Accurate bookshelves with a low noise floor?

[LiveJazz]

Hi All - first post. Feel free to guide me to another thread if this has been discussed at length.

For a bit of background, my current (apartment) setup is a pair of B/W DM303s and a Klipsch sub with a pretty standard Pioneer receiver. I usually leave the sub off for music. I feel that I blindly hit the jackpot with the DM303s, as they were a reference from a friend, and I bought them off Craigslist (I didn't have the means at the time to be overly picky, so when good speakers came up at a good price, I leapt). I recently purchased a home and have a couple of extra rooms to fill with sound, so I'm off hunting. My downstairs living room is a fairly large (20'x26'x8' or 9') and carpeted space, but I'm still leaning toward a beefy pair of bookshelves for mains because 1) I feel that they are better sound for the money and 2) I don't tend to play my music at overly high volumes, and I prefer accuracy.

I listen mostly to jazz, rock/blues and classical. What I like about the DM303s is the overall neutrality and accuracy of the sound, while still having acceptable body when in the right listening position.

Anyway, based on reviews, I was interested to try the PSB Image line and the current Bowers and Wilkins models. I was very impressed by the PSB Image B5 and B6 - I guess I like a bit of brightness. However, I noticed that, compared to other models, they sounded a little busy, like there was some city noise going on the recording studio with the musicians, even at low volumes. In contrast, the sound coming from the B/W 685s was a warmer and did seem to fill the room in a more satisfying way, but missed some of that top end excitement. Also, (and more importantly for me) the sound seemed to be emanating from a black hole...very pure, undisturbed and peaceful. I also like that, go figure! Based just on that test, I'd probably go with the B/Ws, even though I liked the clarity of the PSBs, just because I think that background noise would drive me nuts.

So, my questions:

Both sets of speakers were running from the same equipment, so the difference was in the speakers themselves. Is there a term for this? Do brighter speakers just do that, as a result of their sensitive sound profile?

More importantly, are there any speakers that share the high end pop of the PSB Image B5/6, but have the quiet and composed qualities of the B/W 685?

Still on my list to demo are Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 / 10.2, Boston Acoustics CS26, Paradigm Mini and Atom Monitor, and if possible the Cambridge S30 and KEF Q300. So I may find something that fits the bill on my own...just thought I'd ask here first! There are also a few from Aperion, Axiom that interest me, but are not locally demo-able, and I'd rather not hassle with shipping.

Trying to stay under $600/pair.

Thanks!

 

[Pyrrho]

"Brighter" speakers reproduce treble louder relative to the other frequencies than less bright speakers. Consequently, all of the relevant part of the treble is louder, including any background noises in those frequencies. What you are wanting can only be properly achieved with a different recording that simply does not have the background noises. Another alternative would be to use a dynamic range expander, to effectively push the softer sounds lower, but that will affect the sound of the rest of the music, too.

If you listen to old analog recordings, extra brightness (more properly, extra treble) will tend to boost the sound of tape hiss, which is mostly a problem with treble noise.


To switch topics: Given your audio interests, you might want to consider these:

http://www.magnepan.com/model_MMG

I have heard that some dealers now sell them, so you might want to go to a local Magnepan dealer, if one is in your area, for an audition. Higher models will certainly be found at dealers, but they do not fit your budget.

 

[LiveJazz]

Thanks Pyrrho ---

I suspected that might be the answer, though I was hoping it was an issue with PSB specifically. I'm somewhat of a headphone nerd, and I once tried a pair that was very heavy on the treble, and it did the same thing...just overall a little hissy and troubled sounding. I should have remembered...of course that would apply to speakers. Nice catch-22 I have, liking high freq. accuracy, but enjoying that "peaceful" feel.

Maybe I should be looking for speakers that are accurate with high frequencies, but don't necessarily accentuate that range...??

Thanks for the tip on Magnepan. I've heard of Magnepan, but have never seen them in action. In fact, I've never seen any electrostatic speaker in person. I found a local shop that carries them (walking distance!!), so I'll definitely go have a look.

 

[Pyrrho]

I think it is generally best to have a speaker that accurately reproduces the signal fed to it. So ideally, the treble would not be particularly bright, nor particularly dull. In the real world, though, there will be frequency response anomalies, even if the overall treble is at the right level, and which ones are not too bad is a matter of personal preference.

Magnepan speakers are not electrostatic. They make ribbon and planar speakers (depending on the model; some are just planar). There are different kinds of flat panel speakers. See:

Loudspeaker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Loudspeaker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The $200 NHT Absolute Zero is pretty accurate according to Home Theater Magazine. They measured a listening window response of about +/-1dB, which is extremely accurate. I like NHT a lot. Very accurate speakers. Not very expensive.

"The Absolute Zero’s listening-window response (a five-point average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures +0.94/–0.82 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3-dB point is at 83 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 72 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 5.19 ohms at 192 Hz and a phase angle of –46.25 degrees at 111 Hz."

NHT Absolute Zero Speaker System HT Labs Measures | Home Theater