2. tech-talk
  3. 1173156521

b&w? in a bright room???

Sorry if the answer is obvious to some of you but here goes. I have a set of b&w 601 s3 soon to be 602's and a boston accustic sub. They are being fed by a denon 2807 reciever and a multi disc sony cd player.This little system is destined for a surround sound system in another area of the house. The room is 24'x14' with a 9' ceiling and hardwood floors. I feel that the speakers are quite a bit too small for the room and the upstream equipment is mid-fi at best. Now, I find after an hour or two the sound starts to bother me, a bit bright I think(can you tell I'm a newbie). Does this tell me something about my room that I should be keeping in mind as I shop for a two channel system to replace what I have now?? It will take some time as I'm just starting to audition systems (budget 5-6000$). Should I be concentrating on systems with a more laid back sound in the show rooms, so that when I place them in my house they're not too harsh???I listen to a wide variety of music from opera to acdc.
shauns

Showing 2 responses by mcpody

mcpody
73 posts
 
I am not familiar with the tweeters chosen for the B&W 600 series speakers, but the 800 series had metal dome tweeters. These are more sensitive in revealing issues in the front end of your system. In general, the Denon electronics are a tad uptilted to begin with, and if you are serious about Audio, the SONY multi disc player should be the first piece to go. Consider purchasing a single disc, dedicated CD player...with a solid drive and isolated chassis. Sim Audio makes a very nice, musical unit, the Equinox, for about $1200 on the Gon. I would make a move on the front end because you can only get quality out if you put quality into the music stream.

If you opt to upgrade in the future, purchase a speaker with a soft dome tweeter rather than a metal tweeter. Dynaudio 1.8 is an excellent floorstanding speaker and very musical...one was recently for sale. The Dynaudio 1.3 is also nice for a bookshelf, and the Reynaud Twin is a steal, going for $600-$700 on the Gon. Another great line of speakers are the Proacs...the SC-1 or Proac 2s are super musical...and you can probably find the 125S or 150S available for about $900-$1200. These are exceptional speakers for any amount of money.
mcpody
73 posts
 
I haven't had the inclination or luxury to go through 10 pairs of speakers on my path to audio discovery. So, in general, a metal dome tweeter will not be enhanced by electronics that have a forward signature. Listen to a good speaker like a Proac 1SC and a B&W 805 Matrix, same price point, and then decide which is more musical...check out the female voice along with the taunt bass response, the natural decay of the piano, the difference between a soprano sax and a trumpet. And for budget, audition a pair of Reynaud Twins. You can probably pick them up for $600 in great shap on the Gon, and they will blow away the B&Ws of equal price or at three times the price.

And address the front end before you do anything.
More to discover