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I decided to try all of my speakers in my dedicated audio small room. Just to compare.
To see if the brightness I hear sometimes in the living room is caused by the source, amp or the speakers itself.
The small room setup usually is ASL 22W SET, OPPO 105d, Oskar Heil Aulos and an ACI Force sub. The sound is nice, detailed, nothing annoying.
The LR setup is CJ CA200, OPPPO 105d, B&W Matrix 802s2 (orig.Xovers) and a HSU sub.
I moved all the speakers to the small room and added an extra set of Vienna Acoustics Mozarts to the mix. To switch between speakers I got a speaker selector and a spool of Monoprice speaker cable. Took me a day to set it up...
Then I started to listen to some SACDs and my old Sanyo tuner.
Horrible, everything, even the Aulos, which were in the system for months, sound bad.
Each speaker sounds different though. B&W still bright, Mozarts are OK, not enough body, Aulos just lost all the magic they had earlier.
There is a problem with impedance mismatch.
Aulos are 4 ohm, Mozarts 6 ohm and the B&Ws are 8 ohm. I'm using the 8 ohm tabs right now. The Aulos used to be on the 4 ohm tabs.
But still, big disappointment, I was hoping for a clear answer, got nothing but just a reminder that a cheap speaker switch in the signal path is not a good thing.
Now I have to put it all back together and maybe try each speaker set separate. If I feel like it...
Follow Ups:
with all those speakers in the same room - one affects the others - no way around it
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
The best way is to play with one speaker pair at a time and maximize it's performance using different cabling and positions. AB sounds like it's a good idea but you really need time to sort things out. It takes me a couple of weeks to sort out new speakers sometimes more.
Likewise
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
In 14 years of being a member here, this is your 111th most important thought, and it's about putting three pair of speakers in one small untreated room (need I go on?), and you've come to the conclusion that it's an impedance problem?
Are you kidding me?
THIS is ONE of the reasons why I got out of hi-fi sales.
At least you have a VOM and extra cash, so, that's nice.
:(
VOM? Internet slang .com only seems to think it means vomit.
Edits: 07/11/16
Thank you.
All I see is Voice of Music.
I guess I missed it.
It would be the first time.
"I can't compete with the dead" (Buck W. 2010)
"It would take me forever. I don't think I have forever" (Byrd 2015)
.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Say, $1200 shipped? Have cash in hand... :)
1300! and I'll pay shipping! Do it! Those speakers suck! :)
Just throwing it out there but;
Side by side is always tough. First there is volume variations that can make one speaker sound better or worse comparatively. Then a couple of times I have had an odd situation where the unused speaker took energy from the DUT. Once I figured out what was happening I inspected and found the cone on a free speaker was pulsing to the live speaker. Not sure why it did that but I just happen to have the test mic on and when I moved something there was a new anomaly in the reading. You have to either move the unused speaker away or short the posts. Better if you move the speaker away, more work but even if the drivers are not moving they are acting large reflectors in the room.
P
As I slowly slip into the dark cesspool of audiophalia neurosis. . . .
My speaker building site
I was going to say the same thing. Short the posts on the speakers you're not using to at least diminish whatever effect the sympathetic "pulsing" has on the sound (if any).
"Just as soon as I added the switch and the Monoprice wires, everything broke down."
That should have suggested something to you. It might not be as quick or convenient but muting and moving speaker cables from one speaker to another would have been a fairer test.
Except for the B&Ws. I can't imagine running the 802s with 22 watts. Maybe 10 x that?
Lastly I agree about room treatments, particularly if the rest of the room is as bare as the portion shown in you photo.
Anyway, good luck sorting it out. Maybe next weekend? ;^)
"The piano ain't got no wrong notes." Thelonious Monk
Is that carpeting on the floor? If so, it should help absorb some of the nasties you are mentioning. Remember, a system is only as good as its weakest link. I suspect the cabling is the culprit. Try a good powercord on the amp and some decent I/C's on the source.
Nice pic! Jank
What part of the room is "dedicated" to audio? I see no room treatments in this limited view. Bare walls = bad sound, especially in a small room.
I would bet the CD player is the source of brightness if it is present with all speakers. I have heard the Oppo 105 with $16K speakers and it is no gem, with a sort of splashy, gray presentation. The only reason I'd have one is for multi-channel use. The 802's (I owned a pair) can get a bit edgy and in-your-face, especially with the crappy stock xover caps.
A cheapo speaker selector thrown into the system can't be helping anything, and new wire needs some time to settle down. I suggest you revisit after several days and use a single pair of good cables with each set of speakers.
I doubt that an impedance mismatch is the primary culprit.
Peace,
Tom E
berate is 8 and benign is 9
I don't think it's the OPPO, it sounds great with the Aulos connected directly with better wires. Just as soon as I added the switch and the Monoprice wires, everything broke down.
I concur, the Oppo could be the culprit.
I have another transport (old upgraded Toshiba) and MSB Link Dac.
The OPPO sounds better.
I see. Then, you have a "live" room that requires some kind of taming down of the sound.
Room treatments may help...maybe a sound diffuser for the back wall...a floor to ceiling bookshelf (well filled) would be a good choice. Diffusers along the side walls would also help.
The room treatments were removed for access to and around the speakers.
Nothing is finalized in that room - that's why the shelf is on sliders.
If I decide to change the layout, I just slide the whole thing over.
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