I had some extra time to burn after work today so I decided to stop by the local B&W dealer. I plopped down for only about 25 minutes (the store was closing in at 5:30, I got there at 5). For reference, I took my usual listening material, which is basically Steely Dan/Donald Fagen. The guy set up them up running full range. I elected to not run them with the sub, so as to just get a feel for the speakers themselves. Cabling was some pretty Audioquest garden hose with batteries
First up was the title track off
The Nightfly. I was immediately astounded by the image these things threw. This was really the most impressive thing about the speakers. The sounstaging and imaging was very big for the size of the speaker. Fagen was right in front of me, sitting as his Rhodes. The speakers started to disappear into the room and push the music toward me. But I said I was disappointed, didn't I? Well, yes. The highs seemed a little bit bright. The room did have some acoustical panels and some absorbing stuff in it, as well as a bookshelf to the right of the setup. There was nothing at the primary reflection points, and I think this might've had something to do with it. Still, compared to my usual listening tool (Sony MDR-7506 headphones, EQ'd according to WmAx's specs for flat response), the 705's seemed bright. I might also attribute this to the fact that I do a lot of listening in my car, which has rolled off highs.
The 705s sounded very nice at moderate levels, barring the slightly bright character. As I cranked it up though, to levels I would normally listen at, the midrange started to sound terrible. It sounded like everything got mushed together. Save for Fagen's voice coming out of the space behind the equipment stack in front of me, all the guitars, pianos, etc. sounded like they had been stuffed into a small box and were not eminating from the speaker in any cohesive way. This was very disappointing. For a speaker like the 705 with that famous yellow Kevlar driver, I would think the midrange would be more open.
Next up was
The Goodbye Look off the same album, probably my favorite track. The cymbals at the beginning were very much localized to the tweeter in the right speaker, but after the rest of the band came in, the soundstage spread out and was very good sounding. I didn't notice the brightness as much on this track, I was probably used to it by now.
The Goodbye Look sounded excellent. The marimba, the rhodes, Fagen's voice, all sounded incredible. My wallet started to get warm in my pocket. I was particularly impressed with the 705's ability to reproduce the low bass drum "thud" that is present on the chorus underneath "I believe I just got the goodbye look". I was thinking that this would be absent and that I'd have to turn on the sub to get the sound.
Then came
Hey Nineteen off the
Gaucho album. Pain. Pain and suffering. Part of my pain and suffering was due to the fact that I had the system cranked for
The Nightfly, which is mastered at a much lower level than
Gaucho. So anyway, as the track started, I'm pretty sure my ears started to bleed. The highs were that sharp. I, of course, being the lazy bastard that I am didn't turn it down, but was still kind of cringing from the sibilance. Now, I realize that the drums are programmed on this album, but this is the only setup I've heard
Hey Nineteen on that sounded so rediculously overpowering on the cymbals. The harmonized vocals on "The Cuervo Gold..." sounded very nice, and opened up into a wide soundstage, but that was the only good thing that happened on this track. The midrange in general still sounded compressed and muffled. The wallet was ice cold after this experience.
The last track of my short listening session was
Reelin' in the Years off the live album
Alive in America. The live presence was there, as was the soundstage, but the midrange thing was still happening too. I was most unimpressed with this. I kept wating for something to happen, for a veil to lift, and the midrange to explode into the room and all of my hopes and dreams would be fulfilled (well not quite, but you get where I'm going with this).
I truly and honestly wanted to like the 705s, but alas, I could not. The insane brightness experienced on a well-recorded album, coupled with the lack of clarity in the midrange just turned me off completely. I'd like to go back soon and listen with the sub hooked up and crossoved over around 80Hz. I have a sneaking suspicion that doing this would help open up the midrange. But it still wouldn't clear up the brightness issue. B&W was on my list of speakers to listen to so that when I get upgraditis (as well as the budget), I can make a decision more easily.
Every time I go out and listen, it's abundantly clear why the mantra when making speaker selections is always "Go Listen!". I'd like to hear from others around here that have listened to the 705s and what they thought.
B&W 705: Disappointing
Linear Mode
