|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
76.69.224.168
Having problems with my speakers in my main system and took out the speakers I had for a secondary system that have been boxed since we moved over three years ago and connected them to the main system (with the ARC VT-100 III power amp not the Brystons).
I am surprised at how they sound much better in this room than the the ones they have replaced.
They are Rega Naos two way transmission line speakers. They retailed for around $2,300 a pair back then, whereas my main speakers went for around $12,000.
Acoustic bass sounds like a musical instrument with a full sound rich in harmonics and proper decay. Is there anything fundamentally right about bass reproduction from transmission line speakers?
Does anyone have recommendations for that type of speaker but with greater dynamics and ability to play at realistic levels?
I see that PMC has a whole range of them, but, like any company that produces pro equipment, many audiophiles look down their nose at them.
I don't want to push the two way Naos and destroy them as they are so nice with acoustic music, small groups and vocals.
Thanks!
Follow Ups:
I own a pair and really like them a lot. They go deep and will play pretty loud, and they're efficient and an easy load.
___
"If you are the owner of a new stereophonic system, this record will play with even more brilliant true-to-life fidelity. In short, you can purchase this record with no fear of its becoming obsolete in the future."
The transmission line design is better than a port and accomplishes the same thing but does a much better job of it, so yes it sounds better. The reason that you don't see it so often in speaker designs is that it is hard to design and takes a lot of prototypes to get it right, then once a best final design is chosen, it is still much more expensive to build. That doesn't mean that there are not better still ported speaker designs available. There is a lot more to speaker design that loading the woofer.
It sounds like you like to play the system at very high levels. That is challenging for any speaker and some amps. The best way to get more volume and dynamics is by choosing more efficient speakers. They simply deliver much more output and dynamics with the same input power. The trade-off with higher efficiency speakers however is almost always a reduction in how warm the system sound is. So getting rich harmonics and a warm midbass or really deep and powerful low end is often not easy to do. One of the few speakers that seem to be able to do all of the above are the Tannoy Dual Concentric designs. You might also consider biamping by using a pair of powered subs to fill in the bottom register. You can use the crossover that comes with the subs to add more bass or a more sophisticated outboard unit for even more dynamic headroom at higher frequencies.
-Bill
There is a ton of things that are fundamentally wrong with ported speakers and certain aspects that are improved with t-lines. But no matter what you do with a t-line they still dont perform as well as a well designed acoustic suspension speaker.
Both IMF Electronics and Fried make/made transmission line speakers. I owned a pair of the IMF TLS 80s back in the 70s and they had some exceptional qualities, particularly the bass. I think IMF is still in business but I'm not certain of Fried.
Fried design principles are very much alive. Salk Sound is now producing Fried Speakers that have transmission line loading and series crossovers. They have a new website (friedaudio.com) including some of Bud Fried's white papers. Give Jim Salk a call for details.
Your problem obviously lies with the room more so than the speaker. You need to figure out that issue before you go speaker shopping.
Oz
Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
- Winston Churchill
Sounds like the Rega speakers are a better match for the room than the previous ones. Why not keep them?
The t-line implementation is a way to trick the (bass) driver into operating like a larger driver but as you suspect, the smaller driver can be over driven in some situations (it's still a small driver even though it thinks its a larger one). I don't think your ARC gear poses any danger to the Regas however.
I think you are right about PMC being the only ones currently doing a t-line (which they seem to implement in there smallest speakers right on through the largest models). If you are after a big, dynamic t-line some of their larger models might just suit.
There's no way to tell how any given speakers will interact with your room until you try them in there.
It sounds like you had the synergy issue from the beginning between the X $12,000 speakers and Bryston.
“Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead"
― Charles Bukowski
Well the other room had been built by yours very truly as a sound room and I have never been able to get this hellish basement room to sound good in the new house.
The speakers have some (one or more?) drivers that are defective. The proprietary drivers cannot be sourced anymore in North America and I don't know if I will be able to get any from the European distributor as I did earlier this year.
Now retired, the money just ain't what it used to be...
I will try to find replacement drivers for the bigger speakers, failing which I always have the Naos speakers to fall back on or I can break the old piggy bank for new speakers.
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: