25-Feb-2017, 19:23
If you're truly going for imaging and smoothness a full-range speaker with diamond tweeter may not be your cup of tea.
The best imaging I've heard has almost always been from a small stand-mount speaker, where the lack of bass does enhance perception of midrange & treble while the small box gets out of the way for excellent imaging. My KEF LS-50 were great that way, better than my B&W N802 and maybe even my 804D3 (I haven't directly compared). I still prefer full-range sound, and subwoofers didn't satisfy me.
Many people like smooth sound more than clarity or detail. I'm not in that camp, accepting some brightness or edge in search of clear and precise sound. Diamond and metal tweeters seem to sound harsher than soft domes, although the speaker design matters more than the material.
None of that detracts from my love of B&W, but I just wanted to add it because your taste sounds like it might be different than mine and thus other speakers might delight you more (KEF, Monitor Audio, and Revel come to mind of what I've heard).
The best imaging I've heard has almost always been from a small stand-mount speaker, where the lack of bass does enhance perception of midrange & treble while the small box gets out of the way for excellent imaging. My KEF LS-50 were great that way, better than my B&W N802 and maybe even my 804D3 (I haven't directly compared). I still prefer full-range sound, and subwoofers didn't satisfy me.
Many people like smooth sound more than clarity or detail. I'm not in that camp, accepting some brightness or edge in search of clear and precise sound. Diamond and metal tweeters seem to sound harsher than soft domes, although the speaker design matters more than the material.
None of that detracts from my love of B&W, but I just wanted to add it because your taste sounds like it might be different than mine and thus other speakers might delight you more (KEF, Monitor Audio, and Revel come to mind of what I've heard).
