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Loudspeakers That Do It All

R

ryder

pfm Member
I am aware there are people who own only one system based on a pair of loudspeakers. Speakers that are said to do everything, sounding great with all types of music. There's no disputing this fact and I'm sure this is certainly true for most people including me at one point.

Nevertheless, as time goes by I realise that all systems particularly loudspeakers are a compromise. There isn't a speaker that's perfect, in other words one that can do it all. All speakers have a sound signature of their own including those which are claimed to be neutral. To me, it's just a matter of finding one that suits one's taste and listening preferences.

I came to this conclusion after I reassessed the Graham LS5/9 in the main system last week, replacing the Marten Duke 2. I compared both earlier last year and found the Marten to be a superior speaker, sounding better than the Graham in almost all areas except human voice reproduction. After I made some upgrades to the system (new streamer, DAC, new power conditioner and some mains cables), it's somewhat a level playing field now as the upgrades have bridged the gap between both speakers. The Grahams are sounding much better now, not as warm or dull as I thought of earlier.

In summary, what I think is a pair of speakers that do it all does not exist. Of course, one can choose to just live with a pair since everything sounds great through it. However, it will sound different (or better) once you make the switch. I'm now having a slight dilemma whether to have the Graham or Marten in the main system as both sound good albeit different mainly in tonal character and the bass. The LS5/9's bass performance can't match the Duke 2 as it sounds a little smeared and doesn't go too low, but from the midrange up to the treble it gives up very little.

I currently do not have a good room to set up a second system so the surplus speakers (and amps) will not be utilised. I do enjoy swapping amps and speakers on an occasional basis though. I used to have four pairs of speakers but it's now down to two. A friend says I'm crazy when I told him I may want to add another one in the near future, the Proac Response DB1. Perhaps I'll stay put for now since there's no end to this game. It appears that I may be a victim to my own preaching.
 
I have always preferred quality stand mounts to floorstanders as they are more versatile, easier to place in the room and present less bass issues. However, I understand it will be dependent on the size of the room. The current listening room is small to medium, and future rooms if available won't get much larger. I have a REL S/510 sub in the system too.

I'm not exactly looking for new speakers but am sharing my perspective on the nonexistence of a perfect speaker that does it all.
 
I'd think it depends on your room, listening position, programme preferences, hi-fi values, & habits?

I have a small room with a mid to near field listening position by necessity. My programme is mostly rock music & YouTube vlogs, essays, & docos. I value musical insight, coherence, a clear midrange (voices being particularly important for YT content), & an engaging sound at all volumes.

There's no perfect speaker. Currently I use LS3/5As, powered by either an A&R A60 or Yamaha AX-450. Yes, they have certain compromises; yes, they do it all for me regardless. I feel very lucky & grateful to have them! :)
 
Ever tried room correction/eq. I found the Lyngdorf Room Perfect system to work really well, made speakers work in our bungalow that without it sounded a bit below their best Kef 205 to downright awful B&W 804D2 - the pair I had in the room before worked brilliantly B&W CM8 without EQ.

Maybe MiniDSP with the REL. EQ is not for everyone and can be a faff/time sink. A UMIK1 and REW is something you could look into to get a handle on the room and maybe change layout or add some GIK panels and the like. GIK have some tools and advice on their site.
 
I have always taken the view that if you spend your life chopping and changing speakers then you are never going to be satisfied and your listening experience will be forever diminished.

I used Briks as my main speakers for over 20 years and I bought these after reading numerous reviews by pfm members. I only replaced them after Mrs Mick wanted a change of image with smaller speakers and I then I bought some Shahinian Arcs. The Arcs had a cleaner top end than the Briks but did not have the same depth of bass. Both speakers suit me and as far as I can see they are speakers for keep. They satisfy my needs so it's a case of relax and enjoy.
 
ryder said:
I am aware there are people who own only one system based on a pair of loudspeakers. Speakers that are said to do everything, sounding great with all types of music. There's no disputing this fact and I'm sure this is certainly true for most people including me at one point.

Nevertheless, as time goes by I realise that all systems particularly loudspeakers are a compromise. There isn't a speaker that's perfect, in other words one that can do it all. All speakers have a sound signature of their own including those which are claimed to be neutral. To me, it's just a matter of finding one that suits one's taste and listening preferences.

I came to this conclusion after I reassessed the Graham LS5/9 in the main system last week, replacing the Marten Duke 2. I compared both earlier last year and found the Marten to be a superior speaker, sounding better than the Graham in almost all areas except human voice reproduction. After I made some upgrades to the system (new streamer, DAC, new power conditioner and some mains cables), it's somewhat a level playing field now as the upgrades have bridged the gap between both speakers. The Grahams are sounding much better now, not as warm or dull as I thought of earlier.

In summary, what I think is a pair of speakers that do it all does not exist. Of course, one can choose to just live with a pair since everything sounds great through it. However, it will sound different (or better) once you make the switch. I'm now having a slight dilemma whether to have the Graham or Marten in the main system as both sound good albeit different mainly in tonal character and the bass. The LS5/9's bass performance can't match the Duke 2 as it sounds a little smeared and doesn't go too low, but from the midrange up to the treble it gives up very little.

I currently do not have a good room to set up a second system so the surplus speakers (and amps) will not be utilised. I do enjoy swapping amps and speakers on an occasional basis though. I used to have four pairs of speakers but it's now down to two. A friend says I'm crazy when I told him I may want to add another one in the near future, the Proac Response DB1. Perhaps I'll stay put for now since there's no end to this game. It appears that I may be a victim to my own preaching.
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In my view and experience all speakers are compromised but small speakers are more compromised unless partnered with subs.
Speakers interact with room boundaries and that adds complexity to the choice, which also needs to take amplification into account.
Trying to split efforts into two system for a single room is madness.
Your friend is right…
 
Floor standing speakers do not take up any more room, they just look bigger.

Having two systems for one room is madness, as said above, you will never be happy. Some records sound better than others & some speakers hide their flaws better.

I went active, you can reduce box count & get better results. Make a big change or don’t bother.
 
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The closest to an all-rounder I’ve ever heard are very large Tannoys. They are a point-source, so in many ways behave like a very small stand-mount, but bring real dynamics, ease and scale. I’ve never had any issue with bass, the speakers that always boom or sound hollow are those with wide-excursion small drivers and aggressive port-loading. A big driver in a big cabinet needs no chicanery, slight of hand or artifice to sound big. It just is. Tannoys are a big speaker one can use in a small room as they don’t do the typical multi-driver slicing the soundstage up into horizontal frequency bands thing with all the problems that brings.

My second choice would be Quads, which are just so neutral and open, fabulous things, but I’d miss scale, ease and heft of the Tannoys so I’ve ended up where I am.

I do love my mini-monitor near-field system too, it does what it does stunningly well, but I’d struggle with it as a main system.
 
Tony L said:
The closest to an all-rounder I’ve ever heard are very large Tannoys. They are a point-source, so in many ways behave like a very small stand-mount, but bring real dynamics, ease and scale. I’ve never had any issue with bass, the speakers that always boom or sound hollow are those with wide-excursion small drivers and aggressive port-loading. A big driver in a big cabinet needs no chicanery, slight of hand or artifice to sound big. It just is. Tannoys are a big speaker one can use in a small room as they don’t do the typical multi-driver slicing the soundstage up into horizontal frequency bands thing with all the problems that brings.

My second choice would be Quads, which are just so neutral and open, fabulous things, but I’d miss scale, ease and heft of the Tannoys so I’ve ended up where I am.

I do love my mini-monitor near-field system too, it does what it does stunningly well, but I’d struggle with it as a main system.
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I think Dahlquist DQ10s do give a lot of the best of both. I think it may be down to the open baffle and attention to phase relationships.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
I think Dahlquist DQ10s do give a lot of the best of both. I think it may be down to the open baffle and attention to phase relationships.
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With the the assortment of drivers randomly sprinkled as they are their behaviour bound to be a lot different from a point-source.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
I think Dahlquist DQ10s do give a lot of the best of both. I think it may be down to the open baffle and attention to phase relationships.
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They are surprisingly good, though you do need to get a fair way away not to be able to spot the individual drivers. I do like them. From that era Gale 401s can sound very good too. Big enough to pack some real punch, yet the drivers close enough together and aligned in such a way not to do the ‘horizontal soundstage slicing’ thing in a small room. They need a lot of amp though.
 
I agree with much of the above. Firstly that all speakers are compromised in one way or another to a higher or lesser degree.
All I can do is share my experience and final choice. Which bears out some of the suggestions above, such as point source, big Tannoys, Active, Cardioid etc.
Having tried more speakers than I can remember up to this point, including diversions away from big box speakers with things like open baffle, horns, big ribbons etc. I have found that for me a big box speaker is the least compromised and therefore best all rounder. No doubt different types of speakers can better a box speaker in some areas, but in my experience this always comes at a cost elsewhere in its performance.
More specifically, I have settled on studio monitors as the best all rounder. However, they are of course all quite different and I prefer them on the warmer / fuller end of the scale.
Some of the studio monitors that I have tried previously included Grimm LS1s. Whilst they were very enjoyable for a good couple of years, which for me in the height of my box swapping activities, was aeons. They ultimately did not stick as they were a little on the sharp/detailed end of the scale and therefore a little wearing.
The monitors that I have eventually landed on couldn't be more different, MEG RL901k. Everything is there still, but they have the warm and full presentation that I favour. Being active they have dynamics to make you jump and the 16" driver makes them as full range as I could ever want. They do their best to mimc a point source and the cardioid element definitely helps control the bass.
In short, I feel that they are simply an intelligently designed solution that is fit for my purpose. ie. main monitors for 2-4m listening distance. Nothing fancy. Quite ugly in fact. But so natural and effortless sounding.
I sold the Grimm's some years ago so no direct comparison possible. My gut feeling though is that their breathtaking clarity was likely down to their Class D amplification and clever DSP running the show. This is possibly why I ultimately found them a little hard edged.
Whilst the MEG's rely on Class AB amplification and mechanical engineering solutions instead of DSP.
In fact I have hooked them up to a Vitus pre/dac unit and particularly enjoy the fact that other than the volume there is no adjustment at all in the system, such as alternate filters etc. The simplicity is comforting for me.
Since I've had the MEG's my other speakers, Avantgarde horns - again stunningly clear but missing something, natural? (perhaps need a larger listening distance than I can give them) and my previous absolute favourites, large Tannoys - nowhere near full range, despite their appearance (15" drivers in 250l cabinets), have not had a look in.
Any way, that's my experience and choice.

Perhaps if you like what the Graham's do up top and just find them lacking in the bass then you could look at something a bit bigger from the same school of design. Such as bigger Graham's, Stirling, Harbeth, Spendor etc.
I have Spendor SP100 R2 in my second system and, whilst thoroughly unspectacular, I find them to also be a great all rounder.
I wonder if perhaps I am more of a pessimist than an optimist and therefore whilst I initially enjoy the strengths of various speakers, eventually it is their weaknesses that I notice more.
In a way, I guess I could say that for me a warmish full range monitor speaker such as the big Spendors or MEG's are not the best speakers I have had. That would likely go to the Avantgarde horns, or Grimm's, or Tannoys, or my Linkwitz LX521 system, man I loved that one......
Instead, they are the least bad.
For me at least, that seems to matter more.
 
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