Need recommendations for a warmer sounding speaker

With 6000$ I’d try to listen to Spendor Classic 2/3. I saw they are not possible to audition but perhaps you can find them used

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You can please some of the people, some of the time. - Steve Jobs

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Steve have made many good quotes but this one is not one of them :blush:

The following quote is attributed to the poet John Lydgate and later adapted by President Lincoln: “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time

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I knew the quote, but always thought that the verb was fool instead of please, with the possible use of a similar, four letters word.

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@T32803 , a quick look at the Stereophile review of the 804 suggests that they are somewhat strong in the treble. Plenty of classic US speakers knocking around used at low cost that might be a little more palatable - for example Shahinian Compass would seem to fit the bill and leave about $5k of your budget untouched, similarly Spica TC50 if you take find a pair that has not been destroyed. Pushing the boat out there things like JBL 4367 or 4343, both well-engineering rock-and-roll speakers that need not be played loud but might be too large for the room. If you go Compass, suggest that you use some of your budget for a Flatcap or similar and may be investigate a turntable - Linn or Well-Tempered being the obvious choices here. That might help out with the low-volume fun quotient. Good luck.

This might seem like a strange suggestion but based on my own experience here I would consider testing a pair of Townshend Super Tweeters. One might think this would make your issue worse as adding to the high frequencies, in reality, I found these to actually cause less listening fatigue and supported my main speakers PMC Fact 12s in the mid band and low end frequencies, bringing a more natural less high fi sound. Townshend do support returns so you could test to see what difference these make, they are adjustable according to your speakers with 6 different settings and you simply ‘piggy back’ your main speaker cables to these.

Of course I have heard only a limited amount of speakers. But if I is the high frequencies that bother you, I suggest don’t go for ProAc but e.g. for Harbeth. They sound never harsh.

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I have mild tinnitus in my right ear and was using B&W 803S & Harbeth SHL5 (the earlier version) occasionally swapped around in both my lounge and dining room systems. One had a Supernait 2 amp (80w), the other a Leben 660P valve amp (40w). While I imagine a bit more power would be better to drive the speakers, it was plenty enough to make enjoyable music. The Harbeths seemed much less power hungry than the B&Ws, so I wouldn’t worry too much about a Nait XS struggling.

The B&W speakers were much more brightly lit in the treble and allowed a mass of information through in that region. They are detail kings and very revealing. The Harbeths were more midrange focused and miles ‘warmer’ sounding in comparison. I sometimes used a REL sub with the B&W speakers on poorly recorded material, which could sound a little unpleasant otherwise, so I can appreciate the OPs situation.

Like others have suggested, I would see if you can get some Harbeths to demo with your system. You will likely miss the treble detail that B&W does well, but the warmer voiced, midrange focus of the Harbeths would quite possibly solve your issue.

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No need for tinnitus to find B&W sound sharp and brittle.

Try Dynaudio. You might never want anything else. There’s a reason their Esotar tweeters are world renowned!

B&W aren’t bright in the right system. With McIntish amplification they are great but as ever, system synergy, room and personal preference are what count.

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That’s correct. B&W 800 series should at least have Nap 250 level of amplification and positioned well. Lots of space preferably.

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Dynaudio Esotar 3 is the best tweeter I’ve ever heard. Even better than the various Ribbons, such as Raidho and ProAc.

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Tape some soft foam or fabric over the tweeters. Job done…

I listened to the Esostar40 in the Dynaudio 40 Special the other week … they were good, but nothing special, and to be frank was a little disappointed given the hype… I also listened to Dynaudio Cerotar tweeter in the Evoke speakers which is supposed to based in part on the Esostar 30. Both of these were at my dealer’s listening rooms.
I found both lacking natural detail for my tastes and perception of realism. Perhaps it was the crossover response… I don’t know, but they just didn’t gel for my brain … the RK speakers trumped them completely, and that was with the RK standard tweeters. I suspect the Dynaudio’s might nudge ahead if you have your foot to the metal (play very very loud). It was interesting somebody listening with me noticed that the audio on the Dynaudios seem to stick with speakers more, and it came out more into the room and the speakers kind of disappeared with the RKs. We were listening to UPnP with a DAVE and vinyl.
So I am curious to listen to the Confidence line of speakers with the Esostar 3, however I do find them ugly :confused:. Surely they must be significantly more integrated and naturally revealing for my tastes compared to the Special 40 and Evoke series… if they are supposed to be one of the better tweeter designs out there.

Perhaps it shows the degree of subjectivity here, and we all hear and interpret sound slightly differently.

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I agree Simon. I bought a pair of S40’s when they came out. They definitely were on the forward side of things. I used them with an SN2 with HiCapDR and it was not a great combination much too forward for my taste . Moved on to ProAc D20R… then to ProAc D48R. Since then I had to scale down the size of my speakers and bought the Heritage Specials. The HS sound nothing like the S40. Much more refined. The Esotar 3 is a much better tweeter than the S40’s tweeter. Crossover parts are much better Mundorf caps, Van den Hul internal wiring, WBT Nextgen binding posts and so on. And of course more than twice the price!

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I’m currently using NEAT Motive SX2s on the end of a HiCap Dr’ed SN3 and they sound absolutely incredible. I never thought so much music could come out of such compact floor-standers and not wanting for anything anywhere in the music being played, regardless of genre or recording quality :laughing:

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I have B&W 804 D3s in the main hifi, with the Shahinian Compasses that they replaced still doing a good job upstairs in a second system.

Unlike many B&Ws of the previous decade or so, the D4s and later versions do not sound shrill or biased toward the treble, at least to me. However, they are certainly both detailed and demanding - we briefly heard them in front of both Atom and Nova - don’t do that.

The Compasses are great in many ways, but the mark 2 is better than the first iteration and both can get confused or congested if pushed - don’t play the Verdi Requiem or Red too loudly.

Since you’re in the US, try some Totems that will go
With your xs2. At the XS2 level, the model one signatures, tribe towers and sky towers are good options.

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I have a friend who has been suffering from tinnitus in one ear for years… It was a cervical spine problem, when this one was cured, the tinnitus disappeared… if that can help!
I also think that an amp with tone correctors would be the best solution.

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Do you have a “Line level” signal from your source to your amp? If you do, you could insert a small graphic equaliser between the two and use that to reduce the treble.

The Schiit Loki is very good, small and cheap. So perhaps a worthwhile experiment. No good if you run a turntable direct to the amp, as you’d need an external phono amp to boost and equalise the signal before it goes into the equaliser. Which would make life more expensive.