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Have you moved away from full range to standmount speakers + subs?

I want to know if you have been on a journey moving from a large full range speaker to a smaller one paired wit subs, maybe even four subs.


Maybe you moved away from the big speakers because you had too much bass or you got a better soundstage from the smaller speakers. Let me know what motivated you and if you think it’s better now.


My motivation for wanting to try smaller speakers.


I have the Tekton DI and until a month ago I was using a LM845P SET amp to drive them.

It only sounded good on simple jazz and vocals but on complex music everything was falling apart.

I am not playing loud but I think it was the low 2 ohm load in the midrange that made the LM break down.


I bought a used PS Audio BHK250 and pre and it was like getting new speakers. Never ever had it occurred to me that speaker and amp matching could have such a profound effect.


So I am enjoying my speakers now and listen to music I have avoided like the plague and enjoying it (:


But all of this got me thinking, what if I paired my LM845P with an easy to drive speaker and paired it with some subs?


Then the LM845 could do what it's best at, playing glorious midrange and the subs could play the bass.

So that's my motivation for trying smaller speakers.


I am also hoping that maybe I could get better and more even bass with 2 or 4 subs. Maybe a better soundstage because the small speakers have a very small baffle.

martin-andersen
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,173 posts
 
Only in smaller not larger rooms.
audition__audio
1,469 posts
 
Big and full-range isnt wrong just has its own set of problems. Problems I might add that are difficult to solve properly and cheaply.
shickey
2 posts
 
I'm one of those that went the other way as well. I had B&W CDM1 with Velodyne servo sub purchased in mid 90's. Before the fero-fluid dried up in the monitors, the system had a lot of detail and the sub could play low double-bass notes. However, I  was constantly messing with the sub setup: use the sub-crossover/don't use it, tweaking crossover point,  adjusting volume. It kinda got old, and it took up a lot of space. It's not really true that you can just put a sub anywhere in the room.

About 18 months ago, I replaced monitors with Totem Sky monitors - huge soundstage and unbelievable detail. Also, big bonus for me - they sounded best in my room only about 10-12" from the wall. A couple months ago, I replaced Totem and sub with Forte III's. They are also great in my room - I can have them about 9-12" away from the wall in my room for optimal bass and soundstage.

No more messing the sub, don't miss it one bit. Nice full, big sound, plenty of detail. The Forte III's don't have the soundstage of the Totems but overall a much better user experience - set and forget. Wish I would have bough Klipsch Forte or Cornwall 25 years ago instead of messing monitors/subs. If a local dealer had any Totem towers to demo, I think I likely would have bought them to get the two-channel (no HT in man cave) bass I wanted with the great detail and soundstage, and ditch the sub.

Having said that, being a bass guitarist and my brother having been a drummer, we both feel like what was lost in terms of the massive Totem soundstage was made up for in "realism" in the Klipsch - I hear the tone of the bass such that it sounds like my Fender and Rick bass guitars I have in the room, acoustic guitars sound just like my Gibson J200, the snare and cymbals sound like my brothers drum kit - unlike any other stereo speakers we've heard. For us, that's a special kind of fun.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 
correction 18 wpc LM at my place w 87 db speakers….

sigh, so much gear, music, so little…time…


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