Mind Blown. What next?

[xanalog]

What speakers would folks recommend I try next in the $4k to $6k per pair range that they believe would provide enough difference that I will notice.

I am not recommending nothing, but only ask that you consider the MoFi SourcePoint888 ($5k/pr?).
Erin's Corner (yt) states it this way:

"This is my top recommendation for a speaker in the $5k/pair budget range. It checks every box I would want checked:

• good linearity
• great in-room tonality
• great distortion and compression
• low frequency extension down to 30Hz in-room
• easy to drive load
• excellent directivity (easy to EQ if desired)"

Comparisons aside; I would not be surprised if you detect significant differences (possibly due to different design types) but I would not dare to pick which you would choose or prefer.
Wide H/V contour plots sold me on this coaxial design because solo listening is for... hermits!

 

[xanalog]

B777? Interesting. While working at Collins Aerospace (current name)

I was a MeatBaller, too!

 

[2Sunny]

Mind Blown . . . aaagaaain . . . lol. But not in a good way and certainly may explain a lot.

Imagine my surprise when I visited the website below and heard absolutely zilch. Looks like I'm unable to hear sounds above 8 kHz or so AND it turns out that's probably true for the majority of us old fogys. Looks like time to visit the ear doc and see about hearing aides

I asked chatgpt: " Can you estimate the percentage of folks over 50 who can no longer hear frequencies above 10 kHz?" and this was the answer

Yes — estimating the percentage of adults over 50 who can no longer hear frequencies above 10 kHz falls within well-studied territory.

Estimated Percentage:

• Roughly 60–80% of people over 50 have a noticeable reduction or complete loss of hearing sensitivity above 10,000 Hz (10 kHz).

Why?

• Presbycusis (age-related hearing loss) starts in the high frequencies, typically above 8 kHz, and worsens with age.
• Even by age 40–50, many adults begin to lose the ability to hear above 12 kHz.
• By age 60, the upper hearing limit often drops to 8–10 kHz, even for people without noticeable hearing "problems."

Supporting Evidence:

• Standard audiograms for aging populations show the average upper hearing limit:
  • ~12 kHz for people in their 30s.
  • ~10–11 kHz by their 40s.
  • ~8–10 kHz or lower by their 50s and 60s.
• Some individuals over 50 may still hear slightly above 10 kHz, but most will have a steep drop-off.

Bottom Line:

If you're estimating how many people over 50 cannot hear above 10 kHz, a safe and realistic figure is:

About 70% (±10%) of adults over 50 have limited or no perception of sounds above 10 kHz.

This should be factored in for any application involving audio design, alarms, or communication systems targeting older adults.

 

[JRR]

I have an extremely well tuned system in my dedicated listening room utilizing Both Dirac and BACCH. The main L/R speakers are revel F226BE that you can find used for less than $4k easily.

In my living room I have a pair of well regarded speakers that cost 10x of the F226BE from the same parent company Harman. They are bettered by the lesser Revels in many ways.

 

[Saponetto]

Mind Blown . . . aaagaaain . . . lol. But not in a good way and certainly may explain a lot.

Imagine my surprise when I visited the website below and heard absolutely zilch. Looks like I'm unable to hear sounds above 8 kHz or so AND it turns out that's probably true for the majority of us old fogys. Looks like time to visit the ear doc and see about hearing aides

I asked chatgpt: " Can you estimate the percentage of folks over 50 who can no longer hear frequencies above 10 kHz?" and this was the answer

Yes — estimating the percentage of adults over 50 who can no longer hear frequencies above 10 kHz falls within well-studied territory.

Estimated Percentage:

• Roughly 60–80% of people over 50 have a noticeable reduction or complete loss of hearing sensitivity above 10,000 Hz (10 kHz).

Why?

• Presbycusis (age-related hearing loss) starts in the high frequencies, typically above 8 kHz, and worsens with age.
• Even by age 40–50, many adults begin to lose the ability to hear above 12 kHz.
• By age 60, the upper hearing limit often drops to 8–10 kHz, even for people without noticeable hearing "problems."

Supporting Evidence:

• Standard audiograms for aging populations show the average upper hearing limit:
  • ~12 kHz for people in their 30s.
  • ~10–11 kHz by their 40s.
  • ~8–10 kHz or lower by their 50s and 60s.
• Some individuals over 50 may still hear slightly above 10 kHz, but most will have a steep drop-off.

Bottom Line:

If you're estimating how many people over 50 cannot hear above 10 kHz, a safe and realistic figure is:




This should be factored in for any application involving audio design, alarms, or communication systems targeting older adults.

I'm in.

 

[2Sunny]

Warning if you think subjective anecdotes are worthless you can simply skip this post, but if you enjoy hearing about others experiences read on


Today I received a pair of Ascend Acoustics ELX towers w/ the Titan tweeter. Two interesting facts came to light. First, I have a new set of songs that I listen to for specific reasons as recommended in the video linked below. Second, I bought an Onkyo HiFi receiver with A/B switching so I can switch back and forth between two sets of speakers effortlessly whereas before I had to unplug and replug physically to switch. After step one I played 10 songs I like for 1 minute and then switched to the other speaker set, but I had my son do the switching and he used a coin toss to determine which speaker to play first. The goal was to try and create a situation where I didn't know which set of speakers was playing, and I had the Revel F36s connected to A and the ELXs connected to B. I then wrote down which version I preferred either the first or the second.

When I was doing the tests discussed in the video linked below I felt like the sound stage of the ELXs was way more precise than I remembered it being when I had done the tests with the Revel F36s, but most amazing of all I preferred the ELXs 10 out of 10 times when doing the song listening. The best word I can use to describe the difference is that the Ascends were sharper.

I'm going to repeat the test tomorrow afternoon first comparing the F36s against the F226s again, but then I intend to compare the F226s against the Ascends. I'm honestly shocked because earlier when I tried blind testing the F36 against the F226 it was kind of a toss up with no clear winner, but I wasn't able to do instant switching and had to go on memory after the lengthy delay of unplugging and replugging so perhaps that played a role. Secretly I'm hoping that when I do the test tomorrow comparing the F36 to the F226 with instant switching that this time I'll notice a difference.

No matter what I'm having a lot of fun experimenting and this has completely rekindled my interest in listening to music.

 

[2Sunny]

Stop the presses!!

I brought my F226s upstairs to add them to the test and I found out something that regulars could probably have guessed.

The position of the speakers changed the sound enough that I always preferred the B set.

Put me down as mind blown . . . again.

What this means though is that the F36s sound the same as the F226s and the same as the ELXs when in position B in my living room to my untrained non-audiophile ears. Somehow moving the speakers further away from the kitchen open wall creates a wider and improved sound stage. It also means I'm back to my original thought which is good for me. To my ears the Revel F36s for which I paid a mere $900 for the used pair sound just as good as the brand new $7700 F226s or the $4400 ELXs.

Lucky me I guess. Reaching my End Game speaker turns out to be cheap

 

[John760]

Stop the presses!!

I brought my F226s upstairs to add them to the test and I found out something that regulars could probably have guessed.

The position of the speakers changed the sound enough that I always preferred the B set.

Put me down as mind blown . . . again.

What this means though is that the F36s sound the same as the F226s and the same as the ELXs when in position B in my living room to my untrained non-audiophile ears. Somehow moving the speakers further away from the kitchen open wall creates a wider and improved sound stage. It also means I'm back to my original thought which is good for me. To my ears the Revel F36s for which I paid a mere $900 for the used pair sound just as good as the brand new $7700 F226s or the $4400 ELXs.

Lucky me I guess. Reaching my End Game speaker turns out to be cheap

As we get older and can afford more expensive equipment, our hearing ability decreases. Eventually you can afford a system that recreates everything you can hear, and spending more gets you nowhere.