Home Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

Re: I love mine...

Jonathan,
35 years as a musician makes you an old guy like meself. The first thing that struck me about the MM DeCapo's was the dynamics of a kick drum. This is among the best I have heard. Seeing that you are a drummer this must have impressed you as well.

The thing is that the DeCapo's are being compared to my stacked Quad 57's (the intent is not to replace the 57's rather to experiment with electronics to drive some dynamic speakers ). The 57's don't have the kick capability of the DeCapo's but the midrange of the Quads appears next to impossible to match. As a DIY'er for years the rest of my system has been designed to support the advantages of the Quads, or at least they are controlled to produce what I like.

The problem is that I have taken my amplifier and CD player to audition the DeCapo's. Although the MM DeCapo's sounded better with my stuff this does not declare that what I am using is best suited to take advantage of the MM DeCapo's strengths.

Technically I like the efficiency of the DeCapo's, particularly as I like tubed gear. The other aspect is that these have a simple driver/crossover compliment and appear to have the impact and clarity in the bass if ever a good subwoofer is connected. It would appear that the subwoofer would have to be exceptional, and the room be able to support the extension of bass, to prevent the sound from deteriorated upon its inclusion.

The things I am primarily concerned about is not so much the absence of frequency extremes, it is the dynamic capability throughout the range, coupled with harmonic richness, spatiality, and particularly coherency through the range. What I didn't like about the DeCapo's was that they appeared to lack some of the midrange clarity and coherency of the 57's. The intent is again not to improve upon every aspect of the reproduction in order to replace the Quads, rather to maximize the advantages of the DeCapo's in what they can do well. Overall the DeCapo's must do things the Quads can't. Given the speed of the DeCapo's in the lower registers this could be a good start. Weight in the lower registers often make the difference between making and breaking a recording.

I can't see getting good bass extension without forking over big bucks. I have built some bass unit towers with 6 - 8" motional feedback drivers per side. These had a frequency response that could still rise at 10 Hz if given the opportunity. These were not as big as some subs out there but still enough to do justice to the helicopter sound on Pink Floyds "The Wall" during the declaration "stand still laddy".

The thing is that I wouldn't mind trying the DeCapo's on top of these subs. I suspect they would sound very good. The problem is that my brother in law has had them so long he has taken permanent possession, and he is bigger than I am. Alas.



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