Can't get Acoustic Zen Adagios to sound smooth

I auditioned the Adagio's a few years back and I can honestly understand feeling brightness or lack of smoothness on some recordings.

Their presentation was quite forward, and while it provided an immediacy to the sound, it also made for a bit much over an extended session. Hot recording, its very much right in front and center with every wart on display. The sound stage was wide, but was more diffuse than delineated and somewhat short in depth.

I don't think any various tweaks will totally resolve your issues as its more significant than a minor occasional bite. Always best served with a speaker that is close to your ideal and adjust for minor niggles. If you do go out to listen to new speakers, take your time and experience a variety of deigns.

Dealers can be challenging since they often want to make a sale and become ridiculous in the process. I once plainly explained to a dealer about good and bad things about the speaker I just auditioned and that I had preferred something from a line he didn't carry. He went on an aggravated rant and I wished him a good day and said goodbye. A few days later, without any contact by me, the manufacturer of the speaker reached out after the dealer decided to explain how he might have gone overboard. Today, this dealer doesn't carry any of the speakers auditioned that day and actually has the brands that he insulted! Lets not forget my own hearing while he was at it :-). In the end, I came out realizing I only need to trust what I prefer as its the only thing that matters.

We all perceive things quite differently so there is little chance we are all going to like the very same thing. I know people who can't tell the difference from MP3 320kbps and CD. We also found that he can't hear above 14khz, so it explains things a little bit.

So take the music your familiar with, all the experiences you have with your current setup, and go out there and find what works for you knowing what you do today.

I've had a few different speakers that shared similar attributes to the Adagios. Sound engineers who master albums on speakers with a forward stage will produce work that suites these speakers well. The majority of engineers out there base their work on the most common devices out there (nothing really good). Especially for material that is expected for mass consumption on the go.

I also heard the Vandersteens (Quattro I believe) once for a short period and they are the polar opposites to the forward sounding speaker. Everything happens further away, pushing to you become drawn into the sound. They do well with imaging that is finely defined, good depth and layering, and a relaxed sound. There in lies the issue with it. It can be overly relaxed on recordings that were intended to be edgy in sound. For me, a bit more distant than what I find ideal.

You do have to understand that mastering methods will cause different recordings sound best on a variety of different speakers. Nothing will be truly ideal with every recording out there. My experience with forward sounding speakers is that on daily basis, they will prove to be fatiguing far too often. Based on my recollection of the Adagio, it would be quite the challenge to tune these speakers to your liking. You'll end up with a system that is very speaker specific when you should have instead be starting with a speaker much closer your ideal.

But I do feel if you can experiment a little, learn a little with each change, you've come a step closer to enjoying the audio hobby and experience some extraordinary music while you were at it. You know how the Adagio sounds and it honestly makes it a very good tool that allows you to hear upstream changes quite easily, good or bad.

But for the enjoyment you might be looking for on a day to day basis, these speakers sound like they won't cut it for you.