Bookshelf speakers for metal

[JLGF1]

Speaking of saving money, I understand that the M106 was the target benchmark. Looks fairly close?

 

[jonfitch]

Welcome to ASR. Maybe these below?

SIERRA-LX PAIR

Our Latest And Greatest Bookshelf Monitor Class-leading bass extension, massive dynamics and midbass punch, high power handling, exceptionally wide and linear dispersion combined with some of the best measurements in the industry, our new LX is truly something quite unique and special. This is...

ascendacoustics.com

Measurements for speaker Ascend Acoustics Sierra-LX

www.spinorama.org

But make sure to use that sub out from your integrated amp to 1. Free the bookshelf from low bass at high SPLs; 2. Fill the sub bass extension; 3. Leave the amp headroom enough for the speakers without breaking a sweat. Edit: just saw your integrated does not high pass the speakers, so items 1 and 3 are not possible...

SB-1000 Pro

Sealed cabinet home audio subwoofer punches well above its class with stunning impact and musicality.

www.svsound.com

And headbanging is on.

Has some third party measured the LXs yet? The thing with vendor measurements is you never know if its a prototype model (aka best foot forward measurement) rather than production model, and the variance with production models can be quite high.

 

[JAJDACT]

I also can recommend the Sierra LX's,I have had mine for a few months and I love them. They beat out KEF R3's,Philharmonic BMR's and CSS Criton 1TDX's in my in home demo.

 

[Doodski]

Metal is like any genre that gains from better speakers and the use of PEQ. To think otherwise is off-kilter.

 

[JAJDACT]

Has some third party measured the LXs yet? The thing with vendor measurements is you never know if its a prototype model (aka best foot forward measurement) rather than production model, and the variance with production models can be quite high.

No,but my in room REW measurements matched up pretty close with the Klippel EIR info that Dave published. I can confirm that they have very low sensitivity. Audyssey Multi EQ-X set the gain of the LX's around the same as it did my CSS Criton 1TDX's,and Amir's measurements of those were a sensitivity of around 81db.

 

[JLGF1]

rather than production model, and the variance with production models can be quite high.

Ascend ships every speaker with an LMS FR measurement.

You can even purchase a hi-res Klippel measurement if you really wanted to. It's not cheap due to the time involved with the scans.

However, think about it. Both Ascend and ASR measure speakers with Klippel NFS robotic scanners. If a manufacturer were to put out measurements that varied significantly from an independent Klippel scan that could cause some bad business mojo. Since Ascend has their own (expensive) NFS, it wouldn't make any sense for them to do what you suggest from a reputational (ie business) standpoint.

 

[thewas]

Speaking of saving money, I understand that the M106 was the target benchmark. Looks fairly close?

View attachment 290687

Just as a general remark, on-axis is not enough to judge if two loudspeakers will behave and sound similar in typical rooms, better the full spin should be compared, in this case the difference in directivity in the presence region isn't negligible:

Even better of course the full horizontal and vertical directivities should be individually compared.

 

[damage]

I wouldn't consider anything but a 3-way with less than a 12" woofer. And I don't mean a Klipsch horn type either. Something more like a JBL L100t, Cerwin Vega XLS-12. Or build the Zaph Audio kit - https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...o-sb12.3-sb-acoustics-12-dual-midrange-3-way/

 

[Head_Unit]

Bookshelf speakers for metal

Speaking as a longtime metal fan and loudspeaker engineer, that's a tough order to fill, and rather an oxymoron.
- Frankly the only non-horn speakers I've ever heard that could really crank metal were
https://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-silver-300-loudspeaker
which you might get on closeout or used at around your budget. Piece of Mind and No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith loud enough to nearly need earplugs? Check! Thank you Upscale Audio and PrimaLuna ($2k integrated 50W tube amp).
- Genre. I sideways disagree with the genre comments above. Yes ideally a great speaker plays everything well. In real life, or the surreal part of it called "audio shows," many speakers sound lovely playing jazz or classical or solo female vocal or folk etc etc. However, put on some multiguitar Accept or Motorhead and so on and they just fall apart into a hash of distortion which brings me to
- Bookshelf speakers, by the nature of Hoffman's Iron Law and the physics of low frequency sound pressure and the realities of practical woofer design have a hard time really blasting out the bass. This implies to really do a proper job you need towers or a subwoofer or both, because you need big woofers to move big air.
- Consider something like https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=600013 or https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EON715--jbl-eon715-1300-watt-15-inch-powered-pa-speaker
and similar from Behringer etc. I think the volume knobs are calibrated to 11.
I seriously do not believe any bookshelf speaker can truly satisfy a metal jones, at least not without a subwoofer.
Oh on another fun note, let me declaim that speaker specifications (sensitivity, frequency response, power handling, on and on) are useless nonsense often exaggerated or outright invented by the marketing department. So don't comparison shop by specs, it means nothing.

 

[Webninja]

Speaking as a longtime metal fan and loudspeaker engineer, that's a tough order to fill, and rather an oxymoron.
- Frankly the only non-horn speakers I've ever heard that could really crank metal were
https://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-silver-300-loudspeaker
which you might get on closeout or used at around your budget. Piece of Mind and No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith loud enough to nearly need earplugs? Check! Thank you Upscale Audio and PrimaLuna ($2k integrated 50W tube amp).
- Genre. I sideways disagree with the genre comments above. Yes ideally a great speaker plays everything well. In real life, or the surreal part of it called "audio shows," many speakers sound lovely playing jazz or classical or solo female vocal or folk etc etc. However, put on some multiguitar Accept or Motorhead and so on and they just fall apart into a hash of distortion which brings me to
- Bookshelf speakers, by the nature of Hoffman's Iron Law and the physics of low frequency sound pressure and the realities of practical woofer design have a hard time really blasting out the bass. This implies to really do a proper job you need towers or a subwoofer or both, because you need big woofers to move big air.
- Consider something like https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=600013 or https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EON715--jbl-eon715-1300-watt-15-inch-powered-pa-speaker
and similar from Behringer etc. I think the volume knobs are calibrated to 11.
I seriously do not believe any bookshelf speaker can truly satisfy a metal jones, at least not without a subwoofer.
Oh on another fun note, let me declaim that speaker specifications (sensitivity, frequency response, power handling, on and on) are useless nonsense often exaggerated or outright invented by the marketing department. So don't comparison shop by specs, it means nothing.

Uh