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Musician vs. audiophile

We need direction here. My wife, a musician and says my Sophia 3s, powered by BAT 3VK IX tube pre amp and 250w solid state amp sounds flat compared to a freaking Best Buy box store McIntosh/Martin Logan setup...  I can't honestly disagree, specifically when our rig is at low volume.  It lacks color and punch, even with 2ea. JL 12" subs... Help me with your recommendation, please!!!      
repeter
jnorris2005
39 posts
 
Having purchased the Martin Logan ESL from BestBuy, and having listened to all of the other box speakers there from B & W, Definitive Technology and Martin Logan themselves, and also having been listening to box speakers for 40 years by the likes of Advent, Genesis Physics, Infinity and Mission, I can state unequivocally that the ML's imaging, dynamics and tonality far exceed any produced by a driver in a box.  I totally get the OP's wife's opinion.
keithtexas
226 posts
 

Do not know what your source is but it may be a little lacking or processed.  Some folks are beginning to recognize the musicality of well implemented non oversampling DACs - saying that even the best delta sigma dac implementation(s) sound less natural. Think Schitt
Yggdrasil, Audio GD-7, MDHT Pagoda, Denafrips Terminator, AMR 77 SE, etc.  Second I would look at tube amp(s) and/or upgrading your preamp to something like a deHavilland or Dan Sachs.  Finally, maybe what your wife is missing is something more dynamic and "wide open" - like open baffle speakers (Spatial Audio M3 Triode Master, GR-Research Super V), Magnepan, or even high efficiency horns. If you generally like the sound of the Wilsons, though, I would look at the source first, then the amplification. 

djohnson54
372 posts
 
@uberwaltz touched on this but I didn't see it discussed in any of the previous posts (although I could have missed it).  It sounds like you heard the McIntosh/Martin Logan setup in the store - not in the same room as the BAT/Wilson system.  Could the problem be your room?
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
1,174 posts
 
As an ex-pro musician, I can see where your wife is coming from..a lot of highly touted gear isn't that much of a step up over what is used in the pro audio field. However, I happen to think that most musicians tend to discount one thing....that thing is the room that the gear is placed in. When in the studio, we typically have a different expectation and realization of the sound of our instruments. In the home environment, there are a lot of details that are impacting the sound. I would suggest that you look first to your room before changing anything....see if a speaker change in position is warranted, or possibly some room acoustic treatments. ( I highly recommend these.)
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
5,112 posts
 
When I was in graduate school getting advanced degrees in music, most of my professors had crappy portable players.  When I asked them if they had better at home....they all said that whatever is missing they insert the necessary sounds.
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