Need warm speakers for home theatre

[Georgethedog]

As I have gotten older my ears tend to ache with speakers that are bright, forward, and punchy. I am building a new home theatre and am looking to make a 7.2.1 system. For AV receiver warmth I think I will be buying the Marantz Cinema 50. I already have a nice REL subwoofer. I need everything else. Any suggestions on warmer laid back-ish speakers. My budget for front right, left, and center would be around $4,000. Wall and ceiling speakers aren't too expensive so I am not worrying about those in my budget. Thoughts??? Thanks!!!

 

[lovinthehd]

Why are you buying the Marantz 50 particularly? Which Rel? I'd prefer a neutral speaker I could eq to taste/need.

 

[Georgethedog]

Why are you buying the Marantz 50 particularly? Which Rel? I'd prefer a neutral speaker I could eq to taste/need.

REL T9
I have a couple Marantz stereo receivers and have always had good luck with them. The Marantz Cinema 50 is supposed to be a fairly warm amp, and I like the A/B architecture. But, I am open to suggestions! Thanks!

 

[lovinthehd]

REL T9
I have a couple Marantz stereo receivers and have always had good luck with them. The Marantz Cinema 50 is supposed to be a fairly warm amp, and I like the A/B architecture. But, I am open to suggestions! Thanks!

First suggestion, avr brands aren't particularly important (particularly Marantz vs Denon since they share so much under common ownership). Rel is overpriced for the relatively uninteresting subs they tend to be, especially the smaller ones (unless you have a particularly small room perhaps). Choose the avr on the feature set you need, try zkelectronics.com to compare details.

 

[Georgethedog]

First suggestion, avr brands aren't particularly important (particularly Marantz vs Denon since they share so much under common ownership). Rel is overpriced for the relatively uninteresting subs they tend to be, especially the smaller ones (unless you have a particularly small room perhaps). Choose the avr on the feature set you need, try zkelectronics.com to compare details.

None of this answers my initial post question. I am choosing speakers not an AV receiver.

 

[lovinthehd]

None of this answers my initial post question. I am choosing speakers not an AV receiver.

It does, though. I think you've got a misconception about how to choose gear for some sort of perceived "warmth". Good neutral speakers can adapt to your room better than the other way around, and it is most likely your room as well as speakers getting in the way of good speaker performance.

ps Warm speakers are simply those usually rolling off high frequencies a bit, maybe a slight emphasis of lower frequencies.

 

[Georgethedog]

No misconception. Let me restate. I am looking for speakers that are not harsh, bright, or punchy (forget the warmth usage). For instance, I know I cannot listen to Cantons anymore because they are very bright and give me an ear ache. In the same room I can listen to my Acoustic Energy, Aerials, and Living Sounds Audio (LSA) with no difficulty for hours. The theatre rooms I have built in my past two houses have been well done acoustically with properly placed treatments and defussers; and I suspect my new room that will be the same because that is who I am. I also had to sell my old Dahlquist DQ-10's (one of my all-time favorite speakers), because they became to harsh for me as I have gotten older (61). My DQ-8's are still just fine. I've been an audiophile for over 30 years, so I know what I am looking for in sound... the problem is there are no hi fi shops anywhere near me to demo, so I have to watch YouTube or try to get suggestions on forums.

If you think it's good neutral speakers I need then give me some examples. Bedtime... I'll be back tomorrow. Thanks for responding to my thread!

 

[lovinthehd]

No misconception. Let me restate. I am looking for speakers that are not harsh, bright, or punchy (forget the warmth usage). For instance, I know I cannot listen to Cantons anymore because they are very bright and give me an ear ache. In the same room I can listen to my Acoustic Energy, Aerials, and Living Sounds Audio (LSA) with no difficulty for hours. The theatre rooms I have built in my past two houses have been well done acoustically with properly placed treatments and defussers; and I suspect my new room that will be the same because that is who I am. I also had to sell my old Dahlquist DQ-10's (one of my all-time favorite speakers), because they became to harsh for me as I have gotten older (61). My DQ-8's are still just fine. I've been an audiophile for over 30 years, so I know what I am looking for in sound... the problem is there are no hi fi shops anywhere near me to demo, so I have to watch YouTube or try to get suggestions on forums.

If you think it's good neutral speakers I need then give me some examples. Bedtime... I'll be back tomorrow. Thanks for responding to my thread!

What I'm saying is your subjective opinions are mostly yours and related to your experiences in particular rooms. EQ may be a better approach to your current hearing issues.

 

[dlaloum]

In this day and age of selectable/tunable "target curves" - the voicing of the speakers becomes less important.

I'm not keen on HF forward designs... but given the utter triviality of controlling it with the target curve, it seems to me that the voicing of the speaker has become a minor thing rather than the core thing it once was.

Warmth - is usually a slight mid-bass rise, tame the brightness with a nice smooth rolloff to the target curve.

This way you can focus more on the distribution pattern of the speaker, any resonance flaws in the design (which cannot be remedied with EQ), and getting something that is low distortion and matches your amp well (SPL / Impedance handling capabilities etc...)

If it isn't going to be used in traditional (vintage?) pure stereo.... then I think it is the wrong place to focus.

Having said that - I like the voicing of my speakers, and use their "profile" as the target curve for my heights and surrounds... so the timbre is well matched, and minimal changes are made to the mains

 

[little wing]

As I have gotten older my ears tend to ache with speakers that are bright, forward, and punchy. I am building a new home theatre and am looking to make a 7.2.1 system. For AV receiver warmth I think I will be buying the Marantz Cinema 50. I already have a nice REL subwoofer. I need everything else. Any suggestions on warmer laid back-ish speakers. My budget for front right, left, and center would be around $4,000. Wall and ceiling speakers aren't too expensive so I am not worrying about those in my budget. Thoughts??? Thanks!!!

Try def tech speakers. You can normally listen to them at BB.

 

[DigitalDawn]

Triad Silver LCRs. They also come in InWall, OnWall and InCeiling configurations. Triad will paint the speaker/grill any color you like.

Triad Silver Series In-Room LCR Speaker - 6.5" Woofer (Painted) | Snap One

www.snapav.com

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

As I have gotten older my ears tend to ache with speakers that are bright, forward, and punchy. I am building a new home theatre and am looking to make a 7.2.1 system. For AV receiver warmth I think I will be buying the Marantz Cinema 50. I already have a nice REL subwoofer. I need everything else. Any suggestions on warmer laid back-ish speakers. My budget for front right, left, and center would be around $4,000. Wall and ceiling speakers aren't too expensive so I am not worrying about those in my budget. Thoughts??? Thanks!!!

In general, "warm" sounding speakers will have frequency responses that are accurate and taper downward after 10kHz. They might also have more bass, which many people feel makes it sound "warmer".

So in general, that usually eliminates DefTech, GoldenEar, Paradigm, B&W, since these usually have a +5dB peak around the 10kHz region.

Try speakers like KEF, RBH, PSB, Revel, Focal, Monitor Audio.

I think a lot of people listen to DefTech/GoldenEar big towers with built-in subs and might think they are not "bright" at all, but it might be because these speakers have a lot of bass, which could make it seem "warm".

But if your hearing is super SENSITIVE, I would audition all speakers as long as possible to be sure.

 

[Georgethedog]

In general, "warm" sounding speakers will have frequency responses that are accurate and taper downward after 10kHz. They might also have more bass, which many people feel makes it sound "warmer".

So in general, that usually eliminates DefTech, GoldenEar, Paradigm, B&W, since these usually have a +5dB peak around the 10kHz region.

Try speakers like KEF, RBH, PSB, Revel, Focal, Monitor Audio.

I think a lot of people listen to DefTech/GoldenEar big towers with built-in subs and might think they are not "bright" at all, but it might be because these speakers have a lot of bass, which could make it seem "warm".

But if your hearing is super SENSITIVE, I would audition all speakers as long as possible to be sure.

Thanks. This issue almost always seems to be with metal tweeters (and recently ribbon), so soft dome at least seem to be the way to go and are used on all the speakers I have that don't hurt my ears. My problem is there is nothing close to me to be able to audition. The days of hifi shops where I live are gone. I suppose I will have to drive 3 hours to Chicago... Thanks.

 

[kini]

Thanks. This issue almost always seems to be with metal tweeters (and recently ribbon), so soft dome at least seem to be the way to go and are used on all the speakers I have that don't hurt my ears. My problem is there is nothing close to me to be able to audition. The days of hifi shops where I live are gone. I suppose I will have to drive 3 hours to Chicago... Thanks.

If you have a good set of headphones you can use Crutchfield's speaker compare tool. It would or could give you a general idea of how a particular speaker is going to sound.

 

[Golfx]

Thanks. This issue almost always seems to be with metal tweeters (and recently ribbon), so soft dome at least seem to be the way to go and are used on all the speakers I have that don't hurt my ears. My problem is there is nothing close to me to be able to audition. The days of hifi shops where I live are gone. I suppose I will have to drive 3 hours to Chicago... Thanks.

Couple of things—@shadyj the principal speaker reviewer for this website infoed another member on a different string that there will a large audio show, AXPONA, in two weeks at Schaumburg, IL with many speaker manufacturers you can listen too.

Regarding “bright” speakers it has been suggested it may be intentional because they stand out more in comparisons in show rooms. But as you mentioned they lead to listening fatigue for those naive buyers later on.

Recommendations without “owners confirmation bias” can be gleaned from following the speaker reviews of @shadyJ on this website. For instance in your price range well regarded speakers that tested well for your use could be the Polk R700 towers and the Polk L400 center. The L400 received high praise in its review and the R700 was speaker of the year in its price range.

Polk Reserve R700 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review

In our in-depth review of Polk Audio's Reserve R700 tower speakers, we look at just how much of the performance of the stellar Legend series has trickled down to the more affordable Reserve series.

www.audioholics.com

Polk Audio Legend L200 Bookshelf and L400 Center Speaker Review

The L200 are Polk's latest high-end bookshelf speaker, and the L400 is the Legend center speaker. Both boast many of the state-of-the-art advances. Check out our detailed review of both here.

www.audioholics.com

 

[TLS Guy]

As I have gotten older my ears tend to ache with speakers that are bright, forward, and punchy. I am building a new home theatre and am looking to make a 7.2.1 system. For AV receiver warmth I think I will be buying the Marantz Cinema 50. I already have a nice REL subwoofer. I need everything else. Any suggestions on warmer laid back-ish speakers. My budget for front right, left, and center would be around $4,000. Wall and ceiling speakers aren't too expensive so I am not worrying about those in my budget. Thoughts??? Thanks!!!

It sounds to me as if you have hyperacusis. This is a symptom that should always have careful audiological evaluation. It has a wide range of causes, from aging, blast injuries and prolonged noise exposure. However it is always present in otosclerosis and this is a cause you don't want to miss, as it is curable by stapedectomy.

I think before you look to solve your problem by a speaker search you should have expert audiological and ENT evaluation. For one thing you can not be certain which frequencies are bothering you. So, an audiogram will give you vital information and perspective.

You are not going about this correctly.

 

[Golfx]

It sounds to me as if you have hyperacusis. This is a symptom that should always have careful audiological evaluation. It has a wide range of causes, from aging, blast injuries and prolonged noise exposure. However it is always present in otosclerosis and this is a cause you don't want to miss, as it is curable by stapedectomy.

I think before you look to solve your problem by a speaker search you should have expert audiological and ENT evaluation. For one thing you can not be certain which frequencies are bothering you. So, an audiogram will give you vital information and perspective.

You are not going about this correctly.

Geez you just scared me too.

 

[TLS Guy]

Geez you just scared me too.

What in the "name of the policeman" was scary about that post?

 

[j_garcia]

Philharmonic Audio BMR and a HT center would be $3400, depending on finish and before tax. I would not call them "warm", rather very accurate, but I would absolutely classify them as non-fatiguing.

Philharmonic Audio

philharmonicaudio.com

 

[Bobby Bass]

Couple of things—@shadyj the principal speaker reviewer for this website infoed another member on a different string that there will a large audio show, AXPONA, in two weeks at Schaumburg, IL with many speaker manufacturers you can listen too.

Regarding “bright” speakers it has been suggested it may be intentional because they stand out more in comparisons in show rooms. But as you mentioned they lead to listening fatigue for those naive buyers later on.

Recommendations without “owners confirmation bias” can be gleaned from following the speaker reviews of @shadyJ on this website. For instance in your price range well regarded speakers that tested well for your use could be the Polk R700 towers and the Polk L400 center. The L400 received high praise in its review and the R700 was speaker of the year in its price range.

Polk Reserve R700 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review

In our in-depth review of Polk Audio's Reserve R700 tower speakers, we look at just how much of the performance of the stellar Legend series has trickled down to the more affordable Reserve series.

www.audioholics.com

Polk Audio Legend L200 Bookshelf and L400 Center Speaker Review

The L200 are Polk's latest high-end bookshelf speaker, and the L400 is the Legend center speaker. Both boast many of the state-of-the-art advances. Check out our detailed review of both here.

www.audioholics.com

I can recommend the Polk R700. The tweeter is not bright and I had no ear fatigue listening with my old guy ears. They have excellent bass for towers even though you have a sub. You can get from Polk for under $2K on sale and they ship free and you can return with no return or shipping charge for a full refund after an audition period if you’re not satisfied.