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First round of auditions disappointing

Well, I finally got out and did some actual listening over the weekend, and I can see that I have quite an adventure ahead of me.

I listened to the Focal Profile 928, Polk LSi15 and a couple of Martin Logan's (Vista and Vantage). The Focal was by far the worst of the bunch; as a matter of fact, it was downright awful, and at a price of $5K for the pair?????????? Good grief...

The Polk LSi15 was better, but far and away from what I expected, given the good press. I use to own Martin Logan Sequel II's, and liked them for their midrange qualities. The newer Logan's were pretty nice, but far too dead in the dynamics department. Very nice rendition of vocals though, and great soundstage presentation.

The more I listened to the typical box speaker, the more I believe that design won't satisfy me. My wife, who is really not "in" to music, commented to me that the Focal sounded "like a box," so there you have it.

I'll probably have to wait until CES, because there is little in the way of "high end" in my area.
seadweller

Showing 2 responses by newbee

newbee
4,751 posts
 
well. I hate to say it but Aball is right. (:-))

About all you can tell when you hear a dealer's set up of a set of speakers of good general reputation that sounds poor is that the dealer hasn't spent much time on set up. Good quality and well set up speakers can sound amazingly good, so much so that less than anal audiophiles can get all they need if they are as careful and attentive in their own home set up. Ditto audio shows.
newbee
4,751 posts
 
Tvad and others,

Tvad, I noticed the Shahinians - a big caveat, note that they use a driver which may not be obtainable to a user if one (or more) needed to be replaced. :-(

Re comments of Seadweller's wife that the speaker sounded boxy. Am I the only one who finds this term too ambiguious to be useful. Are we talking about a coloration in tone due to resonances in the wood and construction used in the box. If that is all we are talking about then wouldn't the set up of panels/electro's/dipoles be just as likely to introduce tonal variations due to set up issues which many folks cannot overcome?

I've been able to set up box speakers with minimal resonance issues more easily and as successfully as any panels or electrostat's in my home(s). I'm not suggesting that one sounds better than another, its horses for courses as always.

BTW, Tvad I bet you don't hear any boxiness in your set up! :-)
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