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Edits: 07/06/15Follow Ups:
Strange comparison. Floor standers vary in sound all over the place. So do studio monitors(I'd like to know what you consider studio monitors). The question is unanswerable unless it's narrowed down orders of magnitude. Even then the replies will vary due to the tastes of the listener.
I always thought the KEF LS50s were sold primarily as Studio speakers, maybe I'm wrong? Didn't you already try those and trade them in?
Have you heard any planar or open baffle speakers? If you can't do a lot of room treatment they may sound better in your room. Some folks swear by them.
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I've got to wonder whether you've ever actually heard KEF speakers. LS50? R series? Q series? That is almost the exact opposite of my findings and of the general opinions I read on the various forums. I just can't comprehend anyone characterizing KEFs that way. "Euphoric" (sic) might be accurate but only to describe the feelings of many KEF listeners.
-Bob
It almost sounds like the OP is describing older, vintage KEF stuff. The stuff Gordon Holt used to disparage back in the day. Modern KEF sound is pretty clean and precise for the most part.
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I know which speakers you are talking about, it's just that the modern KEF speakers we've listened to don't usually sound the way you describe. About a decade ago KEF made the IQ-9 floorstander - just about the last time KEF made a very "colored" sounding speaker, as far as I know. If your KEF speakers sound too syrupy and romantic in your room I'd be hesitant to lay most of the blame on the speakers.
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del
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Are those other speakers significantly smaller than your KEF floorstanders are?
It could be that the KEF is simply a bad match for your room. Or maybe, you need to experiment some more with speaker placement. It's possible that the KEF bass drivers are overloading your room.
I've been using LS50s in my 2 channel rig for almost a year and a half now, I too wouldn't describe them as the OP has. I find them very resolving, and system dependent. Course I'm old enough not to hear any loss in the ultra highs, so can't comment on that. Using solid state amplification and I do supplement them with subs, which I feel is necessary in my fully treated, dedicated room.
But it is all subjective, so no use in debating what other folks want from their system. Guess he just needs to go out there and keep searching....
d
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It's here, it's free, and it works.
del
Edits: 07/06/15
Do you mean wall/soffet mounted studio monitors like the UREI 813, various JBLs, Altec 608s, etc.?
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Yes.Having a separate sub that I can put anywhere I want is a greater boon to system performance than trying to get sub frequencies out of floor standers in locations where they image best (which is not always where they would provide the flattest sub frequency response).
I am adamant that people who are adamant that subs don't "Blend well" with mains are just doing subs wrong but YMMV. I believe they are suffering from either visual psychoacoustics, sub frequency too high or sub crossover slope too shallow. Usually a combination of the three...
I've been doing sub-satellite for 10+ years and won't go back.
Sub integrates seamlessly. Those who can't see it don't even know it's there.
Cheers,
Presto
Edits: 07/02/15
if not then your setup or settings are wrong.
Learned that from you.
thanks
charles
For me it was combined learnings from local audiophiles, local DIYers, online DIYers and, of course, the guys here.
I blame smaller monitors with poor or missing baffle step compensation that lead guys down the "incorrectly set up sub" rabbit hole.
You can't correct for missing/poor BSC with a sub, unless you have two of them, and place one under each speaker as stands. That works, but then you basically have three way floorstanders, with the "woofer" in a separate cabinet from the midbass/tweeter cabinet. Some 3-ways are actually built this way...
Cheers,
Presto
Yes. Yes.
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Results was good.
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If 30 years ago counts. I used to be in the Pro audio business in NYC.
Studio speakers we sold 2 types, your soffit or stand mounted large High output speaker. like these UREI, Altec, Tannoy, EV and JBL.
Then you had the console top speakers, Yamaha NS10m or Auratone 5c I think. They were used so you could here what a song sounded like on a portable radio.
Floor speakers have better midrange, imaging and depth. In our other store we sold ADS, Boston acoustics and other home brands.. They sounded good.
My preference is a mix of the two...I like high level speakers that can pound, but also have very good imaging and depth.
That's why I own Revels now and have had B&W 801's in the past.
Just my opinions....
d
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This is too generic a question to allow good answers. For many, those are just labels, especially "studio monitor." Outside of the professional audio field, the latter term has no meaning.
So, are you asking about the difference between a smaller stand-mounted speaker and a larger, floor-standing speaker of similar design/price?
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Edits: 07/06/15
A Studio Monitor is a professional tool designed to inspect & analyze several elements of the components of the recording: and make adjustments to it. These factors can include detecting noise from the microphone, or unwanted noise from instruments or voice, panning tracks, adjusting tone, etc).
The studio monitor is sometimes powered, designed to be listened to in the near field, and also neutral, - often sitting on the mixing console. Because a lot of the detail of a speaker is in the upper registers, a good studio monitor might sound "harsh" as it will not mask upper treble energy and/or noise: as the engineer listens for problems.
The home speaker is designed to enhance the recording and put the listener "there." Sometimes, (complete system), is designed to create the illusion of locating instruments and instrument players in certain locations in the "mix." The home speaker often is designed to enhance & "sweeten" the mid-range where most of the music is. Many home speakers are also designed to mitigate sibilance, and treble harshness.
This doesn't mean that people haven't effectively used studio monitors in home situations, or vice versa. It also doesn't mean that studio monitors can't be bloomy in the mid-range, or that home speakers can't be very neutral and recessed in the mid-range.
"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"
I had the feeling that the best pro alternative to home audio would be "mastering monitor" instead of "studio monitor".
The use cases and placement would be more similar.
...?????
Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
- Winston Churchill
I build both so I've compared them, but obviously only my own builds. My studio monitor builds are customized for the specified placement in that particular studio (I work closely with the acoustician who designs the studio and its acoustic treatment), so can't really offer any observations that would reliably translate over to other manufacturers. Well, maybe one... less money goes into "eye candy" in a real studio monitor.
So here are my observations: A studio monitor is a very demanding application, as it's a critical tool that will be used by educated professionals perhaps 8-10 hours a day, so it's got to still sound good at the end of the day. That means it can't be suffering from thermal compression, and it can't induce listening fatigue, but it also has to be a highly revealing tool so it can't have a baked-in "forgiving" tonal balance or else the mixes will come out skewed as the engineer compensates for that.
Nothing makes me more nervous than doing a pair of custom studio monitors, because chances are the ears that will be evaluating them are significantly better than mine. Recording engineers are professional listeners who practice their craft all day long, and so they are very good listeners. Thus far my studio customers have all been happy, but I'll be just as nervous about the next build as I was about the first.
Just speaking for myself here, I tend to build my best home audio speakers to sound pleasing. That means I'm doing things that I believe result in a more enjoyable listening experience, such as adding more reverberant energy in a way that arguably results in a bit closer approximation of the concert hall experience. This sort of thing would be out of place in a studio monitor.
Duke
Me being a dealer makes you leery?? It gets worse... I'm a manufacturer too.
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Really?!
Pop music is now the worst recorded least real, least natural sound there is.
I think you are about to have an oozalum-bird moment.
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
The JBL 7 series looks good to me on paper in most respects... I also use waveguide-style horns in a two-way format. Imo it's important to get the radiation patterns of midwoof and tweeter section to match up well in the crossover region. I would expect the 8" version to do a better job in this area than the 5" version.
Duke
Me being a dealer makes you leery?? It gets worse... I'm a manufacturer too.
Could you better describe that "colored sound"? It's hard to guess about what you might mean by this.
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