Speakers Dilema

[porksoda]

Hiya,

I currently have some custom energy speakers 2 6.5" woofers 1" tweeter and they are in a custom eclosure.

The speakers are great but recently a friend brought over his psb image 1b's and energy encore satellites to test the functionality of them. When i put them on my face turned red as the highs were very pronounced on those speakers and they seemed to held clarity that was amazing (stereo mode only).

My friend who praised my speakers did not notice this fact and it got me thinking its time to shop for new towers... i went to the nearest psb dealers and heard the t55s and t45s... which left me more confused the t45s and t55s more sounded like my existing towers.

I guess comparing a tower to the sound of a satelite, is meant to be shinny and a little more pronounced?

I thought i was going to find the clarity and the highs on the psb towers as i did on the bookshelf/satelite psb/energies?

My next move is to borrow the t45s and bring them in my listening room and compare like that with my own equipment to actually give them a proper audition.

Any views and thoughts about the highs/clarity aspect on the towers? vs the psb image 1b? and energy encoure satellites?

thanx in advance

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Some thoughts

There are a few things that come to mind. One would be are you comparing two different style tweeters? Is one aluminum and one soft dome? When you compared your speakers to your friends, did you put his in exactly the same place yours were? Placement is everything. Next, could one of the tweeters in your system be blown? People go months or years without realizing they have a blown tweeter, and mistake the midrange for their highs. Finally, would you consider replacing the tweeters in your system if you like the look and bass output of your existing speakers?


A tweeter may sound better in a bookshelf due to its crossover. It depends on how much of the spectrum the tweeter is asked to reproduce. I have the same tweeters in all my Polks, but my surrounds are crossed over at a different Hz, so they tend to sound slightly different than my towers. If a tweeter is crossed over at 2200 Hz as opposed to 2700 Hz, it will produce more of the spectrum and thus appear more pronounced.

Here's a good place to purchase tweeters if you decide to go that route.

www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?exact_match=yes&product=SET&cart_id=4412363.4960

 

[porksoda]

Well my tweeters are not blown i ran a few 20khz sine waves and did a 20-20 sine wave sweep too. I think my issue comes in where the satelite speakers were single woofer/tweeter combo and maybe a bit more balanced to my liking? as with the psb t55 and my custom energy's seems like they are fairly close if not exact with the way they create sound.

the crossover on the psb is 2.2khz and same with mine. Efficiency on both is 92db. Aluminum tweeters on psb and silk on my custom energy ones.

I heard some polk audio rt10s today i found them a little harsh for my liking.

Thanx for the tweeter pointer.

There are a few things that come to mind. One would be are you comparing two different style tweeters? Is one aluminum and one soft dome? When you compared your speakers to your friends, did you put his in exactly the same place yours were? Placement is everything. Next, could one of the tweeters in your system be blown? People go months or years without realizing they have a blown tweeter, and mistake the midrange for their highs. Finally, would you consider replacing the tweeters in your system if you like the look and bass output of your existing speakers?


A tweeter may sound better in a bookshelf due to its crossover. It depends on how much of the spectrum the tweeter is asked to reproduce. I have the same tweeters in all my Polks, but my surrounds are crossed over at a different Hz, so they tend to sound slightly different than my towers. If a tweeter is crossed over at 2200 Hz as opposed to 2700 Hz, it will produce more of the spectrum and thus appear more pronounced.

Here's a good place to purchase tweeters if you decide to go that route.

www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?exact_match=yes&product=SET&cart_id=4412363.4960

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

If you are looking for new speakers, the PSB's get great reviews and solid feedback here. I like the specs on the T55's, except I would have thought they weighed a little more. I had no idea they were that affordable. The Polks can be a little harsh with the wrong amp, I agree. Paired with a Denon really helps. Just finished watching National Treasure in DD, and wouldn't trade them for anything.

PSB Image T55 Tower
FREQUENCY RANGE (Anechoic Chamber)
On Axis @ 0° ±3dB 32-23,000Hz
On Axis @ 0° ±1.5dB 45-20,000Hz
Off Axis @ 30° ±1.5dB 45-10,000Hz
LF Cutoff -10dB 28Hz
SENSITIVITY (1W (2.83V) @ 1m, IEC-filtered Pink Noise, C-weighted)
Anechoic Chamber 91dB
Typical Listening Room 93dB
IMPEDANCE
Nominal 6 Ohms
Minimum 4 Ohms
INPUT POWER (RMS, Clipping <10% Time)
Recommended 10-175 Watts
Program 125 Watts
Dynamic Peak 250 Watts
ACOUSTIC DESIGN
Tweeter (Nominal) 1" (25mm)
Aluminium Dome with Ferrofluid
Woofer (Nominal) 2 x 6 1/2" (165mm)
Injection Molded Metalized Polypropylene Cone,
Rubber Surround
Crossover 2,500Hz, B3; 500Hz, LR4
Internal Volume 1.56 cu ft (43.7 liter)
Design Type Bass Reflex
2 x 2" Front Port Video Shielded
SIZE (W x H x D) 8 1/2 x 36 x 14 15/16"
216 x 914 x 379mm
Feet add 1" (25mm)
WEIGHT
Net 42lb (19.1kg)/each
Shipping 51lb (23.2kg)/each
FINISH Black Ash or Maple
FEATURES
Dual, 5-way Gold-plated
Binding Posts
Bi-wireable/Bi-ampable
Feet/stabilizers with
Adjustable Spikes and Rubber Levelers
US MSRP $899/pair

 

[porksoda]

Thats good to hear.. i spent about 4 hours today on my speakers seems like they are very close to t55s i.e the are not very natural or flat.. the t55s have a tendency to be a little colourful... the bass really paints the whole spectrum... the only way out of it maybe to set them as small but then that defeats the whole purpose of floorstanding...

In any case next t45 inhome audition.

thanx for the input

P.S I may give the Energy C9s a listen too a little more expensive but who knows it may be my cup of tea.

If you are looking for new speakers, the PSB's get great reviews and solid feedback here. I like the specs on the T55's, except I would have thought they weighed a little more. I had no idea they were that affordable. The Polks can be a little harsh with the wrong amp, I agree. Paired with a Denon really helps. Just finished watching National Treasure in DD, and wouldn't trade them for anything.

PSB Image T55 Tower
FREQUENCY RANGE (Anechoic Chamber)
On Axis @ 0° ±3dB 32-23,000Hz
On Axis @ 0° ±1.5dB 45-20,000Hz
Off Axis @ 30° ±1.5dB 45-10,000Hz
LF Cutoff -10dB 28Hz
SENSITIVITY (1W (2.83V) @ 1m, IEC-filtered Pink Noise, C-weighted)
Anechoic Chamber 91dB
Typical Listening Room 93dB
IMPEDANCE
Nominal 6 Ohms
Minimum 4 Ohms
INPUT POWER (RMS, Clipping <10% Time)
Recommended 10-175 Watts
Program 125 Watts
Dynamic Peak 250 Watts
ACOUSTIC DESIGN
Tweeter (Nominal) 1" (25mm)
Aluminium Dome with Ferrofluid
Woofer (Nominal) 2 x 6 1/2" (165mm)
Injection Molded Metalized Polypropylene Cone,
Rubber Surround
Crossover 2,500Hz, B3; 500Hz, LR4
Internal Volume 1.56 cu ft (43.7 liter)
Design Type Bass Reflex
2 x 2" Front Port Video Shielded
SIZE (W x H x D) 8 1/2 x 36 x 14 15/16"
216 x 914 x 379mm
Feet add 1" (25mm)
WEIGHT
Net 42lb (19.1kg)/each
Shipping 51lb (23.2kg)/each
FINISH Black Ash or Maple
FEATURES
Dual, 5-way Gold-plated
Binding Posts
Bi-wireable/Bi-ampable
Feet/stabilizers with
Adjustable Spikes and Rubber Levelers
US MSRP $899/pair