tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 So does anyone know of speakers that are revealing of details, textures, decay, etc. but at the same time do not sound bad on your typical modern recordings when turned up (alternative music and the like)? I had someone who is new to audio over to hear a pair of Pioneer speakers (actually TAD but a marketing thing). When tunred up with so so recordings, they sounded bright. No subwoofer in a large room did not help. Very different than what I am used to hearing from this exact setup with good recordings. We pulled out a pair of older B&Ws that I have that are much more forgiving, but you can hear what was lost on the well recorded stuff. They still sound great, but do not have that last 10% that the TADs have. To Klipsch folks, I'd say the difference was like K Horns (the TADs) to JBL L100s (but the B&Ws are significantly better than the L 100s, especially in the midrange). In my experiance this is how it works. Anyone know of a speaker that can do it all? I honestly do not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Sounds like an oxymoron to me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Anyone know of a speaker that can do it all? No, I don't think there is one. As always, it's about compromise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 So does anyone know of speakers that are revealing of details, textures, decay, etc. but at the same time do not sound bad on your typical modern recordings when turned up (alternative music and the like)? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 what your friend is looking for are tone controls. The sword edge cuts on both sides. stop blaming the messenger. Best regards Moray James 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 When we put the B&Ws in, his music did sound good. The B&Ws are about the best speakers that I have heard for poor recordings, they have a great midrange and nice bass, but do not sound harsh on the poor stuff. I did point out that you tend to turn less revealing speakers up more, because subconsciously you are trying to hear everything. On the revelaing speakers you do not have that impulse because you can hear all of the details at about 75 db or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 what your friend is looking for are tone controls. The sword edge cuts on both sides. stop blaming the messenger. Best regards Moray James I honestly never thought of that. I do not use an EQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 If you use loudspeakers that have lots of modulation and compression distortion to begin with (i.e., cone-type direct radiators), bad recordings that add more distortion may not sound as bad as on lower distortion loudspeakers. However, you lose detail, texture, and good decays on everything that is above low-level conversation loudness. Welcome to single driver full-range loudspeakers, a.k.a., Lowther, Fostex, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 When we put the B&Ws in, his music did sound good. The B&Ws are about the best speakers that I have heard for poor recordings, they have a great midrange and nice bass, but do not sound harsh on the poor stuff. I think of B&W as having a somewhat muted transient response compared with horn tweeters such as Klipsch's. Just a subjective impression, but it seems to be an important aspect of speaker sound. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) What happened yesterday Chris... I take it not good things? I think your TAD's would make bad recordings sound worse, and better recordings sound better... if that makes any sense. I always use EQ in very careful moderation... specially in a modern home filling with modes and reflections. that's one thing that makes having a receiver with room correction and multiple presets good... I can switch between those presets to suite each style of music I am listening to. I am with others on Bow/wilk... I was not impressed by them when listening at the critical stage. in the background I am sure they okay. Did you let the guy listen to the Palladiums? Sounds like maybe you need some big horns with 2" drivers... but I don't think that room is big enough personally for something like a Jubilee. Edited December 4, 2014 by Schu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckAb3 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Some of the higher end Focals are pretty darn good and worth a listen, but my experience with them is too limited to make any conclusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted December 4, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 4, 2014 Which TAD's were they? What was the music/band? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Anyone know of a speaker that can do it all? I honestly do not. Nor do I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 If you use loudspeakers that have lots of modulation and compression distortion to begin with (i.e., cone-type direct radiators), bad recordings that add more distortion may not sound as bad as on lower distortion loudspeakers. However, you lose detail, texture, and good decays on everything that is above low-level conversation loudness. I think some speaker makers try to use "musical-sounding" distortion to mask or veil bad sounding recordings. I can't go there, because I want to hear detail and clean dynamics. I think of B&W as having a somewhat muted transient response compared with horn tweeters such as Klipsch's. Just a subjective impression, but it seems to be an important aspect of speaker sound. I agree. I am with others on Bow/wilk... I was not impressed by them when listening at the critical stage. in the background I am sure they okay. And that has been true of B&W v.s. Klipsch since at least 1982. That year I spent many hours comparing a B & W top-of-the-line speaker (I think it was the 801 F) to a pair of Klipschorns in the same room. The B & Ws cost much more, and required about 100 times the power (really). The B & Ws were far more forgiving & "mellow," but the Khorns were more detailed, had a much cleaner attack, and brought other customers into the room to listen (yes, the SPL was as close to being identical as the store owner and I could get it). You see which speakers I ended up with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 (edited) I feel like a non-horn soft dome tweeter could be a key ingredient in this. The little minimus 7's I have brought this to mind. Edited December 5, 2014 by mustang guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 The B&Ws that I have right now are the DM3000s from the 1980s. They were just below the 800s of that era and are great spekaers. Much better than the JBL "L Series" 100's etc of that time (I have owned several of the JBLs). I sold my 800s years ago, and while I agree that they do not have the impact of the K Horns, I will not trash them - well, they do take too much power...). The 3000s have a soft dome tweeter and are much more forgiving, but they do give up detail to the TADs. They definately sounded better on many of the recordings, but he could clearly see they they gave up detail to the TADs. I think that he would be happy with a good Marantz or Denon receiver and a mid level speaker that is more forgiving. A high end speaker will not do what he wants (right now at least) and there is nothing wrong with that. For DWI who asked, the TADs are Pioneer S-1EX speakers, which have a Pioneer badge on the grill, and TAD badges on the actual speaker. These were very highly rated speakers (designed by TAD / Andrew Jones) and I really like them, I just need to thin the heard as I accidentally wound up with a decent surround system that we use most of the time right now. FWIW, here is a Stereophile review: http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/307piosex/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted December 5, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 5, 2014 For DWI who asked, the TADs are Pioneer S-1EX speakers, which have a Pioneer badge on the grill, and TAD badges on the actual speaker. These were very highly rated speakers (designed by TAD / Andrew Jones) and I really like them, I just need to thin the heard as I accidentally wound up with a decent surround system that we use most of the time right now. That is why I asked, those TAD CTS coaxial drivers have sounded incredible in everything I have heard so I am thinking itis his music. Maybe he has never heard it in a quality system. Either that or he has hypersensitive hearing, those CTS are supposed to go up to 100khz. Did he bring over CDs, audio files? Im sure they wete hi res lossless, but just checking. Knowing the hardware you have Im thinking it is his music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 If we want every last bit we have to except every last bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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