Speakers - what and why

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite

IIRC there is a near fatal colouration casued by vertical axis wave termination issue with floorstanders when the baffle extends to the floor. Better off with bookshelf boxes on stands? Disregarding THAT, I've heard some Totems that were voiced well.

Maybe that's why the midranges on my speakers are in a MTM configuration, and the towers are skinny. The critical mids and highs sound good enough. The lows are missing.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL

My wife and I went and listened to a set of Paradigm Monitor 11's tonight,

How is the cabinet quality on Monitors these days?

Surprisingly good.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Toy4x4

I bought a pair of Paradigm 9SEs (now Monitor 9s) for the price of the 7SEs. It was their last pair and I guess they wanted the space for the new ones. This was 18+ years ago and I matched up the centers and rears also with Paradigm. I have a Yamaha 2095 powering them and have been very happy with this setup. I've had people think I'm running a sub somewhere when watching movies! This was when Paradigm was receiving rave reviews for great sound for the price. As sleddriver mentioned, don't know about nowadays. MBQuart used be a great speaker for car audio, but have heard they were bought out and went downhill. True? Seems to happen often, though. I took in some CDs to give them a listen. Made sure they had them running JUST through a comparable receiver and just...listened. Quality sound becomes, I think, a bit on the subjective side. If you REALLY like the way a set sounds (after REALLY listening), the way they sound becomes the norm. This has been what I experienced with my 9SEs. I know when I play something through them I'll enjoy it.

Apparently Paradigm is still the same Canadian owned and operated company it was back then. I didn't see any mention of somebody buying them when I did a quick search. Their products seemed to sound quite a bit better than the PSB's and other speakers that were in the same space and price bracket.

 

[sleddriver]

PM sent

 

[dareo]

Some of you are playing some high dollar speakers. Not me, i like good used JBL towers in the 150 to 300 range. For the price paid they are really good. Good enough for me. Ive scored pairs of JBL S312ii and S310ii and they can stand alone without a sub. Or you can add a 12 cuft ported 15" getting 1500 watts just for that extra hit. JBL gets it done for a low price. Even if i become really wealthy i would still buy some JBLs, the Everest line of course.

 

[Jetronic]

On that same note I got a pair of Pioneer CS-3070a few years ago to replace the standard speakers on my Philips FW-C399. It's got much more power than I need at 2*120W rms (6ohm) so the new speakers being 8 Ohm isn't a big deal. I run the TV sound through that aswell and couldn't be happier.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: dareo

Some of you are playing some high dollar speakers. Not me, i like good used JBL towers in the 150 to 300 range. For the price paid they are really good. Good enough for me.

There is some truth in this. There are many speakers that simply do not cost a fortune and will provide very pleasing performance. I mentioned that the Polk speakers I have really do not "do it" for me. What I did not mention is that my previous speakers were fantastic, and I loved them! I built them myself, total cost under $100. And they did not use "uber" high end drivers. Just standard stuff.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27

When I used to DJ, I ran Cerwin Vega D9's. Why? They were big and loud! I still have them but run Klipsch towers with the built in amplified subs

I remember back in the mid 80s,Cerwin Vega's had a reputation for being one of the best rock music speakers.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm

Originally Posted By: tomcat27

When I used to DJ, I ran Cerwin Vega D9's. Why? They were big and loud! I still have them but run Klipsch towers with the built in amplified subs

I remember back in the mid 80s,Cerwin Vega's had a reputation for being one of the best rock music speakers.

Yup, they were very loud, even my D3's were. Compared to the Paradigms though, the SQ difference is night and day.

 

[Smokescreen]

There is a following of speaker connoisseurs out there who prefer the sound of single full range drivers. Some in horn designs, others in an infinite baffle setup. Unencumbered by crossovers and DSP in amplifiers of today, they prefer to power them with tube amplifiers. Very interesting to look into and totally opposite to what one would expect.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen

There is a following of speaker connoisseurs out there who prefer the sound of single full range drivers. Some in horn designs, others in an infinite baffle setup. Unencumbered by crossovers and DSP in amplifiers of today, they prefer to power them with tube amplifiers. Very interesting to look into and totally opposite to what one would expect.

See the custom ones I mentioned in the OP that my buddy runs

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen

There is a following of speaker connoisseurs out there who prefer the sound of single full range drivers. Some in horn designs, others in an infinite baffle setup. Unencumbered by crossovers and DSP in amplifiers of today, they prefer to power them with tube amplifiers. Very interesting to look into and totally opposite to what one would expect.

I've heard a few single driver setups that sound really, really great with a good full, accurate and punchy sound too. Really nice to listen to them, as there is a sense that nothing is missing. However, they generally can't do rock-concert levels.

 

[Malo83]

Originally Posted By: dareo

Some of you are playing some high dollar speakers. Not me, i like good used JBL towers in the 150 to 300 range. For the price paid they are really good. Good enough for me. Ive scored pairs of JBL S312ii and S310ii and they can stand alone without a sub. Or you can add a 12 cuft ported 15" getting 1500 watts just for that extra hit. JBL gets it done for a low price. Even if i become really wealthy i would still buy some JBLs, the Everest line of course.

Prefer JBL myself also, had a set of L112's that I purchased in Okinawa when I was in the NAVY, great sounding speaker, after a while had to have the 12" woofers refoamed, never sounded as good so I sold them Right now i'm running a set of the Studio Series speakers S38's, S26's and the Scenter, great sounding little speakers, use them for home theater and music.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Cujet

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen

There is a following of speaker connoisseurs out there who prefer the sound of single full range drivers. Some in horn designs, others in an infinite baffle setup. Unencumbered by crossovers and DSP in amplifiers of today, they prefer to power them with tube amplifiers. Very interesting to look into and totally opposite to what one would expect.

I've heard a few single driver setups that sound really, really great with a good full, accurate and punchy sound too. Really nice to listen to them, as there is a sense that nothing is missing. However, they generally can't do rock-concert levels.

Yup, agreed. From the OP link: These sounds quite nice, though you are right that they do not do very high levels.

 

[sleddriver]

Those both look like Lowthers with the whizzer cone, in a folded horn box. Very popular with the small W tube guys and simple Class-A transistor designs.

 

[sparky123]

Everything in the chain of components, cables/interconnects and most importantly the room has an influence of the sound. Good, high quality speakers need time to break in and you don't want to overload a small room w/too large speaker. A very maddening hobby to get the sound just right. For a small speaker, I highly recommend Dynaudio DM 2/6. Glorious sounding spk! Another great small spk. are PSB Image B4. In the right set-up unbelievable good sounding. I could go on and on. Been mixing/matching and listening for 40+ yrs. I'll give a recommend if anyone is in need of RCA interconnect cables. Furutech "Alpha" Line 1. $80 1m. These are really, really good....Best, Bill.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver

Those both look like Lowthers with the whizzer cone, in a folded horn box. Very popular with the small W tube guys and simple Class-A transistor designs.

What are your thoughts on Nordost Foundation Theory as an introductory for people?

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL

Originally Posted By: sleddriver

Those both look like Lowthers with the whizzer cone, in a folded horn box. Very popular with the small W tube guys and simple Class-A transistor designs.

What are your thoughts on Nordost Foundation Theory as an introductory for people?

Never heard of it so I looked it up. "Interconnect consistency" eh? I don't listen to wire, capacitors, inductors, power cords, etc. Doesn't make sense. As you just purchased new speakers, suppose I told you your old CV's would see marked improvement if you changed your speaker cables. Then additional improvement could be attained if you changed your interconnects, then ADDITIONAL improvements could be had for upgrading your power cord...all for about $1000C or more. Would you have been well-served? No. To get vastly improved sound, you bought superior (new) transducers. It's a whole new world of sound, isn't it? That was a wise use of your money.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL

Originally Posted By: sleddriver

Those both look like Lowthers with the whizzer cone, in a folded horn box. Very popular with the small W tube guys and simple Class-A transistor designs.

What are your thoughts on Nordost Foundation Theory as an introductory for people?

" ..... pucks don’t, slurring the timing, compressing the dynamics and confusing the music’s energy spectrum. ...." Sounds like typical audiophile nonsense.

 

[OVERKILL]

That's why I asked. The guy who owns the customs in the OP mentioned it to me today. I haven't read it, just figured I'd see what your take was on it, now I know, LOL!