deepak Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Posted March 23, 2011 My problem with used and new ELSs is the ability to drive them well. You will need a big powerful amp for most of the good ESLs. Hard to find one that sounds very realistic and good, is cheap and can drive ESLs well. Hope you find the right combo. IMO the Pass Labs XA amps sound very good. I would like to hear Atma-sphere amps. ymmv, I am not a SET lover Dusty: no I think I am ok with my headphones but I'm waiting to hear what trusted folks have to say about SR-009, also just waiting for my ESL hp amp. Great speakers in a well treated, appropriately sized room are more enjoyable than headphones to me, but I will keep the high end hp setup because they are fun too.
Dusty Chalk Posted March 23, 2011 Report Posted March 23, 2011 Oh, I was just being...you know, me, Mr. Headphone-cheerleader.
faust3d Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 Oh, I was just being...you know, me, Mr. Headphone-cheerleader. Headphones are nice for late night listening, work or commute, but for me for any kind of critical or extended listening speakers are the only way to go.
grawk Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 unless you don't have a perfect listening environment.
faust3d Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 (edited) unless you don't have a perfect listening environment. It does not have to be perfect, but yeah if room sucks, neighbors bitch or kids are a sleep it might present a problem to speaker enjoyment. So far I was fortunate to be able to listen in fairly good rooms without much problems. Headphones are a large part of my listening due to the fact that I listen a lot late at night and speakers are not an option with kid sleeping in the other room. Planar speakers, my ESLs for example, are better for late nights since sound does not seem to propagate as much as with dynamic speakers in my experience. Edited March 24, 2011 by faust3d
Dusty Chalk Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 I actually find headphones better for critical listening, mostly due to the isolation. For example, discerning hard-to-understand lyrics in complex, layered contemporary pop/rock, I find much easier on headphones than on speakers, all other things being equal. So yeah, disagree.
faust3d Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 Do you live in a noisy area? Do you listen at low volumes on speakers vs headphones? Just curious. For the record I come from speaker background, that is I was about 15 years into system building audiophila thing when I got into headphones.
spritzer Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 I'm with Dusty here, I started out with speakers but they never could give me the precision I craved. They are fine for background listening or the TV but give me headphones for music...
emelius Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 anyone had the chance to listen to the new Martin Logan Electromotions?...are they rubbish?...I haven't been overly impressed by most of their speakers, but I'm slowly putting together a 5.1 system & don't have room for Magnepan/planar...
faust3d Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 I'm with Dusty here, I started out with speakers but they never could give me the precision I craved. They are fine for background listening or the TV but give me headphones for music... I feel exactly the opposite.
faust3d Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 anyone had the chance to listen to the new Martin Logan Electromotions?...are they rubbish?...I haven't been overly impressed by most of their speakers, but I'm slowly putting together a 5.1 system & don't have room for Magnepan/planar... Never heard Electromotions but ML were never my cup of tea, they always have a disconnect somewhere in the mids and strange FR response in general IMHO.
spritzer Posted March 24, 2011 Report Posted March 24, 2011 anyone had the chance to listen to the new Martin Logan Electromotions?...are they rubbish?...I haven't been overly impressed by most of their speakers, but I'm slowly putting together a 5.1 system & don't have room for Magnepan/planar... I've never liked a single ML speaker besides the original CLS but these "new" ones just appear to be the same crap, rehashed once more.
Dusty Chalk Posted March 25, 2011 Report Posted March 25, 2011 Do you live in a noisy area? Do you listen at low volumes on speakers vs headphones? Just curious. For the record I come from speaker background, that is I was about 15 years into system building audiophila thing when I got into headphones. Yes, I live in a noisy environment -- do you live in a monestary? Or a ...wherever it is that nuns are? Or an abandoned velvet-lined stone fortress? Because short of that, headphones are almost always quieter than a speaker environment. And even when it is, you had to have gone to a lot of effort to achieve that, which adds a psychological, "waiting for the other shoe to drop" pressure. To me, anyway. I listen on relatively low volumes with both. And yes, I totally agree that there's the whole isolation vs. background noise thing, but to me, it's more than that. I have heard excellent speakers on a well-controlled room, and they still seemed more diffuse than headphones. I mean, when you're straining yourself to understand lyrics, don't you subconsciouly do the ear equivalent of squinting your eyes, and try to lean up closer to the speaker? You're already doing that with headphones. I'm not saying that speakers aren't more enjoyable for you (and Jacob and most of the rest of the population), but you touched a nerve when you said "critical" listening.
deepak Posted March 25, 2011 Author Report Posted March 25, 2011 they seemed more diffuse because headphones don't present standard two channel recordings properly. for critical listening i prefer a live performance over a couple beers. For critical listening you should not be tainting your mind with the alcohols!
emelius Posted March 25, 2011 Report Posted March 25, 2011 Never heard Electromotions but ML were never my cup of tea, they always have a disconnect somewhere in the mids and strange FR response in general IMHO. I've never liked a single ML speaker besides the original CLS but these "new" ones just appear to be the same crap, rehashed once more. this was my thinking before i posed the question...thanks...
faust3d Posted March 25, 2011 Report Posted March 25, 2011 it's a lot easier to be critical of something if you're blitzed, man, so make that over 12 beers. After 12 beers the only thing I will be doing is looking for a place to pee
MorbidToaster Posted December 11, 2011 Report Posted December 11, 2011 So how much room do people usually suggest for a pair of 1.7s? I've heard at least 3 feet from all walls and a fairly large room. I'm considering a pair, but I could only manage 2 feet from the back wall and 2 feet from my side walls. Should I go for it in a few months, or look elsewhere?
Augsburger Posted December 12, 2011 Report Posted December 12, 2011 If I were you I would shop for a bigger place. Priorities ya know..................
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