Rock speakers V's Classical speaker

[bleeding ears]

Hi all, I am seeking an explanation of what exactly makes a speaker a
good speaker for classical music, compared with a speaker that is good with
rock music.

Eg are particular brands designed only for classical music and others only
for rock music?

Are there speakers designed for both classical music and rock music?

Are those speakers in higher price brackets only for classical music? The
reviewers always seem to concentrate on classical music when writing
reviews on speakers in the higher price ranges. Why is that?

Are certain drivers or tweeters more suited to particular types of music?
eg are soft dome midranges for classical only?

Can a speaker do both types of music well and what types of drivers and
tweeters would that speaker use?

Are the Danish designing speakers only for classical music and the US and
Canada designing speakers primarily for rock music?

When looking for speakers (and Listening) should I be looking for a
particular type of driver or tweeter depending on my music preferences?

I would be particularly interested to hear from those that listen to classical music as to what type of speaker they use and how those speakers perform with heavy rock music. Tjose with so called rock speakers might also give an opinion on how theirs sound with classical or lighter music.

Thanks guys, hit me with your opinions.
Peter

[Stoney]

I'll start by saying that I believe that a good speaker is designed to reproduce the entire audio range equally and will therefore be capable of playing any type of music equally well. Having said that, we'll get down to realities.
In the past I have owned several speakers, one set was JBL L-100. 10" Woofer, base reflex, 3 way design if I remember. They, as with many other speakers in the late seventies, were tuned with a very noticable hump in the mid base frequencies. Great for disco and dance. I also had a pair (still have them in the closet) of Kenwood KL-888, 15" Woofer, base reflex, 5 or 6 way design. They were tuned very flat and were very clear and detailed at low to moderate volume levels. Great for classical because you could pick out all the instruments and hear all the nuances of whatever you were playing. They really sang with rock also but only at moderate to high volume levels. My current setup is B&W 605-S2 Mains, 602-S2 Surround, 601-S2 Rear, & CC6-S2 Center. They seem to be a more well rounded set up than the previous two although I find the 605's slightly muddy in the midrange. Rock guitar doesn't ring out quite as clearly as the KL-888's. Lots depends on personal tastes, preferances, and room acoustics also.

A few extreme generalities and opinions I have formed are;
-Base reflex cabinets can be boomy in the bottom end if not done properly. Good for pop and dance etc.
-Horns tend to accentuate guitars and vocals. 70's and 80's guitar-god rock really screams though they can be a little harsh for my taste.
-Sealed cabinets tend to have tighter and smoother base response.
-Rubber surrounds on drivers hold up better than foam.

[aud19]

I totally agree with your first sentence there :yesnod: If a speaker can't reproduce all of it properly, than look for another speaker

[junior77blue]

From my car audio days, I've learned the following:

A trully flat reponse speaker sounds FLAT. Some people like the 'loudness' effect...

Equalization is what needs to be addressed to make the sounds accentuate what you are looking for. The idea is to start out with a flat signal than tweek with a nice eq.,

[bleeding ears]

Ok, then what is the entire audio range? 20hz to 20khz ?

I guess thats why the older JBL speakers used big woofers because they were capable of going very low (probably) and when they were made most people didn't use subwoofers for 2 channel listening?

So today, if not usiing a subwoofer I guess the same would apply right?

However does an extremely large woofer, like a 15 incher, generally produce more depth and therefore possibly sound a little more loose or muddied or boomy compared to a speaker with a smaller driver?


What size woofers are the BMW's and how low do they go ?

Is bigger always better?

Is bass depth at the expense of boominess
Are speakers designed for classical music lacking in bass depth or just tighter (or faster) sounding generally?

I know there is a lot of considerations and variations in speaker designs but I hear often that some speakers are not suitable for rock music because they are for classical music.

So what makes them classical music speakers?

Thanks Pete.

[aud19]

IMO, there are no "classical" or "rock" speakers. There are good speakers or bad speakers. Speakers are either accurate and closely reproduce a fairly large frequency range with good imaging and soundtaging, or they don't. Period. Faltering on either end of the spectrum is bad, IMO. If a speaker is pulled away from neutral to incrase loudness and midbass for rock or pop or it's made "warm" and soft for classical, it's not ACCURATELY producing the intended music. It's a bad speaker!

Yes one large speaker has more surface area and can move more air than one small speaker but that's why you normally see higher-end speakers with multiple smaller bass drivers. Multiple small drivers is equal to one large driver. I know my Energy C-9's with their multiple, "tiny" 6.5" woofers still make great, clean and deep bass. Do you still require a sub for that deepest bass? Yes. But IMO you would with the larger driver speaker as well. Unless you're going fairly high-end with large drivers, that usually require bi-amping or have their own internal amp for the bass driver. Essentially this makes it a speaker with a built in subwoofer anyway

I won't even get in to crossovers :lol:

[Snap]

:agree: My Phase Tech V-12 have 7.5 in drivers and they produce very nice bass.
:agree: with all the rest of Aud 19 post!
:T

[bleeding ears]

aud 19,

Thanks, Hopefully I will know a good speaker when I hear it, having said that I have actually auditioned the Energy C9's, in the store.

I take it that you believe these to be a good speaker capable of reproducing all types of music (and movies) well?

They look and sound impressive compared to most I have heard and cost $3200 here in Oz. Were there any other brands or models of speakers that were also, in your opinion very good. (at similar prices of course)

The only thing I felt that could have been a bit better on the C5, C7 and C9's was the tweeter.

Do you ever find the aluminium tweeter gets spitty sometimes?

Also,could you tell me what type and wattage amp you use to drive them with as maybe the Denon receiver being used to audition the Energys was a contributing factor in their sound.

Never know I may get myself some one day and then I will want to know what amps work well with them.

Finally what is considered a full range speaker? Would my 39hz to 20khz be included as a full range speaker?

thanks Pete

[Brahma]

IMO the speaker to buy is the one that reproduces sound without any colouration, perfect imaging and soundstage.

However WRT to having a flavour to suit classical or rock I have found (but this is just a generalisation) that US products are bottom heavy - emphasis is given to more bass - and sound good with rock, and UK & European products are light on bass - better with classical. Other countries seem to fall somewhere between the two.

But it is a generalisation only.

[Taito]

Check out JMLab Cobalt 826S -RRP is $4000 in Oz, but I got them for $3450 (Brand new). Just ask the dealer what the best price that they can do is -and that goes for any product.

-Ben

[aud19]

Lot's of other brands I like B&W, Kef, Paradigm, PSB, Polk, Snell, Totem, Vienna Acoustics... ummm I'm sure there are others but that's off the top of my head.

I actually quite like my C-9's tweeter, it's able to remain crisp and airy for those high notes but without getting spitty or aggressive like I found in B&W's. That was actually one of the selling points for me over the B&W's The Verita's are even better speakers if you have the $$$

I'm using my Rotel RMB-1075, 5X120WPC amp to drive them which IMO will make a difference over the Denon.

A full range speaker is just that, full range. 99.9% of speakers out there are not full range. Heck, even subs on the affordable end of the spectrum don't go low enough to be considered full range when mated with speakers. If you want full range you pretty much have to get a decent quality sub capable of going down to ~20hZ and/or slightly below (high-end subs can stretch down to ~15hZ) and mate it with a quality speaker capable of playing from somewhere in the 40-80hZ range and up.