Which speakers for metal- and rock?

[obiwan kenobi]

I listen mostly to metal and rock. Unfortunately most bad recording. On many speakers it will sound too bright. Several weeks ago i heard the MA RX 6. Nice sound, but too bright and too much bass). What will be good speakers for this kind of music? On which speakers it wil besound nice?

B&W 684S2 or 685S2

Dynaudio DM 3-7

 

[LDTM]

I love metal too, power metal in particular. I used to run a pair of B&W 685's and always enjoyed the sound. By rights, the new ones sound even better but I haven't had the pleasure of listening to them yet.

As an alternative, I have been impressed by Dali's Zensor 3's in the same price range.

Thiel and PSB make some pretty awesome stand-mounts too - are they available where you're at?

Cheers,

LDTM

 

[obiwan kenobi]

Yes, PSB is available here. Also Focal (think too bright) and of course b&W. The new 600 seems very interested. I'm not sure of floorstander. For my room maybe a monitor is better.

 

[CnoEvil]

Kef R100 and Sonus Faber (Toy / Venere)

 

[obiwan kenobi]

Kef for metal and rock? I always thought Kef was voor classical and jazz. My budget can go for a R300.

 

[CnoEvil]

The R Series give a clean, detailed but not bright / forward presentation. The biggest issue is controlling their bass, which requires (IME):

- An amp with decent current / damping factor.

- Well made, heavy stands, which have been filled.

- Room to breath, or use of the 2 part bung system.

Don't take my word for it and try it for yourself....you may find the LS50s would also work for you.

 

[Jota180]

I have the KEF LS50 and they rock no problems!

 

[LDTM]

I've found mysefl shying away from Focal standmounts, but once you start talking about floorstanders then they start to sound really nice.

Back on topic though, KEF's would be worth an audition if you have a chance; the LS50 is very nice but personally I think they could be perhaps a little too transparent and will really display flaws in recording - that at least was my impression upon listening.

I think the PSB image range is very entertaining (although the new design isn't quite as fetching to my eye as the older range) and wouldn't have problems recommending that to add to your audition list.

I think the one of the more important factors to look for in speakers for metal/rock is to not look at something so revealing as to detract from the listening experience. I know that's something of an oxymoron but I think a compromise needs to be made when the recording quality is not quite up to Jazz/classical standards. To be clear, we're talking about CD's/streaming right? Not vinyl, eh?

Cheers,

LDTM

 

[LDTM]

I have the KEF LS50 and they rock no problems!

May I ask which amplifier you use to run them and whereabouts are they in the room? 🙂

 

[obiwan kenobi]

LDTM; you are right. I've heard the Kef ls50. They became very good reviews, but with my music it sounds not good. What you say, too transparant en again a too bright sound. Then the Kef R300 is maybe for me better, but i read elewhere that this can sound a little dull with a slow bass.

The speakers can 40 cm from the walls. My listening postion is about 3 m. of them. A monitor is i think then better than a floorstander?

My current amp is Exposure 3010S2. I'm in dubt if this the right amp for me.

 

[LDTM]

Obiwan:

That's quite a respectable distance from the wall I think. Assuming you are planning to put any new kit in the same spot I think you would not have to concern yourself with front or back loaded ports so it does give you quite a bit of choice.

As to whether to go for a bookshelf design or a floorstander design I think that your personal preferences and the execution of the speaker itself will be of greater significance to you than any advice I can offer. Vague answer, I know, sorry.

However...as you most likely know, with metal there is not so much of the 'electronic' bass that you get in pop music for instance (think Lady Gaga for example) but one thing all 'metal-heads' love are those double kick drums. Given the intensity they are hammered out (Armory and Gloryhammer are good cases in point) I personally think that offers two alternative general approaches:

A: for a modest to medium budget a good set of bookshelf speeakers will have the speed and punch that gives you all the joys of delicious metal. I wouldn't really think about floorstanders unless...

B: for a 'high' budget (I'll let you figure out your own limits): really good floorstanders should offer something like the speed of bookshelves but with an extra dose of disemboweling slam that feels awesome (how acutal disembowelment can feel awesome is beyond me but at least it sounds cool).

Forgive the presumption but I saw earlier in your post that you listened to the Monitor Audio RX6, if that is the price range you are thinking about I would probably be more inclined to look at a bookshelf/monitor over a floorstander but that's just me.

It wouldn't hurt to give the R300 a listen but if the opportunity arises to try out the new 685 I would certainly give it go before commiting.The Dali Menuet (sp?) is also a very nice little unit if you are feeling adventurous.

I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of listening to your amplifier so I cannot make any worthwhile comments there. As a matter of curiousity, do you have any friends nearby who may be willing to lug speakers over to your place to see how the presentation changes (may require beer/pizza/movies 😛 )

May the force be with you. Or is that "These aren't the droids you're looking for":?

 

[davedotco]

I think a lot depends on your listening style, if it is a lot of rock/metal at highish levels and you have no real requirements to play much else then perhaps your choices will be different than if you play a wide range of music with rock/metal as an occasional indulgence.

Either way I would look hard at positioning and the space available for the speakers, consider the room size too.

Conventional rock/metal does not have a lot of deep bass, what is really needed is mid range punch. This suggests a mid size standmount to me, in the old days a pair of Epos ES14 would be great, but I am not so sure in the current market.

I'm thinking something like the PMC DB1 Gold, with a meaty, but not outrageous, amplifier.

 

[LDTM]

... with a meaty, but not outrageous, amplifier.

Like the M-5000R? That was good advice :rockout:

 

[Vladimir]

To survive bad recordings and enjoy rock and metal, the best speakers for the job are B&W CM series. They compliment the Exposure extremely well.

The drum peddal sounds powerful and fast. The upper midrange has a -3dB dip so you can play loud without harshness and yet have decent high frequency detail.

 

[obiwan kenobi]

I think i go listen to the new B&W 684 and 685. Also the CM 5. I'm afraid the CM 8 will be too big for my room, because it can 40 cm of the walls.

And PMC. But shows PMC not the "harsness" of a CD?

 

[Glacialpath]

Hi Obiwan Kenobi how are you?

I don't know if you have seen my Death Metal Hi-Fi and Power Metal Hi-Fi threads but you are welcome to join us for anything Heavy Metal related. Of course most of the guys on here know what they are talking about even if they don't listen to Heavy Metal. The advice Vladamir gave about the B&Ws sounds great to me. I don't really know what he listens to but he's very clued up.

I use Monitor Audio on my Hi-Fi and have Mordaunt Shorts on my Home Cinema. I play music through both set ups and don't have a problem with them being to bright. Though a lot of people will disagree with me. I have found the interconects I use have taken away a lot of the harsh bright overtones. I've found they have also opened up the soundstage and stopped the recordings sounding so poor prooving to me the recordings are not as bad as we think.

What bands do you like to listen to?

 

[obiwan kenobi]

Hi Vladamir,

Surprising that you like MA. I've heard the RX6. Nice, ehthousiasm sound but too much bass and too bright. It hurts my ears. I have a wooden floor and the dealer said then MA is a NoGo. Even Dynaudio Focus wa too bright. I think too neutral. I like also a warmer sound.

Also think for now B&W on 1 and PMC on 2. If it can floorstander, but i'm not sure if this is the best for my room. And will it go with my amp, Exposure 3010S2? Here in the Netherlands it seems the Lyngdord tda 2170 is popular, but that is i think because of their Roomcorrection. It seems very transparant.

 

[Vladimir]

Hi Obiwan Kenobi how are you?

I don't know if you have seen my Death Metal Hi-Fi and Power Metal Hi-Fi threads but you are welcome to join us for anything Heavy Metal related. Of course most of the guys on here know what they are talking about even if they don't listen to Heavy Metal. The advice Vladamir gave about the B&Ws sounds great to me. I don't really know what he listens to but he's very clued up.

I use Monitor Audio on my Hi-Fi and have Mordaunt Shorts on my Home Cinema. I play music through both set ups and don't have a problem with them being to bright. Though a lot of people will disagree with me. I have found the interconects I use have taken away a lot of the harsh bright overtones. I've found they have also opened up the soundstage and stopped the recordings sounding so poor prooving to me the recordings are not as bad as we think.

What bands do you like to listen to?

Obiwan, the post you replied above ^ is by fellow member Glacialpath.

But I also like MA, especially the newer models that are not too bright like the ones before I remember.

If you have problems with bass boom in your room, you can use DSP correction or just go for speakers with front firing port.

I have my speakers 50cm from the back walls and I use DSP correction with my JRiver player. http://oi60.tinypic.com/2ex2fia.jpg

 

[obiwan kenobi]

Oh sorry Vladmir and Glacialpath 😳 I was looking what WhatHifi wrote about the B&W CM 8. Is the treble not too bright?

Favorite bands are Nightwish, Hammerfall, Sirenia, battle beast

 

[Vladimir]

FR of my B&W CM1.

The human auditory system is sensitive to frequencies from about 20 Hz to a maximum of around 20,000 Hz, although the upper hearing limit decreases with age. Within this range, the human ear is most sensitive between 2 and 5 kHz, largely due to the resonance of the ear canal and the transfer function of the ossicles of the middle ear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contours

So basically when you listen to music that was recorded too hot, your most sensitive part of the hearing between 2kHz and 5kHz takes a beating while the other parts are fine. If you turn down the music, the upper midrange will be fine but the rest of the music will feel muffled. Same problem with well recorded and mastered music when played loud, the sensitive area is overloaded.

I find that the CM1 helps me listen to a lot of terribly recorded and mastered music I used to avoid before. I have tinitus and I am very sensitive to brightness and I prefer darker presentation but played loud.

If I listen to quality recorded and mastered music on low volume, I simply activate +3dB in my JRiver DSP and I get more upper midrange detail and clarity. Same can be achieved if you tilt the speakers backwards by small angle by screwing the back pair of spikes bit shorter. This way the speakers aim at your head higher and more upper frequency is heard and less boom from the bass.

Here is the FR graph of the rest of the B&W CM series speakers. http://www.soundandvision.com/content/bw-cm-series-speaker-system-ht-labs-measures-bw-cm-series-speaker-system

 

[BryO]

Alright Glacial, I've followed a lot of the threads, especially the heated cable threads, just want to say a while ago I upgraded my preamp to a Rotel RC870BX and I also got hold of Nordost Black Night interconnects on the cheap. I listen to classic rock mostly, Purple, Sabbath, Rainbow etc... and have to say the Nordosts sounded thin as hell the bass was lacking and everything was brightened up which wasn't what I was after.

I gave them a couple of months but got sick of them and have just reverted back to my old Cambridge Pacifics, what a difference! The bass and sound that I like has returned, maybe there isn't the seperation of the nordosts but I don't really think that was the sound I was after, I want fullness and a thick sound. Which is what I now have got. So I concur that a change of cables can make some difference, those nordosts maybe better for other styles of music but these Pacifics though a cheaper brand sound better to me.

As for the OP any advice on speakers for rock and metal is secondary compared to testing some out for your self. Though you probably know that anyway.

 

[obiwan kenobi]

Agree. Nordost is horrible voor metal and rock.

 

[Glacialpath]

Oh sorry Vladmir and Glacialpath 😳 I was looking what WhatHifi wrote about the B&W CM 8. Is the treble not too bright?

Favorite bands are Nightwish, Hammerfall, Sirenia, battle beast

No worries Obiwan there are so many people on here it's easy to get lost.

My wife and I have Nigthwish's Once, Dark Passion Play and Imaginaerum. We also have Sirenia, 13th Floor, 9 Destinies and a Downfall, The Enigma of Life and Perils of Deep Blue. All these albums sound quite compressed and bright on some systems but since upgrading our interconnect cables these albums sound so much better.

The thing is there are so many factors involved that it's hard to know what to suggest to you. Try some B&W's and maybe try some Mordaunt Shot speakers too. I will suggest some cables to try but it will cause a lot of the other guys to inform you I'm talking rubbish as there is a big dispute whether cables actually make any difference.

In my experience they do and is probibly more noticable with Metal than with most other music mainly due to there being so much noise involved with the fast drum, very over driven guitars, screamy vocals and thundering bass. You might be happy with just new speakers so I'll leave it at that.

 

[obiwan kenobi]

Indeed; these albums are very compressed |( What interconnects? I see you have Chord? But Chord is i thought on the bright side? What about Atlas or Van den Hul?

 

[Glacialpath]

Indeed; these albums are very compressed |( What interconnects? I see you have Chord? But Chord is i thought on the bright side? What about Atlas or Van den Hul?

I have a couple of Chameleon VEE plug interconnects. I also have a Chord Anthem Reference on my Hi-Fi and would only recommend it if you had the money to spare and can hear the difference. My wife won it in a competition so we are ver lucky.

The Chameleons though made quite a bit of difference. Offering mre detail from the guitars and opening up the bass drum sounds and giving them more room. The bass also is more audible in amongst the rest of the band. I don't find them bright at all. Infact we can listen to our music much louder than before because a lot of those horrible frequencies Vladimir is talking about have gone. In being able to turn it up you get to hear more.

Don't pay full price for any cables. Look on ebay, wait for a Hi-Fi store to close or wait till the Sound and vision/Hi-Fi show near you.

I can't comment on Van Den Hul or Atlas because I've never heard any so have no idea if they are better than Chord. The best way as I'm sure you know is to try some of each for your self.

Oh yes and as i'm finding out these albums are not as compressed as we think.