Speker suggestions needed.

[GregLett]

I'm looking for a replacement speaker for my CDM7's. I'm looking
for a floor standing full range speaker. I need something that's
not too revealing, something musical. The problem with speakers
like B&W, is that you can only listen to a small segment of the
recordings out there. Put something on that's not the best, I get
a headach.

The speaker on top of my list now is the Paradigm Studio 100V3.
I would like to know what other full range speakers in the $2,000
price I should look at.

Thanks for your help.
GregLett is online now

[ninetynine]

I was considering the B&W DM601 S3 bookshelf speakers with a rotel ra-1062 integrated, I don't quite understand what you mean , are you saying that when they are paired with rotel amps they bring out the worst in bad recorded albums?

[GregLett]

ninetynine,

Yes that's what I'm saying. Great recordings sound great, not so
great recordings sound bad. B&W & Rotel are great together, but
B&W speakers are very true to the recording. Again this is great
if you only listen to Audiophile quality music. But if you have a broad
spectrum (like I do) you just can't listen to certain recordings.

I find Paradigm speakers to be a little more forgiving of not so great
recordings.

[Cracking Oboe]

The problem with speakers
like B&W, is that you can only listen to a small segment of the
recordings out there. Put something on that's not the best, I get
a headach.
Thanks for your help.
GregLett is online now

Hi Greg,

My wife and I fully understand what you are saying. It seems to be difficult to find a speaker that is pleasingly acccurate without causing discomfort with half your music collection.
We found the Paradigm similar to the B&W (but not quite as bad) when it comes to fatigue with bad recordings. (We are not sure why, but it makes my wifes jaw hurt, and then she gets a headache - I just get irritated and subconsciously keep turning down the volume).
We found that very expensive speakers (including the flagship models from B&W and Paradigm Signature) could generally be revealing without causing pain. So, we knew there was hope that we could find a system that would be painless, accurate, and would not break the bank. We spent alot of time listening to different speakers in the hopes that we could find a speaker that was not ultra expensive.
We found very few (reasonably priced) speaker manufacturers that did not cause pain, while still being revealing. These include Totem and Monitor Audio Gold (although these manufacturers floorstanding models are more expensive than your price range new, they are right in the ballpark if purchased used - or in our case - as Demos). For a little more money, Sonus Faber is another option. Just a note... source equipment is also very important... IOHO Rotel is a good start!

Cracking!

[aud19]

Double post, not cool, plus this isn't really a Rotel subject....

[Jraducha]

do yourself a favor and look into the dynaudio product.

[PewterTA]

That's funny, I've never had my Rotel/B&W combo bother me at all. Course I'm only in the 600 range, maybe that's why?! The only thing I do notice is it makes you wish for more really good recordings (mastered recordings), and when you hear ones that aren't as good, it's not as much fun to listen to, but still sounds good!!!

Definitely makes you want to here the remastered versions of all your favorites though!

[ninetynine]

But isn't that a general rule with HI-FI speakers? To me they all make a bad recording sound bad, I was listening to sonny boy williamson with a Rotel RA-02 and some PSB speakers and it sounded just unpleasent cause of all the detail from the recording.

[jimmyp58]

Dyanaudios are dandies but might be tough to fit in given the $2,000 budget.

[phillipk]

I'm perplexed and intrigued by the idea that a speaker can be more forgiving. My take is that lower quality speakers simple make everything sound worse so you don't end up noticing any difference between good and bad recordings. I'll admit that every speaker makes a different sound--but what I can't fathom is how one speaker (the "forgiving" one) would know which sounds are "bad" and therefore not reproduce those accurately. The thing is, I might listen to punk rock or something and want the speaker to reproduce the distortion accurately.

I really don't understand the desire exactly. Are there such speakers that know which sounds are anomalies of the recording process and which sounds are pure?