I've been auditioning speakers lately and I've notice something I never expected. I was curious what others thought.
My current speakers are DefTech BP2000's with a C/L/R 2000 center channel. I've had them for three years and until I got rid of the big RPTV and replaced it with a plasma was quite happy. I liked the BP2000's with the RPTV between them as it seemed like the bipolar speakers helped the soundstage. Now, with much less bulk between the speakers I find precision lacking. The soundstage is wide, but too vague for my taste. So, I've begun auditioning speakers.
Most have had metal dome tweeters (including my DefTechs) and I've found them a bit too "forward" though I never knew this until I heard something else. The best analogy I can find is not knowing I was in pain until the pain went away.
I heard a Meadowlark Shearwater HR which is a 2-way design with silk dome tweeters and I was amazed. Everything seemed much more articulate and the speakers "vanished" for me more than anything else I've heard yet.
The other speakers I heard were Aerial Acoustics 7B's and 5's, an Energy monitor whose model number escapes me (might have been an Encore), B&W Nautilus 804 and 805's and Thiel 2.3's. All of those were metal dome tweeters, mostly Aluminum, I think.
Is there that much of a difference between metal and other tweeters? Or is it that most speakers are designed by men and most men start to lose the highs in their hearing before women and the silk/metal was a coincidence?
It's really got me curious and I'm trying to find other speakers that look promising to figure out what I like and dislike in the sound.
I'm not trying to claim that one is more "real" than another - only what seems to sound best to my own admittedly uncalibrated ear.
Any thoughts?
My current speakers are DefTech BP2000's with a C/L/R 2000 center channel. I've had them for three years and until I got rid of the big RPTV and replaced it with a plasma was quite happy. I liked the BP2000's with the RPTV between them as it seemed like the bipolar speakers helped the soundstage. Now, with much less bulk between the speakers I find precision lacking. The soundstage is wide, but too vague for my taste. So, I've begun auditioning speakers.
Most have had metal dome tweeters (including my DefTechs) and I've found them a bit too "forward" though I never knew this until I heard something else. The best analogy I can find is not knowing I was in pain until the pain went away.
I heard a Meadowlark Shearwater HR which is a 2-way design with silk dome tweeters and I was amazed. Everything seemed much more articulate and the speakers "vanished" for me more than anything else I've heard yet.
The other speakers I heard were Aerial Acoustics 7B's and 5's, an Energy monitor whose model number escapes me (might have been an Encore), B&W Nautilus 804 and 805's and Thiel 2.3's. All of those were metal dome tweeters, mostly Aluminum, I think.
Is there that much of a difference between metal and other tweeters? Or is it that most speakers are designed by men and most men start to lose the highs in their hearing before women and the silk/metal was a coincidence?
It's really got me curious and I'm trying to find other speakers that look promising to figure out what I like and dislike in the sound.
I'm not trying to claim that one is more "real" than another - only what seems to sound best to my own admittedly uncalibrated ear.
Any thoughts?