I've accumulated (nay, hoarded) an obscene number of speakers in recent times - trying to broaden my horizons past my yellow cone obsession and all that.
I've been doing a bit of a speaker shootout in both my study and the mancave...
First up came the study - I'd reached the conclusion that the CDM-1NT's were completely wasted on my desk - they don't image suitably for that kind of near-field listening, and I was right.
Observations on other speakers tried were as follows:
Tannoy Mercury mx1 - Impressive bass, but they just sounded wrong - almost "off-key" in the way they portrayed instruments and voices, with a bump in the mid-range that just didn't work for me. I didn't bother trying to move them around on the desk, as there's only really one spot they could stand - if they don't work there, tough.
B&W LM1 - the smallest of the bunch, and thus the one I'd have liked to use - and wall-mounting it would've been an additional bonus to liberate some desk space, but it wasn't to be. Their small woofer and sealed enclosure leaves them relatively bass shy, and they don't image all that well up close.... they'll probably wind up getting mounted outside in the pool area - if they don't impress there, I'll flog them.
B&W DM601 - These came together surprisingly well in close proximity. Just the right amount of bass thump and weighty feel, while painting a surprising soundstage from as little as 60cm away from my ears. They don't have the coherency and clarity of the CDM-1NT's overall, but I like them better for the purpose... which probably says more about my hearing, preferences and bias, than it does about their ability as speakers.
With a suitable set of bookshelves found for the study, it was off to the man-cave.
With B&W CM7's being my reference (and performing reasonably well off the Pioneer VSX-820 at lower listening levels due to the smaller room size), I set off testing. They really do sound good on the Cambridge Topaz SR10, which is by no means a monster amp... it just goes to show how much of an advantage even a modest stereo amp has in comparison to mid-range AVR's in the quality of amplification department.
CDM-1NT's sounded a bit thin... precise, nice, but lacking the body of floorstanders. I'd contemplated stand-mounting them in the man-cave, but decided against it - I don't want the added hassle of proper sub integration.
Tannoy Mercury mx1's had another showing, and once again, I just couldn't gel with them. I can't help but get the impression that having them play full range detracts from the mid-range coherency of the woofer - possibly requiring very precise positioning to get right. Maybe they'd do better when cut off at 80Hz and integrated with a subwoofer to do the dirty work, but I'm not committed enough to them to bother finding out. I don't care that they match my Tannoy mx10 Sub in terms of both series and colour. They're looking for a new home.
LM1's didn't get airtime - they're too weedy for front duty, and wasted as surround channels.
Audio Physic Tempo 3i's - The joker in the pack... they're the wrong colour, they're absurdly too tall and large for the cave, and they're rated at 4-ohm. I wasn't even going to try them on the AVR, and even had my reservations about the Topaz SR10 running them. With delicate and precise work, they're better than the CM7's - fast and articulate, even if they have a relatively tight "sweet spot"... bass is a tad lacking, but a single notch of bass boost on the amp sorts that right out. I found that they generally seemed to image a bit "'lower" than the B&W's, but that may have just been down to setup. Sadly though, I was right regarding the Topaz SR10's abilities - or the lack of them. When the soundscape got busy on the Tempo's, they would get out of shape badly, with guitar notes wavering and almost sounding like clipping, despite a reasonably low volume. Their impedance probably dips a lot lower than the rated 4 ohms when things really get going, and the Topaz simply isn't up to the task. I've got a Rotel Pre and Power combo on the way to give them another whirl before I make a call on them.
Still to be tested are Tannoy Mercury M5's - but I'll most likely sell them, and a set of Meridian M60's that I'll be getting later in the week. CM7's have been provisionally withdrawn, and will have another go on the Rotel Pre and Power combo, as well as a Sony STR-DA2400ES for the sake of fair comparison, as whatever set of speakers I wind up finally keeping for the man cave, will primarily serve for gaming and HT purposes.
Sorry for the wall of text... hope someone's gotten something out of it.
I've been doing a bit of a speaker shootout in both my study and the mancave...
First up came the study - I'd reached the conclusion that the CDM-1NT's were completely wasted on my desk - they don't image suitably for that kind of near-field listening, and I was right.
Observations on other speakers tried were as follows:
Tannoy Mercury mx1 - Impressive bass, but they just sounded wrong - almost "off-key" in the way they portrayed instruments and voices, with a bump in the mid-range that just didn't work for me. I didn't bother trying to move them around on the desk, as there's only really one spot they could stand - if they don't work there, tough.
B&W LM1 - the smallest of the bunch, and thus the one I'd have liked to use - and wall-mounting it would've been an additional bonus to liberate some desk space, but it wasn't to be. Their small woofer and sealed enclosure leaves them relatively bass shy, and they don't image all that well up close.... they'll probably wind up getting mounted outside in the pool area - if they don't impress there, I'll flog them.
B&W DM601 - These came together surprisingly well in close proximity. Just the right amount of bass thump and weighty feel, while painting a surprising soundstage from as little as 60cm away from my ears. They don't have the coherency and clarity of the CDM-1NT's overall, but I like them better for the purpose... which probably says more about my hearing, preferences and bias, than it does about their ability as speakers.
With a suitable set of bookshelves found for the study, it was off to the man-cave.
With B&W CM7's being my reference (and performing reasonably well off the Pioneer VSX-820 at lower listening levels due to the smaller room size), I set off testing. They really do sound good on the Cambridge Topaz SR10, which is by no means a monster amp... it just goes to show how much of an advantage even a modest stereo amp has in comparison to mid-range AVR's in the quality of amplification department.
CDM-1NT's sounded a bit thin... precise, nice, but lacking the body of floorstanders. I'd contemplated stand-mounting them in the man-cave, but decided against it - I don't want the added hassle of proper sub integration.
Tannoy Mercury mx1's had another showing, and once again, I just couldn't gel with them. I can't help but get the impression that having them play full range detracts from the mid-range coherency of the woofer - possibly requiring very precise positioning to get right. Maybe they'd do better when cut off at 80Hz and integrated with a subwoofer to do the dirty work, but I'm not committed enough to them to bother finding out. I don't care that they match my Tannoy mx10 Sub in terms of both series and colour. They're looking for a new home.
LM1's didn't get airtime - they're too weedy for front duty, and wasted as surround channels.
Audio Physic Tempo 3i's - The joker in the pack... they're the wrong colour, they're absurdly too tall and large for the cave, and they're rated at 4-ohm. I wasn't even going to try them on the AVR, and even had my reservations about the Topaz SR10 running them. With delicate and precise work, they're better than the CM7's - fast and articulate, even if they have a relatively tight "sweet spot"... bass is a tad lacking, but a single notch of bass boost on the amp sorts that right out. I found that they generally seemed to image a bit "'lower" than the B&W's, but that may have just been down to setup. Sadly though, I was right regarding the Topaz SR10's abilities - or the lack of them. When the soundscape got busy on the Tempo's, they would get out of shape badly, with guitar notes wavering and almost sounding like clipping, despite a reasonably low volume. Their impedance probably dips a lot lower than the rated 4 ohms when things really get going, and the Topaz simply isn't up to the task. I've got a Rotel Pre and Power combo on the way to give them another whirl before I make a call on them.
Still to be tested are Tannoy Mercury M5's - but I'll most likely sell them, and a set of Meridian M60's that I'll be getting later in the week. CM7's have been provisionally withdrawn, and will have another go on the Rotel Pre and Power combo, as well as a Sony STR-DA2400ES for the sake of fair comparison, as whatever set of speakers I wind up finally keeping for the man cave, will primarily serve for gaming and HT purposes.
Sorry for the wall of text... hope someone's gotten something out of it.
