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Mellow speakers

I'm on the hunt for a mellower sound.  I've traced my dissatisfaction to my speakers (I think).  I've got PMC TB2i monitors on good stands.  Occasionally they provide sonic bliss...letting me peer in to the music, great sound stage, etc.  But other times they are just too piercing (for lack of a better adjective).  I also find myself concentrating more on the gear rather than the music.  I'm blaming my speakers.

So, I'd like to put a mellow pair of floorstanders next to them.  I want full, warm, mellow speakers...something I can swim in and just enjoy the music.  My local shop has a super clean pair of KEF 104.2.  And, they're going to redo the woofers while they have them in the shop.  I understand the woofers can be a bit of a bear and that they have an odd proprietary KEF technology that makes them a little difficult to repair (what's with the rod between the woofers?).  With that said, I heard them, and I thought they sounded like anti-PMCs.  Perfect, no?  Why not bring home some old school, rolled off, mellow speakers as a foil to my PMCs.  So...my question...are there modern speakers that have a mellower sound, or other older speakers that I should consider?  Any consensus on the KEFs? 

My gear:
VPI Classic TT
Digital via Mac and Mytek DAC
Ayre pre
Prima Luna tube power amp or Primare solid state

Thanks.

educeus
educeus OP
26 posts
 
Lot's of recommendations for Vandersteen speakers.  However, as I see them online, they all appear to have a stretch fabric covering...kind of like the Golden Ear speakers.  True?  If so, that's a problem, as I'm certain that my cat Beastie will make short work of the fabric.


larryi
1,972 posts
 

DeVore makes some very nice, not at all harsh, floorstanders that are more cat-friendly than the Vandersteens.  Their speakers sound very good and are relatively easy to drive.

Although not necessarily in the "mellow" and warm camp, I like speakers made by Neat because they don't have the brittle edginess and sibilance that is quite common in high end speakers these days.  They are also a pretty good bargain price-wise and should also be cat-friendly.

audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
1,621 posts
 
You need to look more systematically at the little things in the system.

First cables can make a huge difference so can power conditioning.

The Ayre preamp isn't particularly warm, if the speakers are doing things yo like you need to address why there are things present in  the system that are not, PMC speakers are accurate, they are not bright or sibilant, however, if the speakers are being overdriven, not enough power, or you are using cables which are not good or good enough which might excerbate the problem. 

I would not change the speakers I would:

Change to a tube preamp, a Cary or CJ
Look at replacing or upgrading your cables
Adding a power conditioner. 

yakbob
162 posts
 
The 104.2 is a mighty fine speaker even by today's standards. The connecting rod serves to couple the internal woofers so they work in unison. There is a lot of support and spare parts available for these drivers so I wouldn't let age dissuade you from diving in. Yes, the foam surrounds degrade with age, but they are relatively easy to replace of have serviced.

That said, I feel the TOTL KEF 107 and 107/2  of this era are an even better speaker if you can find a pair with the Kube equalizer (which always seems to "have been lost in a move", but sellers piece these out separately on the bay to maximize profits). Since you're running a separate pre amp and amp, these would integrate into your system easily. They present a constant 4ohm load.
sbank's avatar
sbank
2,038 posts
 
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