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Bispeakering...am I the only one?

Hello to everyone and the audiophiles. I have a limited budget as a grad student and so I can't afford those speakers that do everything well.

My JM Lab Electra 926s sound sublime - lots of space and refinement. But I always felt like a little more detail and dynamics could be possible (I had witnessed it in other systems) so I got some Triangle Comete ES monitors. WOW! What a difference. Detail and dynamics like crazy. I have tried upwards of 40 pieces of gear so far (excluding tweaks and cables) and these two pairs of speakers are by far the most different. Who says the speaker isn't the biggest player? However, I digress...

So, on one hand I have the big-space speakers and on the other, I have the high-detail speakers. I originally did this to have two systems for different music. However, combine the two and voila, I have a megaspeaker capable of space AND dynamics. The JM Labs are pushed by my McIntosh MC7200 and the Triangles are caressed by my Conrad-Johnson MV55.

Now mind you, it ain't easy integrating them and you need a preamp with two sets of outputs and some sort of amp gain control. But get the soundstages to overlap appropriately and this wacky speaker system will knock your socks off for a mere $2700 used. I have yet to hear any speakers in that range that can do better across the board. In this case, 3+2=10. Not to mention how nice it is to have a "center channel" effect with TV thanks to the super-focused image of the Triangles. Of course you need two amps but this is only an aid for tailoring the sound.

With examples of multiple-driver speakers abound, this approach adds a couple advantages to the idea. My two pairs are so different that they have "decoupled" strengths so I can play to each one individually. Also, there is less driver interaction since there are separate cabinets for microdynamics (Triangles) and macrodynamics (JM Lab). See my system page for pics.

I am shocked at how satisfied I am with this approach. The depth, layering, soundstaging, focus, clarity, detail, order, sophistication have all improved, all at once. Even the really expensive components I have tried (and can't afford) didn't make this much of a positive impact in my system.

Has anyone else tried something like this? Arthur
aball

Showing 1 response by douglas_schroeder

douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Aball,
Greetings, you seem to be on the Quest for the Ultimate Sound...(having burned through 40 components so far!)
A while back I did something similar, a "Stacked" speaker configuration. I had two sets of Eminent Technology LFT-8A speakers (hybrid planars) with 8 chanels of amplification. Around 2,400 watts into 4 ohms.

It was an incredible experience. Phenomenal POWER and PRESENCE like I've never heard before or since in a system in my home. It sounded like you were really AT the concert...

However, I had a guest who mentioned that my system was weak on "imaging". That got me thinking. I was waaaay on the soundstage side of things, and needed to come waaay back toward the imaging (detail) side of things.

So, I sold it all, went to a very simple setup that I'm currently running, with a two chanel amp and single wired speakers. I went up a level in the quality of the components and went for simple and quality pieces. I am actually mutch happier with the detail than the soundstage. I still have about 75% of the soundstage but a lot more detail and beauty in the sound.

I'm sure you're going to have quite a bit of fun in the years ahead! One thing; try to chronicle your euqipment that you've owned. I wish I had pictures of all the gear I've gone through; it would be a great nostalgia trip.

Have you visited audioreview.com yet? May save you some unnecessary "flipping" of gear. But, if you're like me, you secretly relish the chase for the next component...

You can see a pic of my 'stacked' ET's as well as the current rig under my name.
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