HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

_D_S_J_R_ wrote:.

Doc said right in another thread - studios and 'monitor' speakers of the finest quality exist mainly not to deliver ruthless accuracy, but often methinks, to exaggerate fine details so the engineer can work on them in the mix and mastering. Not pleasant for long-term listening...

It's a classic audiophile over-simplification. For example the Yamaha NS10 wasn't designed to be a 'desk monitor' it just got used as one. The whole 'monitor' appellation on speakers is just a marketing exercise to impress the gullible. Any speaker with a flat frequency response is effectively a 'monitor' in that respect and the original BBC outside broadcast designs have a mid-range dip and a lift in the upper bass so how accurate is that? Just sticking in a bit of top end lift to 'bring out detail' does nothing of the sort but it does, as you say, lead to a fatiguing sound. If I was doing a mix I would want an electrostatic, a panel or at least a 3 way box speaker with a high quality mid range driver as that is really the only way to clearly hear everything that is going on in the recording. No need for any HF lift. And that is still the best approach for high quality replay in the home. Those little two way boxes sat on the console are just there to ensure that the mix will sound acceptable on the little two way boxes that it is likely to get played on out in the real world.

NS10's were replacements for the single driver Auratones that were used ad nauseum for years before. If a mix sounded good on NS10's, it was likely that it would sound good on the general screechy stereo's owned by most households. In the past, it was the huge Westlake, Tannoy, JBL and so on giant monitors that were used at excruciating volume to do the mixing. These days it's relatively tiny desktop actives, the big ones being there now to impress deaf rock acts apparently.

By the way, the big ATC actives only really came into their own at high volumes, as do the much more 'modern' Barefoot jobbies as used by Foo Fighters recently. Can't speak for the big PMC's, but these may be ok at 'domestic' levels.

The Beeb used to make proper 'flat' monitors apparently, but the last big ones they designed (5/8's) and the smaller 5/9's (which were balanced to be as similar as a smaller box could be), had upper mid suckouts in produced samples which weren't there in the original published design reports - all there in the HUG. The 3/5A is different again I understand.

Well you wouldn't buy big active ATC and use them for background noises would you? Not sure if the one's I heard were the 100 or the 150 but they didn't do a lot wrong with Rage Against The Machine played at high SPL. Not sure how they would fare with some Joni Mitchell or a string quartet, though. Never heard any PMC but I suspect the smaller, cheaper efforts are just bog standard domestic speakers trading on the mark's studio pedigree.

How long before somebody tries to resurrect the Kan, I wonder? Good luck getting that one past the Linn machine

Seriously, the baby Royds would be a better source of "inspiration" for a manufacturer.

Andrew wrote:How long before somebody tries to resurrect the Kan, I wonder? Good luck getting that one past the Linn machine

Seriously, the baby Royds would be a better source of "inspiration" for a manufacturer.

1+

Joe Ackroyd is an individual, no body can replace him!!

S.

Well I my Falcon LS3/5As

I'm disappointed at not securing a pair of their £6495 Kingswood Warren SE version.
Sold out immediately.

I always enjoy BBC speakers whenever I have heard them. But never owned a pair.

Sorry jammy. I hear the Falcons fairly regularly nowadays on admittedly solid state amps and dislike them just as much now as I did in the mid 70's. I'm alone in this it seems around and about as the local dealer loves the 'brightly lit detail' they have and sells a good few I gather... I believe Harbeth may now keep the original Kingswood Warren reference samples from when the site was cleared and re-developed but I could be wrong here.

Hmm. My local Audio shop has a pair of those Falcon speakers ex-dem for sale. About 2000 Euro.
Might pop in for a listen one of these days.

(won't be buying them though, just curious)

Falcon have done an SME. Sold through distributor/retailer and price has risen £1K. Can't believe people will pay £2.3K for an LS3/5A They aren't the only ones at it. Even the Michell Orbe SE has gone up by £800 in the last 2 years. SME arms up by £600 to over £2K in the same period. No improvements or innovation just price gouging. UK hi-fi is killing itself. And it's not due to Brexit!