Speaker Shootout - Two of the Most Accurate and Well Reviewed Speakers Ever Made

Bruce B

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Apr 25, 2010
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"Mastering" are totally different than the typical recording/mixing speakers you see on consoles or soffit mounted. The most accurate of these are probably the Genelec speakers. Usually 6" woofer and varying tweeter types.

I don't buy into the manufacturer propaganda either, but others have measured/listened to the Salon 2 speakers and have dubbed them one of the most accurate and enjoyable speakers to listen to. I have to agree. Several times I have listened to live recordings and then played the captured media back through the Salon's and it's really uncanny how accurate and reproducible the results can be. I really wished I had these speakers when I did all the FIM masterings (all 22 of them!). It would have made my work so much easier and less time consuming....
 

NorthStar

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Thanks Bruce; that should be a good indicator.

By the way, some Genelec monitors measured the best (on and off axis); so it's no surprise they are inside many professional music recording studios.
 

audioguy

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Apr 20, 2010
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@Bruce B

I spent some time in recording/mastering studios in anther life. How do you deal with the "console bounce" from both the soffit monitors and the near field monitors sitting on on near the console?

Jerry Ragavoy was a neighbor of mine and I spent a fair amount of time in his home studio (he wrote for Janice Joplin, the Stones, etc). The console bounce in his room was not atypical. When I demonstrated a way to fix it, while he recognized the fix was "probably" more accurate, he said he could never get used to it as he had been listening to/mixing/recording the "other sound" his entire career.

I'm interested in your comments.
 

Folsom

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Speakers like these two are the least forgiving on electronics.
 

Folsom

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Can be. Given that most high end stuff is based around meeting subjective qualities, at times they can mate very poorly with some gear like these. Where as they have some synergy with some speakers tuned for similar subjective desires.
 

Bruce B

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@Bruce B

I spent some time in recording/mastering studios in anther life. How do you deal with the "console bounce" from both the soffit monitors and the near field monitors sitting on on near the console?


I'm interested in your comments.

In a typical mastering room, the speakers are in the far field. I do have a console in front of me, but it was custom made just for me with low angles and non-parallel surfaces to the ear.

In the recording/mixing rooms I've been in, I've seen several alternatives to combat "console bounce". Some more effective than others. The most extreme would be where someone glued felt down between faders and other flat surfaces. With speakers in the near-field, I don't think it's too big of problem since you're mainly listening to the direct sound and the surface of the console is usually in the downward slope. If it was perfectly flat, then I could see where it would be a problem.
 

NorthStar

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Yesterday and today I've read these two posts, consecutively, one day after another:

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-sp...viewed-speakers-ever-made-7.html#post54593928
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-sp...viewed-speakers-ever-made-7.html#post54595942

The first post is from a guy living on Vancouver Island, near where I live, and he's also a member @ diyAudio
The second post is from a guy who doesn't need introduction.

- - - - - -
 
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NorthStar

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Results

One card (reviewer):



And:

"From the six participants who did check boxes to indicate preference:

Bird on a Wire - Jennifer Warnes: M2 three checks out of six, Salon2 three (50/50 split)
Battlestar Galactica - Stu Phillips: M2 two checks out of six, Salon2 four
World in My Eyes - Depeche Mode: M2 one check out of six, Salon2 five
The Enterprise - Jerry Goldsmith: M2 two checks out of six, Salon2 four
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade: M2 three checks out of six, Salon2 three (50/50 split)
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers - Dallas Wind Symphony: M2 - three checks out of six, four checks out of six (one participant checked both; a tie)
Vocalise - Rachmaninoff (Mischa Maisky) Cello, Piano: M2 two checks out of six, Salon2 four
Someone Like You - Adele: M2 five checks out of six, Salon2 one
Spanish Harlem - Rebecca Pidgeon: M2 three checks out of six, Salon2 three (50/50 split)
Take Five - Dave Brubeck: M2 three checks out of six, Salon2 three (50/50 split)
Thriller - Michael Jackson: M2 two checks out of six, Salon2 four
I Will Remember - Toto: M2 three checks out of six, Salon2 three (50/50 split)
Fat Cry - Yello: M2 three checks out of six, Salon2 three (50/50 split)

TOTAL CHECKS FOR THE M2: 35
TOTAL CHECKS FOR THE SALON2: 44
"
 

NorthStar

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RogerD

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BiggestLittleCity
• Summation (Floyd Toole) ? http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-sp...iewed-speakers-ever-made-19.html#post54644120

• Another take (by another expert: pbrainbob) ? http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-sp...iewed-speakers-ever-made-20.html#post54644280
_____



They remind me a little of some Polk speaker's design. Bravo Revel Ultima Salon2, priced to sell with a view ($22,000/pair USD - MSRP).
...One of dee best.

* Extra: http://www.soundstage.com/equipment/revel_ultima_salon2.htm
Bob, those look like JBL 4367....some prefer them to the M2's
 

joeinid

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Mar 14, 2011
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Some time back you had TAD CR-1s I believe. Do you prefer the Revels to the TADs? Very interested to know . . .

PM sent.

I have to be honest, TADs are my least favorite speaker. Too forward for my taste and I never found a combo for them that made me love them. They do some wonderful things and sound great at low to moderate levels. Turn things up a little and they made me wince.

Some here will think that I am crazy, but if the tweeter was not as "forward" for my taste, I'd still own them.

My SF Strads, JBL 4367 and Studio2 are all superb in my eyes.
 

DaveC

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Nov 16, 2014
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PM sent.

I have to be honest, TADs are my least favorite speaker. Too forward for my taste and I never found a combo for them that made me love them. They do some wonderful things and sound great at low to moderate levels. Turn things up a little and they made me wince.

Some here will think that I am crazy, but if the tweeter was not as "forward" for my taste, I'd still own them.

My SF Strads, JBL 4367 and Studio2 are all superb in my eyes.

Not crazy, just very sensitive to amps. With some I've tried they are work to listen to, not all that pleasant and not a sound I could live with. With an amp that works well they are amazing tweeters though, probably the best dome tweeter ever.
 

marty

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Apr 20, 2010
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I've not seen this thread or the shoot out previously. What impressed me the most was a summary comment by Floyd Toole:

"If you have a neutral reproducing system, simply add an elaborate equalizer/tone control and you can play with different sounds to your heart's content - at negligible cost and complication to your life. However, as you say, some of the "fun" may be missing. For me the "fun" is enjoying the staggering amount of music and movie content that is out there, not worrying about whether I am hearing everything important. My system is well past the point of diminishing returns in terms of sound quality. Tone controls are still useful, though, because recordings are not consistent."

We all have some degradation in our hearing as we get older. Hopefully, this is augmented by increased wisdom. Toole's extensive experience seems to embody both. Put more simply, it really is all about the music.
 

SCAudiophile

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Sep 11, 2010
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I definitely agree with DaveC here;

"With an amp that works well they are amazing tweeters though, probably the best dome tweeter ever."

The tweeter and the concentric driver approach as a whole are the best I've ever heard when paired with the right amplification and cabling.
As for the woofers, same caveat,....under good circumstances, the fastest and most tuneful bass driver I've heard...
 

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