Bookshelf Speakers for D Class Amp.

[Paul C]

What type of speakers work well with a Pioneer Elite SC-LX701 D3 Class HT system? I own Paradigm Monitor 7.v6 speakers and would like to get a warm sounding pair of speakers to soften the sharpness of my D3 Class Amp.

Any thoughts?
Paul.

 

[lovinthehd]

What makes you think your LX701 is "sharp sounding"? You can use pretty much all speakers with it, but it will be the speakers that vary in sound more than the amp will....

 

[Paul C]

lovinthehd, I think the D Class Amp is "sharp", compared to being warm sounding like an A/B Amp.
What I am looking at are speakers with a soft dome tweeter which would suit a D Class amp compared to the sharpness that I get off of my paradigm speakers.

 

[slipperybidness]

The "normal" approach would be to choose your speakers, then choose the appropriate AVR / AMP to drive the speakers.

Choosing the AVR first is kind of backwards.

Have you tried to actually compare your speakers with a class AB vs. D3 amp?

Don't neglect the real possibility of you having an expectation bias and/or the placebo effect.

 

[Paul C]

You may very well be correct that I have a bias towards A/B amps, regardless I really want to know what speakers would be suitable for my D class amplifier?

 

[Mikado463]

so, you had the Paradigms, got the Pioneer AVR and now the speakers sound 'sharp' ?? send the AVR back.........

 

[Paul C]

It is too late to take the amplifier back, it has been in my home since last September.
Again I ask, what speakers go well with a D class amp, to give the amp a warmer sound.
I have the amp that I like I just want to replace my speakers.

 

[Verdinut]

If you live in or live near a big city, it is suggested that you go visit some shops that sell audio stuff and listen to a multitude of speakers. Then, if you do, you will find products that will sound better to your ears within or slightly above your planned budget. It would be ideal if you found a store which would let you return them if they don't satisfy in your home environment with your receiver. Bring one or two of your preferred CDs.

Also, if you hesitate between two products, then you could ask us what we would recommend and which might possibly be preferable to operate with your SC-LX701.

 

[Paul C]

Thank you Verdinut, it's not that my Paradigm speakers don't do the job, they actually do the job quite well, but I find the highs are just a little bit too high. Should I be looking for speakers that measure well or speakers that sound good?

 

[Mikado463]

Thank you Verdinut, it's not that my Paradigm speakers don't do the job, they actually do the job quite well, but I find the highs are just a little bit too high. Should I be looking for speakers that measure well or speakers that sound good?

I think what you're saying is your present set up sounds too 'bright' ? If that being the case it sounds like your room needs some acoustic treatments so as to help the top end

 

[Verdinut]

Thank you Verdinut, it's not that my Paradigm speakers don't do the job, they actually do the job quite well, but I find the highs are just a little bit too high. Should I be looking for speakers that measure well or speakers that sound good?

I would be looking for speakers that sound good and that measure well enough to be easy to drive with most amplifiers. Some speakers have impedances that dig below 3 ohms at low frequencies which demand much current and this requires a very stable amplifier power supply.

It's an advantage to be able to access serious test reports such as those done by Audioholics and Sound & Vision reviews and a few other experts' reviews before committing to an expensive outlay.

 

[3db]

Room interaction with speakers are at a minimum 90% of the battle when it comes to the sound in your room. Unless your class D AVR is not operating within its intended design parameters, swapping amps will do SFA in taming speaker brightness.

 

[lovinthehd]

I use a combination of amp class topologies and I certainly wouldn't consider buying a speaker to "match" any of them, because they simply don't. I have interchanged all these types of amps with a wide variety of speakers, the topology did not come into play. Sounds like something you've read about but if you made no other change to your speakers/room when installing the Pioneer and it sounded bad why the heck did you keep it? I'd be inclined to look at your room acoustics now before buying different speakers.

 

[Beave]

Can you provide a picture of your setup?

You're blaming the amp/receiver for being 'sharp' because it's class D, but there's little scientific basis for that conclusion. What makes you think it's the amp? What makes you think a class A/B amp will be 'warm?' Amps are supposed to be neutral, not warm, not sharp.

It's more likely the issue is with your speakers and/or the room, or the placement of the speakers in the room, as others have said. That's where a picture would help a lot.

As for a soft dome tweeter, they don't necessarily sound any 'warmer' or less 'sharp' than metal dome tweeters. It depends on the particular tweeter and its implementation more than on the material used for the dome. I've owned bright/sharp speakers with soft domes and warm/dull speakers with metal domes. So that's another mistaken generalization.

As for finding a speaker that 'matches' your class D receiver, that's just about impossible to tell. There's a small chance that your class D amps do have output impedance high enough to interact with the impedance of the speakers, thus altering the speaker's frequency response. But even if that is the case, to find a 'match' you would like, you'd have to know the output impedance of your amp vs. frequency, and then you'd have to know the impedance vs frequency of every speaker you're considering, and THEN you'd have to either measure the resulting response or do some pretty sophisticated simulations to predict the altered response caused by the impedance interaction. You're going down a path that would produce a nice MSEE thesis.

 

[Beave]

Thank you Verdinut, it's not that my Paradigm speakers don't do the job, they actually do the job quite well, but I find the highs are just a little bit too high. Should I be looking for speakers that measure well or speakers that sound good?

Speakers that measure well usually sound good, and speakers that sound good usually measure well.

 

[KEW]

What type of speakers work well with a Pioneer Elite SC-LX701 D3 Class HT system? I own Paradigm Monitor 7.v6 speakers and would like to get a warm sounding pair of speakers to soften the sharpness of my D3 Class Amp.

Any thoughts?
Paul.

What is your budget?
Paradigm usually have a smile curve with a modest boost in the bass and treble.
I need to ask the obvious - have you tried putting the grills on the speakers (if you have them off)?
What about adjusting the tone controls? I don't know your AVR, but most have a manual EQ.
I always thought the monitors were pretty nice for what they cost (especially since much of Paradigm is over-priced).

But to answer your question, the first speaker that comes to my mind is the Elac DBR-62 for $600/pr.
Get it from Crutchfield and you can return it within 60 days if you don't like. They pay return shipping and you only are out a $15 restocking fee.

ELAC Debut Reference DBR62 (Walnut)

Bookshelf speakers

www.crutchfield.com

Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 bookshelf speaker. It was kindly purchased new and drop shipped to me for testing. The DBR-62 costs US $600 a pair from multiple sources/dealers. The DBR-62 comes in black and walnut finish or the distressed Oak and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Ponzio]

Some Wharfdale's, Harbeth's models should solve your 'sharpness' issue. They tend to run warm/analogy.

But as some have noted, you need to go out and demo some speakers at some B&M (brick & mortar) shops to get a feel of what's out there.

Now that I've solved that problem, I'm now gonna go and cure world hunger.

 

[Ponzio]

Thank you Verdinut, it's not that my Paradigm speakers don't do the job, they actually do the job quite well, but I find the highs are just a little bit too high. Should I be looking for speakers that measure well or speakers that sound good?

FWIW, I found that most of the Paradigm speaker/models that I demoed (2012 to 2015) to be on the slightly forward side, which I actually prefer in some instances. Sounds like you prefer a more laid-back tonal quality.

 

[Paul C]

FWIW, I found that most of the Paradigm speaker/models that I demoed (2012 to 2015) to be on the slightly forward side, which I actually prefer in some instances. Sounds like you prefer a more laid-back tonal quality.

Yes that is correct.

 

[Paul C]

What is your budget?
Paradigm usually have a smile curve with a modest boost in the bass and treble.
I need to ask the obvious - have you tried putting the grills on the speakers (if you have them off)?
What about adjusting the tone controls? I don't know your AVR, but most have a manual EQ.
I always thought the monitors were pretty nice for what they cost (especially since much of Paradigm is over-priced).

But to answer your question, the first speaker that comes to my mind is the Elac DBR-62 for $600/pr.
Get it from Crutchfield and you can return it within 60 days if you don't like. They pay return shipping and you only are out a $15 restocking fee.

ELAC Debut Reference DBR62 (Walnut)

Bookshelf speakers

www.crutchfield.com

Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 bookshelf speaker. It was kindly purchased new and drop shipped to me for testing. The DBR-62 costs US $600 a pair from multiple sources/dealers. The DBR-62 comes in black and walnut finish or the distressed Oak and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks KEW, I was considering purchase of the Elac as a possible choice.