Which speakers did you find bright, fatiguing or just disappointing in some way?

All JBL, B&W and Klipsch .

All you Agon members pointing fingers at Klipsch need to get your lockdowned self out of the house and go hear what they are currently offering. These aren't your father's (grandfather?) klipsch of yore.

Oz

Epicure models 1 thru 5 had the eyeball tweeter. I thought they were ahead of their time with narrow front baffle wider in the back with rounded corners and bottom ported bass. I had the 5 I sold for ADS l9e, traded 1 pair of ear bleeders for another. Recently a friend gave me a pair of epicure model 3 I’m thinking of putting quality drivers in. 

it is funny to see people get defensive when their brand of speaker is called out to not sound good to other folks

synergy and equipment matching is THE critical skill in this pursuit... some speakers innately play brighter and harsher than others... so then if one like what the speakers do otherwise, one finsd the right gear to minimize the deficiencies and accentuate the strengths... like most other pursuits it takes perseverance, knowledge, effort and $ to get it right

I generally find that it’s the more ambitious designs that usually draw more attention to their faults than some less ambitious one.

For example the speaker on the iPad if within its operating range, is perfectly well balanced and inoffensive.

On the other hand I’ve yet to find an audiophile loudspeaker that comes anywhere near to being as well balanced.

The Kerr K320s I heard a few years back did most things well. The ribbon tweeter did not draw attention to itself and neither did the box.

It wasn’t perfect, and alas the price has shot up quite dramatically.

I remember hearing some Vivid Audio speakers and whilst their advanced metal drivers had tremendous dynamics (I cant remember hearing any better) they did have an unpleasant sharpness to the treble that could get borderline painful.

Hopefully more recent Vivid designs have tackled that issue.


I once read that PSB M4U headphones are said to sound like a good pair of loudspeakers (they certainly didn’t in my experience but that’s another story) but what about the other way around?.

Which loudspeakers sound the most like a good/great pair of headphones?

No overhang, great dynamics, and seamless treble, quicksilver transients etc.

Is it not fair to say that, apart from the chest thumping bass that some speakers are able to deliver, that headphones generally do everything better?

I have hardly finished writing this and I can imagine the answer already, electrostatics!

OK apart from electrostatics, which loudspeakers sound most like headphones?

Do any of them?

Or does that question need a separate thread all of its own?