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Seeking Help In Choosing Surround/Rear Bookshelf Speakers.

DALFA

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2023
Messages
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Location
INDIA
Hello All,
I would very greatly appreciate anyone's valuable advice/experience(s) with regards to the following:
I presently have a pair of GoldenEar Triton 2+ as Fronts, GoldenEar Super XXL Center, and JBL A130 Bookshelf Speakers serving as Rear/Surround Speakers along with 2 SVS PB2000 subs for the low end, sourced from an Anthem MRX540/MCA225. This set-up is decent enough for regualar home theater, but the JBL's are woefully inadequate for music-listening due to the tonal/timbre mismatch.

I discovered, "ASR" only 3 years ago and have been slowly, but surely educating myself on the entire subject of speaker measurements, gear, etc. However, I had bought the GoldenEar set-up a year prior to that--Had I known better-- I'd have opted for a full, "Revel", 5.2 system at the very outset. As prices in India are 2 1/2 times that of the U.S, in dollar-to-Rupee terms, I cannot justify upgrading for at least another 3-5 years.

After reading ASR Reviews based on what's available here in India, I'm down to 3 choices--Revel M16, KEF R3, and GoldenEar M16. Unfortunately, none of the other Revel Bookshelves are in stock or I would have purchased the M126BE in a heartbeat!

Revel M16 and KEF R3, most desirable based on measurements and reviews, however, I'm afraid that the difference in tweeters will not blend with the Triton Front's and that there will be a significant, noticeable mismatch in the overall sound presentation for music. (Please note, this is concerning surround music. Otherwise, the present JBL A130 works for home theater.)

GoldenEar BRX, least desirable based on measurements and reviews, but will hopefully seamlessly blend in with the fronts.

Could anyone please help me out with this decision? I'm sorely tempted to buy the Revel, but don't know if it would serve my purpose and I don't want to end up with buyers remorse if I'm compelled to opt for the BRX.
To further complicate the matter, I'm unable to have a personal audition of any of the the 3 options as none of the 10-odd B&M dealers, here in Bombay have them in stock and whatever I choose will be shipped in from other parts of India.

Many Thanks in advance and Best Wishes for the year ahead!
Prashant.
 
I would go with the BRX. I think if you want seamless panning between your speakers they need to match or be of the same series. I am sure some of the unevenness in frequency response was corrected with Anthem's ARC and will be when you redo it with your new speakers.
 
Have to agree with the above. In a vacuum I'd recommend the Revel or KEF no question, but if the issue you're having is a mismatch when sounds are panning to the rear speakers then going with the matching Goldenear is the only sure way to alleviate that. Getting something else would be a gamble -- it may match close enough, or it may not.
 
Does your MRX allow you a lot of EQ?

I would actually advise you to keep with what you have and be patient and wait the next 3-5 years to upgrade.

Rear speakers do not need the same level of fidelity, just dynamics (to hit ideal SPLs). The timbre mismatch is a challenge that was addressed by THX processing by providing a generic HRTF that tried to make subtle adjustments to match the sound when the audio was being played by both the front and rear. That has fallen a bit out of favor.

Just as stereo speakers can mask tonality issues, you may achieve better results by doing things like firing your rears in a different direction even going full reflective.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that upgrading your rear speakers will correct the timbre mismatch since some people feel as if you need the THX style processing in a home environment.

I would invest your time in playing with the DSP and ARC Genesis.
 
Just checked the pricing on those Goldenear BRX... yikes. They go for a grand each. You probably want to do as GXAlan said and see if you can't play with DSP and maybe the placement of the speaker to see if you can't get it to be at least acceptable. Particularly since you're planning on a full replacement of your system.

Failing that, maybe consider something a bit cheaper to tide you over like the Goldenear Supersat 3 if that's available to you. But yeah, those folded ribbon tweeters have some particular dispersion and distortion behavior that I can see just not matching with really any other speaker that's not using the same.
 
Does your MRX allow you a lot of EQ?

I would actually advise you to keep with what you have and be patient and wait the next 3-5 years to upgrade.

Rear speakers do not need the same level of fidelity, just dynamics (to hit ideal SPLs). The timbre mismatch is a challenge that was addressed by THX processing by providing a generic HRTF that tried to make subtle adjustments to match the sound when the audio was being played by both the front and rear. That has fallen a bit out of favor.

Just as stereo speakers can mask tonality issues, you may achieve better results by doing things like firing your rears in a different direction even going full reflective.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that upgrading your rear speakers will correct the timbre mismatch since some people feel as if you need the THX style processing in a home environment.

I would invest your time in playing with the DSP and ARC Genesis.
Actually, despite Anthem ARC being top notch, EQ doesn't help too much and it recesses the bass output far too much to compensate for room modes. I've been manually adjusting the tone controls instead, through the Anthem App, but will, perhaps, try the room correction again and try to tweak the Bass output accordingly.
Thanks so much, for taking the time And trouble to help me out!
 
I would go with the BRX. I think if you want seamless panning between your speakers they need to match or be of the same series. I am sure some of the unevenness in frequency response was corrected with Anthem's ARC and will be when you redo it with your new speakers.
Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to help me out, much appreciated!
I would go with the BRX. I think if you want seamless panning between your speakers they need to match or be of the same series. I am sure some of the unevenness in frequency response was corrected with Anthem's ARC and will be when you redo it with your new speakers.
 
Just checked the pricing on those Goldenear BRX... yikes. They go for a grand each. You probably want to do as GXAlan said and see if you can't play with DSP and maybe the placement of the speaker to see if you can't get it to be at least acceptable. Particularly since you're planning on a full replacement of your system.

Failing that, maybe consider something a bit cheaper to tide you over like the Goldenear Supersat 3 if that's available to you. But yeah, those folded ribbon tweeters have some particular dispersion and distortion behavior that I can see just not matching with really any other speaker that's not using the same.
Thanks so much, for taking the time and making the effort to help me out!
 
Does your MRX allow you a lot of EQ?

I would actually advise you to keep with what you have and be patient and wait the next 3-5 years to upgrade.

Rear speakers do not need the same level of fidelity, just dynamics (to hit ideal SPLs). The timbre mismatch is a challenge that was addressed by THX processing by providing a generic HRTF that tried to make subtle adjustments to match the sound when the audio was being played by both the front and rear. That has fallen a bit out of favor.

Just as stereo speakers can mask tonality issues, you may achieve better results by doing things like firing your rears in a different direction even going full reflective.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that upgrading your rear speakers will correct the timbre mismatch since some people feel as if you need the THX style processing in a home environment.

I would invest your time in playing with the DSP and ARC Genesis.
Thanks so much for your detailed answer and taking the time and effort to help me out!
 
Just checked the pricing on those Goldenear BRX... yikes. They go for a grand each. You probably want to do as GXAlan said and see if you can't play with DSP and maybe the placement of the speaker to see if you can't get it to be at least acceptable. Particularly since you're planning on a full replacement of your system.

Failing that, maybe consider something a bit cheaper to tide you over like the Goldenear Supersat 3 if that's available to you. But yeah, those folded ribbon tweeters have some particular dispersion and distortion behavior that I can see just not matching with really any other speaker that's not using the same.
And there's 28% GST on top of that MRP Listing, for All electronics in India!
 
Would I gain anything by going in for the Triton 7-performance-wise, as opposed to the BRX, considering they are priced the same in India, please?
 
2 more options, if I may...
Would JBL HDI1600 be worthy of consideration, price is the same as the BRX.
And my last and most expensive option would be for the Revel F226BE as fronts, using the Triton 2+ as surround/rears.
However, the primary concern of timbre/acoustic matching is still a big question mark.
Would I be wrong in assuming that the Revel's Beryllium Tweeter will be a closer acoustic match to the GoldenEar's HVFR Tweeter?
Any and All advice and Inputs would be Greatly Appreciated, Many Thanks in advance!
 
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Would I gain anything by going in for the Triton 7-performance-wise, as opposed to the BRX, considering they are priced the same in India, please?
I would say no, as you generally don't need the advantages of a floorstander for surround duty applications. That said, as long as the form factor works for you there's no real disadvantage either. You might also note the angled baffle on the Triton 7, so make sure the direct on-axis won't be shooting over your head. Particularly important with those tweeters as they usually have very poor vertical directivity.
2 more options, if I may...
Would JBL HDI1600 be worthy of consideration, price is the same as the BRX.
The JBL HDI1600 (review linked) is an excellent speaker. I would go with it over any of the Goldenear options any day. I wouldn't mix them with Goldenears, however, as I suspect you'll experience the same issue you're having now.
And my last and most expensive option would be for the Revel F226BE as fronts, using the Triton 2+ as surround/rears.
Revel F226be is certainly the best option for your mains no question. But again, I wouldn't mix them with the Goldenears if you're looking to avoid the same issue.
However, the primary concern of timbre/acoustic matching is still a big question mark.
Would I be wrong in assuming that the Revel's Beryllium Tweeter will be a closer acoustic match to the GoldenEar's HVFR Tweeter?
Any and All advice and Inputs would be Greatly Appreciated, Many Thanks in advance!
I don't think the beryllium tweeter will match any better. Despite the material, it's still very much a dome tweeter in a waveguide.
 
I would say no, as you generally don't need the advantages of a floorstander for surround duty applications. That said, as long as the form factor works for you there's no real disadvantage either. You might also note the angled baffle on the Triton 7, so make sure the direct on-axis won't be shooting over your head. Particularly important with those tweeters as they usually have very poor vertical directivity.

The JBL HDI1600 (review linked) is an excellent speaker. I would go with it over any of the Goldenear options any day. I wouldn't mix them with Goldenears, however, as I suspect you'll experience the same issue you're having now.

Revel F226be is certainly the best option for your mains no question. But again, I wouldn't mix them with the Goldenears if you're looking to avoid the same issue.

I don't think the beryllium tweeter will match any better. Despite the material, it's still very much a dome tweeter in a waveguide.
Thanks so much, Kyuu, points noted. I'll see if I can get an audition for the JBL HDI1600, there seem to be a couple of dealers/showrooms in Bombay, whom I shall contact today. Nothing like hearing them for myself to make an acceptable judgement!
 
Although you are using a separate power amp, my suggestion would be to select a pair with high sensitivity and above 4ohm min load in a surround system.
 
Although you are using a separate power amp, my suggestion would be to select a pair with high sensitivity and above 4ohm min load in a surround system.
I think my Anthem MCA225 should be able to cope---hopefully!
 
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