Home HiFi: 3-Way VS 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers? (+Recommendations)

[CT007]

observations in the video that contradict the measurements.

And other common opinions I've heard, but it was the BMR that disappointed/surprised me most. The measurements and opinions of the Kali and Sierra-1/LX seemed to match exactly what I heard, on the other hand. When I do my upgrade shootouts, I listen to all the candidates at the same time, in the same place, so I know for sure I'm choosing the best sounding thing. If you have a totally different room than me(or totally different amp/DAC), I'm sure the results could vary a lot.

 

[Beave]

Do you level-match? How do you have the speakers arranged? If you're listening at the same time, they're all in different locations, right?

Those things are enough to throw off your observations.

 

[ScottySmallsMom]

@CT007 I dunno man, the fact that you called out the C6B finish as "rough plastic" makes me think you had a pre-conceived bias of the sound.

Plastic-y sound to me would be some weird resonance or emphasis somewhere in the treble region, which I just don't hear at all with this speaker.

 

[Jiraya369]

@CT007 I dunno man, the fact that you called out the C6B finish as "rough plastic" makes me think you had a pre-conceived bias of the sound.

Plastic-y sound to me would be some weird resonance or emphasis somewhere in the treble region, which I just don't hear at all with this speaker.

plastic look + negative bias = plastic-y sound.

 

[Chrispy]

Whether 2 way or 3 way still depends mostly on design/components chosen by designer.....

 

[CT007]

Do you level-match? How do you have the speakers arranged? If you're listening at the same time, they're all in different locations, right?

Nothing special. I just connect them, and move them around while listening, in an attempt to get the best sound positioning out of them. I listened to them during the same week/weeks individually, not all connected to the system at the same time. One at a time.

 

[CT007]

the fact that you called out the C6B finish as "rough plastic" makes me think you had a pre-conceived bias of the sound

Well, Genelecs and Neumanns(and studio speakers in general, VS hifi speakers) sure are ugly, too, aren't they? I think that's silly to say there's a sound bias, from calling out a poor cabinet finish. They are separate things, and any fair observer would not correlate those 2 non-correlated things. If you think I hate certain speaker brands for some reason, and I didn't give the speakers I tried(with my own hard-earned money, and non-monetized videos of my conclusions to freely share with people) a fair shake, well, I'm sorry you choose to think that way about people. Have a good day, man.

 

[Ktacos]

I don't see where this thread is suppose to go. The answer of 2 way vs 3 way has been answered, and you clearly have access to various speakers that are all really top tier stuff but don't like any of them for various reasons. It's wild to me that you would gush over the IN-8 but complain about issues you should have fixed with EQ, and instead of going that route you're going to try to buy something else you won't like because you don't EQ? Every speaker in a room needs EQ, corrective to the room and some preference filters on top. My genelecs needed it, my mechano23 needed it, my KH80 needed it.

I mean that video too, like what? Ascilab treble imbalance? Nope. For the love of god and all this is holy, please just look into EQ filters. Low passes, shelfs, peak, all of its. It will fix your problems. You also don't like the ascilab sb woofer or bmr for weak bass? How? I have speaker with an SB13, a very low budget woofer and couple with a PR and shelf filters, the thing will absolutely pressurize my 16'x25'x8' living room. How does the sb15 not deliver there?

Well, I think that tonality is a special thing, that can only be achieved by certain components. So, if I could bass boost the BMR Monitor, that would just mean it has more bass; the treble and tonality would still sound the same. If I took out the treble peak(s) in the IN-8, then it would sound smoother, but tonally the same. I don't think you can take the Sierra-LX or 2EX and EQ them to have the same tone as the Sierra-1, because of different components. EQ can do some cool things, but I don't think it can solve everything.

I don't really follow and I think this assessment is wrong. If a speaker has good DI you can alter tonality pretty heavily. I mean yeah, if you apply bass filters but not anything else, the rest of speaker will sound the same. Why on earth would you not just apply filters to any region that needed it? I'm quite confused at your approach and I think you might need to develop a new one to get what you're after.

 

[ScottySmallsMom]

@CT007 You probably did give them a fair shake and they just weren't the speaker for you. That's totally fair, everybody's hearing is different.

I was very surprised to see somebody describe them as plastic-y, thin, and fatiguing.

 

[Chrispy]

Nothing special. I just connect them, and move them around while listening, in an attempt to get the best sound positioning out of them. I listened to them during the same week/weeks individually, not all connected to the system at the same time. One at a time.

Uh huh

 

[kyuu]

@CT007 That's totally fair, everybody's hearing is different.

One of the things that research has taught us is that speaker preference is remarkable consistent in double blind testing.

 

[CT007]

I don't see where this thread is suppose to go. The answer of 2 way vs 3 way has been answered, and you clearly have access to various speakers that are all really top tier stuff but don't like any of them for various reasons. It's wild to me that you would gush over the IN-8 but complain about issues you should have fixed with EQ, and instead of going that route you're going to try to buy something else you won't like because you don't EQ?

To go? I am just looking for recommendations that match closest to what I'm looking for(awesome tonality+imaging), to see if I missed any speakers out there in the bookshelf world. (But I see some people want to be rude, fight, or make comments that contribute nothing)

I don't know how much I will ever dig into EQ, so I prefer to not have treble spikes or blatant issues out of the box, ideally. Other than the bass being so powerful, that was the only issue with the Kali IN-8(which is why I'm so keen on trying models as similar as possible to it).

You also don't like the ascilab sb woofer or bmr for weak bass? How?

As simply as that, is how. It sounded weaker and softer than the bass from Sierra-1/IN-8/LX/2EX. I'm just telling you what I heard, testing speakers together in my room, at the same time, in the same place. I don't know why that driver sounds that way, but I heard very similar bass from 2 different speakers using it.

 

[ScottySmallsMom]

The extended lower shelf bass response on the Kali was probably overlapping a room mode. If that was the only issue, I say it’s time to bust out that measuring mic and EQ down that peak to your heart’s content. Should be golden then

 

[Ktacos]

I don't know how much I will ever dig into EQ

There's no reason to continue the thread then. That is the answer to your problems, everyone is saying it, you are just choosing to ignore it.

(But I see some people want to be rude, fight, or make comments that contribute nothing)

I don't see that happening at all. People are giving good advice and confused on much of your assessments on the speakers.

No offense but you're not respecting other peoples time and effort by ignoring the actual solution to your problems, you're just going in circles. You're going to buy another speaker, be unhappy with it because you won't apply any EQ to fix acoustical problems, be it the speaker or the room. I can understand wanting a speaker that doesn't need EQ above where the room starts to impact things, but not applying corrective room EQ is just being stubborn.

As simply as that, is how. It sounded weaker and softer than the bass from Sierra-1/IN-8/LX/2EX. I'm just telling you what I heard, testing speakers together in my room, at the same time, in the same place. I don't know why that driver sounds that way, but I heard very similar bass from 2 different speakers using it.

If only there were some way we could increase the bass of a speaker, for free, with minimal effort... Oh well until we figure out a way to do that I guess you're out of luck.

Boy what a frustrating interaction.

 

[Mort]

I am just looking for recommendations

Did you really come here to learn?

I think maybe you wanted to talk about your subjective 'shootout' and be recognized for your contrarian subject matter knowledge.

We see this a lot. Stick around!

 

[tw 2022]

Making videos is a crime..? I guess I'm sorry, or something, for offending you. (not really)

the use of anecdotal evidence rather than measurements is a bit off putting around here ... my actual thought though is the masking of voice in this type of vid is sketchy.. do a review ? stand by your work( jmo )... it came off to me as a bit "mission impossible" I was waiting for a Tom Cruise cameo... but overall , naw no crime in having an opinion , I don't want to sound overly negative here , I don't want this to sound like a beat down... in reality even a sketchy review can be useful

 

[CT007]

The extended lower shelf bass response on the Kali was probably overlapping a room mode

I'll look into room modes, thanks. Smaller bass drivers(under 8") definitely work better in my current room, but as far as smooth falloff VS sharp falloff VS dipped falloff, I'm not quite sure.

 

[CT007]

No offense but you're not respecting other peoples time and effort by ignoring the actual solution to your problems

And no offense to you, either, when I clearly want to try more, different speakers(is this an illegal activity, as well as making YT videos?), and you just keep telling me to EQ everything I've already tried, to make them all sound the same. . .

Some people aren't EQ geniuses. And I don't have forever to screw around with EQ when listening to several speakers that have short return/refund windows. I'm not a studio, and don't have studio capabilities.

 

[CT007]

the use of anecdotal evidence rather than measurements is a bit off putting around here

Of course, with this being ASR I've never measured anything. I simply look at measurements other people did, then buy based off other people's reviews.

I don't really do reviews, since they are such a particular thing. I just tell you what I hear. No evidence. No review. A comparison, yes. (And apparently I'm wrong about all of it. Oh well)

 

[CT007]

Did you really come here to learn?

I think maybe you wanted to talk about your subjective 'shootout' and be recognized for your contrarian subject matter knowledge.

We see this a lot. Stick around!

Very friendly community here, I see.