Which speakers did you find bright, fatiguing or just disappointing in some way?


OK, controversial subject but it needs asked. I'm curious for your experiences, mainly in your home, not a dealer and esp. not a show demo
greg7
After years of being away from really critically listening to music, I found myself last year with the "itch" again. I am a budget listener...so trade offs are always part of the equation. In the past I'd try to read up on so called recommendations and visit local hi-fi dealers. I had Epos ELS-3s that were okay. Went to some smaller Energy CB-5s that I thought were decent for the money. I then bought some BW 600 S3s. Followed those with some Boston Acoustics CR 55s. I've tried and returned PSB Imagine XBs and am about to do the same with Q Acoustics 3030is. The last two, I have been so disappointed in the upper registers. For example, playing "Walking on the Moon" by the Police, so much information and detail is missing. The BWs have a brighter more defined treble but it does have draw backs. I'll keep looking. A friend recommended JBL Studio 530s...hopefully they are better.... My point, I guess, is that I like brighter more defined treble. Any recommendations would be appreciated
@mowkewp4 I’ve listened to the B&W 704 S2 in a demo, but ended up getting the Monitor Audio Silver 300. The MA has the defined treble of the B&W and sounds incredibly "fast" for a dynamic speaker. The Silver 300s have a a smoother top end than the 704 S2 while not yielding any clarity or quickness. Subjectively, I think the Silver 300s also play much in a more coherent way than the 704 S2s. As a reference point, the 704 S2 was a huge step up for me from the B&W 603 S2 in sounding musical.
Thank you for the feed back. I appreciate it. I was truly surprised by the PSB and Q Acoustics lack of detail in the higher end. Luckily I was able to demo them both at home with free shipping and free returns. The BW DM 600 have a good detailed tweeter but overall, I need more. I will put the Monitor Audios next up on my list. There was a pair that came up in the fall and were gone in minutes
I'm in the camp that the KEF LS50 is way over rated for the price. I have a pair of Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 that sound almost as good for a third of the price.

Years ago I had a pair of Walsh Ohm towers that sure never did it for me and were expensive as heck. Same with a pair of Dynaudio Contour 5.4. Almost 10K and virtually no bass.

I have a pair of used NHT bookshelf in the garage and they sound great for what they are and cost. Had a pair of PMC TB2 out there that were awesome and wished I'd kept.
Like other have stated, have heard several B&W's and Monitor Audio's in high end shops and thought they all sounded decent but way to bright and would be so fatiguing in no time.