Balanced XLR to unbalanced RCA?

[jamesperrett]

I hope, in the next two years or so to be able to afford something REALLY good. I am very tempted by the Reveal 6 (£2400) but the Neumanns at the £2k point get REALLY good rep. I like the design concept behind a 3 way monitor but for a given lump of dosh, is a two way better?

At the risk of diverting this thread...

Well I'm still using a 40 year old pair of Tannoy Berkeleys which, up until a couple of years ago, were driven by a Quad 405-2 (now driven by a Hypex based amp). I've not had a chance to compare them to the KH310's but I have compared them to a pair of KH120's and they present a similar picture (albeit with slightly more extended bass compared to the 120's). The Tannoys are very revealing and let me hear the effect of tiny adjustments which are inaudible on other speakers. Yes, they need a little maintenance in the form of re-foaming every 20 years or so but spares are still available.

 

[gecko zzed]

At the risk of diverting this thread...

Well I'm still using a 40 year old pair of Tannoy Berkeleys which, up until a couple of years ago, were driven by a Quad 405-2 (now driven by a Hypex based amp). I've not had a chance to compare them to the KH310's but I have compared them to a pair of KH120's and they present a similar picture (albeit with slightly more extended bass compared to the 120's). The Tannoys are very revealing and let me hear the effect of tiny adjustments which are inaudible on other speakers. Yes, they need a little maintenance in the form of re-foaming every 20 years or so but spares are still available.

I bought a pair of KH310s in 2014, and was immediately impressed by their clarity and precision, particularly in the lower frequencies. I've had them for four years now, and they've not put a foot out of place.

 

[ecc83]

I bought a pair of KH310s in 2014, and was immediately impressed by their clarity and precision, particularly in the lower frequencies. I've had them for four years now, and they've not put a foot out of place.

That ^ is more the process I have come to understand regarding monitors. The big Tannoys were great in their day but as people got "fussier" they began to realized that few if any loudpseaker reproduced the actual sound of instruments and especially speech. One that came closest was the Quad ELS and these were common in "QC suites" for disc checking at domestic levels?
The BBC was in the forefront of the development of low colouration speakers and perhaps THE first nearfiled in the form of the LS3/5a. Other "Low C" designs began to emerge on the studio and domestic scene. Spendor BC1 and 3, models from Harbeth, Castle and others.

Intersting to note (to me!) that way back in the BC1 day, the better magazine reveiws would compare speakers against "real sounds". Individual "difficult" instruments. Full fat Grand of course but things like small bells, jangling keys and most revealing of all, speech. Alas today all a reviewer seems to have time/equipment to do is play some favourite mixes!

Dave.