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Hello,
I have decided to setup speakers on my desk at home. listening will mostly be at low -moderate levels. I am testing a pair of Paradigm Titan v5 with a tripath amp. Much to my chargin, the sound seems very mid-bass boomy. The speakers are about 6 inches from the wall. Stuffing socks (wool,of course, I am in Canada) in the rear ports reduces the problem by about 70-80%. This corrective measure also makes the system very bass shy.
Is it reasonable to believe that speakers that are front-ported, and even better, front-ported and active, such as Adam Audio F5 monitors, would fare better or have my Maggie MMG + Final Sound Sub in my living room spoiled me?
I would appreciate suggestions on getting acceptable sound on my desktop.
Thanks,
(sockless) Bert
Follow Ups:
Since you like the Magnepan sound already, have you considered the Mini Maggies?
LineSource
nt
I would try some sort of stand or isolation pad if you haven't.
Titan's have a pretty live enclosure. Try decoupling them from your desktop. I use these: http://www.isoacoustics.com/index.php. In addition to isolating them from your desk, you can dial in the right amount of tilt to get the tweeters lined up with your ears. You could do a quick check by using some of those wool socks under the speaker to see if it improves things.
Most (read all) bookshelf speakers are boomy. Look into the B&W MM1.
I picked up as pair of Adam F5s, a great deal at $400 CAD.
They are above my expectations with beautiful highs and mids. Only a hint of boxiness/boominess, compared to Magnepan MMGs and the F5s are placed only 5-6 inches from the wall, toed in. They are strikingly clear, without being fatiguing and have a reasonable amount of bass.
A few links to the reviews that helped me choose:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/desktop-champion-adam-audio-f5
http://www.macworld.com/article/2095823/adam-f5-review-a-terrific-and-affordable-powered-audio-monitor-system.html
http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/products/f5/reviews
Thanks to all who helped me out.
Bert
.
I am also using this EQ to take what is left of the boominess out of male voices. By ear, not SPL meter.
I went thru a lot of speakers before I found one that worked on my workstation desktop that is pushed up against a wall. Harbeth P3ESR. THey were a recommendation from Tyll Hertsens who used to own Headphone.com. His only 2 desktop reccos at that time were the Harbs and Amphions. Otherwise front port or no port is the only thing that will work properly for my current desktop. I had a desktop system at work in a 10 x 12 office with rear ported "bookshelf" speakers sitting on my desk in the middle of the room and they were still too "boomy" sounding.
for me and my kids' dorm rooms in college.
Back in 2000, I auditioned several powered, computer speakers for a small dorm room system. I noticed that all but one brand sounded like metal garbage cans, and that brand was Yamaha. The Yamaha YST M7 speakers used spruce paper cones, and they were the only computer speaker that had a natural, non-fatiguing, sound. They even imaged well. The woofer that came with them only produced a one note bass sound, so I no longer use it.
I still use these speakers in a small room that measures 10' X12', and combine them with a Tivoli FM radio. I am plenty satisfied with the system, as I sit very close. I would think this setup would be very similar to a desktop environment, but a gamer would probably want more bass.
"I still use these speakers in a small room that measures 10' X12', and combine them with a Tivoli FM radio. I am plenty satisfied with the system, as I sit very close. I would think this setup would be very similar to a desktop environment, but a gamer would probably want more bass."
Thanks for the info. BTW, I listened to a Tivoli PAL for years. My son now has it in the worksop in the basement. Not hifi, but very charming.
It's easy to get spoiled. But, one can get decent sound at ones desk. When I drive to my office and settle in, I don't want loud as it were. I do want quality though. Used to have some cheap Dayton bookshelfs and a lil Tripath. Never much liked it though so...I dumped the solid scrape and crap sound card output in favor of...
3.0 USB output to Emotiva XDA-2 DAC, to Sophia Baby push/pull tube amp to active 10" sub woofer to Axiom M2 book shelves. Tweak the Foobar eq a bit, sounds just great.
nt
Had to slip it under the printer but...it works.
... really need what used to be called contour or level controls.
You might want to invest in a cheap parametric equalizer in order to apply your own "contour".
nt
If the Paradigms need a higher current amp to control the drivers, than using a little tripath IMO just won't drive them properly in the bass.
However, the biggest contributor to bass response problems is speaker and listener placement (and expecting monitors to give real bass....at most they have decent mid bass, and the rest is distorted 'box' sound from the ports.)
Unfortunately, the active Adams are more expensive. If you try them, make sure to let us know how they work out.
nt
Bert;
You may have been spoiled by the maggies, however, if your Paradigms are close to the rear wall you will need to use some room treatment(s).
Some sort of damping material (bass trap) directly behind the port is in order to absorb the port exhaust.
Good luck.
Meat; It's the right thing to do. Romans 14:2
nt
"Is it reasonable to believe that speakers that are front-ported, and even better, front-ported and active, such as Adam Audio F5 monitors, would fare better?"YES! At least they (F7) did for me. And they are only 6" from the back wall, though toed in somewhat. They are FANTASTIC for my desk, and I do not feel I need a sub at all (for desktop/nearfield type listening).
Edits: 02/26/15
Nt
.
I used Yamaha HS5s on my desk (which was right up against the wall) without the bass being boomy.
Now I use Yamaha HS8 but my desk is now in the middle of the room and the speakers on stands about 6 feet away and about 4 feet away from the front wall.
Nt
I have been pleased with the Audioengine A5 (now A5+) speakers. They're my desktop speakers. See my recent post.
Edits: 02/25/15
Do you have isolation pads under the speaker if it is resting on the desk? Just a pad or 4 legs?
Thanks
Bill
nt
What drives them ? I mean you can use tone controls or an EQ. I have a soundbar w/wireless sub where I had to plug the port. So often there is too much between 80-120hz and not enough between 20-60hz. Good luck
E
T
nt
I have the same setup in my home office, but made my speaker choice (small B&W's) based upon a front port as a prerequisite. I'm very happy with the setup, no boomy mids, but will probably upgrade the speakers to the Omega desktop system.
Geoff,
How far are your speakers from the wall? I suspect that this is part of my problem.
Thx
B
less than 6"
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