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Speaker Shootout

Polar Opposites

Took a day off to meander, but ended up at a hifi dealer. I need a different hobby. On the other hand, this is not exactly a hobby for me.

Bryston Mini-T - Imposing for a standmount, the vinyl finish just doesn't look good. Perhaps something in black will make it sexier. Immediately, it didn't sound like a premium standmount speakers. Very even from top to bottom, inoffensive...that's about it. Maybe you are ok with that. I'm not. For that price I need to be enthralled! I can imagine with an extremely analytical amplifier it could give a nice and rounded picture of the source. If there's one thing it's not good at, it's depth spatialization. It's just a bit flat. One could argue that this is correct and that other speakers only add what's not there. I don't care. It's not entertaining, for sure. For many this could be a good thing.

Aerial Acoustics Model 6 - Its appearance exudes quality. Perhaps because it was in black. These days I'm leaning towards black finish on speakers. Right away I couldn't believe how different these sounded from the Bryston. They are complete opposites! For once, this is what I call a bright speaker. I think my definition might be different, but this kind of sound makes things sound exciting. Not realistic, but some people might like it.

This was a fun demo. Interesting how different speakers sound. So many options. Stick to your budget and ye shall find it.

Amplification - Newest Rotel Pre-Power. Very clean.
 
To the OP:
Hope you find what you're looking for.

Remember ..... synergy can be a bitch.

Good luck in your search.
 
the_nines said:
To the OP:
Hope you find what you're looking for.

Remember ..... synergy can be a bitch.

Good luck in your search.
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Thanks, you've got some crazy good stuff! I wonder how those older Proac Studio's sound. I've gotta listen to some Devore's!
 
MikeT. said:
Did the Aerials make it into the finals? I've seen nothing but great comments about them from everywhere.
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Unfortunately, no. The Aerial's didn't make the cut. I think metal dome tweeters tend to have a certain characteristic that prevents them from entirely disappearing. Kef LS50 and Blade is as natural as you can get for metal dome tweeters, but their implementation is completely different.
 
newworld said:
Unfortunately, no. The Aerial's didn't make the cut. I think metal dome tweeters tend to have a certain characteristic that prevents them from entirely disappearing. Kef LS50 and Blade is as natural as you can get for metal dome tweeters, but their implementation is completely different.
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Vintage Celestion SL's are an exception, too.
I've seen some HIP fans who swear by the SL's.
 
newworld said:
Unfortunately, no. The Aerial's didn't make the cut. I think metal dome tweeters tend to have a certain characteristic that prevents them from entirely disappearing. Kef LS50 and Blade is as natural as you can get for metal dome tweeters, but their implementation is completely different.
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I agree with you on the KEF LS50's but even then I'm not sure I could live with them for a long time. My limited audition of them was impressive but I could still hear that slight metallic dome quality, less then any metal domes I've ever auditioned but still there just under the surface.

For the money though I have to say they perform well above their class.

I'll have to go listen to some Aerials. There is a dealer across town.
 
MikeT. said:
I agree with you on the KEF LS50's but even then I'm not sure I could live with them for a long time. My limited audition of them was impressive but I could still hear that slight metallic dome quality, less then any metal domes I've ever auditioned but still there just under the surface.

For the money though I have to say they perform well above their class.

I'll have to go listen to some Aerials. There is a dealer across town.
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I completely understand what you mean. You will definitely hear a lot of that metallic quality on the Aerial's.

When it comes to tweeter, it just doesn't get smoother than Spendor. They are almost 'liquid'.
 
Right you are newworld.
That's why all my speakers are Spendors.
I want high frequencies, but I don't want to be assaulted by them, I want them to be in the perspective they are in real music.
I've heard one Spendor tweeter that turns me off.
It's used in the SP100s (old - don't know about now), SP20s (the only Spendors I've bought that I've ever sold) and the SP9/1 (circa 2000 tower).
Spendor has started making their own tweeters and they're showing up in the D series.

I have a pair of Celestion SL-600s and while they're the best metal dome tweeters I've heard (heard the tweets on Magico Q5s and Q7s, but only in a showroom and not for extended listening so I'll exclude them for this comment) but every time I put the (Celestion) speakers into rotation, I take them out again.
That's why I'm reserving judgement on a pair of KEF LS-50s until I hear a pair that's housebroken.
 
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I had a pair of SL6-S's for many years and loved them. I never thought that their aluminum tweeters were ever edgy or zingy. I currently have the B&W PM-1's with B&W's latest aluminum dome tweeter. They are as smooth as silk and reported to have a flat response to 40Khz. Which is fine because I can't hear much above 12Khz these days. Getting old sucks!
 
Lee Harvey said:
I had a pair of SL6-S's for many years and loved them. I never thought that their aluminum tweeters were ever edgy or zingy. I currently have the B&W PM-1's with B&W's latest aluminum dome tweeter. They are as smooth as silk and reported to have a flat response to 40Khz. Which is fine because I can't hear much above 12Khz these days. Getting old sucks!
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Same boat here, and thats probably why metal domes don't bother me either.
 
I'd like to see a bigger LS-50 - one that uses an 8 inch driver and a Beryllium tweeter
RGA



Beryllium tweeters (Yamaha NS1000) do seem to have more of smoothness to them compared to Aluminum. Aluminum tweeters can be bright, especially near field. I often find the various B&W 805s are bright (but not always) depending on the setup or material. Fantastic but bright. I seem to own a lot of bright and poorly mastered Redbook CDs.

I'm wondering what makes Spendor speakers sound so smooth? Do the use some exotic material for their tweeters?
 
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An exception would be the Spendor SA1 I owned that had a soft doped fabric tweeter. Although the upper treble was rolled off and smooth there was region in lower treble frequency range that I found both persistent and annoying, I've read of one other owner that mentions this, it could have been the cabinet or crossover, I don't know but I did find them tiring to listen to over extended sessions.
 
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