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If you are using the components described in your system, don't blame the speakers. You need to look elsewhere if you are experiencing listener fatigue, mainly your source and amplification.
Oz |
Silverlines are very smooth, when at CES last year, Alan's Silverlines were 1 of those rooms that seemed effortless, a nice place to relax with a glass of wine.
I my room, they are the smoothest I have had, and with my hardwood floors, with rug down, I need the smoothest. |
Ariel 20Ts are incredibly smooth, and also detailed and dynamic. Definitely worth a listen at the 20-something pricepoint. I heard them with monster mac amps and they were smooth as butter |
Thanks fro the suggestions. I forgot about Spendor. Roman Audio looks interesting but their site:
http://www.romanaudio.com/
does not work. |
Jean Marie Reynaud speakers - ultra smooth and rich presentation with great detail, just not hyper-etched. |
While they may be compromised in other areas, the Quad 'stats might satisfy your criterion. |
Don't forget the Magnepan 1.6's. They certainly present one sonic cloth, and yet can be very resolving. When slightly underpowered (not hard to do with the demanding load of a Maggie) they certainly seem smoother in that they won't have the dynamic punch to be truly fatiguing. In my experience, though the front end has more of an effect than the speakers, but your mileage may vary. |
Samujohn, I agree with you on #1, but it all depends on how you look at #2 and #3. If playing a CD give you fatigue, its more than likely got something to do with the rest of you setup...IMO more than the player. The player reads the digital info without conversion and such (as long as you keep the info digital until it has to be converted). Its the speaker and amps and other electronics (not to mention the weakest link, room) that brings about the fatigue issues...for the most part.
You are definately on track about the room correction. Without it #2 and #3 are big problems. Besides, everyone should know that precision room correction brings about better resolution to the music anyway :)
Back on topic...sorry. I've noticed that speakers that incorporate soft dome tweeters and mids tend to be more smoother than those who don't. ATC is one that comes to mind. Those using ring radiators offer many of those same traits too. |
Other brands known for a smooth mid & treble range: Silverline Audio, Vienna Acoustics, Sonus Faber, Opera, Roman Audio and DCM TFE series. Of these, IMHO, the best resolution would be Silverline and Roman, and the Vandersteens offer decent resolution as well. The good news is that the sonic characteristics you seek are obtainable and for reasonable money. The bad news is that many factors play a part, not just the speakers, and just throwing money at your system won't guaranty the results you seek. I own Vandersteen 1Cs with a pair of 2Wq subs. While the sound from my rig is fairly smooth, I've heard smoother (Silverline, Roman Audio). Likewise, you cannot ignore the associated gear. Prior to a series of upgrades and fine-tuning, the same 1Cs sounded much less smooth and fatigue would set in earlier than in my present configuration. |
smoothness and resolution are at opposite ends of a continuum.
too much smoothness obscures resolution. too much resolution eliminates smoothness.
it would seem that speaker designers may voice a speaker to provide a balance of the two.
it is difficult to recommend a speaker without listening. p[erception of smoothness and resolution is subjective.
that said, i think the aerial 10t is a good choice. |
1. All speakers are not flat in room.
2. Most CD players "give you ear fatigue playing CD's".
3. High resolution makes matters worse, not better
Q. What to do?
A. Alter the response curve in your room to provide smooth coherent sound at the listening position.
Q. How?
A. Use digital room correction. A used Tact a generation back (say a 2.0) can be had for a little over a thousand bucks. Get the model that accepts analog inputs (designated aaa).
cheers |
Spendors are definitely somewhat colored but in a very musical way. They are still well made in Britain transducers and forgiving of less than optimal equipment. |
spendor, harbeth, proac, neat, castle, rogers..... |
The various Spendors have an excellent reputation for accurate reproduction with good imaging but non-fatiguing sound. |
