CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

  • December 31, 2015, 11:57:44 AM
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 5

Author Topic: How should I "evaluate" speakers?  (Read 6335 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

DaveBSC

  • Best Korean Sympathizer
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +222/-50
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2092
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2014, 04:43:45 AM »
Quote from: LFF on August 19, 2014, 12:29:08 AM
Magico is probably some of the worst speakers I have ever heard, along with MBL. It seems that the only people who can afford them are rich 50 and 60 year olds who no longer hear anything past 9kHz. Why? Because these speakers are so damn bright!

The original Magico monitors that used the birch ply cabinets were just awful. The tweeter was completely in your face and sounded utterly disjointed from the bass driver, and yet every pro reviewer claimed to have multiple eargasms while listening to them, and basically proclaimed Alon Wolf to be a god. Uh huh.

Some of the new ones are marginally less bad, but that's as far as I can go. I don't even bother attempting to visit MBL rooms. Every time it's some awful music being blasted at about 130dB. Who honestly enjoys that?

Totally agreed on Fritz, he's the man. The recipe is pretty simple, take any two high-end commercial drivers of your choice, stick em in a nice box with a straightforward x-over, done. Considering the retail cost of those drivers, you wouldn't really save that much money if you built them yourself.

I'd throw Klaus and Odyssey in that category as well. Great stuff at very low cost, and a very cool guy.



Logged

Anaxilus

  • Phallus Belligerantus Analmorticus
  • Pirate
  • **
  • Brownie Points: +65535/-65535
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3493
  • TRS jacks must die
    • The Claw
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #11 on: August 19, 2014, 04:54:08 AM »
Magico is crap.  In three years, haven't heard a decent system from them yet.  I've told certain upstream manufacturers to stop using them for shows.

Nola isn't bad, but I've been underwhelmed by them tbh considering all the praise.

Venture speakers off the Phasure DAC were the only high end rig I've really enjoyed out of all the high end stuff so far including Yg and some other six figure speakers.  The new Sony's were decent but not quite there for me when you look at the price.

For the $$, Fritz does nice work and he's a great guy.  Shared a ride to the airport in Denver with him.  Recommended.  Honestly, compared to about 90% of the top end stuff I've heard, I'd just take a pair of Vanatoos over them.
Logged
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Lao Tzu

"The Claw is our master. The Claw chooses who will go or who will stay." - The LGM Community

"You're like a dull knife, just ain't cuttin'. Talking loud, saying nothing." - James Brown

AZ

  • real, live music expert
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +29/-289
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 140
    • Audio Zenith
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #12 on: August 19, 2014, 05:03:13 AM »
I went to 2-3 audio shows per yer for the last four years and critically listen to pretty much every exhibit with my own test tracks. By now I supposedly have heard it all.
   The all time best for me was Vivid Audio G3 Giya which I heard in two different rooms one year apart and last time it was driven by some crappy all in one CD/Tuner/Amp boombox looking thing, still sounded very impressive.
   That same day I also heard its bigger sibling Giya G1 in the same room on the same spot where G3 sounded so good the other year and it sounded very unbalanced. Judging by the looks they supposed to sound similar especially when room is big enough but that wasn't the case, so I am a little puzzled.
   Another good one is our own Acoustic Zen "Crescendo" which consistently sounds better then most if not all speakers at any show I ever visited.
   Did like a few others like the second from TOTL KingSound and  Sanders but one isn't a full range while the other was too beamy and I never was allowed to hear my own content, still from what I could hear from two shows it could be a pretty good speaker.
Logged

AZ

  • real, live music expert
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +29/-289
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 140
    • Audio Zenith
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #13 on: August 19, 2014, 05:09:56 AM »
Ps. I never pay attention to anything that is not full range. For me it's either all or nothing.
Logged

ultrabike

  • Burritous Supremus (and Mexican Ewok)
  • Master
  • Pirate
  • *****
  • Brownie Points: +4226/-2
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2384
  • I consider myself "normal"
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #14 on: August 19, 2014, 05:16:17 AM »
I liked the lowly LS50 from KEF quite a bit. Their other stuff was quite good too. Other stuff was mostly OK, meh, or simply horrible (THE Sho). Few exceptions like the unaffordable Sonys and stuff. I also learned that quite a few folks equalize the crap out of their setups. However, in some cases that only worked to some extent in some small sweet spot. Move a few seats away (like one) & shit would hit the fan.

Heard the Magico, and did not like what I heard at all... But they were playing some very weird shit so who knows. Will put more attention to Fritz next time.
Logged

Hands

  • Pizza the Hutt
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +331/-8
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1591
  • Master of Revelatory Bird Calls and Fine Art
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #15 on: August 19, 2014, 05:36:43 AM »
I've been running the Dayton BR-1 speakers for about 6 years now. Really love them for the $150 I paid: http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-br-1-6-1-2-2-way-bookshelf-monitor-speaker-kit-pair--300-640

I've always wanted to do the upgraded crossover mod, but I don't really know much about this sort of stuff: http://murphyblaster.com/content.php?f=pe_br1.html

Haven't ever really had a huge itch to upgrade the speakers. Can't say that about headphones.
Logged
The other master and I invite you to visit our digital museum of fine art and revelatory bird calls: https://www.facebook.com/SchrodsonkMuseum

AZ

  • real, live music expert
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +29/-289
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 140
    • Audio Zenith
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #16 on: August 19, 2014, 07:43:26 AM »
I checked out all the Sony staff after someone I respect rated them highly. AR1 has decent FR but is soulless, or lifeless, whatever term you prefer and when demoed in a regular room sounds like most regular speakers maybe just a little bit more resolving then others but really, nothing special and I personally would never buy it.  AR2 is worse while AR3 I called it a triple tweeter one (SS-NA2ES) is simply a joke IMO.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2014, 06:32:34 PM by pervenets »
Logged

AZ

  • real, live music expert
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +29/-289
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 140
    • Audio Zenith
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #17 on: August 19, 2014, 08:16:54 AM »
Ultrabike don't get me wrong, I respect your opinion on Sony's you heard but most likely it was in their signature setup: huge, well treated room coupled with the best electronics and only demoed with either their own or kimber's double dsd. Then remember how close to the speakers you were seating, their sweet spot was always only about 6 feet away from the cones. Basically when all these conditions are met only total junk playing absolute garbage won't sound decent. Not saying they are junk but definitely not worth all the rumble created by the press IMO.
Logged

Eric_C

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +13/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 230
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #18 on: August 19, 2014, 08:45:27 AM »
Are studio monitors just a bad idea for small living rooms / bedrooms? I just listened to some Genelecs that were 1k - 1.2k USD, and they sounded really great, plus they're puny and self-powered.
Logged

Chris1967

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Powder Monkey
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +28/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 89
Re: How should I "evaluate" speakers?
« Reply #19 on: August 19, 2014, 09:26:38 AM »
The problem with modern "HiEnd" speakers in my humble opinion is the treble frequency response.

Older top of the range speakers are more involving and certainly more musical to my ears.

I have a pair of B&W 801 Matrix S3's (which i bought second hand) and have yet to find something more pleasing for my taste... (i have grown accustomed to them you see...).

Not that i have not been impressed by many new models, and especially after visiting the HiEnd show in Munich earlier this year, but i still feel that i would not part with the amount they ask for the top TAD model although i found it superb... and by some aspects the best in the show...

Some of the big models cost so much and they do not perform very well... there were too many of them i am afraid and it didn't have to do with the room acoustics...

The big Magico that cost as much as a small house (and you need to place it in a room of the size of a small house...) needed two humongous sub-woofers to perform in a small room? please :)p8...

My advice for someone that is going to start out on a good pair of speakers is to seek out a well acclaimed model of the past... some great models can be found in excellent condition for cheap, and the better amp combinations to match, have already been explored, although many times they are also vintage but they can be attained for cheap.

New hiend speakers are way too expensive... not to mention the acute treble problem...

At the end though, speaker evaluation is a personal preference thing... if you are a keen live music goer, and by live i mean live symphonic orchestra listener... you will choose something different than someone who attends live rock shows... there is of course nothing wrong with either... it is just a matter of personal preference and taste.

I have found some speakers absolute crap, while others have liked them a lot.

Nobody found my 801's crap... especially rock guys after i crank up the volume... :)p13 

PS. i usually listen to classical and jazz...
Logged
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 5
« previous next »