|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
69.141.96.215
In Reply to: RE: please suggest speakers for vintage McIntosh system in large room posted by lucifer23 on October 21, 2015 at 13:46:17
Instead of changing speakers, consider acquiring a powered subwoofer and keep the deep bass completely out of the 2105/T5 combination.
You'll easily make budget buying an appropriate commercial product. However, subwoofer construction is a pretty easy DIY project and considerable savings can be realized. I've provided a link below to a 250 W. Parts Express S/W amp that has a suitable built in line level cross over. Add an enclosure, driver, and some interconnect cables to finish things off.
Eli D.
Follow Ups:
My kid bought a 10" Dayton sub for $120 shipped. No, the plate amp isn't quite as good, but using speaker inputs it sounds great with my Straight 8s and a Belles amp. I've found that a pair of subs near the speakers works for me.
-Rod
Even with fullish-range speakers, a pair of subs crossed over low enough to be -3db at the program speakers low cut off can do wonders in a larger room. It's worth getting a high quality sub amp that has maximum flexibility with crossover points in order to avoid an unbearable hump. And a test recording that has a reliable wide range chromatic scale and wide ranging test tones for setting level and crossover (I still use the S'phile Test CD 3).
I recently moved from an 8X11 dedicated listening space with a single sub to a much larger room and had the same issue as the OP. I added a matching sub in my non-vintage system and decided I didn't need to upgrade the speakers after all. The subs have upgraded plate amps with appropriate crossover control and are well enough integrated that one can't tell if the subs are on. The resulting sound is terrific for my needs and do not intrude on the magic of my Reynaud stand mounts.
Jim
"Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal." Igor Stravinsky
~!
The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.
I have been buying my subwoofers from thrift stores. They are one of the few good things you can still find. However, I also agree the DIY rout is viable. It is a bit more expensive and overkill on the power, but I like this stand-alone amp by Dayton because of the parametric equalizer. I think it would be very useful for compensating for room anomalies. What room doesn't have anomalies?
Dave
The biggest problem with adding a powered subwoofer is poor integration with speakers and room. I did respond to this post over at the amp forum before I more carefully read about your room size change. And now your speakers not filling the room.I really feel that adding a sub to that setup will only add to your problem. If your speakers DO go down to 50-45hz or so you will NEVER get the proper integration of sub/speaker right. It will always have a hump or a thump. Especially in that size room.
My recommendation is either go with a better sub/monitor matching setup. Or a larger woofer cone full range speaker with wider dispersion. Again, the A-25 does come to mind. Klipshes in that room could sound "beamy". As well as not being praised highly for their bass.
Also look at the Zaph SR-71 monitor speaker and a sub. Great combo with vintage equipment.
Edits: 10/22/15
Thanks. I have a pair of small A-10s in my office that work fine in the small space. Do you think A-25s would be large enough for my big room?
The Dynaco A25 10" woofers in an aperiodic cabinet cab go surprisingly low for such a compact cabinet. It is also a very easy speaker to drive. That may be the reason that, to my ears, it sounds more efficient than the specs would indicate. I think it is very likely that there would be enough base when properly oriented to the walls. If you do need a sub, it is going to have to be big to give you more base than the A25.
Dave
Your objections are exactly why I suggested a particular "plate" amp. That product has a built in 4th order, in/out, line level cross over. What's fed to the S/W is NOT fed to the main amp/speakers and vice versa. All that's needed is to choose a "corner" frequency and balance the SPLs. :> )
How deep the main speakers go is irrelevant, if info. of that kind is not present. ;> )
Eli D.
For a plate amp I would avoid the IN/OUT to speaker connections. That can lead to degrading the sound. At least I never preferred it. The better option is a low level input that can be done with a simple splitter between the preamp and amp.
Do get a good plate amp and DO get one with at least 300 watts. It matters!!
For a large area I would look into speakers with a wider baffle or front face plate. it would "push" the sound out more to fill a wider area. The old Lobing effect. towers tend to get too vertical in their lobing.
charles
Careful separation and toeing in of the towers might get the job done.
The plate amp I suggested has both line in and line out RCA jacks. I was careful to look for that feature. The difference between 250 W. and 300 W. should not be problematic, especially if the deep bass driver selected is reasonably efficient.
Speaker level I/Ps can be good when the "satellites" have limited bass extension. The S/W can be placed in parallel with the main speakers playing "full range" and its controls adjusted to fill in underneath. I'm not a fan of "daisy chaining" at speaker level, but it can work, occasionally. The parallel method allows the S/W amp to pick up some of the main amp's sonic signature. That signature pick up really helps, when the main amp is tubed.
Eli D.
I've tried 4th order plate amps and they really didn't seem to deliver any better sound integration then the standard 2nd order. Actually they became more "thuddy" then the 2nd ordered with too sharp a roll off. You do need some overlap even down there.
Just from years of trying for "force" a sub onto some of my speakers, matching is everything.
I think those T5 towers will not disperse well in a larger room. Sub or no sub.
charles
I use the Audio Critics technique of running the satellites full range and rolling in the subwoofer below. This keeps the crossover point very low where the ear is less sensitive, and gives a little more room tuning ability. You lose a lot of dynamic range, but I don't listen very loud. I like having good hearing.
Dave
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: