I guess the best way to approach this is to find what you would like to improve on from your Tylers.
I heard a couple of GMA speakers last year, and personally would rather have the Tylers (no slight against GMA intended).
**Disclosure: I should point out my potential bias as a Tyler owner, so take my opinion as just that -- based on *my* tastes.
If you point out the deficiencies you feel the Taylos have, it will increase the chance of the potential alternatives suggested being more relevant to addressing your sound preferences.
Also, is your price range between 2-3K? I have heard a lot of monitors in that range if true, so maybe I could make some suggestions once your preferences are known...
Regards,
---Dave |
hey, thanks for the response. I am looking in the 2-3k range. I am currently using my tyler ref. monitors with a velodyne SPL-800 subwoofer so bass is not really a concern in the monitors. I am using a jolida jd-100 cdp, and Onix sp3 integrated. The main complaint that I have with the tylers is that they sound a little muffled and not as open as I would like. I would also like a speaker that sounds a little smoother. I know these are all rather subjective terms. Let me know if you need me to explicate more. thanks again, and let me know if you have any other suggestions. i am also interested in maybe a used pair of wilson benesch ARCs, Zu tones, reference 3A decapos. |
I heard the Callisto and it was stunning, a very good speaker, with no box coloration at all, if I were ever to get a monitor it would be hard to forget about the Green Mountain audition. |
Hi
I think maybe the problem you find, said, sound a little and not so open, is due to the equipment, cable, room acoustics and not just the speakers.
I have heard the Tylers and they deliver music very close to the source. They are great speakers for the money and also compared to more expensive ones. I would start checking my room acoustics, the cables and at the end my source(power, cdp). Because I think Tylers are very open and they dont sound muffled not when I have listen to them.
But different places, differente gear, different sound
Best in your quest
ALAN |
Linaeum66
Sorry for butting in here, but, It seems to me that if your Taylos sound "muffled" and "not open", then something is wrong somewhere in the chain. I own Tyler speakers (Linbrooks and F-1 Freedom) and if my speakers are representative of Ty's "sound", then muffled and not open are not characteristics of TA speakers. You might check your ICs or a possible malfunction somewhere along the line.
Just a thought.
good luck |
In your price range, I would suggest auditioning the Callisto's. They are a stunning speaker. |
Hmm... The muffled comment in particular really has me thrown... Is it possible that the sub crossover is too high (or the sub SPL level is too high)? Positioning could also have an effect on how "open" their sound is (I confess that they sounded plenty open when I was using them as my mains)... Not questioning what you are hearing at all, but just checking all the possibilities... I would hate for you to spend any more money if a little bit of free tweaking would work. :-)
As for the smoother comment, maybe you should look into the Vienna Acoustics or ProAc lines. I confess I did not like either, but they would definitely be characterized as "smoother" than the Tylers to my ears. Maybe they are closer to your preferences.
The dark horse candidate in your price range that I *did* like a lot (or at least I liked their big brothers) are the Merlin TSM MMs. I loved the sound of the VSM MX floorstanders, and the mini-monitors are supposed to deliver 90+% of the sound. They are smooth too, but unlike the VAs and ProAcs, I did not feel they lacked any emotion or detail. They may be a good candidate at 2.8K/pr. The floorstanders were incredible.
Regards,
---Dave |
Thanks for the input. I may be exaggerating a little on the Tyler's qualities that I described. I'm not saying that they sound like a blanket is in front of them or anything. I'm just feeling the upgrade bug lately and I feel like the tylers may be my first victim. I'd just like a speaker that is a little more open sounding and smoother. |
I agree, if I can fix this problem with some tweaking, I would prefer that to shelling out some more cash, as I am a broke grad student. I think the settings on the sub are OK, however the speakers are rather close to the wall (they are both in corners, about 1ft from the back wall and 1ft from the side wall. I will move them out a bit and see if it offers any improvements. I will also check out the Merlins that you mentioned.
thanks |
Call Tyler if you want to custom tune the sound of your Taylos, he can do simple adjustment to crossover to increase/decrease treble energy and make speaker sound sympathetic to your tastes/system. I had this done to mine and love the results, in my case increasing treble energy.
I own both Taylo Monitors and GMA Europas, would love to have some GMA Callistos also. No way would I part with my Taylos however, you won't find better drivers in a speaker even remotley close to its price. |
After looking at pictures of your room and the current position of your speakers I think part of your problem is your speaker placement. Get them out from the corners and face them so they fire towards the back of your room with no toe in, listen for a week or so then work on dialing in the toe. In regards to your room treatments I would cover the TV with a blanket and place a few panels behind the tv and also place a few panels on each side of the room at your first reflection points. Any speaker placed in your current position will most likely yeild the same results and working on this cost no $$$. Just my 2 cents! |
If you try tweaking first. I had a similar problem in a small room that was greatly helped by pulling the speakers out from the back wall and keeping the distance from the back and sidewalls different. I went to George Cardas' website and followed his formula. This should help with the muffled and closed sound, but I am not sure how the current setup contributes to the non-smooth sound. |
I have moved the speakers out from the wall (slightly, as I don't really have much space in my apt), and there was a slight increase in the width of the soundstage. However, they still sound a little muddy and obscured. I think I am going to at least audition some other speakers in order to find out what the problem is. |
