Hello,

New to the Ascend forum and am looking for real world experiences with a difficult room like mine. Note especially my L/R speaker placement constraints described in the novel below. Thanks in advance for help! Also, I have pictures/plans/room dimensions if that might help but not sure if OK or how to post.


I am looking for L/R/C speakers to replace/upgrade my great room setup. Current setup includes 2 PSB alphas plus the higher-end alpha-compatible center channel from 10-15 years ago. I am using a big 15” def tech sub.

The primary problem I’d like to solve is the intelligibility of dialog in the room, but I’d also like excellent sound for music. Things sound boomy and echoey in the room. The room and household realities present some significant problems.
- Hardwood floors glued to concrete
- One 9x9 rug in the listening area made of carpet and I can’t really go thicker due to mobility issues with an elderly member of the household
- Sheetrock/drywall wall construction
- High ceiling
- Open kitchen area behind the listening area

Adding to the challenges, speaker placement is severely constrained; I can come maybe a foot away from the walls for L/R. The center needs to be placed on a console under a wall-mounted TV, and the sub placement options are also severely limited; it needs to be next to the right speaker.

Within the constraints of the room here is what I’m looking for:
- Dialog intelligibility within the problem room
- Good match to rock/alternative/folk music, natural sounding voices; I don’t listen to much classical or jazz
- Excellent soundstage/imaging
- Neutral sounding but forgiving of modern recordings
- Specifically, I don’t want to hear a treble emphasis
- OK with Onkyo higher-end/THX receiver providing power; iPod, blu-ray, DirecTV, and CDs as sources

Here’s what I’ve heard so far or have, and what I think:
- PSB Alpha setup described above: These sounded pretty good in my old, smaller and carpeted AV room. I had the center channel mounted above the TV and flush with the front, and I think that speaker was somewhat designed with that in mind. The alphas can’t handle percussion as loud as I occasionally listen, they bottom out. The overall tonality of the speakers isn’t bad.
-Snell E3: (I own these and they are set up in a different room). I conceivably could put these in the great room but would need a suitable center channel, but let’s assume I’m buying new. The linked review does a pretty good job of covering the strengths & weaknesses I feel the speaker has; it’s too “forward” and a bit bright for what I want. Soundstage is just not good in most situations.
- GoldenEar Triton 1 & Triton 2: Listened to these locally in questionable rooms with questionable placement; i.e., probably too close to the back & side walls. I had them turn the subwoofer settings way down (8 or 9 o’clock instead of 11 or 12). I kind of liked the sound but the bass seemed to lack articulation and vocals were a bit too recessed. The treble was very smooth and maybe a bit too laid back. Soundstage seemed good. I like the idea of these in that I could forgo the sub, but I think these are too big would need to be too far away from the wall in my space.
-GoldenEar Aon 2: Bought these used and listened to and experimented with them in the room over the Labor day weekend. Musically they are smoother than the alphas but I’m just getting a bit more mid-base than I want in the room. Had trouble getting them to sound decent with the alpha center channel or even by themselves on some TV material. I think pulling them way away from the wall would help but I can’t really do that. Going to try them as nearfield computer speakers next.
-B&W: Listened to various models at two different stores. The $7500 (model #) sounded best, and the 683 towers were next best and more within my price range… I have seen negative comments about the B&W center channel that would naturally go with the 683s and am going to continue looking. CM10s ($3500 pr?) were OK but I found the treble to be too much on those, and most of the B&W series.
-PSB X2T: Not bad, let’s call them contenders at a reasonable $1300/pr. Heard these in a good, acoustically treated room though not ideally placed. Nothing really offensive about them. I don’t recall the imaging being great. One concern about these is that I don’t know that PSB has a center channel speaker that’s going to be any better than what I already have.
- Sonus faber Liuto towers: Didn’t get a full listen but they were in the same room as the PSB X2T’s and they were in the optimal listening location. As the fates would have it, the speakers were bi-wired incorrectly at the amp, and trying to solve this issue, as well as how to get my iPod connected so I could hear familiar material, wasted most of the limited amount of time I had at this shop. All that said, from the limited listening I was able to do, these may be the best I heard. They are “on sale” at $4,500/pr from $6k, and might be worth it. I’m concerned about their center channel offering and I think placement in my room is likely to be an issue.