General Speaker Advice and Recommendations

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by shotgunshane, Mar 7, 2017.

  1. Sylafari

    Sylafari Acquaintance

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    Hmm, I will take that into account. That reminds me when I was testing speakers on the coffee table the LSR 30X tweeter was more close to my head level than the Sierras.

    Anyways, thanks for the advice.
     
  2. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    No problem :)
    Also try playing with toe in, less critical for a ribbon than a soft dome but still worth investigating. What you can try is imagine a straight line coming from the front of the speakers. Angle them such that the line intersects somewhere behind your head. Play with this to taste and or to get a stable center image. If the speakers seem to disappear you're in the zone. Also try making an equalateral triangle.

    Lots of topics and guides on this online but that's the gist of it. I recommend Arqen if you want to learn more. Als the manufacturer often has some guidelines.
     
  3. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    There are many small professional studio monitor speakers (actually that is the origin of the LSR 30X). For example look at the smaller models from Neumann, Genelec, Focal, Dynaudio, Amphion and others. I believe some of them are mentioned in the Nearfield Monitor thread.

    I will also be setting up small nearfield speakers next year and started researching. A couple that have caught my attention are Neumann KH 80 DSP and Genelec M030 (haven't heard them yet). Genelec has numerous small monitor models. Also interested in the Luna and will be following your impressions. With very small monitors you might also want to think about a subwoofer.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2017
  4. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

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    If you don't sweat too much about DACs, then KH 80 is a very good buy. I've been always on the fence about Gennie M series, initially I thought them to be the lower price end offerings, but 2nd hand 80XX models are just as affordable.
     
  5. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    An interesting thing about the KH 80 is that Neumann will be releasing Neumann.Control software for room correction that integrates with the DSP in the speaker. This should be like a lower cost version of the Genelec SAM system.
    http://www.neumann.com/homestudio/en/kh-80
     
  6. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    Has anyone heard the Amphion Argon 3s?
     
  7. Sylafari

    Sylafari Acquaintance

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    That Neumann KH 80 is very interesting. Was also looking at maybe the Amphion One 12s and the Argon 0. Unfortunately all the online stores that carry Amphion One 12s carry them as special order and don't allow returns. So maybe I would have to consider trying out the One 15s instead.

    So I toed in my Luna's and lowered the height of my chair to where I'm only slightly above the tweeters and based on the difference between yesterday and today I feel like there were significant improvements made. I feel like they sound a bit more clearer and imaging has improved compared to yesterday. I'm now looking for a cheap but elegant solution to raising the speakers off my desk without looking like it is just stacked on top of college textbooks.

    What I can say about the Luna is that when I am listening to them, other than the lack of low end as it only extends down to 60hz (now I get to look up subwoofers for the future, sigh), I have zero complaints about what I'm hearing and they are very non-fatiguing as I feel like I can listen to them all day.
     
  8. Peter

    Peter New

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    Wow, I love the high wife acceptance factor that those offer...
     
  9. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    I had the amphion one18 for 2 years. supposedly a slightly better design over the argon 3.
    they are in many ways mindblowing. highly recommended
     
  10. Btdk34

    Btdk34 Facebook Friend

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    Finished the "rough build" phase of the OSMTMs! The boxes are primed and have a first coat of paint, but it got cold out so I can't spray more and finish them until the springtime unfortunately. The ports aren't the correct length (~2" too short) because I can't glue them together yet, and the drivers are loosely in place. I'm wondering about the placement of the speakers. Would it be worth making some stands so they have more space behind them? I'm getting some upper bass lower mids wonkiness (could definitely be the fault of the ports/because of it being unfinished) but I'm wondering if I'm getting back reflections or something similar. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2017
  11. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    The picture did not go through. Where do you have them set at the moment? Stands would definitely help clean up the bass.
     
  12. Btdk34

    Btdk34 Facebook Friend

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    Weird, it worked on my phone but not my computer, thanks for the heads up. I think it's fixed now. The speakers are right on the edge of some built-ins, about a foot away from the back wall and the back speaker corners are an inch away from the built-in side edges.
     
  13. JeffYoung

    JeffYoung Friend

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    Those built-ins break up the plane of the back-wall, so I doubt it's reflections. Temporarily put them on the arms of your sofas and see what differences that makes. More data is always good....
     
  14. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    Looking at the photo I guess it's both back wall reflections and also that the cabinets are effectively extending the baffle giving you more upper bass than you'd get normally. I'd try stands
     
  15. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Shouldn't he finish the speakers? Proper port, properly affix the drivers and stuff the box a bit? When I tested mine without doing all that, they sounded terrible. Don't know how much placement is causing what he is hearing.
     
  16. Btdk34

    Btdk34 Facebook Friend

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    You're probably right that I'm jumping the gun. There is a bit of stuffing in the speakers which made a big difference for the better. I was just wondering if placing them in their current location was a complete newbie mistake! I'll play around with it a bit in the meantime, thanks for the advice everyone!
     
  17. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Definitely finish up the speakers first. In any case though, having spiked stands would improve things overall. If you don't opt for floor stands, get the isoacoustics ISO-L8R155 to decouple the speakers from the shelf. With those, you'll have to consider high high or low you'll be sitting. The vertical dispersion of those dayton tweeters is outstanding though.

    Also consider getting some blutack to use as feet for the OSMTMs as well. Very small price to pay for a small improvement in SQ.

    What amp/dac are you using them with again?
     
  18. Btdk34

    Btdk34 Facebook Friend

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    Great tip on the Isoacoustics ISO-L8R155, I'd forgot to mention I'm looking for feet suggestions and those look nice. The speakers are currently just a bit below head level when I'm seated, so that would definitely help.

    I'm currently running either TV or Computer SPDIF optical => Modi Multibit => Emotiva BasX A100 => OSMTMs. The SPDIF sources I'm using likely aren't ideal and I'm working on figuring out a better long-term solution.
     
  19. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    But doesn't vertical dispersion get more focused and narrow in an MTM configuration?
     
  20. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Eitr from your computer to Modi Multibit would be the best solution. Optical from your TV or game system is more than good enough for non-music purposes imo.

    I didn't know that before, but a quick google search was informative. Makes it even more important to get stands to get the tweeters at a proper height then.
     

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