Nearfields for audiophile listening?

EVE SC307 soundstage is much bigger and more holographic. Imaging is stellar, especially in depth. Because of this, the Smoother/Darker aspect of the sound is greatly diminished and you gain a lot more airy, open, and effortless sound. The 3 way design really makes a big difference especially in the midrange and there is greater resolution. I guess having two 6.5 inch woofers instead a single 4 inch woofer is going to make a big difference. It extends down to 40hz, and I've run and sweep and it does go lower. I'm still missing the subwoofer that allows for more effortless extension and allows me to feel the bass as well. My next purchase is definitely the ts110 pairing subwoofer. I think EVE subwoofers are amazing in that they have no port chuffing, are extremely tight and controlled, and integrate seemlessly into the system. I havne't heard a sub sound as good and I would gladly take it over crazy big, loud subwoofers.

I liked 307s over the Solobe6, but YMMV. All I know is EVE have a much better price to performance ratio.

Eventual dream monitors would be ATC SM150ASL. ><. I love the ATC midrange.....

 

I think it's really funny how I actually got Genelec 8050s, because they are not bright in comparison to others and I don't find them fatiguing at all for several months now.

LSR305 have more glaring treble than 8050s to my ears. 8050s and 8040s are very similar, 8030s are probably as well.

I find my Utopia headphones rather fatiguing and bright, though, as well as I need to tame 8 KHz with my TH-X00s. Loving stock HD650s in comparison except for the bass.

So I am not a treble head at all but rather sensitive, I think, and I wonder how these impressions come to be.

Actually both kind of impressions were mentioned in this thead over time ;-)

 

I've never heard eve 307 so that may be really good. But I will never have the room for it. It's dimension is too deep and with rear port, I don't think Im gonna squeeze that in. If it's front ported, Im definitely getting 305 with ts108.

Well, like you said, it's impressions so they are subjective.

Perhaps if there's a logical explanation it is that genelec is highly susceptible to the room acoustics and that my untreated room turns the brightness a notch up.

Do you have a photo of your set up? I have it near the wall and the bass really becomes a little boomy. If i switch the bass dip switch on, it tends to accentuate the treble and makes it worse. it shouldn't though so it's prolly placebo on my part.

 

Yup, P3ESR fits in this scale nicely. Not speed or details oriented, this is a crowd pleaser focused on joy. Genelec on the other side of this spectrum fits too.

 

How would you compare KEF LS50 Wireless with these?

 

Or LS50 wireless to the usual version? That's interesting too.

 

Can't really afford normal LS50 setup...all i can afford is standalone LS50 wireless and may be after some time a Modi multibit thats all......I have heard P3ESR and read a lot about EVE SC307 which is within my reach so would like to know how these three compare.....setup will not be used for nearfield purpose rather should be able to fill a 14X22 room/hall.

 

What... feet?

And, by fill, do you really mean that you want it to sound good to people twenty feet away? I have doubts.

 

@SPS I would recommend the EVE SC307 just based on the your room size. The Eve's can definitely push more sound and fill your room/hall as it is rated for rooms at least 100 square meters. It also can work as a midfield monitor, has more power, has more driver surface area, and can provide a better range of frequency(down to 40hz, not like 75 or near 60 for the others). These can be drived at very loud volumes without any problems. There is no increase in distortion, port chuffing, etc. so they would be my recommendation.

 

Tweeters are at ear level, about 1.2 m distance. Room is not treated, but I am using Dirac, chain is Gungnir Multibit + Freya. But also without using Dirac and when demoing active monitors for some time in different rooms, I never felt the Genelec treble to be in any way troublesome. In comparison to Adam, Focal and Dynaudio, if I remember correctly.

To my ears the Genelec treble hits the sweet spot between dull and glare: still sparkling, but not too much. Genelec bass could be a little more precise, yes, but I rather have Genelec bass with room treatment and / or room correction than a speaker with more precise bass but without room treatment / room correction.

I know that there are other speakers than can deliver more precise bass, but since the Genelec sound was the only one to convince me as a whole out of the monitors I had the chance to listen to, I can live with that minor drawback.

I actually quite liked the Eve 207, but the DSP was a no-go for me. When I demoed them I also didn't listen for some issues that caught my attention only later on during my journey, especially if the sound "sticks to the speakers" (bad) or unfolds in between and around them.

 

LS50 is very different from P3ESR. The former is the complete package, more of a high performance product which scales nicely with a given setup, the better it is the better LS50 will perform. P3ESR is ... magic

 

Oh damn, I am looking at actives and have stumbled across some half price Unity Super Rocks (which were otherwise well outside of my price range). They have been mentioned a few times in the thread, but has anyone spent time with them?

 

I was opting for Unity Audio at first, because of closed cabinets and some music I like was produced on Unity Audio speakers.

When I demoed them I was immediatly deterred by way too little bass - to my ears. If I had to chose: I'd rather have bass, that is not 100% precise than very precise bass but that is almost non-existent. YMMV.

I almost ordered them blindly which would have been a huge mistake, so as always: don't order until you have a listen first. And then don't forget about the room

EDIT: My impressions are somewhere in this thread.

 

Yes, it's actually amazing how important listening space is. So many things can be done for pennies to improve quality of music. And yes, it's a mandatory thing to listen before you buy, even when it comes down to affordable products.

 

How do you drive your Focals? That sub gives you several options:

Pre-amp > HS8S > Power amp > Focals
Looks like the HS8S has a line-level crossover built in, so you could put it in between a pre-amp and the amp driving your Focals. Set high and low pass crossovers to same frequency, I'd use the lowest choice, 80 Hz; then adjust sub level by ear (or mic & REW)
This puts the HS8S crossover in the chain between pre-amp and amp driving Focals, so not a purist solution. Have no idea of the insertion effect of that crossover. But it has the advantage of not trying to run the Focals full-range, you're only driving the amp with signal above the crossover.

AVR or receiver/integrated amp with line-level sub out > HS8S
------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Focals
OR
AVP > HS8S
------ > Power amp > Focals
(trying to show these are parallel paths in these setups)
An AVR or AVP will digitally separate bass signal from the rest, then sends the split signals to the correct transducer. AVR will route it to its own internal power amp for Focals (some have line-out for external amp), AVP has no internal amplification, so one line out to sub, one pair to power amp for Focals. The AVR or AVP will have Audyssey or Dirac or similar room correction software that is used to set correct relative level, crossover frequency and phase.
If you already have one of these, it's pretty simple to implement. Also not purist, since you have the electronica of the AVR/AVP between your source and the amp driving the Focals. But again relieves Focals of trying to reproduce the full-range signal.

Thus why understanding your current setup would be helpful.

 

I found this and this somewhat useful when picking powered monitors. The yamahas are boring and midrange-centric.

 

The yamaha is indeed quite boring; its pretty good for mixing in (budget) studios from what I've seen but that's about it. The JBL LSR is quite nice in both environments, although I've seen them more enjoyed at home due to their popularity.

Cant speak about the Focal, never heard them. Recently heard Genelec monitors for the first time and they are really nice! Good treble and imaging were some highlights. They are more than I am willing to spend at the moment due to other priorities + I dont know if they're still a good choice outside nearfield usage

EDIT: btw, go back one page and theres a post about the Focal and the Genelec 8030.

 

I can say that I really really like the Genelecs that I have heard, but it's been a while... and I haven't heard the Focals. You're probably better off with a more current opinion from a new member.

 

Genelecs do sound nice. Nevertheless if they are in your price range I highly recommend Neumann KH120. They sund very clear and neutral. Obviously they don't dig deep but their extension in the bass is remarkable for their size. Bass is precise, they will not be boomy (some like boomy) and if you have replenished your funds adding a subwoofer will give a system which will stand up to much costlier gear.
As for not being able to listen to the stuff before you buy I have this recommendation:

https://www.thomann.de/es/neumann_kh_120_a.htm

or

https://www.thomann.de/es/neumann_kh_120_a_b_stock_2.htm

some information about Thomann:

https://www.thomann.de/es/helpdesk_shipping.html

and here you find their range of active nearfield monitors:

https://www.thomann.de/es/monitores_activos_de_campo_cercano.html

Normally I prefer to buy from a local dealer, but if there is no local dealer Thomann with their 30 days trial period is a good option.

They ship free of charge to Spain, whether you need to pay the freight if you return a product or whether they pay I don't know:

https://www.thomann.de/es/helpdesk_moneyback.html

You can also contact them maybe they are able to counsel you on which monitors would be to your liking.

I would not buy speakers without listening to them before.

Best of luck

 

My opinion of the two is as I've written it. What music do you listen to?