Further break in of the RS8's may help some, but I think not dramatically for these speakers at this point in their life. Clear your head and give them another careful listen in a few weeks. They are very nice speakers, but I still think the soundstage will be on the forward side and the metal tweeter is going to be more up front than a soft dome or the alternative designs recommended by others above.
As for the bi's, di's and omnis, not my cup of tea really unless you have gobs of power to drive them. Even the 150W B&K may struggle a bit to drive Maggies to their full potential. Your receiver should be more comfortable working with the dynamic loudspeakers I suggested above, and while they wont do the same thing that electrostatics or omnis can do to send sound traveling in all directions, they are quite balanced and lovely sounding just the same.
Anyway, clear your head and let your current speakers loosen up a bit more and see what you think before heading off to the store or nearest Internet vendor. |
All the Vandersteens I have heard seem to be what your looking for. |
Shadrone, Man I wouldn't own those speakers if you paid me! A FR for a maggot's lunch! :-)
Seriously, and probably the subject for a different thread, but since its about a recessed stage - I have two amps which allow triode v pentode switching on the fly and all of the conversation about soundstageing and speakers reminds me of what I percieve as the biggest difference between the two modes. My Silverlines, for example, driven by a good push/pull ultralinear/pentode stage do not sound recessed at all. In triode the 'power' which brings the stage forward (sounds to me like its in the mids mostly) is MIA, and the sound is smooth but cool and recessed - in fact the entire sound stage is smaller. Don't know what they would sound like with SET's though.
Just goes to illustrate the importance of speaker/amp matching to get results, or not. |
Oops you did it again! Duke's advice rings true once again. I would also add that a scooped midrange gives depth or makes the stage/vocalists/lead guitar feel further away and less in your face. Look for a speaker with a dip in the upper midrange off axis ( for example). |
definitely your sinus infection has an effect on how you hear. No joke. |
Duke hit the nail on the head per usual. |
Thanks for all the responses. I will give the speakers some more time to break them in, about 60 hours on them currently. Most of you have recommended placement issues which I have played with thus far. I drive them with a B&K AVR307 receiver. Funny thing is with my old NHT 2.5i speakers I used the same equipment and speaker placements, no issues with forward sound there. Not trying to be funny but maybe it's my Sinus infection I have that's causing my hearing to be effected and amplifying the headache I already have?? Consequently I got the speakers a short time after my Sinus infection began |
Depending on your space constraints the magnepan mg12 or 1.6. I have the mg12 and soundstage is nice and deep. (room acoustics and the quality of the recording are also at play here). |
Brit speakers are typically more forward than US speakers...Vandies,thiel, and Magnepan come to mind |
I went from Monitor Audio Silver S8's (model before the one you own) to Quad 22L2's. Big improvement in every respect. The hard dome tweeter on the MA's is fatiguing. |
Dipoles and bipoles and omnis (oh my!) can do what you are describing, if positioned out away from nearby reflective room boundaries.
Duke
dealer/manufacturer/into dipoles and bipoles |
what is behind your speakers and how far the speakers ae out into the room from the wall behind them? if there's a reflective surface behind the speakers and they're too close to it, then you are chasing the impossible.
As far as speakers, look into Dynaudio Contour 1.8, some of the Vienna Acoustics that fit your price range, may be Sonus Faber. |
I had that kind of soundstage with JM Labs Electra 926's .
High deep and wide . But I also could get some staging right in front of me , as you complain about , and some behind me ! All with the same set up .
What I am eluding to is the fact that , at least a bit of it , is dependent on the recording and some of it will depend on the accompanying equipment .
And , as mentioned above , it can be dependent on your speaker arraingement as well .
Good luck . |
I hate jumping on bandwagons but from what you are describing, the Vandy's are the perfect fit. Depending on the size of your room the Model 1s, 2s, or 3s would fit the bill. |
What are you driving them with? I agree the speakers are probably not broken in yet and you should absolutely experiment with placement as well, but bright or forward sounding electronics and/or cables could also be playing a big role here. |
The Vandersteen 2CE Sig II is a great speaker that offers serious technology lofty drivers at bargain pricing and are not bright.
I would suggest you insist on listening to them if possible without any other speakers in the same room or near them.
Their claim to fame is time correct lofty drivers in separate enclosures which allows its lower diffraction.
the speakers will seem to disappear or integrate better than a typical Box type which allows the listener to be invited into a seamless listening expierience.
They also work well in most homes without room treatment, jumping thru hoops, and are electronic friendly. Furthermore you will most likely not need any bandaid cables that over tame brightness so feel free to remove any from prior abuse and try with a more neutral type cost effective wires like Alpha core goertz Kimber AQ Nordost Etc
Cheers Johnnyr |
your new speakers aren't broken in yet, give them a couple hundred hours. also you setup maybe the problem....are the speakers out from the wall and not stuffed into corners or do they have big objects between them?
Larry |
Hi. Do you like panel type speakers ? I recently had the chance to hear the new Podium .5 speakers by Podium Sound Ltd from the UK. In Slovenia of all places! A brilliant dealer, Peter Mezek, in a business called Pear Audio. He has a website etc. There are dealers in the US. These are a completely new design - not ribbon and not electrostatic. Actually a large flat honeycomb panel driven by a line of core drivers in the rear central spine. There is some hype on the net from "knowledgeable" buffs who of course haven't even heard them. There is some some good info on the Podium site that explains the technology.
Anyway - they work ! They were set up flat (no toe in) a fair way out into the room (but mostly because of other geer in the way). Playing jazz etc on vinyl on a very good Nottingham turntable/arm/cartridge combo - one of the nicest sounds I have ever heard. The sound stage was at least 2 meters behind the speakers and absolutely no sensation of listening to boxes or sources.
Possibly a bit light in the top end but bass was tight and accurate.
Best sound staging I have ever heard.
Peter from WA (not your USA WA ! - downunder!) |
Vandersteen speakers are VERY well known to have their soundstage presented more in "the back" (and some would say Vandys are a bit "to laid back"). |
You need to find a very rare Tannoy.
It is considered the last of the "gold" monitors . They are coaxial and not really monitors they are about the size of a Klipsch Heresy sort of large. They are called DCN-200s E-mail me for a source -they are very hard to find.
The main point is not staging with these, but tone. A very very English tone warm and non fatguiging. You can always add a Tannoy super tweeter if they are a little to fuzzy for you.
THe other speaker That I for it's incredible staging is the Von Shcweickert VR2s. I use them myself in my WAF sytem. They will make you budget used. When new they were last about $3,000. All soft cone and dome with an adjustable level, rear firing Tweeter/Mid. The other great aspect about them is that despite double woofer mid woofers. they never drop their impedance so I used a small tube amp to drive them. It gives you that option. I believe they were recently discontinued. You might find a dealer with some leftover "close out" stock. Check The VSA site. |
Quad 21 L2
Totem Sttaf
aperion audio Intimus 6T (Internet vendor)
These all sound very nice for around $1500 and wont be quite as in your face as the Monitor Audios. Stay away from metal tweeters if you are struggling with the RS8's treble. Good luck. |
