Stereophile Article - Holt telling it like it is.

Funny, that BBC dip thing. IMHO it works very well in closely recorded, often multi-miked and mixed, music. Sort of balances out and can sound a bit more realistic.

What it does do is make the music sound more distant - as if your seat is far back from the band or orchestra. (Distance filters out this audio band to a listener anyway) Indeed it can sound realistic.

I suspect the reason it works so well is that a small two way when played at higher levels will compress in the bass quite rapidly (loses its dynamics very quickly or simply does not represent bass transients properly or fully) - Rogers L33/5's come to mind. A very low cost speaker and a highly popular example of the "BBC dip".

The end result is that a small two way speaker that does not have a "BBC dip" in the mid range will sound very much out of balance, especially so at higher levels where bass transents fail to keep up. They present the kick drum "slap" but the punch or impact of the "bottom" is missing.

There are two popular ways manufacturers achieve the dip;
1) Direct field: Direct on axis response with a dip in the upper mid (easily seen on frequency plot)
2) Reverberant field: A dip in the off axis response more pronounced in the upper mid range than other frequencies. Often this is the inevitable result of using a 6" driver too high in frequncy (beaming) or a tweeter crossed over quite low where it can't keep up. (harder to see of a frequency plot - more subtle way to achieve the same thing)

Basically the presentation gives you the feeling you are further from the action and therefore it can be a convincing balanced sound with less dynamics (you hear more of a smooth reverberant field in the bass than the impact from being close up)

In order to present flat upper mid range response of a close miked vocalist, IMHO you need very powerful dynamic bass...all but impossible in most small two ways.
Hence the attractiveness to manufacturers of the "BBC dip"...nice balanced sound in a low cost system and a presentation that gives a deep soundstage or impression of sitting at a distance. Bose seem to have got it right on their very popular Acoustimass line...again pretty good sound for very low cost. IMHO, it is the low cost of this design and form of audio presentation which has made it so popular with speaker makers. If you can keep costs down you can increase your target market.

Emailist, that is a fabulous system, carefully and thoughtfully assembled.

On orchestra, I adjust the volume to suit my seating. My speakers are 7.5' apart. That puts me first balcony at our music hall.

Holt it was so much better back in the day and we have made no progress since the 90s come on what a bunch of crap.Many audio products have made progress since old Holt.Hes just one of those grumpy old audiophiles that feels everything was better back in da day.As seen through rose colored glasses.Why care what old tin ears thinks anyway ? He proclaims that Audios dying but he doesnt even give a thought to upcoming markets like a small country called china.These types always say the hobbie is dying this they want for its then more exclusive and they can say how right they are.Not even giving thought to other markets beside US shows a very closed mind and ignorance. More audiophiles world wide than at any time in history but if you read the old white reviewers take where all doomed.....Hobbies dead.As I said a bunch or crap from a very old wind bag who thinks his opions matter but realy knows deep inside noone cares, like a scream in the dark, a last gasp...from the failing mind and ears of holt.

As I said a bunch or crap from a very old wind bag who thinks his opions matter but realy knows deep inside noone cares, like a scream in the dark, a last gasp...from the failing mind and ears of holt

Wow, this just proves that Gordon Holt magic is still alive even today - he polarizes people and gets them fighting their corner! If this is the kind of reaction he can still cause perhaps he is not so irrelevant after all - perhaps this is why Stereophile still invites him over for a rant! It actually help keeps the hobby alive - it shows people care!!

I'm surprised so many people agree with this fellow. I’m sorry, but as one of the younger folks on A-Gon he sounds to me like nothing more than a bitter old man who’s pissed off because the world of hi-fi didn’t adhere to his very narrow vision of this hobby. He also seems to think that there was a time when he was the only voice and vision of all audiophiles and as contentious as the debates on this forum are I highly doubt that. His dogged insistence that the only goal of hi-fi should be “perfect reproduction of the sound of real music in a real space” is silly.

I like listening to my system because I love music. The sound quality is certainly important but not always paramount and I don’t have any foolish notions of being able to recreate Carnegie Hall in my 18x15 family room. I just like to listen to music.

Is the industry suffering under its own inaccessibility? Yes, certainly. It’s completely lost its appeal as something that most people aspire to own because most people don’t see the value in it. It’s the same reason most people choose a Chevy over a Rolls Royce. Both perform the same basic functions but for most people one is justifiable and one is not. For most people playing music on any old thing is good enough, and the more stratospheric hi-fi becomes the more people are simply going to settle for “good enough”.

That’s what happens when you put your manufacturing dollars into smashing the last 99th percent out of a system instead of making something that’s merely “really good” and packaging it in a way that people want to live with. Someone will buy that highest performance piece, it might even be me, but it won’t be most people. And then we’re really going to wring our hands because sales are declining? Really?

I wonder if Mr. Holt, is really all at the point where he can’t enjoy a record because the sound quality is mediocre? Am I missing something? Should I toss my Charlie Parker recordings because the acetate pops? The first time I heard Coltrane was out of a single speaker in a really loud 1979 F-150 but it still grabbed my attention.

And frankly, what’s wrong with “”good” sound is whatever one likes”? Otherwise you’re presuming that there is some perfect, agreed upon standard of what “good” sound is. Two people sitting right next to each other in a concert hall can hear totally different components of the music and take away a vastly different “live” experience. Suggesting that there is some attainable perfect reproduction of live music is fallacious for a lot of reasons and very few of them have anything to do with hi-fi technology.

I don’t care if this guy is a legend in the industry. He’s a crank.