|   Thoughts on the marble 4.0's........ | bone
Mar 6, 2001 7:18 PM | | This ain't gonna be no analytical Tyson-type review; it's mostly thoughts and feelings. I'm afraid I lack the ear and vocabulary to be more fancy. But I do think there have been few enough posts on the sound of the marbles that another one is useful.
The 4.0's are the small, drum-shaped norh speaks. I got black marble (with white veins- unbelievably beautiful) and black grills (pretty lame). Lifting them out of their nuclear war-proof crates, I could not believe how heavy they are. Was somebody smuggling lead shot in my speaks? Nope, just the weight of solid rock.
After the obligatory 10 minutes of staring at them, I went down and hooked 'em up. Nice binding posts, but they stick way out on the sides, and adding my bananas just made it worse. Why don't they put the posts on the bottom? Oh, well. Turned on the radio and let 'em go at decent volume for four days, listening for a while now and then.
They sounded prety good straight away, but some hiccups, particularly on the low end for the first few days. By this I mean there were some suprising, unusual "off" sounds during some passages. I did a number of double-takes at certain places in songs I knew well.
The last coupla nights I've done some critical listening. I'm going from nice low-fi speaks to nice mid-fi speaks here, to give you my perspective. Finished basement is very nice acoustically.
The first and foremost strength of the norhs for me is their soundstage. 3 dimensional. Comes out, goes back, side to side- amazing! Something I always felt I was missing before when comparing to speaks I heard in audio shops. If you close your eyes, you can truly feel the performers in the room.
The words "honest" and "pure" kept coming up in my notes. The speaks don't add or subtract, don't cover up anything. Poor recordings are accentuated. I understand the comments so many have made about "revealing" speakers. Lots of voices and musical passages sounded different than what I was used to. I actually understood (or heard more clearly) some words/phrases that I hadn't before. Hell, I think I can even understand what the Pogues are saying!
For awhile I was interrupted alot in my listening. I realized I couldn't sing along if I was going to be critical ;-) But that's how they affected me.
Another word that comes to mind is rich. Very smooth, full mids and clear highs. Voices like Dylan, Don McLean, Elvis Costello, Clapton (God, the steel string!!), Neil Young, Hendrix, Rod Stewart all took on added character.
Played Santana's latest with the sub and then without, expecting a massive difference. The album is loaded with deep bass- too much really. Oddly, there really wasn't all that much difference. The deep rumbles were gone, but it still sound pretty authoritative on the low end.
Vivaldi, Holst's Planets, and others were so clean as to be almost boring, if you take my meaning. Very moving with classical stuff.
Sensitivity is lower than my old speaks- don't play as loud. Just fer funnsies I cranked up REO Speedwagon (is there any other way to listen to them?) and pulled out the SPL meter. With the Marantz 8000 nearly maxed out, they were putting out 104dB from about 7 feet. Loud enough fer me!
The speaks seem graceful, clear, and able to stay with any music effortlessly. The sound is nearest to the Dynaudio monitors of the speaks I've auditioned. The three 4.0's across the front are seemless for music and HT- very nice.
Speaking of which, I just ended up with the opera scene from 5th Element. Holy sh!t- these things are wonderful with HT. I noticed the music much more in the 20 minutes of a movie I've seen a dozen times. I was enthralled. Explosions and stuff seemed charper and clearer. Sound field was truly 3 dimensional.
Actually, the last thing I listened to was Loreena McKennitt, a Canadian who sings Irish ballads, etc. Sounded like I was at a renaissance festival with a beautiful ch |
| Wow, it got chooped off..... | bone
Mar 6, 2001 7:22 PM | | Here's the finish to the above post:
"..... a beautiful chanteuse walking among the crowd. Truly a moving experience. Sweet.
So far, so good. Love the 4.0's. I can recommend them as a good value to anyone."
Adios
bone |
| Congrats bone-glad ya like 'em :) nt | eric the red
Mar 6, 2001 7:34 PM | | ntntntntntntntn |
| Sweet Bone, sweet..... | agro1
Mar 6, 2001 7:50 PM | | Well said my friend, sounded like I was in the room w/you....Bravo! |
| Sorry bone... | DueN
Mar 6, 2001 7:38 PM | | You can't audition my 9.0. Your singing along with Sarah Brightman will just ruin it for me. Just kidding! :-)
Congrats! Glad you really enjoy it. |
| Sarah B...... | Jetsons
Mar 7, 2001 5:18 AM | | Have you been able to find a decent quality recording of SB?
Thanks,
Jet |
| Sarah B...... | DueN
Mar 7, 2001 8:40 AM | | I have the following:
Eden
Time To Say Goodbye (my favorite)
Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection
I have no problems with any of them. |
| Sarah B...... | Jetsons
Mar 7, 2001 9:33 AM | | I have the Webber collection. I'll pick up "Time to Say Goodbye".
Thanks,
Jet |
| Very nice review.. | Marbles
Mar 6, 2001 7:56 PM | | I like the fact that it was done in English! I think I understood everything you were trying to say. I'm glad you liked them.
What does your SO think of them.
BTW my mother in law came to visit about a month ago. Took a look at the white marble 4.0's, said they sounded nice, but the looks didn't do anything for her, but when I come out to visit her could I look at her All in one Aiwa system because she couldn't get the built in CD player to work!
After seeing my wifes parents it always amazes me how well she turned out in spite of them! |
| I'm glad they delivered ...... | TinHere
Mar 6, 2001 8:00 PM | | what you have been waiting for. It's a wonderful thing when expectations are met. Nice review. Now please, don't get lost in the land of nOhr and remember your other responsibilities. :) |
| re: Thoughts on the marble 4.0's........ | PJ
Mar 6, 2001 8:26 PM | | Nice work, nObe.
So...a...when are you ordering the 9.0s?
:) |
| D'oh.............. | bone
Mar 7, 2001 3:12 AM | | you've hit on a problem. I'm not sure what to do next. It'll take me a while to save up any way. I don't know how I could hang, say, the ceramic 4.0's in back- they'd have to face forward (?) How do people do this? I cannot afford the marble 7.0's for the front- that's out. My original thought was to buy two 4.1's for the rears (?)
We'll see. |
| D'oh.............. | PJ
Mar 7, 2001 3:20 AM | | When you work out how to hang them, please tell....
If I was to get em for the HT, I still have no idea how on earth I would actually hang them...neither does anyone else in family.
Barnes need to work out a way for people to hang these things. I am sure anyone would be happy to pay $50-100/pair for some cheap bracket, sling etc that would allow people to hang these from the ceiling/wall etc.
That seems to be just about the only thing from holding back my old from purchasing these things....that and they dont like the looks :)
hehehe |
| Well, as far as physically hanging them....... | bone
Mar 7, 2001 3:29 AM | | Vandy did it with leather straps and I read somewhere you can just remove the legs and screw in something and use the speaks upside down. What I'm stuck on is placement. My side walls are perpendicular to the couch, so rears are mounted with backs against the wall pointing towards each other. To give the norh gourds breathing room, they'd have to be sticking out 18" or more (?) I'm not sure the sound or the look would be acceptable. |
| Well, as far as physically hanging them....... | PJ
Mar 7, 2001 4:18 AM | | 18"!!
Seems like a long way away from the wall...
I can put my 7.0's anything up to 6" from my rear wall, before the bass goes mad. The 7.0's should be more placement senstive, due to the greater extension. I actually have them 1-1.5m (2-5ft) away from the rear wall, as they image far better. My room is the biggest limiting factor in my 2chan setup, they are only 6ft apart and each is 2ft away from the side walls.
Even if the bass was to boom a little from the rears, I think you probably wouldn't even notice with the little sonic info contained in surrounds. Whilst 6" may not be ideal sonically, personally, I think I maybe able to live with compromise.
They would however, look kinda rude hanging upside down... :)
Need to find Vandy, anyone got his email address, he musta been gone for 6months now... |
| D'oh.............. | mbarnes
Mar 7, 2001 4:48 AM | | The ceramics are easier to hang and have the same audio properties. The woods are actually the easiest to hang. You can get them in black and they look very classy. If you like white, we can do up a white ceramic with a white grill as we did for RC. you can hang the speakers from leather slings. We do this in Bangkok a lot these days. Write Namphung and she can tell you what it would cost to make up the slings.
Some people replace the feet with hooks and hang them from plant hangers. This is what my duaghter has.
Bye the way, my dauther hates the look of the 4.0 and says she wants me to make her a 3.0 in pink. She loves the sound of the 3.0 and she doesn't like the tweeter sticking out. If this is the problem, a set of 3.0s might be the answer. The first 3.0s were shipped so we should see comments soon.
I also got the first comments from someone recieving the 6.9s. He said they were great. I am hoping he sends some details as well. |
| D'oh.............. | Marbles
Mar 7, 2001 9:11 AM | | I'm sure I am the RC you are referring to. I use my ceramic 4.0's as surrounds (rears) in my reference HT. My white ceramic's match very well to the walls and ceiling. They are a cream in color. I sunk 3 eye screws into the ceiling studs per speaker. Two for the front part of the speaker, and one for the rear. I then tied white polyester ribbon to each front foot, and then tied the other end to the eye screw. For the back, I wound one ribbon onto both back feet, then tied off both ends to the eye screw. I tied all knots tightly, then I cut off the excess ribbon. It looks very nice, and I was able to angle the speakers perfectly for my listening positions.
It looks very nice. They are in back of my listening position facing toward the listening area. |
| Any chance for a 6.9 syn-marble/ceramic Prism... | Alex - the goodone.
Mar 7, 2001 11:05 AM | | Or a syn-marble/ceramic sealed cabinet 6.x subwoofers?
Like the prism looks much better than the nOrh sub look.
(Hey. Good sound does not necessarily means ugly hardware. As the piggies have proven. No?)
Thx.
Alex - the good one. |
| I knew the reticent bOne would not last | Tyson
Mar 6, 2001 8:40 PM | | The thing I love about the 4.0's now (that took a while for me to really appreciate) is that they don't come out & hit you upside the head & say "I am a great speaker". They sort of quietly go about making beautiful music in a very unassuming manner. It was only after I had lived with them for a while & really sort of took their sound for granted that I decided to do some comparisons with other highly regarded speakers (Dyn Audience 50, Dunleavy SC-1, Dyn Contour 1.3 II). After the 4.0 pulled even with the SC-1, trounced the 50 & just edged out the 1.3 II, I realized that this is indeed a pretty special speaker. Believe me, no one was more suprised than I was about how well the 4.0 sounded. It is so neutral that it is very easy just to get comfortable with the sound & not really notice what a great job they are doing on both HT and music. But, this is one speaker that really really grows on you with continued listening. In the end, many other speakers just sound quite colored & not as natural. Well, that has been my experience with them.
i thought you did a really great job on the review. I predict that you are going to get really spoiled by these little piggies (as Alex calls them) but you won't really notice it until you have had them a while & head out to some local high end stores to do some comparisons. And believe me, THAT is a lot of fun. . . . |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | Alex - the good one.
Mar 6, 2001 9:49 PM | | I'm not sure with others piggies.
But with my ceramic 4.0. The most crazy thing is: I can walk around to the side, say, about 2 ft to either side, and about 3 ft in front, almost diagonally to the speakers, but absolutely out of the sweet spot area, and still can get a clear image/soundstage.
Yes, you loose some details with the highs like this, but the bass... Holly macaroni, it's like almost have the sub running. (But in fact, no sub is connected.) Much more, and deeper bass than within the area in between the two piggies.
Has anybody else have experiencing this?
Also. With the ceramic. The thingy can play very loud, fast and crystal clear, matching a sub or two will need more searching.
Does the ceramic plays louder than the others?
I'd say. You'll need massive power to match the overall SP level, plus big sub is out, because the little piggies are so fast. I think a pair of 8" subs, with around 250-300 Watts RMS each should do. Probably 10" driver wil be the limit, or things will slow down to an unacceptable level. Also, an air-suspension (sealed box.) design sub should works better than ported sub.
Comment?
Alex - the good one. |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | KCWolfPck
Mar 6, 2001 11:10 PM | | Look at the Sunfire subs. I think they would be a great match. |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | Alex - the good one.
Mar 7, 2001 7:34 AM | | Thanks, but no thanks...
Never been impressed with anything by Bob Carver.
... Phase Linear 400, Carver... All very dispointing in my experiences.
And I'm looking for music subs. Not home cinema subs. 80% music here.
Alex - the good one. |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | mbarnes
Mar 7, 2001 4:53 AM | | I have in mind what would make a very good sub for the 4.0s but with all the projects, I simply haven't built it yet. Basically, use the same Vifa woofer as the 6.5 and the 6.9. Put it in a 35 liter cabinet. You could use a simple passive crossover at 100 Hz. There would be a little bass doubling but not much.
You would get down to about 32 Hz with this arrangement.
I would not go for a powered subwoofer because I think that most of the amps in powered subs are simply too substandard.
If anyone is interested, I could provide the technical details and maybe someone would construct such a kit.
I assure you it would be a better match than any commercial cheap 10 inch subwoofer. |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | PJ
Mar 7, 2001 6:10 AM | | I know you dont like using woofers any larger than 8"....but have you considered using some of the slightly more expensive 10" woofers from Stryke Audio, Lambda Acoustics and ACI. They both sell for around $150 each. As I have mentioned before, the stryke uses the copper faraday motor, same as scanspeak.
For instance, the ACI 10 incher costs $119 each. It has 16mm xmax. When I model it in WINISD, I get 21Hz with a 57L box, and around 27Hz with a 35L box, with the appropiate tunes. But as we have spoken about this before, the catch is efficiency.....
Just throwing ideas in the air... |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | PJ
Mar 7, 2001 6:25 AM | | Oh, and another thought (I can hear you groaning..:) ), what about a ported sub, which the user can seal?
I know little about sub design, only what I have read, never made one, but...
For instance....take the styke SB-10 woofer. Put it in a 85L sealed box, and you get flat to 30Hz, with the flat rolloff typical of a sealed design. Port that sucker, and you get 3dB at 19Hz, with a slight peak at 30-40Hz, perfect for HT. The user could either plug the port, or not, depending on if they are listening to music (sealed, very tight, fast bass, less extension) or HT (more output, more extenion, but slower bass, which is fine for HT). This way you making the sub more flexible...
The box aint small, but I am sure you could fiddle with it, and my sims are probably incorrect anyway..there would be far more optimal solutions than these..
Again, I am talking crap about a subject which I have little knowledge about, so I think it's bedime for me... :)
adios |
| What would be interesting. . . . | Tyson
Mar 7, 2001 6:45 AM | | is if the forthcoming monoblock amp could be used as a sub amp, along with a seperate active crossover. If so, it would be a very inexpensive way to get a super high quality amp on the sub to really control the driver. |
| I was thinking the same thing at the time... | PJ
Mar 7, 2001 6:10 PM | | But didn't mention it as I read the multi amp wasnt good at low impdeance loads (I am guessing, but dont really know, because of the JFET output stage).
Most of these sub drivers are 4ohm.
I would imagine shipping a 85L internatioinally would be too expensive, so a kit (or even just kit instrucitons, with all components) taking up minimal room would be a cheaper option. |
| I was thinking the same thing at the time... | Tyson
Mar 7, 2001 6:28 PM | | I think that nOrh may be re-engineering the multiamp and monoblocks a bit. If the monoblocks are going to be used with other speakers than nOrhs, they will HAVE to be able to handle low impedance loads. I think norh realizes this & will take care of it. But Michael would know about this for sure. |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | Alex - the good one.
Mar 7, 2001 7:54 AM | | Good idea...
But a 57 Litre box is way too big for my taste.
I don't even want 120 dB at 20 Hz SPL. I treasure my hearing. :-)
I'm only interested in articulate, accurate bass down to -3 dB at 30 Hz or so. Because I'm no organn-music freak, nor care about shaking the whole room with movies. Many powered subs on the market can already do that.
Alex - the good one. |
| Acid Test CD for your audio gears... | Alex - the good one.
Mar 7, 2001 9:42 AM | | "Spain" by Michael Camilo & Tomatito.
This is my de facto gear testing (pass/no pass) CD for a while. :-)
Excellent acoustic piano & acoustic spanish guitar duet.
Two of the most difficult to reproduced musical instruments ever. Played superbly together here.
A GREAT performance, and GREAT music to boost here.
Yes. This is THAT composition - "Spain", by Chick Corea/RTF.
Talk about speed, velocity, attack, decay, bass, harmonic... They're all here.
Play this on some mass marketed junks, then, play it on some high quality gears... :-)
Alex - the good one. |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | Alex - the good one.
Mar 7, 2001 7:48 AM | | Michael,
Very interesting idea.
Yes, I agree most powered subs have loudsy amps.
100 Hz? Isn't that too high?
I cross over at 40 - 65, or 70 Hz at the most with music.
I can live with less than optimum bass for movies. I'll sacrifice movie sound for pure music anytime, any day.
What I'm thinking now is purely for music. I have other subs for movies already. But not that impressed with their musical performances.
That's why the quest for the musical sub goes on...
An idea:
Why don't you sell the Prism cabinet with a couple of 6.5", or 8" Vifa woofers, and adjustable cross-over in it, but without amp?
I love the Prism cabinet look in wood, or even syn-marble, or ceramic.
Or use with an outboard cross-over, such as the Paradigm, or nOrh's ACA?
I have an old NAD 2200 that can be pretty good for this.
Alex - the good one. |
| How about | Bryan
Mar 7, 2001 7:54 AM | | Trying out the SVS subs with the 4.0s. Tyson or Northbear, any thoughts on how well they match up with your 4.0s? I know the website is www.svsubwoofers.com. They are not the cheapest but are among the best. I just got word today my second 20-39 has shipped. :^) One is excellent as it is. I can only imagine how well two will sound. :^) |
| For mbarnes. Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | Alex - the good one.
Mar 7, 2001 1:05 PM | | Any chance you will sell the Prism 6.5 or 6.9 with a sealed box, sans tweeter and a deep slopped 60 or 70 Hz cross over?
In either Teak, syn-marbles or ceramic?
Alex - the good one. |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | Father
Mar 7, 2001 6:09 AM | | Hi fellow piggy owner
As you know I own 4 black marble piggies which I love more and more each day. You are right about the these piggies .... on certain recordings you don't even need a sub ... for example Steely Dan's new album "Two against Nature" sounds just fantastic by far a top of the line recording. Yes these marbles do show the difference between good and not so good recordings which I never noticed before. Anyways back to the sub.... as I mentioned you don't need a sub with these but they are nice if you want the "fill the room pressure" that a sub can give.
You hit the nail on the head about the type of sub that would match these 4.0 marbles. That is exactly what I have. I have pair of circa 1993 DCM Sub-712 subwoofers, 200 Watts, sealed, 8" woofer, 12" passive radiator, Amp was made by B&K. They match the marbles perfectly and they keep up. Actually I barely have the subs turned up ... just enough to get that "pressure". Unfortunately these subs are no longer made and B&K does not make the amps for DCM anymore. At the time it was DCM's 1st sub and they did a great job .... to bad that these days DCM's subs are low quality junk. I actually found the second sub on the net as a demo. I bought it for $150 (In 1993 they retailed for $700). You might find one on the net ... just do a seach .... if anyone might be interested.
Father |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | Alex - the good one.
Mar 7, 2001 8:04 AM | | I've been kicking my own butts ever since I got my ceramic piggies...
I had the B&K push-pull sub before (forgot the model), I think it's a 10". during the late 80's... But I sold it! :-O
Yes, with good recording, a sub is not really necessary with the 4.0. Especially with juicy amp. But the subs can certainly add impacts. But I really don't like single sub for music.
Alex - the good one. |
| Correction- I meant M&K push-pulled sub. Not B&K. nt. | Alex - the good one.
Mar 7, 2001 8:45 AM | | . |
| Correction- I meant M&K push-pulled sub. Not B&K. nt. | Father
Mar 7, 2001 8:57 AM | | oh get your subs straight man. It's not like there are that many speaker companies to confuse anyone! - ha ha
I thought so, cause DCM (with amp made by B&K) didn't have a sub until 1992 or so.
On a different note .... about Tyson's feelings on the 4.0 .... he is right on. You don't ever seem to "get used" to the sound of the 4.0 they just seem to impress each time ... .sometimes more than others. I'm planning to make an appointment at my high-end store to listen to his B&W N801 setup in the listening room, listen to the N805 also .... just to hear the differences. I'm thinking about bringing in a pair of marbles and have him set them up in his system so we could switch back and forth ....... to hear any diferences.... |
| You're right... | Alex - the good one.
Mar 7, 2001 9:17 AM | | The ceramic piggies 4.0 are so neutural sounding, you can get right into the music, once they're broken-in.
And indeed, they'll grow and glow on you.
For the $$$ they costs... More $$$ left for music. :-)
Alex - the good one. |
| N805 comparison might be pretty close.. | Marbles
Mar 7, 2001 9:22 AM | | N801 will not be close as it will Kill the marble 4.0! IMHO
N805 and marble 4.0 will be pretty close IMHO.
nOrh 7.0 will be better than N805 IMHO, and some like it better than N801.
I like the marble 9.0 with my nOrh subs better than the N801.
If you need very very loud in a very large room, the marble 7.0 with the nOrh subs would be hard to beat! |
| N805 comparison might be pretty close.. | Alex - the goodone.
Mar 7, 2001 10:51 AM | | It'll be more of a personal tastes and preferences.
The B&W N series are excellent products. So are the nOrh.
I doubt the nOrh can beats the N series hands-down. Each will have their own strengths and weaknesses.
BUT... the nOrh will give B&W a very good run for the money. An excellent alternatives for those who want the very best sound quality, but unwilling, or unable to pay for the B&Ws. Especially for the lower range of the B&W line.
The B&Ws are superbly built and engineered loudspeakers. But the prices can be a bit high for some. But still reasonable for those who can afford them.
There're many much worst, and much more hyped, and more expensive rip-off brands out there.
Like the nOrh. I believe both the B&W and the nOrh are honest and excellent loudspeaker products. I would not call either one a rip-off.
Afterall. The B&W 801 didn't ended up in so many recording studios for decades, from Classical to Rock without good reasons.
Alex - the good one.
P.S." What *IF* B&W move their factory to Vietnam, PI, or El Salvador, or Romania, and cut the high labour costs, like nOrh is doing in Thailand? |
| Other distribution and marketing costs as well. | Marbles
Mar 7, 2001 11:40 AM | | Labor costs are just some of the reasons that B&W cost so much. They have a large R&D department. They are given to Wholesaler/importers who take their cut, then the Brick and morter store has to get their cut (deservidly so) and the Marketing budget has to be outrageous. |
| N805 comparison might be pretty close.. | Alex - the goodone.
Mar 7, 2001 11:25 AM | | It'll be more of a personal tastes and preferences.
The B&W N series are excellent products. So are the nOrh.
I doubt the nOrh can beats the N series hands-down. Each will have their own strengths and weaknesses.
BUT... the nOrh will give B&W a very good run for the money. An excellent alternatives for those who want the very best sound quality, but unwilling, or unable to pay for the B&Ws. Especially for the lower range of the B&W line.
The B&Ws are superbly built and engineered loudspeakers. But the prices can be a bit high for some. But still reasonable for those who can afford them.
There're many much worst, and much more hyped, and more expensive rip-off brands out there.
Like the nOrh. I believe both the B&W and the nOrh are honest and excellent loudspeaker products. I would not call either one a rip-off.
Afterall. The B&W 801 didn't ended up in so many recording studios for decades, from Classical to Rock without good reasons.
Alex - the good one.
P.S." What *IF* B&W move their factory to Vietnam, PI, or El Salvador, or Romania, and cut the high labour costs, like nOrh is doing in Thailand? |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | IgnorantEars (formerly royc)
Mar 7, 2001 7:57 AM | | Listened to my new 4.0 piggies last night for about 4 hours (found I dont get tired of listening after an hour now!). I have a pair of SVS 25-31CS subs (12"(I think), ported, with outboard 300wpc amp) just what most of you are saying is not the best sub for these speakers. (although this is $1,100 worth of subs with $750 worth of speaks - maybe that compensates) With all of the CDs I listend to last night I definately preferred them with sub vs without sub. How do you know your sub is "not keeping up". Maybe I shouldn't ask - ignorance is bliss? |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | Alex - the good one.
Mar 7, 2001 8:17 AM | | Room acoustic plays an important role too, it depends as well on the recordings, the upstream electronics, whether a sub or two are needed or not.
I've been using the subs less and less since I got my Odyssey Stratos power amp. This amp will gives you all the bass that has been recorded in the recordings. Every last bit of bass energy. :-)
Many lesser amps just cannot pump out good bass, regardless of wattage ratings.
>"How do you know your sub is "not keeping up"."<
From listening with, and without the sub, with high quality gears, good recordings, and lots of live music.
Also, as in my case, I've been playing the electric bass for 20+ years... so, I know a thing or two, about when the bass is not keeping up. :-)
Alex - the good one. |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | EarsInTraining
Mar 7, 2001 8:34 AM | | Hmmm. Well last night I was using my Outlaw 1050. My Outlaw 750 amp shold be arriving today or tomorrow. Probably not equal to the stratos but reported to be pretty good. It'll be interesting to see what difference it makes. |
| Sub matching with ceramic/marble nOrh piggies... | Tyson
Mar 7, 2001 8:21 AM | | I have the SVS 20-39 set up in my HT room. It is a pretty good sub for music & a very good sub for HT. The main difference between it and the nOrh subs for music is that the nOrh subs have better seperation of bass notes and a faster & cleaner decay of bass notes. But, the SVS is not a bad match for the 4.0 by any stretch, especially if you are going to do a combination setup of music and HT on one system, in which case I think the SVS subs are nearly an ideal compromise (the 25-31 and 20-39, NOT the 16-46) You could also look at the ACI Quake if you want a pure music sub, or the nOrh subs. |
| Agree........ | bone
Mar 7, 2001 3:23 AM | | I think the combination of drivers, shape, design, and materials makes an unpredictable synergy with this speaker. Wouldn't surprise me if it got better and if I came to appreciate its quality more over time. Very easy to listen to. I'm reminded of a reviewer's take on the big Wilsons that I read last year. He was disappointed and somewhat mystified for a while because they sounded so plain. He came to the realization that they were simply perfectly transparent- everything sounded so lifelike that it was understated. That's kind of the feeling I get.
BTW, I ended up with the center underneath the TV, actually on a shelf (oh, the horror!) Moved the CDP down a couple shelves to make room. It was going to be way too high and weird looking on top of the TV angled down. It sounds great though- the natural upward angle of the tweeter is perfect, don't even have to adjust the height.
Thanks for your help along the way Tyson. If you have time, take a look at my response to PJ above and give me your thoughts on the matter.
Ciao
bone |
| Agree........ | Tyson
Mar 7, 2001 7:29 AM | | For sidewall placement, I like bipolar speakers better than direct radiators. For rear placement I like direct radiators better. Or, you could also use a wood 4.0 or a prism 4.1 & mount it on the side wall pointed toward the ceiling at an angle. This would give you more of a diffuse sound & less like each speaker is directly firing in your left/right ears, especially if you have to sit closer to one side or the other. |
| Thoughts on your thoughts........ | Jetsons
Mar 7, 2001 5:33 AM | | Very glad to hear that you're pleased with your purchase, bonester. Just be careful with those accurate speakers. They will have you analyzing the rest of your components before too long, $$$$.:(
Nice taste in music, btw:)
Cheers,
Jet |
| Why thank you, sir............. | bone
Mar 7, 2001 9:01 AM | | fortunately, a rush to add new gear is not a problem, since saving up takes me quite a while. I realize that financial tycoons (particularly the NYC types) have trouble understanding this ;-)
Now, am I searching for good speaker buys for ya, or are we still lookin' at preamps? Those 9.0's are tempting, eh?
bone |
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