Do my ears deceive me??


     The money is in the bank, thinking of upgrading speakers, but everything I demo is no better or worse than what I have.   Willing to spend up to $6,000.      Upgraditis??   My main system is Mcintosh MX 134 that I bought in 2003, with a pair of Focal 836v's and a Parasound 5250  (250w/channel) amp I bought around 2012.   I either blew the tweeters or crossover on my 836's, so they are in for repair.   Since I've owned them for 10 years, I was considering new speakers.    The blades are way more than I would spend, but I also demoed the Kef R11s, Martin Logan xtf 200's, Mcintosh XR 100s, and B&W 703 S3.   

       None of them sounded better than what I'm hearing right now from my BP 2006s.    Would I really need to demo them in my room to make a fair comparison??  Or are speakers just not much better than they were 20 years ago?   I know I love detail, and tend to lean towards aluminum tweeters.  I pretty much only listen to classic rock and roll.   Of all I demoed, I really like the B&W 706s.   They sounded much brighter/cleaner than the others.   But they had the reciever set up so I couldn't adjust the treble/bass.  I love a V equalizer curve, and bump up the bass and treble a bit on my home/car systems.   Maybe I just have the good luck of prefering cheaper speakers.   

 

  

fenderu2

Showing 4 responses by curtdr

once they're fixed... THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR SPEAKERS...!   

You have good gear that you love.  Keep it, cherish it, nurture it.

Be happy you have a sound that's great for your ears. 

I'm right with you: I recently did some auditioning and nothing sounded more appealing to me than what I already had!  Save the money.  Don't give in to upgrade-itis for no other reason than you have money in your pocket!  Be careful of watching reviews and even going on this forum... those are the seeds of discontent, and many on here just like to think spending more gets you more, and that's simply not the case, especially when you already have good stuff that you like.  Getting new stuff tends to lead to further discontent and then chasing other new stuff, forever and ever amen.  

Invest that $6000 into mutual funds, some no load total stock index fund , and let it ride and down the road you'll be glad you did.

btw, I have never had an equalizer help the sound of my speakers... I've tried numerous times.  At most, I've used the bass/treble control, and that quite subtly.  Select the speakers that can stand on their own and avoid the extra peripheral. 

I like Waytoomuchstuff's idea ^ about the crossovers.   I did that very thing with my old Epi 100 speakers... brought 'em right to life again.  Xover parts can age.

@fenderu2   They're not $6000, but if you add a nice sub from SVS, perhaps their SVS Micro 300 for $600 (has a nice app to customize the response to your speakers and room), then you'll be up around $4000 w tax:  the Q Acoustics Concept 50, which takes the tech from the Concept 500 and slims it down... and there's some argument to be made that the 50 might actually be better than the 500 once you get that sub in there w the 50s due to more precise control of the woofers and the slimline design which helps the speaker "disappear".  The "silver" finish is pretty stunning, too... excellent modern speaker w robust sound and super soundstage.  

btw, I have never had an equalizer help the sound of my speakers... I’ve tried numerous times. At most, I’ve used the bass/treble control, and that quite subtly. Select the speakers that can stand on their own and avoid the extra peripheral.

That said, the Concept 50 + SVS idea that I gave might be nice for you because the SVS does have an EQ function so you can smoothly bring up the bass a bit if you'd like, and if you want a bit more top end from the 50 just simply use your treble tone control.  That way, your only "peripheral" is your sub/app.