Replacing current speakers because of ear fatigue

Q

qba

Audioholic
I strongly recommend that you visit several of the Toronto Hi-Fi stores and get to hear and compare speakers within your planned budget. Bring one or two of your preferred CDs for a hearing session. If the store allows trial at home with possible return, that would be a plus. In your listening room, any speaker will sound differently than at a store.
Thanks Verdinut, I wanted to try to avoid going to stores because I felt it could be unnecessary since just as with the subwoofer I just bought, I will be happy with whatever I buy from you guys top 3 picks out of my list, but since is coming from so many of you guys I'll go to local stores and do it. Thanks.
 
Q

qba

Audioholic
If the stores have speakers to listen to, take the opportunity to at least get the experience. Nice to buy something from them if they have the right stuff, but if they don't just move on....
Thanks lovinthehd, will do!

Maybe you can be so kind and based on Pogre idea, browse for me to see if anything from these 3 local stores are worth listening to it?



 
Q

qba

Audioholic
A speaker is a good speaker, what ever you listen to. If a speaker was only useful "for music" it wouldn't be much good to me, as well as the other way around.
I only mentioned that because I have been watching some audiophiles on youtube comment on some speakers that are better suited for just music. So I was thinking that if to achieve the warm sound I want maybe that is a better option to me, but who knows if there is not such a thing as music only speakers.
 
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lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I only mentioned that because I have been watching some audiophiles on youtube comment on some speakers that are better suited for just music. So I was thinking that if to achieve the warm sound I want maybe that is a better option to me, but who knows if there is not such a thing as music only speakers.
There is a lot of things wrong with many "audiophiles" view of the gear :) Most of the youtube self-professed audio stuff is junk IMO., some of those guys will have strange fantasies about a lot of gear. You might find a speaker that sounds good to you for particular genres but that wouldn't necessarily make it a good speaker....a good speaker is a good speaker. Your own application of course also has an influence, so you might need a specific type of speaker for your placement on the wall above your desk and using nearfield.....
 
Q

qba

Audioholic
There is a lot of things wrong with many "audiophiles" view of the gear :) Most of the youtube self-professed audio stuff is junk IMO., some of those guys will have strange fantasies about a lot of gear. You might find a speaker that sounds good to you for particular genres but that wouldn't necessarily make it a good speaker....a good speaker is a good speaker. Your own application of course also has an influence, so you might need a specific type of speaker for your placement on the wall above your desk and using nearfield.....
Good point thanks lovinthehd.
 
Q

qba

Audioholic
I was asked to post some pictures so maybe you guys can take the layout and my setup into consideration when suggesting the new speakers. Below you can see how close is my sitting position from the speakers, I'm surrounded by screens and they have to stay that way, therefore whatever speakers I buy they will have to be in the same positions as the current ones.

As you can see the amp is the A-S300 is a long story but in a few days, it will be replaced by the A-S501 as I previously mentioned.

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P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
I was asked to post some pictures so maybe you guys can take the layout and my setup into consideration when suggesting the new speakers. Below you can see how close is my sitting position from the speakers, I'm surrounded by screens and they have to stay that way, therefore whatever speakers I buy they will have to be in the same positions as the current ones.

As you can see the amp is the A-S300 is a long story but in a few days, it will be replaced by the A-S501 as I previously mentioned.

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If you are interested, I do have a pair of KEF LS50s that hasn't been used much because I have too many speakers.
KEF LS50 Anniversary Model loudspeaker Specifications | Stereophile.com

Mine is not the anniversary model but they are the same electrically and physically.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Thanks Proge, those sierra are on my budget :https://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM2/srm2.html. have you tried them for music with just as a left and right speaker with a subwoofer?
I haven't heard the Sierra 1, but own the Sierra 2 which has a different tweeter. Same company tho, and based on measurements I think the Sierra 1 looks like a very good speaker. I really like the bamboo cabinets. They're not just marketing. When you knock on them with your knuckles it sounds like your tapping a solid block. They're very inert which is good for a speaker.

For the price I think they're going to be hard to beat, but I'm not sure about their availability to you up there.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Paradigm, Focal and PSB are what I'd be checking out here.
Elac, KEF and maybe Totem are what I'd be checking out here.
Monitor Audio Silver and Paradigm here.

Now, I picked those brands based on reviews and things I've read about them. Not saying run out and buy, but if you go to these places I think those are the speakers to pay attention to, roughly in your budget, and compare with others just to give you an idea. Listen to other brands as well. Just getting out and listening is a good idea in general, imo. I'll tell you what tho, these Monitor Audio Silver 100s that are discounted to $899 CAD for the pair look very interesting to me.


The Silver series is a step above their Bronze series and look like very good speakers for the price.
 
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Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Q

qba

Audioholic
I haven't heard the Sierra 1, but own the Sierra 2 which has a different tweeter. Same company tho, and based on measurements I think the Sierra 1 looks like a very good speaker. I really like the bamboo cabinets. They're not just marketing. When you knock on them with your knuckles it sounds like your tapping a solid block. They're very inert which is good for a speaker.

For the price I think they're going to be hard to beat, but I'm not sure about their availability to you up there.
Thanks Pogre I'll look into them as well.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Thanks PENG, send me a Pvt message with the price so I could consider it. Someone mentioned that you are in Canada?
Peng is in Canada, and the LS50 is a great speaker by all accounts. I haven't gotten to hear them yet but folks seem to like them a lot, and the concentric design would work well nearfield.
 
Q

qba

Audioholic
Paradigm, Focal and PSB are what I'd be checking out here.

Elac, KEF and maybe Totem are what I'd be checking out here.

Monitor Audio Silver and Paradigm here.

Now, I picked those brands based on reviews and things I've read about them. Not saying run out and buy, but if you go to these places I think those are the speakers to pay attention to, roughly in your budget, and compare with others just to give you an idea. Listen to other brands as well. Just getting out and listening is a good idea in general, IMO.
I appreciated so much that you took your time to look into those stores for me! I'll be going to all of them this weekend if some new covid restriction doesn't stop me from going.

I'll tell you what tho, these Monitor Audio Silver 100s that are discounted to $899 CAD for the pair look very interesting to me.


The Silver series is a step above their Bronze series and look like very good speakers for the price.
Thanks I found a review on amazon about the speakers that sounds very promising, this guy did a great job explaining the details and updating the review as he listen more.

Everything below is from the Amazon review:
"5.0 out of 5 stars Audiophile Speakers Yes or No?
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2019
Color Name: Black OakVerified Purchase
These speakers are pretty nice looking, a take from the B&W 705 S2 sans giant cone aerial atop, cosmetics are top notch, they are BIG so heed the warning and plan accordingly with sturdy stands. , As to sound, the midrange is excellent a bit forward for now but these can fill a large room easily , the speakers are new but I'm hearing a bit more treble than I usually care for , hoping that will take as the bass driver breaks in and settles , vocals are crystal clear, when you get into dance music the treble is revealing. This could be that what you put to them they will either play with finesse or show the flaws of the recording. That's not a bad thing but that high frequency, man it can sound quite HOT!! The good, they are quite spacious and image like beasts. Bass is quite good but I've not heard it yet explode as some have claimed that you don't need a sub, I agree you probably won't after the bass driver breaks in properly with a few good hours ie 50-100 but perhaps for movies a sub, yes? Time will tell. Are they audiophile, verging on the spectrum. I've done a direct A-B comparison to the reverent Kef LS 50's. Pretty damn close, I think the Kefs edge them a tiny bit in midrange for now and with no break in and obviously not as bright as them in current status. if there's one issue with these that's it. Again hoping that will cool down. Other than that they are brilliant speakers. I'd compare them to Bowers & Wilkins which I've owned several from the likes of 805 to 705 original and S2, CDM 1NT, 7NT, 9NT. Always have been a B&W fan and treble reminds me of that in these speakers but these are more spatial and image a bit better from what memory recalls. However there was a reason I ditched B&W I just could not take the top end any longer and wanted a more neutral speaker in my humble opinion Kef LS 50, some would call the Kef LS 50 bright as well, I call it British. So at the end of the day I’m going to give these a good run and if they still don't soften in the treble area then off they'll go. Fast forward 3 days and it seems to be mellowing out as the bass driver is breaking in . So far so good will update in a month. Equipment used Nad C356 DAC, All right my fine feathered friends , now a month has passed and the treble is cool as a cucumber and the bass has settled perfectly , you’ll have to cross your sub to what you like but these speakers thump and after careful adjustments and set up and theses MA 100’s TRUMP the LS 50s... Give them time they will pay in spades. Are there better speakers, yes however pounds or dollars these are force to be reckoned with speakers costing three X’s... And disregard those Philistines precious words to describe speakers like fine wines or delicate chocolate pastries and something at this price point can not compete with speakers costing more. Give them a go!"
 
Q

qba

Audioholic
Are they available to you or would you have to pay a lot for shipping across the border?
To be honest last night I was so tired I only had time to watch reviews about the Sierra 2EX on youtube, and the little search I did for pricing and availability in Canada yield very limited results.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
I was asked to post some pictures so maybe you guys can take the layout and my setup into consideration when suggesting the new speakers. Below you can see how close is my sitting position from the speakers, I'm surrounded by screens and they have to stay that way, therefore whatever speakers I buy they will have to be in the same positions as the current ones.

As you can see the amp is the A-S300 is a long story but in a few days, it will be replaced by the A-S501 as I previously mentioned.

View attachment 52378View attachment 52379View attachment 52380View attachment 52381View attachment 52382
I haven't seen any room dimensions but if it's similar in size to a bedroom, it's too small to crank the volume level because the walls are so close together that the sound will reflect very easily. Once it reaches a particular SPL, you're hearing almost as much reflected sound as direct.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I appreciated so much that you took your time to look into those stores for me! I'll be going to all of them this weekend if some new covid restriction doesn't stop me from going.



Thanks I found a review on amazon about the speakers that sounds very promising, this guy did a great job explaining the details and updating the review as he listen more.

Everything below is from the Amazon review:
"5.0 out of 5 stars Audiophile Speakers Yes or No?
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2019
Color Name: Black OakVerified Purchase
These speakers are pretty nice looking, a take from the B&W 705 S2 sans giant cone aerial atop, cosmetics are top notch, they are BIG so heed the warning and plan accordingly with sturdy stands. , As to sound, the midrange is excellent a bit forward for now but these can fill a large room easily , the speakers are new but I'm hearing a bit more treble than I usually care for , hoping that will take as the bass driver breaks in and settles , vocals are crystal clear, when you get into dance music the treble is revealing. This could be that what you put to them they will either play with finesse or show the flaws of the recording. That's not a bad thing but that high frequency, man it can sound quite HOT!! The good, they are quite spacious and image like beasts. Bass is quite good but I've not heard it yet explode as some have claimed that you don't need a sub, I agree you probably won't after the bass driver breaks in properly with a few good hours ie 50-100 but perhaps for movies a sub, yes? Time will tell. Are they audiophile, verging on the spectrum. I've done a direct A-B comparison to the reverent Kef LS 50's. Pretty damn close, I think the Kefs edge them a tiny bit in midrange for now and with no break in and obviously not as bright as them in current status. if there's one issue with these that's it. Again hoping that will cool down. Other than that they are brilliant speakers. I'd compare them to Bowers & Wilkins which I've owned several from the likes of 805 to 705 original and S2, CDM 1NT, 7NT, 9NT. Always have been a B&W fan and treble reminds me of that in these speakers but these are more spatial and image a bit better from what memory recalls. However there was a reason I ditched B&W I just could not take the top end any longer and wanted a more neutral speaker in my humble opinion Kef LS 50, some would call the Kef LS 50 bright as well, I call it British. So at the end of the day I’m going to give these a good run and if they still don't soften in the treble area then off they'll go. Fast forward 3 days and it seems to be mellowing out as the bass driver is breaking in . So far so good will update in a month. Equipment used Nad C356 DAC, All right my fine feathered friends , now a month has passed and the treble is cool as a cucumber and the bass has settled perfectly , you’ll have to cross your sub to what you like but these speakers thump and after careful adjustments and set up and theses MA 100’s TRUMP the LS 50s... Give them time they will pay in spades. Are there better speakers, yes however pounds or dollars these are force to be reckoned with speakers costing three X’s... And disregard those Philistines precious words to describe speakers like fine wines or delicate chocolate pastries and something at this price point can not compete with speakers costing more. Give them a go!"
I think you're putting too much into subjective reviews. I'll bet if you look around you can find another review that says the complete opposite for the same speaker, any speaker. There's no substitute for hearing it yourself.

That said, I'd go to Trutone first and check out those MA Silver 100s. Don't buy them right off the bat, but give them a good listen and compare to others. $899 CAD is a pretty good price for those. If you end up liking them best it's not a bad deal at all.
 
Q

qba

Audioholic
I haven't seen any room dimensions but if it's similar in size to a bedroom, it's too small to crank the volume level because the walls are so close together that the sound will reflect very easily. Once it reaches a particular SPL, you're hearing almost as much reflected sound as direct.
Thanks highfigh, the dimensions are 10' x 11'.

So what you are saying is that because the room is so small if I don't treat the walls to stop the sound reflection every speaker I put in there at high volumes will give me listening fatigue?
 
Q

qba

Audioholic
I think you're putting too much into subjective reviews. I'll bet if you look around you can find another review that says the complete opposite for the same speaker, any speaker. There's no substitute for hearing it yourself.

That said, I'd go to Trutone first and check out those MA Silver 100s. Don't buy them right off the bat, but give them a good listen and compare to others. $899 CAD is a pretty good price for those. If you end up liking them best it's not a bad deal at all.
Thanks Pogre, I agree with everything you just said about reviews, and tomorrow I'll be listening to those, I call the store today to make sure they have them for me to listen to.
 
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