Hi Brian,
I don't know that I am able to do justice to your request. Do you have any specific questions besides the concern for the tweeter being too bright for you?
The Emotiva 5 speakers that I have are the original versions. They are 50 watt per speaker active speakers. They have a folded ribbon tweeter and a 5" mid range/woofer. They stand 10.75" tall, 7" wide, and 8.25" deep, approximately. I have the tweeters set at ear level, about three to three and a half feet from my ears, toed in aimed just behind my head while I am sitting in my chair comfortably. The room is 9.5 feet square with a 7.5 foot ceiling. The rear port is located at the top of the rear panel. Also located there are an RCA and an XLR line input, LF and HF adjustments(which I have set at the 0 setting for both adjustments on both speakers), and a power plug for which you could supply your own PC(My experience has only been with the supplied power cords).
I am a bit old school when it comes to speaker design. Smaller speaker, less bass. Bigger cabinet, bigger speakers, bigger more complete full sound. I prefer floor standers in my main listening room for their nice full range sound, though I have heard some amazing stand mounts. But I was not exposed to near field listening until more recently. I mean I have listened to music through earphones since college in the mid 70's. But the more out of your head experience of near field listening seems to be a nice and preferred blend of the two to me. Now, all that I had learned about my speaker preferences went out the window when I heard my first 1.7 Magnepan speakers driven by McIntosh gear. Oh my!! The clarity and the "you are there" sound was a watershed moment for me. I like attending live music played in a small venue. Sitting only several feet from an acoustic performer is a good way to know what an intrument or a voice sounds like. I happened to see a young woman sing live, bought some of her music, then heard it played over the above Magnepan/McIntosh setup two days later. Well, in choosing a speaker for my near field setup, I was looking for the clarity of the Maggies. Their smaller near fields had not come out then. I had read a nice review on CNET by Steve Guttenberg of the Emotiva Airmotiv 4 speakers. What he said about the speakers said to me that I should try them. But I wanted bass, not just the high's clarity that the folded ribbon tweeter design provides. Again, similiar to a Maggie's clarity. On their bass, when my son then in his mid thirties first heard the Airmotiv 5 speakers in my computer room from the other end of the house he said,"Wow Dad! Those speakers have plenty of good solid, tight bass." I have to agree. Emotiva, at least then, allowed a thirty day in home trial. They didn't go back.
I have listened to the Emotivas with 2 channel music and while watching movies, thanks to JRiver. I have a few DSD selections. But most of my collection is ripped cd's. I enjoy most genres of music. Of late I listen to more classical and jazz. The Emotivas will play loud if I want to use them for background wandering around the house or for feeling the rumble of a bass sound in a movie sound track. One of my favorite cd's is Fink and The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Live in Concert from Ninja Tune 2013 ZENCD201. Here you have the three man group playing with a full orchestra as "backup" on many tracks. There are also several tracks of the concert orchestra playing by itself. One of the latter, "The Infernal Machine" makes full use of the sounds that each orchestra intrument and player can manifest. It reminds me of a nightmare I wish I had never had and could forget. But it's music conducted and played very well. Fink's drummer said something like that while recording for the first time with the orchestra, his impression of the difference in sound between their normal band playing and when the orchestra kicks in was like the difference in power between a Toyota Carolla and and a 747. Again, I agree. The Emotivas make me want to listen to more music. I smile while listening. I hear the pluck of a guitar string and know that it is a guitar string being plucked. Another piece I enjoy listening to is Cecile McLorin Salvant's Woman Child chart. She has a tight band behind her. She annuciates her words while singing almost like she is singing into your ear on this work. Intimately sung and the Emotivas get it all for me. Her tongue rubbing her teeth, her lips changing shape, the puff of her breathing. I have some Sara Bareilles, Bob Dylan, and Jack Johnson in high rez download that I like to listen to as well. The Emotivas make that fun for as long as I care or have time to listen.
If I haven't spoken to your question Brian, please say so. As I said, I have had these speakers for several years, have heard a few others, and am happy with my choice.
Best Regards,
Gregg
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Topic: What monitors should I buy? (Read 5063 times)