Speakers to hang on to for LIFE
Astrallite, I guess it is a matter of how old you are when you decide they are for the rest of your life. Maybe my Rectilinear IIIs are still working or my Fulton Premiers but certainly not my Infinity ServoStatic 1s. But in reality I cannot imagine living with the particular compromise in the speaker you own for a long time. |
I've long had a "sonic crush" on the sound coming from several cinema auditoriums and their associated speaker systems. This hasn't got anything to do with "hifi" per se (though strictly speaking, it should), but simply that the oftentimes effortless, full-bodied, dynamic, and indeed rather coherent presentation appeals to me immensely. That it doesn't relate to "hifi" (in the more or less traditional sense) as such is by no means to be understood negatively, but rather that it imprints itself intuitively as something "right." I find it the more interesting, even truer, that my impressions herein have been formed under conditions that "breaks" contrary to the typical environment under which we relate to hifi, that is in a darkened auditorium (usually) filled with people, no visible equipment, and a focus towards seeing a film. This brings me to a shift or transition that is still underway towards... a settlement? Some 10 years ago a visit to a hifi-exhibition lead me to rooms with a range of horn-driven JBL speakers - the S4800's, Array 1400, and not least the overlooked S9800SE's. Here the sound, especially from the latter, in many ways gave me the sensation of "finally, at last" (closely related in some ways with the cinema sound experience mentioned above) and I simply kept hanging around and "inhaled" the music here for hours. I've not since become a JBL-fan, but it informed me about a preference that has since been sought after, albeit not initially with horns and compression drivers as the common denominator. Instead, my "deviation," so to speak, went from direct radiating tweeters to ribbon-based speakers (Raidho) and then to waveguide speakers going from the Finish Amphion speakers to US-based S.P. Technology/Aether Audio, and finally the Polish originated hORNS speakers where a variety of horns and waveguides are used in conjunction with compression drivers and pro-style mid/bass drivers, in what are usually 2-way systems. What is to be brought from this is the addictive nature of the effortless, full-bodied and dynamic presentation from compression drivers paired with larger and efficient mid/bass units crossed over no higher than 1.4-1.5kHz - depending on the size of these units and their implementation. Moreover the mid/bass units here used are not sub-bass units per se, but have to be capable playing midrange as well - and this is very important; instead of trying to squeeze out sub-bass from one package a much more important emphasis is placed on the mid-bass and integration with the horn/waveguide and its compression driver, and so maintain only one cross-over frequency in a not too audibly critical spectrum. Whatever one seeks in the sub frequencies must be attained with the use of (preferably) two, or even more subwoofers. So, this is not about a particular speaker or even brand to hang on to for life, but a speaker principle that has gone on to establish itself as indispensable compared to the more typical regime of hifi-speakers: direct radiating dome tweeters now sound thin, malnourished and strained; typical hifi mids sound compressed and lacking dynamic impact; and not least the upper bass/lower mids of typically larger multi-way hifi-speakers simply lack the cohesion to bind together this very important area with the rest of the frequency spectrum into a homogenous musical whole. The typical application that is associated with this speaker principle I've now come to cherish for the last many years may not lead one to think of "hifi," but it doesn't matter - except for the ones who are lead to dismiss it out of a prejudiced stance; what matters is that it sounds like real, live acoustical music, something that would (or should) lead one to reevaluate the now established term "hifi" and question its merits as the true holder of the meaning 'high fidelity.' I don't disregard other opinions on what hifi is, but if the goal is seeking a live presentation of acoustical music in a real space environment then the matter presents itself less subjectively and into a different direction than where the established hifi-milieu has come to "coagulate" - if you ask me. Sorry for the detour... |
Phusis, I too went through discovering the speed of compression drivers in horns and once came very close to buying a five way compression horn array from GOTO. At the time I had Avantegarde Trios and learned a lesson about an array of horns. Unless you are quite a distance from them, instruments will switch positions at different notes. In short, not having a fifty feet long listening room, I could not enjoy either my Trios or a five compression driver horn system. I have seen pictures of Japanese audiophiles sweeping the dust out of the mouths of their horn speakers with listening chairs only about ten feet in front of them. So apparently some can tolerate this, but not me. I have had single driver horn systems, full range electrostats, line arrays of ribbons and dynamic tweeters and midrange drivers, horns with and without compression drivers, and many dynamic driver systems. What I think is needed is the counterpart to a microphone, namely a point source capable of 110 db peaks and flat from 20 to 100,000 Hz. I know of no such device. |
Tbg -- What I think is needed is the counterpart to a microphone, namely a point source capable of 110 db peaks and flat from 20 to 100,000 Hz. I know of no such device. Indeed no small measure to pursue. I can very much attest to this demand, ultimately speaking, but have come to live in a satisfying manner with less. I much prefer a point source (or two pr. channel) over a line source, though my experience with single point source units is too limited to form any conclusion. Where I have heard them they've lead to compromises too severe to warrant a purchase over a 2-way system, but there are alternatives still to be sought out - the BMS 15CN682 being one of them (http://bmsspeakers.com/index.php?id=bms_15cn682). Where the cross-over frequency is around 1kHz in a 2-way system, give or take, I find the outcome can be made to ensure a very capable performance with more pro's than con's. A pair of subs can accommodate the need for the last octave while providing positive influence upwards as well; though demanding to integrate the subs properly, it's certainly possible with some effort. SPL is no issue without banging ones head against the distortion ceiling, and I'd wager frequency extension upwards is less important than the impact of thoroughly implemented sub-terrain performance. Of course, all of the above is relative to my own performance needs, and is not supposed in any way to be seen as a "lecture" delivered in your direction. With regard to a proper listening distance with horn/waveguide speakers I suppose it's dependent on the different incarnations and their implementation (2-way or more). My own 12" OSWG waveguide-based speakers have no problems integrating at a listening distance under 10 feet, though I suppose 10-12 feet distance (or slightly more) could be preferable. Unfortunately my listening room doesn't allow for experimentation much over 10 feet. |
