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British Speakers vs All the Rest

Hi,

I finally made the leap towards a pair of Gemme Tanto V2s.I wanted a speaker that had all the simular attributes
that my presiding Castle Avon speakers have.But with a bigger sound stage,more presence,better detail,and more oomph!!
I went for a test listen yesterday at a dudes place who had them for sale.He warned me that "these spkrs will play alot better
in listening invironments such yours"(23'by25').As I sat down to listen to the Gemmes,I couldnt help the notice how small this room
really was!Maybe 10 feet by 10 feet!He had them hooked up to all Classe gear,and as the first few notes that came to life from the whole
set up,theresuddenly existed immediate drawbacks that came to me and my buddies attention.One being that there was way too much roll off coming out of the Gemmes.But of course these speakers are known to go down to 18hz,but with that kind of room it didnt surprise me.Second was the highs.The upper end part of his speakers seemed kinda bright and a bit forward if I were to compare them to my Castles.Hopefully on account of the size of his room and nothing to dampen whatsoever was the cause of.Well,I will know the verdict in a cpl of week from now when I will have in my own set up.The seller did console me in saying "the Gemmes will take much better form in a larger but treated room too.

One thing I wanted to add to this whole experience is I was to propose for the seller to have a listen to my speakers(Castle Avon),
with my Velodyne sub if need be.He phoned me back fifteen minutes later regarding this,and his answer was "Im not really in to "british
sound as far as speakers"."I prefer something lively or dynamic" which ever the case may be.I happen to love the sound of my speakers escpecially that they are very neutral sounding speakers.So this immediatly brougt my attention to the sound of the Gemmes highs when I was auditioning them.Plus from the reviews Ive been getting on the Gemme Tanto V2s there is absolutely no mention of them being a bit bright or even forward! Yes,there does exist the distinct possibility that they are more dynamic than the Castles.But thats just merely a characteristic trait from one speaker to another one can enconter i believe.But doesnt nessecarilly spell forwardness or lack of neutrality.All,in all i just love the sound of a laid back speaker.One that has a pin pinpoint accuarcy.Is this an inherent trait that mostly "british" made speakers possess?If so,have their counterparts caught up?
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Showing 1 response by newbee

newbee
4,751 posts
 
A 10x10 room is a room from hell for audio. Easy to overdrive and tough to set up, even if you are willing to listen in the near field to speakers designed for that purpose. Bass boom, wall reflections, soundfield width and depth, all at issue. So you have learned nothing from listening to the Gemmes in that room.

Now whether or not they will work for you remains to be determined - you have a lot of work ahead of you for these (or for that matter any high end speaker) Gemmes and that will include accommodating room acoustic issues with bass traps, wall treatments, speaker placement, and locating listening position. Combined with finding the appropriate amp to drive them, considering your use of your present sources and pre-amp, you have in all likely hood a lengthy trip to audio heaven. Try to enjoy it. Too bad you couldn't listen to them in your room first.

FWIW, Re British vs other speakers, I have always enjoyed Spendors, Rogers, and Quad speakers, but now I use USA made speakers which, IMHO, do well all the things that the Brits try to do without giving up anything to the 'high end goals' such as resolution, that are important to me. The Brits do not have a corner on 'musical' speakers.
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