Do my ears deceive me??
The money is in the bank, thinking of upgrading speakers, but everything I demo is no better or worse than what I have. Willing to spend up to $6,000. Upgraditis?? My main system is Mcintosh MX 134 that I bought in 2003, with a pair of Focal 836v's and a Parasound 5250 (250w/channel) amp I bought around 2012. I either blew the tweeters or crossover on my 836's, so they are in for repair. Since I've owned them for 10 years, I was considering new speakers. The blades are way more than I would spend, but I also demoed the Kef R11s, Martin Logan xtf 200's, Mcintosh XR 100s, and B&W 703 S3.
None of them sounded better than what I'm hearing right now from my BP 2006s. Would I really need to demo them in my room to make a fair comparison?? Or are speakers just not much better than they were 20 years ago? I know I love detail, and tend to lean towards aluminum tweeters. I pretty much only listen to classic rock and roll. Of all I demoed, I really like the B&W 706s. They sounded much brighter/cleaner than the others. But they had the reciever set up so I couldn't adjust the treble/bass. I love a V equalizer curve, and bump up the bass and treble a bit on my home/car systems. Maybe I just have the good luck of prefering cheaper speakers.
@charles1dad I agree, but I also thought it important to point out that most high-end systems need no EQ. If the OP wants to keep using EQ that’s perfectly fine. I was just trying to be helpful that maybe he should explore the rest of his system to maybe see WHY he’s feeling the need to use EQ. That’s all. |
In a magazine interview, Mr. Lyngdorf, one of the pioneers of DSP room compensation/equalization stated that a serious audiophile carefully selecting gear for a particular room, setting up speakers in the ideal location, using appropriate room treatments, will probably achieve better sound than can be achieved with even the best DSP compensation (he makes ultra expensive versions of such). But, for the vast majority of situations, DSP compensation is the way to go if one does not have the experience, patience and ability to make no compromises in setup. |
Given the infinite number of possibilities, I think it breaks down to 3 general considerations: 1) keep your speakers 2) upgrade them ((spend $6k) 3) consider performance upgrades for your existing speakers. For about 20% of the cost of an upgrade you can enjoy more of what the original designer of your speakers intended IF the budget and technology were available at the time. Replacing production grade older xover parts with newer/better stuff (along with better cabling and connection/termination methods)will bring out a level of detail and transparency you never thought possible. If the values are kept the same as the original, the general character of the speakers will remain. Just infinitely more musical. |
I like Waytoomuchstuff's idea ^ about the crossovers. I did that very thing with my old Epi 100 speakers... brought 'em right to life again. Xover parts can age. @fenderu2 They're not $6000, but if you add a nice sub from SVS, perhaps their SVS Micro 300 for $600 (has a nice app to customize the response to your speakers and room), then you'll be up around $4000 w tax: the Q Acoustics Concept 50, which takes the tech from the Concept 500 and slims it down... and there's some argument to be made that the 50 might actually be better than the 500 once you get that sub in there w the 50s due to more precise control of the woofers and the slimline design which helps the speaker "disappear". The "silver" finish is pretty stunning, too... excellent modern speaker w robust sound and super soundstage. |
