After the thrill is gone


I think we all understand there is no “perfect” speaker. Strengths, weaknesses, compromises all driven by the designer’s objectives and decisions. 
 

Whenever we make a new (to us) speaker purchase there is a honeymoon period with the perfect-to-us speaker. But as time wears on, we either become accustomed to the faults and don’t really hear or hear past them, or become amplified and perhaps more annoying or create minor buyers remorse or wanderlust.

I am guessing the latter would be more prevalent when transitioning to a very different design topology, eg cones vs horns vs planars etc.

While I’ve experimented with horns, single drivers, subwoofer augmentation …  I’ve always returned to full range dynamic multi-driver designs. About to do so with planars but on a scale I’ve not done before, and heading toward end game system in retirement.
So I just wonder what your experiences have been once the initial thrill is gone? (Especially if you moved from boxes to planars)

inscrutable

Showing 2 responses by sns

I started with acoustic suspension box speakers, went to various open baffle for at least fifteen years, to ported acoustic suspension, finally to horns.

 

Once I heard open baffle, box speakers always had boxy, or closed in sound for me, the move back to box for short period of time was never fully satisfying, heard my present horns, can't imagine going back to either previous designs.

I ran various Alons for many years, loved open baffle sound qualities. Went to ported box for a couple years, couldn't get past sense of closed in sound quality. Some Klipschorns fell into my lap, wow, could hear the potential right off, sense of live performers in room unsurpassed. With extensive mods i voiced in over the years, these are my last speakers.