Home
AudioAsylum Trader
General Asylum: REVIEW: Nakamichi Soundspace 5 Minisystem by MannyE

General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

For Sale Ads

FAQ / News / Events

 

REVIEW: Nakamichi Soundspace 5 Minisystem Review by MannyE at Audio Asylum

208.61.125.58


[ Follow Ups ] Thread:  [ Display   All   Email ] [ General Asylum ]
[ Alert Moderator ]

When I got the Soundspace 5 home and unpacked it, I was impressed. It is absolutely beautiful. Set-up was a snap, literally. Everything snaps together. Be advised that to make it look its best, some drilling and cutting of your walls will be required, and unless you are lucky enough to have a closet or some other space behind the wall it will be mounted on that you can hide the wires for the speakers and power supply, plus the power supply itself, you will have ugly wires hanging off of it. It can also be propped up on a table surface, which makes life much easier.

I read many reviews that it sounded great on other forums, but after listening to the Soundspace 5, I do not concur. Perhaps if I added the optional sub-woofer it would be better, but as it comes from the factory, I was not impressed.

The speakers rattled against the wall when asked to reproduce even moderate bass. This could be that I'm not the best handyman in the world and didn't mount them tight enough to the wall. I had to place rubber feet on the backs of the speakers to tame this, although it isn't cured.
I susepect the screws are also vibrating a bit against the plastic mounting/hanging holes.

The overall sound of the Soundspace 5 is less than what I expected. The unit seems weak, underpowered. The "loud" setting is only useful at low volumes and introduces nasty distorion at anything past mid-volume. FM reception is decent even with the included dipole wire antenna, a real one would be a great improvement.

Perhaps the room it was placed in is too big for it. I am not inclined to remove it from its perch on the wall to try it in a smaller space. Perhaps the addition of the sub would make all the difference, taking the strain off what seem to be very weak speakers and amplification that just doesn't quite measure up. I don't know. But at 800 bucks it shouldn't need so much help. Perhaps it would be just right for a small bedroom or office, but not in a large area.

I would advise anyone interested to try it out for a good long time...at least a month...before you decide to keep it. Me, I kept it because my wife thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread..she feels it sounds just fine. And since it made her happy enough to not make a big fuss when I got a B&K Reference 30, I also love it!


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Kimber Kable  



Topic - REVIEW: Nakamichi Soundspace 5 Minisystem Review by MannyE at Audio Asylum - MannyE 14:50:40 01/8/01 ( 0)