Best speaker for songs like Heart - Alone
No one can really answer that question in any meaningful way. We all like different things. Why are you only considering the amp and speakers? Your preamp and source is just as important. If they're not to your liking and/or well matched to your other components, it won't matter what amp and speakers you use. |
Here is the trick . Buy a speaker that will pressurize the room with bass at low volumes . You will find yourself listening to music at lower volumes and not driving your speakers to distortion . Also speakers that do bass well at lower volumes tend to sound better as you turn them up anyways. Take the two way Proac Response 2.5 for example . When i had this speaker i tried several class a/b and class d amps . Then i used a thirty watt class a amp and it was a match made in heaven . It just gripped the driver without distortion . your source can be tailored for Heart music as well . You will have to experiment with dacs and pres and cables too . everyones system is different . But there is enough universal advice that is not personal preference ,laws of physics to get you in the right direction |
I know precisely what you are indicating, and I know the answer. I happen to like that song as well, and I often play it on systems to determine how much high end energy a rig is producing. If the piece is too piercing I know I have to adjust the system. It is an older, not so well recorded album, a product of its time. It will never sound the same as recent recordings, and will always carry higher upper end energy. I do not suggest lowering the definition of any system - ever. Instead, work to achieve a beautiful tonality, which you can get through selection of components/speakers/cables. You may love tubed audio gear, and I suggest you consider, at least initially, a soft dome tweeter in a speaker as they are generally considered more forgiving in the Treble (high frequencies). You need to trust me on this; to move toward better sound you must seek more definition, not less, than a boombox. Extreme systems have amazing detail retrieval, but are not harsh, even with less than perfect songs. However, you will need to "adjust" the system to suit your ears. When you have done so, the sound will be far more pleasing in every respect. |
rockpanther . do not know what size room you have , but if it is on the smaller to medium size look at some active studio monitors . These speakers design goals are to not bring any frequencies fore front . But blend them all seamlessly . The actives are very hard to get to distort . The matching of amp to driver has been professionally engineered by professionals. No merry go round with amps. Prices range from $300 to $30,000 + for a pair. |
This is a really interesting question rockpanther, because I know where you're coming from. When I was shopping for an amp, trying to decide between two different units, the dealer and I went through his CD collection looking for what we thought was the absolute worst recording - I think it was a 1989 White Lion album. We wanted to see which amp could make a bad recording sound more tolerable. Through a Rogue Audio Sphinx into a pair of Proac Studio 140s the CD was unlistenable...bright, strident, just lousy. Through an Audio Research VSi55 into the same Proacs with the same cables, it sounded better. Still lousy, but not as lousy! Fast forward, and I just listened to that Heart song you like, "Alone". I have two pairs of speakers in my room that I switch between depending on my mood. Through my Wilson Benesch Arcs it sounds thin and lifeless - through my Proac D2 it sounds warmer and easier on the ears. But if I chose to keep the Proacs over the WB because of that song I'd be making a bad mistake - the WB are better speakers, and with any decent recording they sound better than the Proacs. Because the problem isn't the speakers, it's the recording - that Heart album is an awful recording. Not as bad as some of Pat Benatar's '80s albums, which sound like she recorded them in a garage on a $13 Radio Shack tape recorder with a $5 microphone perched on a beer keg, but still pretty bad. The Proacs lean towards a slightly warmer sound than the Wilson Benesch, which helps on crappy '80s albums. And I do love the Proacs for that...I can listen to them all day long, such a sweet sound. But with a good recording, something like Green Day's "American Idiot" or Diana Krall "Live in Paris", I'll connect the WB Arcs - they're just more transparent and neutral and they get me closer to the music as it was recorded. The lesson, at least from my standpoint, is that if you choose a system just because it makes poorly-recorded '80s albums sound good, it may also be a system that has to color the sound to do so, and when you go to listen to a really great recording that doesn't need that "help" you'll find that what you've gained on bad recordings has been sacrificed on really good recordings. That may be oversimplifying things too much, but you understand the idea. Just my experience, take it for what it's worth. |
Yet another victim of (speaker) phase distortion & the lack of time-coherency in his speakers!!! ;-) (the electronics is certainly not above blame here but w/o knowing what electronics was used with which speaker, it's hard to say anything more). Definitely another customer for time-coherent speakers like the still-in-production Green Mountain Audio Rio & Eos. And, perhaps, yet another customer for DEQX??? |
I just listened to that song, both the original and the digitally remastered. It is a tad bright and definately lacks bass and "punch". It sounded fine at moderate to low listening levels. My advice is to get a subwoofer or eq; some way to adjust the bass would help you out. I wouldn't ever use just one song to assess a stereo and like others have said, in order to build a stereo to make that one song sound good, you'll be comprimising the sound on most other songs. |
Thanks for some suggestions folks! I have not got many specific recommendations of speakers and amp. So I hope for more suggestions what to check out! It's more important for me to compromise, it's not so important that fantastic recordings sounds fantastic. A fantastic recording can sound "great" in my ears as long as bad recordings sounds "good". Is it so difficult to find a system that plays (fexample) this song in a good way? |
Rock- there are 2 paths to choose; since the song is 80's Rock, you can go vintage and look into Infinity speakers- I suggest the Crescendo series. Or, you can buy newer designed loudspeakers like my reference, Thiel. I suggest the CS 2.4 or CS 2.7. These speakers are simply outdtanding- you can use solid-state / Tubed gear. Keep me posted & Happy Listening! JA |
Given your responses, Rockpanther, this may be one of the few times in my life I would suggest an older used speaker, despite your desire for new. If you go new, with your budget you will likely sacrifice bass extension, which I can't see you enjoying. An older, very capable floor standing speaker might also be warmer; I'm thinking of Vandersteen 2CE or similar, which I owned long ago. These, and other Vandersteen 1, 2 or 3 series earlier speakers can be found in abundance, they have very respectable sound, and will not be fatiguing/harsh. You can also afford them if you don't have thousands to throw around. You may also wish to go hear a panel speaker, because they sound quite different and you may love what they do. But be careful, because they can sound a bit unforgiving in the high end. Usually you can work with the treble. Magnepan is everywhere, so listen to one and you'll know if it's a flavor of sound you like. It is definitely worth your time to check it out. The bass is thinner with a panel speaker typically, but you can supplement it with a subwoofer and get plenty of boom. For your interests it may be a winning idea. :) When i was starting out Vandersteen and Magnepan were two speakers I could afford and kept me satisfied... for a while. :) |
02-22-15: RockpantherRockpanther, perhaps you glossed over my post dated 02-20-15 where I recommended Green Mountain Audio Eos & Rio stand-mount speakers. This manuf also has a floor-stander - Calypso HD. Green Mountain Audio speakers are time-coherent speakers & they will severely reduce the phase distortion you are hearing from your current speakers. These speakers will exactly what you wrote - make bad recordings sound "good" & make a fantastic recording sound "great". Here is a link to their website: http://greenmountainaudio.com/rio/ What a "coincidence" that Doug Schroeder, Jafant, B_limo have also suggested other time-coherent speakers - Vandersteen & Thiel!!! Again, they are also recommending minimal phase distortion speakers. IMO, it's the only way to go (time-coherent speakers, i.e.). |
