Michael,

Congrats on choosing the T1s! I know exactly how you feel about falling in love. It was the same for me. Like I said in the previous post, I can't imagine you'll have any regrets.

I have the Anthem AVM 60 and I can testify that ARC is way better than Audessey. It's not even close. I really felt that my center channel was the biggest improvement with the Anthem. I am just as happy with my AVM 60 as I am with my T1s and that is saying a lot. I have owned Denon AVRs in the past and am not a huge fan of their current sound. I think their amplification section is lacking compared to other brands, but that's just my opinion. If your dealer sells Anthem, test out your setup with the SCXXL on the Anthem. I think your impressions may change.

I think you'll really like the Anthem receivers. I'd strongly consider a dedicated amplifier for your T1s as well. The T1s will reward you for any investments you make into your system. Congrats again on selecting the T1s. I hope you don't have to wait too long to get them home. It took me a while to save up and purchase my pair. It was a painfully long wait.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Yeah, I started looking in september, its taken this long for me to save up so I'll be placing the order today. I'll reevaluate the center when I get the anthem.

So all morning at work i've been thinking about what you said TCOBE. The 2+ might be enough bass for me. I remember having to remind myself that there were only 2 speakers hooked up. My dealer offers a one year trade up program as well. But the biggest thought is that if i get the 2+ now, i can go ahead and get that anthem receiver.

Its going to be a long day.

The GoldenEar speakers all use the same tweeter and are voiced for the same high frequency response. None are more or less bright than any other. BUT, psycho-acoustics plays a huge role - remove some bass energy and a warm speaker sounds bright. Anyone that said the GoldenEar speakers are bright did a bad job of balancing their system. Wrong crossover settings and/or wrong sub levels are almost always to blame.

Michael,

I believe Moderator Dude has touched on something important here when combined with your descriptions may shed some light on your listening impressions. If the bass is not balanced properly, the Triton speakers can sound out of balance a bit. Too little bass may cause it to sound less full and have you focusing more on the highs and mids. That may explain why it sounded bright. Great news is that increasing the bass is as easy as turning up the gain knob. If you get too much bass, you can have the opposite impression and the low frequencies will have everything else sounding anemic. Again, it's a simple turn of the knob.

I prefer to set the bass by first adjusting the gain knob by playing music in 2-channel with only the speaker level inputs. Once the music sounds balanced, you can adjust the trim levels of LFE from your receivers calibration menu using a sound level meter. I usually turn it up a few dB above reference because I am a self proclaimed bass head. Keep in mind that any changes in speaker position can make huge changes in frequency response in your room. If you move the speakers, you may have to start over with your bass adjustments.

In the currently playing section, Anthem, Rick, and Moderator Dude have been talking about how smooth GET speakers are. They are absolutely correct. It's very easy to have the volume keep drifting upwards, not even realizing the decibel levels you are hitting. I believe this is part of your perception of the SCXXL. It does take some time to break in your ears. The SCXXL also lacks the LFE wow factor that is present with the powered Tritons, which can feel like a bit of a drop off. It took some time and adjusting for me as well to get things dialed in.

I have to admit that I occasionally forget to set my 2-channel setup to home theater bypass and watch satellite TV without realizing my Tritons are missing. If that's not a product endorsement for the SCXL, I don't know what is. I'm sure the SCXXL would be even better. When I auditioned the XXL, I could definitely hear the added detail. If my dealer had a trade up program like yours, I'd go out and buy the SCXXL tomorrow. The center channel is the single most important channel for home theater.

I think you have two great options on the table between the t1s and the T2+s. You can't go wrong either way. The T2+s with the SCXXL and an Anthem AVR would sound amazing. That would be an incredibly solid foundation to build on if you want to add subwoofers or external amplifiers later. Good luck with whatever you decide. Please let us know how it goes and share some pics of your setup once everything is in place.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hi, Michael

Did you get to decide yet? Fortunately, there's no wrong answer! You've gotten great advice from Moderator Dude, T Cobe, as always.

ALL the GEt speakers play together flawlessly. There's no "mix and match" dilemma at all. It's all about what pleases your ears, and, again, so many GEt options can do that.

Please let us know what choices you come to.

Happy listening!

Rick