Fun day auditioning high end speakers (1 Viewer)

[gregD]

Of the brands named, I personally like the Monitor Audio's... a musical thumbs-up for Totem and Mirage as well.

If you're on the fence between the less-costly but no-return Veritas and the audition-friendly MA Gold's, try auditioning the MA Silver line... to my ears, they give up only a little quality for considerably less money... they still deliver a ton of detail and smoothness.

 

[Jason GT]

Mike GR - good post. (FWIW I own neither B&W or Paradigm, except a Paradigm sub - and often if two speakers sound like crap in the same setup, it is sometimes the setup).

Anyways Jason (great name BTW ) , try to take note of the similarity of environments between the showrooms and your listening room. Since you seem to be particularly wary of brightness, consider
- carpet - is your room carpeted?
- walls - do you have bare drywall? lots of furniture? windows?

Also, I'm sure that others on this forum would have more informed notes on what can make a room "bright".

 

[Jeff Aguilar]

Jason,

I have the Veritas 2.1's with dual 16/46pci's running in my house. I have that great room area that you are describing and the 2.1's fill my room quite well. I do not think that you are going to have any problems with the 2.3's filling that room. What are you going to use to power them? I have mine bi-amped with Parasound 855's, which are 85 watts a channel, and they sound GREAT. Check out my website, I just started putting it together if you want to get an idea as to what my room is like.

Jeff Aguilar

 

[paulBAW]

Hearing your problems with having a proper audition of the Polk Audio LSi's is very sad. Why in the world Polk Audio let's this happen is beyond me. The LSi series of speaker is far from perfect, having said that it can do certain things both the Veritas and Studio's could only dream of. I found the Veritas and Paradigms to have better mid-bass. But the tweeter of the LSi's makes it a much more revealing speaker. Vocals and strings come out MUCH more lifelike without any strain. The overall imaging and soundstage of the LSi's is much better imho as well.

Why Polk Audio continues to "hide" these speakers from higher end retailers is beyond me. Most retailers that do carry this line of speaker usually use poor to average electronics to send up the chain. These speakers continue to get glowing reviews time and time again but nobody can find a place that uses proper electronics or has knowledge of how these speakers could perform. What boggles my mind even further is that because these speakers can be so revealing and drive at a 4ohm load you really MUST have the proper electronics to demo them.

Over at Club Polk numerous LSi owners have pondered at why Polk Audio supports sub par vendors in favor of outlets that could really show people how truely great they can sound. I don't blame you for giving up so quickly on the line. The brand name hasn't stuck in peoples minds like the Veritas and Studios. And this will continue untill Polk Audio takes matters into their own hands and push them into higher end markets. The only reason I continued to pursue a decent audition was on the recommendation of a friend who at the time was using FABaudio speakers (8k CDN) and was told that the LSi speakers were one of the best bargains on the market today from a reviewer who had spent time with them.

 

[Carlo_M]

If Jason states 'brand x' sounds like crap to his ears, why can you not accept it?

Some folks just can't stand it when somebody refers to the very speakers they own (or have heard and hold in high regard) as 'sounding like crap' and the feel compelled to defend their own choices/opinions.

Hmmm, seeing as to how I don't own any of the brands he listed (I own MB Quarts and Energy C6s, the same ones he ended up buying) I hope you aren't referring to me.

Maybe it's the use of the term "crap" that I'm kind of wondering about. For me, crap would not even be used to describe Bose (horridly overpriced, mediocre speakers). "Crap" is the stuff the guys in the White Van try to sell you for $80 and that are "extras from his friend's factory."

I can fully appreciate if he doesn't like one brand or the other. Heck, I don't like B&Ws or Polks. Still I wouldn't use "crap" to describe them, that's just a really strong word with very negative connotations.

That's the only reason I questioned the dealer setup. If his definition of crap is a bit lighter in tone than mine, as in he didn't like it or preferred the Energys to them, that's cool. Crap for me just means, basically, sounds like sh#t - which I've never heard any of the high end stuff sound like (unless it had a blown driver or tweeter or something).

 

[JasonIs]

Jeff, very nice setup, my room is larger than yours though plus it has vaulted ceilings. I bought athena speakers, harman kardon 525 receiver from best buy and circuit city, and i am taking it all back in favor of better equipment, so i am in the market for an amp and processor to go along with the new speakers. Carlo, sorry man, i dont mean to upset anyone hear but in all honesty the paradigm didnt sound good at all and being $2400, i would say they are crap for that much money, maybe if they were under $1000 for the pair, that may be worth it. and as with the B&W wich i didnt like either, sometimes people see a more expensive speaker and automatically assume it sounds better, especially those with money to blow. It didnt to me, maybe it does to you. And yes I really wanted to hear the polk lsi15, i drove many miles to hear it only to find out the dude said they werent hooked up and to come back in a couple days. funny, oh well.

 

[Carlo_M]

Jason, no need to apologize at all to me. If you think crap is appropriate descriptor, then by all means! Just beware that in forums, words like that do tend to generate the defense reflex from the owners of said brands. You're certainly entitled to your opinion though, just beware that when you use words like crap, as opposed to "dislike" or "don't see what the buzz is about" or even "overpriced" they will tend to trigger that response.

And I certainly wouldn't pay MSRP for the B&Ws (haven't heard the Paradigms). My speakers MSRP for $2K but can be had for $1150 - I would buy these (obviously I did buy these) before the B&Ws at that price.

Like you, though, I let my ears do the buying, not the hype, pricing or name-recognition. Luckily though, I'm on good terms with Yawa (my local dealer) and I know their setup and room is not a deciding factor when auditioning as most stuff sounds good when they set it up, and it's up to the listener to fine tune and make decisions with their own demo material, etc.

 

[Alex Prosak]

Exactly Carlo! The reason I suggested improper setup or component synergy was the use of "crap". Having seen many dealer setups, I know many are far from ideal. I don't own either B&W or Paradigm but I have heard them and while they aren't what I was looking for I definitely wouldn't say they sounded like "crap". As noted above, I reserve crap for the likes of white van and B**e.

 

[Topher]

Jason, A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms is an EXCELLENT ALBUM! I also use that very CD to test speakers and equipment with, it has such a broad range of sound. This post didn't really go with the flow of "arguing" about what speakers are better, but I have to comment on such good musical taste!

 

[Steve_D]

Mike_Gr,

What I saw were people suggesting reasons WHY some highly regarded, and excellent speakers, may have sounded bad, other than they are bad speakers, which they clearly aren't. I would bet dollars to donuts, particularly since they were at the same dealer, that they were driven by suboptimal electronics or had poor room interactions.

Those who responded have not said anyhting is better than so and so, just that Studio 100's and B&W Nautilus or CDM (I assume in that price range) clearly and without doubt do not sound like crap, given equal opportunity to perform. In fact, saying a highly regarded speaker sounds like crap clearly indicates an experience level that needs some pointers about speaker auditioning factors. Thus, the pointer came. No ego issue at all.

IMHO, my Paradigm Studio 40/SVS/B&K combo whips up on the Dynaudio Master Evidence/Krell combo I heard when shopping, but that doesn't make $100,000 worth of set up crap.

 

[Ron_L]

The Studio 100's kick ass. Hands down. If I had the cash I would have bought those instead of the 60's.

 

[Michael R Price]

See? On one hand the speakers may actually not be your cup of tea, but on the other hand the setup you auditioned didn't properly present them. I think it's a combination of both. Brighter speakers make it easier to hear the ugly distortion from a crappy receiver driven too hard. It's hard to believe all of your observations correspond to qualities of the speakers... for example, Klipsch Reference are the last speakers I'd expect to distort on loud passages.

Stick with the Energy speakers or whatever sounded best to you, but keep in mind that a more forward speaker isn't a bad thing by itself, just that it's more difficult setup-wise to get a pleasant sound from them.

 

[Mike_Gr]

Steve,

In fact, saying a highly regarded speaker sounds like crap clearly indicates an experience level that needs some pointers about speaker auditioning factors.

I think what it cleary indicates is Jason's personal opinion....nothing more.

I suppose if there existed a speaker you and I have both auditioned and I found it to be 'crap' while you very much liked it....then it must be an indication of my experience level and I would surely need pointers (from you no less) about speaker auditioning factors. Surely it wouldn't mean that we have different tastes and/or opinions.

I can use the 'highly regarded' Rockets as an example. Some people hate them while others love them. There is no right or wrong to the equation. Opinions are just opinions...not facts.

 

[Ted_Wern]

You can not tell what any speakers sound like till you set them up in your enviroment. I will admit when I heard the Stusio 100's I was a little dissapointed. I lucked out because the place I shop let me audition them before I made the purchase. I took them home set them up, threw in the "Nightfly" by Donald Fagan and sat on my couch in amazement till the cd was done. Listened to a few others, got off the couch and bought them.