shoe, I have the same problem in my living room setup - bright room (room treatments out of the question!) and Adcom 555II amp which I tend to agree with the general consensus is on the bright side. I chose to look for new speakers and my two favorites for combined sound and looks were Vienna acoustics Bach Grand and Quad 22L. Dali Ikon 6 was a close third. I bought a pair of VA Bach Grands and am very happy with them. To my ears, soft dome tweeters are the way to go - more natural sounding and non-fatiguing in general. |
Spekers offering treble setup +-3 db. That should take care of it. BC Acoustic A series offer 5 tweeter settings, +3, +1.5, 0, -1.5, -3 dB..check the A1 and A2.5, maximum WAF too. |
You have received excellent answers to your question as you asked it. There are other problems that can create harsh bright sounds coming from your speakers. Cd player/ preamp gain mismatch comes to mind. Not saying thats your problem but take your time and think about causes from all angles as the posters mentioning cables have inferred. |
Very tricky, you want small, good bass and smooth!
Sonus Fabers family would be ok, used of course, spendors are ok....these are very general answers of course....but get a pair of Ribbon based speakers and dont come much smoother than that, dont get duped as well sometimes.
I tried the some chinese ribbon design and they were bad...like really bad, bright and brittle. So design choice is vital, try a pair of used Apogees, you will die and come back alive. Its that smooth and detailed. Never hard on the ears ever not matter what the recordings are, even the original Queen stuff sounds good so.....
Good luck |
Spica TC-60s and Martin Logan Aerius i's. I have both. Both have slightly rolled-off, non-fatiguing but nicely detailed treble. The Spicas are a bit more rolled-off than the Aeriuses. Both offer superb imaging. I've added a Behringer DSP8024 digital EQ to the Aeriuses, and it's brightened them up substantially, as well as smoothing out and extending the bass response. I like the EQ effect, but you might prefer the Aeriuses straight up. Got my five-year-old used pair in excellent condition for $1,000. My living room is pretty bright, with sparse furniture, plaster walls, and a rug over a hardwood floor. |
Yes that would be speakers that use the Seas'. |
Dynaudio Contour S3.4 should fit your bill perfectly. Dynaudio makes arguably the best tweeter in the world. |
If I could make a suggestion; if your room is bright as you suggest due to highly refelctive surfaces, I would suggest looking for a speaker that has less dispersion, therefore avoiding the bounce in the first place. You might look into a ZU Druid, it might have what you are looking for.
Good Luck |
Polk LSi 15, no joke. Save yourself some money and buy music. My recommendation would be the amazing Polk Audio LSi 15 speakers with the incredibly refined Ring Radiator tweeter. Read up on them here and elsewhere. OK so you have to live with a Polk badge, but these are a STEAL for the money, I doubt you would find anything as complete or as better, both in build and sonics, than these slim beauties for anywhere around your budget. And your friend's jaws will drop when they find out how good they sound for so little money. They sound huge and have a wide soudstage. Heck, put 'em in the basement for the kids if you don't like 'em ! |
I will second Flg2001's suggestion of a soft dome (non-metalic) tweeter . It worked for me . |
I would recommend a pair of Vienna Acoustics Mozarts, not very bright and plenty of bottom end to balance out any room interaction on the highs. Also you could just try a warm amp like a Conrad Johnson, or warm cables like Cardas Golden Cross....this would likely tame down any speaker. |
Spendor for sure. Perhaps Audio Physic Virgos (but these need to be positioned well away from walls. |
Tsk, tsk, Gonglee... Lowthers are hardly relaxed up high + they cost a fortune as drive units (more when included in spkrs of course).
I would suggest (as others have) designs dating to early-mid '90s. Many spkrs were "laid back" then |
You can try to cover your tweeter with a cloth and see if you like the sound - some people are doing that.
You can make attractive looking room treatments - if you really wnat good sounds, that is the only way to go.
Lowther speakers might be what you are looking for. |
Loontoon, another option is Triangle speakers with Onkyo amps. The trick is to mount the system upside down.
So instead of being excruciatingly bright, the sound will be very bass heavy with little H-F energy. Don't know why more people don't do this for bright systems. |
Definetely give the Vandersteens a listen. It's hard to imagine your not buying them if you do... |
Carolina Audio
JTM's
They don't need to be played LOUD to sound alive.
They can be placed flat up to a wall also.
GTF |
Loon,
I get the humor in the Klipsch answer, but I always thought that Adcom made relatively warm amps. Am I wrong?
Greg |
two options:
1.- Look for soft dome tweeter designs, Totem for example.
2.- Try smooth cables (IC and spkr) pure copper, avoid silver or silver/gold, Harmonix could be an option.
Hope this helps
Fernando |
Oh no, you want Klipsch and Adcom amps all around,
just kidding,
happy easter everyone
das loon |
Seems like Newbee and I have similar tastes... Tyler and Spendor were the first two that came to mind in that order. I own and recommend the Tylers, but I also loved the Spendor line when I heard them recently.
---Dave |
You could save quite a bit of money by adding some Cardas interconnects, which typically provide a warmer presentation. There are other cables also, but the Cardas are the ones that come to mind. |
Single driver beams above ~3,000hz and eliminates most HF room interactions.
Consider Bob Brines FT-200 or Carolinaaudio Jordans. |
I second the Tyler Linbrook Monitors. Those SEAS Millenium tweeters are fantastic. |
Aerial 7B's might be something to consider. |
Vandersteen makes some of the most highly listenable fatigue-free speakers available. They are one of the best values in high-end speakers. You could buy 2Ces new or 3As used with your budget. Used Audio Physic Virgos would also be a nice choice. |
Spendors come to mind, as do Tylers which would be my first choice. The Tylers are very detailed and revealing but are not bright. In fact they might err a tad on the warm side of neutral. Look at the Linbrook Monitors, which used, are in your price range. In the Spendor line I would look at the models prior to the 'e' designation for a slightly softer presentation. |
I don't know exactly what you are trying to describe.
I don't know of a speaker manufacturer with a "relaxed high freq." Think about the only way you can relax high freq. is to buy a equalizer. Suggest a Behringer Ultracurve Pro DEQ2496. |
