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Oh, the frustrations of the speaker search

Yesterday I had a nice opportunity to audition a couple of speakers I felt fit my potential budget and listening preferences. To clear that up:

Budget = $1,200 MAX
Music preferences = 70% prog metal/rock (Tool, Opeth, Dream Theater, Rush, etc.), the rest is a mix of female/male vocalists, movie soundtracks, jazz.

The speakers I went in to audition were Golden Ear Aon 3's and PSB Imagine B's. The shop had an Ayre CD player connected to an NAD C 356BEE integrated amp. Tracks used for demo: Alison Balsom (Trumpet Concerto in E Flat); Tool (Forty Six & Two); Porcupine Tree (The Sound of Muzak); Zac Brown Band (Free); Hans Zimmer (Man of Steel - Terraforming).

My impressions: the Aon 3 ribbon tweeters were doing some really cool things in the treble region, but I didn't like the timbre up there. The midrange was very distant, lacked PRAT, but smooth. Bass was very present (most bass I've ever heard for a bookshelf), but had a rather "bloated" sound to it. I just got the sense that the midbass was bleeding too much into the midrange, causing the lack of presence in vocals and guitars. Soundstage was very nice, but not a whole lot of instrument separation going on. Decent in the detail department. Imaging was solid.

When he switched to the PSBs, I immediately noticed a more defined, taut bass section. Not as much quantity as the Aon 3's, but much tighter and cleaner, IMO. I preferred the midrange handily with the Imagine B's, but definitely noticed the glariness of the metal dome tweeter (as compared to the ribbon in the Aon 3). Overall, I felt the Imagine B was better balanced and the midrange had much more life (positive sense) to it. Soundstage was maybe a bit less in width, same in depth. One thing that I felt was lacking, though, was instrument separation. Imaging was solid.

It was at this point that I felt truly torn. These speakers did things so differently that I really had no idea which one I'd go with (if I had to choose). What made this even more complicated, is the salesman placed a pair of Aerial Acoustics Model 5B on the stands...

Crap. I was glad and mad at the same time after listening to these speakers. Immediately apparent: INSTRUMENT SEPARATION!!! Details, clarity, resolution, timbre. All those words started flooding in my head. Truly balanced sound with a beautifully rendered midrange. Absolutely no glare or harshness to the treble (despite being aluminum dome tweeters...implementation!). Bass quantity was nice, but actually sounded muddy (was very surprised by this).

In the end, it made me realize that even a $2000+/pair speaker can have its flaws (granted still being run by a mid-grade integrated in the NAD). So now I have a reference point, however I don't know if I'd ever be able to achieve that kind of midrange/treble bliss at my price point for the genres I enjoy.

I realized, in the end, that I can live with some bass misfortune (as it can be corrected by cables, electronics, placement, room treatment, etc.)...but I really MUST have that type of midrange/treble that can be so well rendered and discernable, while also being able to ROCK.

This search just got a lot more complicated...
heywaj10
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
>> If you only have a very limited budget you should consider spending most of it on a really good amp and get whatever speaker you can with what is left. <<

Wow, I doubt I have ever read a worse piece of advice ever given here. The differences between amps are *vanishingly* small when compared to the differences in speakers.

I would recommend quite the opposite - buy the best speakers you can afford and then find a suitable amp to drive them. You don't listen to the amp, you listen to the speakers and the interaction between the speaker and the room you place it in...

-RW-
xti16
1,525 posts
 
Stringreen & Rlwainwrite

PLUS 2
bombaywalla's avatar
bombaywalla
1,958 posts
 
LOL! whoever said that purchasing a loudspeaker was going to be an easy task?? No, it simply isn't for all the reasons you mentioned. The lower your budget, the more compromises in the design which will impact the sonics. Thus, your budget is meaningless when you have decided what criteria the speakers must have namely:
I realized, in the end, that I can live with some bass misfortune (as it can be corrected by cables, electronics, placement, room treatment, etc.)...but I really MUST have that type of midrange/treble that can be so well rendered and discernable, while also being able to ROCK.
It probably will be possible to find a speaker in your budget but it most probably will be used & you might have to buy it unheard.
Rlwainwright's advice is correct IMHO.

And, above all, hardly anyone has paid attention to Rcprince's advice - that is the key. You've only heard the speakers at the dealer's. you have yet to get them setup in your own room. They probably will sound different (often worse) in your room & you'll be back to square-1.

The best that you can do is to find a speaker that is mostly agnostic to the electronics it hooks up to. No way around the room - every speaker interacts with the room & some are meant to interact very heavily (such as AudioNote speakers which are put against the wall deliberately to reinforce bass OR linearray speakers which use the floor & ceiling to make the baffle practically infinite).
A flat impedance & flat frequency response speaker will be mostly electronics agnostic. This will remove 1 variable & the interaction with your room is what it is. You'll need to acoustically treat it to get the response you want. Plenty of material on the web for that (a whole diff subject worthy of another PhD for you. Selecting a speaker will be your 1st PhD. ;-) )

Nobody can help you here as your speaker selection is for your room, your music, your budget & your enjoyment. We can steer you but you have to do the leg-work. Keep hunting! All the best!
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 

06-27-13: Stringreen
...and here is MY bit of advice. Listen to as many speakers as you possibly can - in and out of your budget. You will eventually learn what pleases you and will know instantly at that point that the speaker that puts a smile on your face and a tap in your feet is IT.
That's what I often do, and not just with audio but with musical instruments, cars, quality footwear, etc.

Example: I test drive cars I can't afford, noting what I particularly like about these cars such as handling, ride quality, responsiveness and especially power delivery. Then I test drive the cars I can afford and pick the one that provides the emotional response most like my favorite of the expensive ones. It definitely works with speakers too, but you must be careful that the acknowledged deviations from the expensive exemplar don't become negative obsessions later.
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,366 posts
 
I knew I might ruffle a few feathers saying to get a good amp instead of speakers. I agree that speakers make the most difference and contribute the most to a system. But I know for sure you can't make expensive speakers sound good with a cheap amp. You can make cheap speaker sound good though with a good amp. Cheap NAD amps or outlaw or any of the sub 500 amps just don't sound good. I've never hear them and I bet that is the problem. You hook any of those speakers up to a decent system and they will sound pretty good. You can make a pretty good sound happen for around 1000 used with an integrated amp such as the creek destiny or naim nait. But go to much lower and I don't care what speakers you have they won't sound good. If you only have a 1500 budget at least 1/2 should go to amp. If you have a 10,000 budget them you could spend 3x as much on the speakers and it would make sense. But bottom line is without a decent amp you can't make your speakers sound very good. The statement is a little extreme, no one is going to pair a 5k amp with 300 speakers but I contend that would indeed sound better than the opposite of that.
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