Diw said, "I own B&W 802D's, which have a dip in the 2-5 kHz range"
How do you know this? What program are you using to measure this?
Bob
How do you know this? What program are you using to measure this?
Bob
Room EQ to eliminate the BBC dip?
I read an older but very perceptive post on the thread about smooth speakers:
[09-19-07: Audiokinesis
A speaker can be made to sound smooth by designing in a frequency response dip in the lower treble region (somewhere around 2 kHz to 5 kHz). The Silverlines mentioned by Zapper and Bondmanp often have a pronounced dip in this region and I think that Shahinans do as well, and a lesser dip is present in many British speakers (and I would guess something like that is present in most of the other speakers mentioned in this thread that I'm not familiar with). Maggies have a broader, gentler lower treble dip that smooths the presentation.
As Mrtennis points out, there are tradeoffs involved. To my ears, a speaker with reduced energy in the lower treble region is lacking in upper harmonic energy on many acoustic instruments, and so it doesn't have as much "life". I find myself wanting to turn the volume level up louder to hear the harmonic richness that I expect.
I used to own Quad 63's, and would not describe them as an especially "smooth" and forgiving speaker - they could sound somewhat aggressive with some program material. Quad 57's are smoother, and I haven't heard the latest Quads.
Speakers that are free from peaks in the 2-5 kHz region (whether on-axis or off-axis) are likely to sound fairly smooth without trading off too much upper harmonic energy. But if you want a speaker that sounds smooth even with a harsh recording, you'll need a speaker whose response dips signiifcantly in the lower treble region.
Duke
Audiokinesis]
I own B&W 802D's, which have a dip in the 2-5 kHz range. I use an Anthem D2V with ARC, and am currently correcting room response up to 5K. So I am eliminating the dip with room correction software. Kind of wonder what people think about this issue. I understand it's a personal preference, but do you think I am changing the "personality" of the speaker for the better or worse?
This also raises for me a second question, which is what speakers would be best to have when used in a system with room EQ. Obviously if you use a sub and room EQ, the bass extension/accuracy of the speaker is less important. I guess one would want even on-axis and off-axis frequency response above the level at which you stop applying the correction. Which high end speakers are the best for this? I am often amazed that some very expensive speakers don't seem to do this well, when you look at their in-room response.
[09-19-07: Audiokinesis
A speaker can be made to sound smooth by designing in a frequency response dip in the lower treble region (somewhere around 2 kHz to 5 kHz). The Silverlines mentioned by Zapper and Bondmanp often have a pronounced dip in this region and I think that Shahinans do as well, and a lesser dip is present in many British speakers (and I would guess something like that is present in most of the other speakers mentioned in this thread that I'm not familiar with). Maggies have a broader, gentler lower treble dip that smooths the presentation.
As Mrtennis points out, there are tradeoffs involved. To my ears, a speaker with reduced energy in the lower treble region is lacking in upper harmonic energy on many acoustic instruments, and so it doesn't have as much "life". I find myself wanting to turn the volume level up louder to hear the harmonic richness that I expect.
I used to own Quad 63's, and would not describe them as an especially "smooth" and forgiving speaker - they could sound somewhat aggressive with some program material. Quad 57's are smoother, and I haven't heard the latest Quads.
Speakers that are free from peaks in the 2-5 kHz region (whether on-axis or off-axis) are likely to sound fairly smooth without trading off too much upper harmonic energy. But if you want a speaker that sounds smooth even with a harsh recording, you'll need a speaker whose response dips signiifcantly in the lower treble region.
Duke
Audiokinesis]
I own B&W 802D's, which have a dip in the 2-5 kHz range. I use an Anthem D2V with ARC, and am currently correcting room response up to 5K. So I am eliminating the dip with room correction software. Kind of wonder what people think about this issue. I understand it's a personal preference, but do you think I am changing the "personality" of the speaker for the better or worse?
This also raises for me a second question, which is what speakers would be best to have when used in a system with room EQ. Obviously if you use a sub and room EQ, the bass extension/accuracy of the speaker is less important. I guess one would want even on-axis and off-axis frequency response above the level at which you stop applying the correction. Which high end speakers are the best for this? I am often amazed that some very expensive speakers don't seem to do this well, when you look at their in-room response.
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