I'll try - Steve - High Efficiency Speaker Asylum

I'll try

192.6.76.74

Posted by Steve on April 7, 2001 at 12:29:53

In Reply to: Can you give me some advice? posted by DrM on April 6, 2001 at 15:11:21:

Firstly let me say that Rich, in his usual super-concise style has hit all the major points.

All I can do is to indulge my verbosity by waxing lyrical on reviews in general.

There are 4 reasons to evaluate a loudspeaker, which will dictate how the testing is conducted. Before you start, its important to be clear on why you are proceeding.

The reasons are:

1. To find THE loudspeaker which you would like to build your system around
2. To find THE loudspeaker to best complement an existing system
3. Because you get paid to test loudspeakers
4. Because you have another agenda

Each reason above dictates a different approach.

1. Selecting THE loudspeaker as a basis for a new system:

Assuming that you've whittled your choice down to a couple of models, each model must now be tested in your listening environment with a variety of different amps and anxilliaries and in a number of different set-ups. The evaluation should define which speaker best meets your requirements and gives a good clue to the most suitable matching components.
In this evaluation its almost inevitable that you'll end up comparing the speakers with different amps and cables and have them positioned differently in the room.

To use a boozy parallel, you're trying to select whether you prefer a gin or whisky cocktail by mixing the complementary ingredients and tasting the finished drink

2. Selecting THE loudspeaker as complement to existing system

Again lets assume you're down to a couple of candidates, you'll be trying each speaker with different room and listening positions, trying different cables and tuning your existing system to get the most from the speakers. The new speakers may reveal problems in the system that you've never heard before so its important not to assume that the problem lies with the speaker. When comparing the 2 speakers, each should be in its ideal position, cabled up with the most complementary wire, levels matched. The reviewer should attempt to minimize any anomalies and achieve the optimum situation for both speakers.

Here you're trying to evaluate which brand of gin to use in your favorite cocktail.

3. Testing loudspeakers professionally

Is a superset of 1 above, with the addition of a well characterized listening environment and well characterized anxilliaries. Here the reviewer is evaluating and reporting on a single cocktail ingredient

4. ...........(fill in the blanks).............

Save yourself the bother of a comparison and move straight to writing the results while sipping the cocktail.

DUO Set-up

You never mentioned which version of the DUO your Buddy uses. Assuming its a DUO II (otherwise why bother publishing reviews?) there are several set up steps to bear in mind.

- Subwoofer settings will make or break the performance. Male vocal is a great way to evaluate whether you are close or spot on the ideal.

- Subwoofer should be positioned to excite room nodes as evenly as possible.

- You should allow at least 2 feet between the sidewalls and horns

- Ensure that the tweeter horn has plenty of free air around it.

- The toe-in and distance between the speaker and listener are important set-up elements to optimize musical energy, image specificity and size and soundstage width and depth

- Diffuse backwall reflections if possible

- Get the tweeter as close to ear level as possible

- If you can lay your hands on a 1/3 octave spectrum analyzer it is an exceptionally good tool to check your set-up for unevenly balanced balanced room nodes, comb filtering etc.

Rich and most others here prefer their DUOs with SET amps. I prefer a more powerful PP presentation with oodles of headroom. SETS do sound wonderful but the mere fact of being a SET is not an automatic guarantee of excellence.

Implications and innuendoes? None intended Dan. My post was intended to be clear and unambiguous.

Hope the above helps

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - REVIEW: BD Design Oris 150 Speakers Review by DrM at Audio Asylum - DrM 21:40:06 04/04/01 (43)

Great review Dan. Keep it coming! - Glen 02:42:53 04/09/01 (3)

Re: Great review Dan. Keep it coming! - DrM 10:46:32 04/09/01 (2)

Re: Great review Dan. Keep it coming! - DrM 11:00:51 04/10/01 (0)

Re: Great review Dan. Keep it coming! - Glen 20:08:38 04/09/01 (0)

BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - tvikeby 06:15:23 04/06/01 (0)

Why do reviews bring out the worst in inmates? - daveemac 01:47:31 04/06/01 (16)

Re: Why do reviews bring out the worst in inmates? - Ian White 10:00:29 04/06/01 (15)

Why do people respond aggressively to reviews - Steve 10:45:46 04/06/01 (14)

Re: Why do people respond aggressively to reviews - Ian White 11:34:05 04/06/01 (2)

Emotive Audio Sira - Mr. Walker 07:41:23 04/07/01 (1)

Re: Emotive Audio Sira - Dave Derrick 23:55:32 04/07/01 (0)

Re: Why do people respond aggressively to reviews - Mike Bates 11:13:39 04/06/01 (10)

I think there's one thing you need to define..... - Steve 13:23:41 04/06/01 (9)

"Knuckledragger"? See, to me that's a perfect example of the... - daveemac 01:21:30 04/07/01 (2)

I use the term...... - Steve 13:30:34 04/08/01 (0)

Re: "Knuckledragger"? See, to me that's a perfect example of the... - Rich 09:52:44 04/07/01 (0)

Can you give me some advice? - DrM 15:11:21 04/06/01 (5)

I'll try - Steve 12:29:53 04/07/01 (1)

OK! - DrM 19:00:21 04/07/01 (0)

Make sure you've exhausted... - Rich 15:30:05 04/06/01 (2)

Re: Make sure you've exhausted... - DrM 15:43:56 04/06/01 (1)

I have a pair of Divas... - Rich 16:03:50 04/06/01 (0)

BD Design Oris 150 review & "horn coloration" - Jim Smith 23:01:07 04/05/01 (1)

Re: BD Design Oris 150 review & "horn coloration" - Tom Brennan 00:42:06 04/06/01 (0)

BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - AndrewH 16:24:13 04/05/01 (0)

Dear Dan & Jeff - Steve 16:07:07 04/05/01 (0)

BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - Cam 15:51:13 04/05/01 (0)

Collective reply - DrM 13:48:23 04/05/01 (5)

Thanks anyway - Romy 00:12:10 04/07/01 (1)

Re: Thanks anyway - DrM 10:24:28 04/07/01 (0)

Thanks again everybody, very nice comments! (nt) - DrM 18:19:02 04/06/01 (0)

Re: Apology to DrM - Tom Brennan 21:37:24 04/05/01 (1)

:-) - DrM 23:23:15 04/05/01 (0)

BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - JLH 00:49:07 04/05/01 (0)

BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - Mike Bates 23:22:12 04/04/01 (0)

BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - Tom Brennan 22:22:57 04/04/01 (7)

How would you know? - Albert B. Broman 11:49:03 04/05/01 (0)

Tom, I would go easier on Dan. - Romy 23:16:27 04/04/01 (0)

Re: BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - DrM 22:46:53 04/04/01 (4)

Re: BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - dave slagle 10:02:18 04/05/01 (0)

Re: BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - Seth Hensel 09:33:43 04/05/01 (1)

What Seth said. Thanks![nt] - J Epstein 11:52:04 04/05/01 (0)

Re: BD Design Oris 150 Speakers - Dave Aukerman 09:11:15 04/05/01 (0)

Follow Ups

I'll try - Steve 12:29:53 04/07/01 (1)

OK! - DrM 19:00:21 04/07/01 (0)

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