I have two pairs of speakers in my den currently, a pair of Polk R600's and a pair of GR Brutes. All of the songs above were compared listening to these speakers as I switched through the different systems I detailed before.
Now I always enjoyed the Polk 600's, but when comparing them to the Brutes there were significant differences.
If the Brutes set the bar of sound quality at (10) out of (10), then the Polk R600's would be a (7).
The differences being:
Bass - The Brutes are very neutral in bass tone. The Brutes are a 12" sealed woofer design with clean, controlled, and quick bass, kick drums sound insanely good. Most folks know what a 12" woofer sounds like, but that mental image is most likely polluted by the fact that all the box speakers with 12" woofers they have listened too in the past, were ported boxes. The Brute is not that, you will not get the same level (volume) of bass out of the Brute as you do in a typical 12" ported box. It is obvious to me now that they are very different animals. If you need that level of slam, then you will want to blend the Brutes with a good subwoofer.
The Polks in comparison, are very bass forward. This was surprising as I was expecting the opposite. The Polks are a 6" - 2.5 way design with a down firing port.
Their bass hits lower and with more power, loads the room more, but is not as quick and lacks definition when compared to the Brutes.
Mids - The Brutes are once again very neutral, maybe a touch forward when compared to the Polks. The mid-range tone is where these two speakers are at their closest in comparison.
Treble - The Brutes extent higher in the treble, have detail for days, are quicker to snap into action and produces more sparkle then the Polks. This was surprising to me as the Polk R600's use a ring tweeter with a center wave guide which is described to be better for high tone details, I believe they are THX certified as well. Nevertheless, the Polks sounded more vailed and lacked air when compared to the Brutes.
Words that come to mind to generalize the differences between these two speakers are; the Brutes are "Clean", "Balanced", "Detailed". Whereas I would describe the Polk's as "Power", "Bass", "Non Fatiguing".
Sound Quality Details - The Brutes are exceptional in the detail department. There are details I have never heard before in tracks I have loved for decades. I never knew a soft dome tweeter could sound so good. Its the first thing I noticed when I plugged in the Brutes on day one. The initial tap of the drum stick on the high hat just before the crash, yup I have never really heard that, but do now. When I speak of details, it is not just the high end where this is heard.
The mid-range has detail as well, like the subtle touch of a finger to a bass guitar being plucked, the slide to the next cord. The raspyness of a Sax in the low tones at the moment the player runs out of breath. Yup, all are details that are hard to describe to one who has never heard them before in track they know very well. But the Brutes pull back that veil and lets you hear what's there.
Sound Stage - To me this is best described as playing a well recorded rock concert video on your TV. You see everyone on stage, you see and hear their position on stage and they match, that's good sound stage. As the singer turns away, the tone changes or maybe the sound widens to the side they are now facing.
In an orchestra you can hear the distance between you and the various players in the band shell. Anyone who has been to such an event knows what that sounds like.
Well the Brutes bring you much of that.
For TV or Movie use, center image is locked very well. No matter where I sit on my couch the image stays locked on the screen and rarely does it sound like it is playing from the speakers. The sounds stage is easily between the speakers, it can and does expand to the outside of the speakers but maybe to a lesser degree of accuracy than the center image.
On that note, a funny thing happened the other night as my wife and I were watching TV. In the show we were watching, there was a scene where a couple were arguing and their dog was locked in a different room barking. This went on for awhile and my wife looked at me and said, "I really wish our neighbors would tell their dog to stop barking, its ruining our show". I laughed and said, that's coming from the TV, not the neighbors next door. Now that's a wide soundstage.
Well I hope all these posts help those who are looking to dive into their first set of GR speakers or for those on the fence and are wondering what all these audiophiles are talking about when they "hear things".
