $3200: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa6a06-b-w-bowers-wilkins-805-d2-diamond-bookshelf-speakers-pair... B&W speakers are highly detailed. Some say fatiguing after long listening but they need to be balanced with the right front end. I ran a pair of CM 5s for years and found them very enjoyable. Demo'd a pair of 802 Ds for fun a while back and had the same experience you did listening to Aja by Steely Dan. Heard fine details that I'd never noticed before. I was considering stepping up to 805s but found a good deal on some Magicos but if you like the 805s, take the ones above or there's this pair of 805 D3s with stands for $4500: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa2hg5-b-w-bowers-wilkins-805-d3-with-original-stands-monitors |
@redwoodaudio I have done some of that. I have an AQ Niagara 1200 along with a NRGZ cord from the outlet to the Niagara and an NRGZ from the Niagara to my amp. I also replace all applicable wall outlets with Pangea Audio Premier outlets. So, I have a foundation for cleaner power and want to do even more which is why I’d like to keep my speaker budget in check. @diamonddupree thanks for the heads up on the 805’s for sale. I’ll check them out. @millercarbon it’s the lava lamp that makes that system 😎. |
- 90 posts total