the record spot:plastic penguin:scene:plastic penguin:
One thing that surprised me was, contrary to some claims on this forum about the RS6s, the Leema controlled the bass so well; there was no harshness or overplay. Both demonstrated a fast, agile and punchy character with bags of detail. I was also expecting the Leema's presentation to clash with the MAs metal dome tweeter, causing a brittle, tooth-wrenching top end, almost akin to sharp nails squeaking down a blackboard - not so!
In my experience of MAs - both as an owner and someone who's interesting in owning more - the issue is that the metal dome tweeters do sound a bit harsh, but only when the speakers are new. When I got my Silver 8is back home many years ago, I thought I'd made a horrible mistake! They really need a good run in to soften up, but once they do, I've never found them anything but sweet.
I've had demos of kit since, with MA Silver series speakers (in various guises) and I've come to realise that dealers don't always have properly run-in speakers (which is sort of understandable).
The properly run-in Silvers I have heard have all sounded sweet at the top end, if anything, the MA's weakness lies at the bottom end, with a little too much bass on the bigger floorstanders. The RS8, for example, sounds a little to bass-heavy for my liking.
But then again, this is the Monitor Audio "style", a bright (but not painfully so) defined treble, solid bass and a smooth, but lively mid-range.
I agree totally. As all-rounders the RS6s outgun the RS8, and sound great on the Leema. Not saying for one moment they are better than PMC and other such protaganists, but in comparison with the Wharfedales it's night and day. However, in isolation the Wharfies sound fine.
I think I may stick until after Xmas - it seems a "fools purchase" to spend £200 or so knowing I'm only going to keep them for 3 or 4 months.
Crikey, sometimes I just wish....(please finish off the sentence).
I'll caveat this line of reasoning by saying the 752s are metal dome tweeters, but partnered with the right gear then this is no problem. There's an urban myth out there that says "metal dome tweeters = brash/loud/spitty/hissy/etc" but this needn't be a reason to avoid them if the partnering equipment tempers this.
By extension, you could apply precisely the same logic to Cyrus, Cambridge, the current Q Acoustics 2050 and so on, all of which have been described as being bright in character. This is a non-issue.
As I mentioned before, the Pulse/752 combination works well, tweeters taken into account. The rationale remains the same: it depends on which source you're also using. On its own, it's a non-sequitor.
Re: Joelsim's earlier comment, I'd add the 751 standmount in either the original or Freedom version. Mint examples are yours for about £100-130 or so. Brilliant speaker.
I shall definitely check out the Missions at the weekend. Indeed the CD73T help smooth out any nasties, as does the Marantz tuner. In addition we have a room that's pretty forgiving acoustically.
I was astounded how the Leema grips the RS6s bottom end. For the first time the MAs resembled a genuine stand mounter and never does the treble ever feel like it's going to grate.
I'll finish off my own sentence: " I wish I'd never heard the RS6, until that point, I was a contented bunny." Or knowing I have a cracking amp and CDP: "...just wish I could listen to the music and STOP analysing the damn thing."
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