Have been travelling around auditioning for speakers for budget between 2k-5k for my 6mx4m room. Heres some impressions :rockout: Im a total newb in this game, so im not sure if im giving a good impression..all comments are IMHO
Music tested:
- Norah jones: come away with me
-Dynamic experience volume 2
-Chris spheeris: eros
-Sade: the best of
-dire straits: brothers in arms
-easca reference CD
-radiohead: in rainbows
-fourplay: lets touch the sky
nothing fancy, but just the music i liked to listen
So heres the audition!!
1) PMC twenty.24 paired with naim superuniti!! First impression was very clear and detailed sound. Very good imaging and im impressed with the clarity of guitars. However the bass was slighly too clean for my taste and it sounds sterile...and the ambience was non existant. This was tested in a 7mx4m fully treated room.
After some time, i felt tired of listening to this combo. Norah jones vocals was getting to be on the point of irritating me...maybe im hearing too loud. Gottta give praise to the speed though
2) Bower wilkins 804D with naim superuniti!! Much better than the 24s, mids was clear and smooth, and treble was not tiring me out. However, the vocals presentation was slightly too forward to my taste, its like the vocals was overpowering the rest of the intruments. Maybe the amp was not powerful enough.
3) harbeth shl5 with manley labs monoblocks!! WOW this one is awesome!! Sounds great with vocals and i love the sound of intrumentals! I could sit and audition for hours if i have the time! Hearing fourplay and norah jones was close to perfect! The bass was slighly loose, therefore, it starts to lack dynamic and impact on the dynamic experience cd. Master of many genres, but i reeckon will lack on some genre. this was tested in a bigger room..i reckon 8m x5m
4) BW pm1 with classe amps!! This one was good too!! Loved the mids and treble, and the bass was very good! (i was expecting much less due to the size) However the extension was slightly lacking for my taste. Maybe a sub? I tested this in a smaller room around 4mx3m and was scared that this was too small for my room
5)BW 805d with classe amps!! Quite disappointed. Cant explain but i was prefering the pm1. Not my kind of sound i guess
6) Sonus faber cremona auditor m with krell s300i! Very detailed and clean sounding yet very musical as well! Bass extension was again lacking though. When hearing foruplay on this setup, i could get lost on the music for fours! Seriously that good! It also managed to catchup with difficult songs like radioheads 15 steps well! Very recomended for people with smaller rooms who dont need bass extension!! A cut above the rest of my test so far
7) Sonus faber cremona m with krell s300i! The bass was awesome and the sound was so engaging and smooth! Really liked it! Sound stage was a little small though (maybe its the room) and on some songs like chris speeris eros and radioheads 15 steps, the sound was a little slow! I reckon the amp was the culprit but i wont have enough to buy a better amp if i get this speaker, so i stopped
8) dynaudio c1 with krell s300i! Bold dynamic and fast! I was shocked hpw such a small speaker can produce such a big sound! The bass was impactful and deep! The surprised factor was overcoming my judgement! But kinda over my budget so i didnt audition for very long.
9) Proac responce 3 with densen amps! Mids on this one was mind blowing!!! Hearing norah jones makes me shiver! So lush and colorful and fun and warm and.....some other words i cant explain! But during radiohead and chris spheeris, it startes to get muddy and slow....not able to do everything well. Still loved this one!
10) Neat ultimatum mf5 with densen pre/power! Best of the best ive tried! better than the dynaudio c4 signature i tried for funs sake! coherent, musical and so much fun! I dont know how to explain, but the coherent sound and the airiness will mesmerise you! Hearing fourplay and chriss spheeris on this was one of the best audi experiences of my life! It can also handle eveything i throw at it and sounds good. the ambient feel (provided by the 2 supertweeter i guess) makes me cant stop listening to it. My choice so far
Any other speakers i should arrange an audition for? Before i make a purchase of the neal ultimatum mf5 and densen amps
Music tested:
- Norah jones: come away with me
-Dynamic experience volume 2
-Chris spheeris: eros
-Sade: the best of
-dire straits: brothers in arms
-easca reference CD
-radiohead: in rainbows
-fourplay: lets touch the sky
nothing fancy, but just the music i liked to listen
So heres the audition!!
1) PMC twenty.24 paired with naim superuniti!! First impression was very clear and detailed sound. Very good imaging and im impressed with the clarity of guitars. However the bass was slighly too clean for my taste and it sounds sterile...and the ambience was non existant. This was tested in a 7mx4m fully treated room.
After some time, i felt tired of listening to this combo. Norah jones vocals was getting to be on the point of irritating me...maybe im hearing too loud. Gottta give praise to the speed though
2) Bower wilkins 804D with naim superuniti!! Much better than the 24s, mids was clear and smooth, and treble was not tiring me out. However, the vocals presentation was slightly too forward to my taste, its like the vocals was overpowering the rest of the intruments. Maybe the amp was not powerful enough.
3) harbeth shl5 with manley labs monoblocks!! WOW this one is awesome!! Sounds great with vocals and i love the sound of intrumentals! I could sit and audition for hours if i have the time! Hearing fourplay and norah jones was close to perfect! The bass was slighly loose, therefore, it starts to lack dynamic and impact on the dynamic experience cd. Master of many genres, but i reeckon will lack on some genre. this was tested in a bigger room..i reckon 8m x5m
4) BW pm1 with classe amps!! This one was good too!! Loved the mids and treble, and the bass was very good! (i was expecting much less due to the size) However the extension was slightly lacking for my taste. Maybe a sub? I tested this in a smaller room around 4mx3m and was scared that this was too small for my room
5)BW 805d with classe amps!! Quite disappointed. Cant explain but i was prefering the pm1. Not my kind of sound i guess
6) Sonus faber cremona auditor m with krell s300i! Very detailed and clean sounding yet very musical as well! Bass extension was again lacking though. When hearing foruplay on this setup, i could get lost on the music for fours! Seriously that good! It also managed to catchup with difficult songs like radioheads 15 steps well! Very recomended for people with smaller rooms who dont need bass extension!! A cut above the rest of my test so far
7) Sonus faber cremona m with krell s300i! The bass was awesome and the sound was so engaging and smooth! Really liked it! Sound stage was a little small though (maybe its the room) and on some songs like chris speeris eros and radioheads 15 steps, the sound was a little slow! I reckon the amp was the culprit but i wont have enough to buy a better amp if i get this speaker, so i stopped
8) dynaudio c1 with krell s300i! Bold dynamic and fast! I was shocked hpw such a small speaker can produce such a big sound! The bass was impactful and deep! The surprised factor was overcoming my judgement! But kinda over my budget so i didnt audition for very long.
9) Proac responce 3 with densen amps! Mids on this one was mind blowing!!! Hearing norah jones makes me shiver! So lush and colorful and fun and warm and.....some other words i cant explain! But during radiohead and chris spheeris, it startes to get muddy and slow....not able to do everything well. Still loved this one!
10) Neat ultimatum mf5 with densen pre/power! Best of the best ive tried! better than the dynaudio c4 signature i tried for funs sake! coherent, musical and so much fun! I dont know how to explain, but the coherent sound and the airiness will mesmerise you! Hearing fourplay and chriss spheeris on this was one of the best audi experiences of my life! It can also handle eveything i throw at it and sounds good. the ambient feel (provided by the 2 supertweeter i guess) makes me cant stop listening to it. My choice so far
Any other speakers i should arrange an audition for? Before i make a purchase of the neal ultimatum mf5 and densen amps