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My Demo results: I feel like I'm at a frustrating block in my speaker journey

Hi all,

New poster and longtime lurker. 

As the title says, I feel like I'm at a frustrating endpoint in my audio quest, and hoping to draw from your guys' experience for some direction.

I bought my first speaker system a couple years ago because at my old house my tv speakers were not cutting it. 

First I bought an old budget pair of Klipsche bookshelves (P15s?  I dont really remember)  They were really shrill, and I sold them fairly quickly. 

After reading a bunch of the mainstream audio review sites (I now understand these platforms are often pay to play) I purchased the ELAC Unifi UF5 Towers.  These had beautiful, lush musical bass but sounded about engaging as energetic as a sponge.  They also had kind of a dark muffled sound at times- like there is a wet blanket over them.   Paradoxically, they also sound inorganic and kind of metallic. 

In the past few months I decided to start demoing speakers to see what I like.  Ive found some speakers that do certain things right, but not everything right.  Every one of the high-end, expensive speakers I have tried have had certain large flaws. I've been kind of shocked at this whole experience, because to my ears my $60 set of logitec computer speakers handily beats a number of speakers 50x more expensive. Like, they dont have great detail retrieval or clarity but at least they dont color the sound a ton, and they present very engagingly.

Im still lookijng for my goldilocks speaker.

  • Various Kefs- very similar to the ELACs but worse imo- very metallic and unengaging
  • Various B&W- Metallic, boring, no dynamics
  • Warfedale Evo 4.4- nice highs!  Absolutely sloppy bass (for my room at least) and terribly muddy mids
  • Tannoy Revolution 6XTE- Similar to above.  Very, very dark speakers.
  • Martin Logan 35XTI bookshelves-  Eureka!  These are much more organic and clear.  Guitars actually sound like guitars instead of a bad digital rendering of them.  Theres energy in what I listen to.  This is what I was missing in the others... things sound like theyre supposed to!   Only issue is they arent as full-bodied as towers.  They just cant play very loud and I wish they had more bass to be better full range speakers.    Somewhat more minor issue is that they sound slightly grainy.  Though thats not a total dealbreaker. 
  • Martin Logan 60XTI Towers- I had high hopes for these.... but where did the magic for the 35s go ML?  These are very "meh".  The highs and satisfying acoustic resonances are gone.
  • Focal Aria 906 bookshelves- holy clarity batman!  But it sounds almost too clinical to the point that theyre not engaging.
  • Focal Aria 948 Towers-  Holy clarity and body batman!  These sound almost perfect- but they dont quite come alive until higher volumes (and I have a small space), and there's still something missing... a certain *zing* in the acoustic guitar resonances. 
  • Def Tech 9060- Hard to describe.  Sometimes they sounded good, sometimes they sounded imprecise and like the drivers were way too small.  Bass gets bloaty in my room.  Theyre also ugly as hell. 
  • Ascend Sierra Tower with RAAL-  After all the others, I had only tthe ML 35XTIs and the focal 948s remaining.  I was hoping, based on my extensive reading of forums, that the ascend towers could give the best of both worlds- the clarity/full body of the focals with the acoustic resonance/energy/zing of the MLs.  Unfortunately I was once again disappointed.  They seem unbalanced to my ears.  Like, they have very punchy bass but they color the sound to be sweet and there seems to be something missing in the middle of the sound.... some body that just isnt there.  The highs are very sweet and engaging, but almost a little artificially so.  Where the MLs sound like an actual acoustic guitar being played in front of me, the Sierras make it sound unnaturally sweet or high.  Theres unnaturally sweet zzzing out of string instruments that I dont think actually sound that way....  Im bummed because I really wanted to like these speakers. 


I think I've established a list of qualities Im looking for:
  • The etched sound of the MLs
  • Full body and clarity of the Focals
  • The forward, engaging nature of the ascends
  • Not overly smooth
  • Not metallic (I dont think I like aluminum tweeters)
  • wide horizontal dispersion (my room is wider than it is long)

Where do I go from here?  Im at a loss.  Id appreciate any recommendations you guys have. 

mjt8
jafant
18,896 posts
 
mjt8

Thiel Audio- CS 3.7 loudspeaker.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,735 posts
 
It's nice of everyone to give their good advice, but I think that it's probably pointless in this case since you are very particular and will need to hear what you like for yourself, and it looks like it's going to take you a while... 
veroguy
137 posts
 
With the room layout and speaker placement limitations, I'd focus on bookshelves placed on your cabinet (on some sort of 2-8 inch stand like Iso Acoustics) and add a small subwoofer.

Bookshelves would have at least a tiny bit of room off the back and side wall, and there would be a little space available to work on placement.  

Considering the sound profile you're looking for, perhaps you should consider the KEF LS50 Wireless - which have a good reputation for detail and clarity.  

The KEF LS50w's are active speakers, so you would no longer need the Marantz AVR. Your TV would connect to the KEF's via optical.

A small sub might fit in that space under the marantz.

The non-active LS50's I guess would be an option, too - but I'm not sure how well they would mate with your Marantz. Might be something to try first, though.

kingdomtrading1
6 posts
 
I think the Paradigm Persona range is exactly what you want. Just make sure it is demo’d with gear on the warmer side. Devine with Luxman gear
agwca
84 posts
 
I went through this for awhile. I think most of us do. Depending on price point and whether you have size/aesthetic constraints, there are a few things you could do. 1) Buy what most approximates what you want and wait until the more desirable speaker eventually comes your way. 2) Find two sets of speakers you like that do different things well and run them together...I did this for years using paradigm and polk. Paradigm added body to low to mids, Polk upper mids to highs. 3) Try headphones.

My final speaker at a price point was Focal 807W (at a price point). They do almost everything better than most speakers I have heard (for me) and I prefer the older tweeter over the newer Poron, but they are metal tweeters. The AA with Raal seem to be as you describe, lacking a midrange punch or excitement, comparatively speaking. My suggestions for newer equipment would be Triangle Borea 3 at $600ish,a speaker which has received alot of attention, Monitor Audio Silver 100s at $1200ish which has become more dynamic than previous models were..so maybe more forward rather than laid back. Above that, the Sky’s the limit. The sweet spot has to reside somewhere between 1-2 grand but there are some performers for less.

What I look for is clarity with dynamic reach or "exciting clinical". Not too airy, too large a soundstage (stretched) or too small. Something that adds depth of sound rather than flat wall so more 3D vs 2D.
Let your brain adjust. The brain is like an infant, you’ll eventually desire the taste for what’s on your plate. Don’t forget, amps and sources can make a difference too regardless of what some people say.
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