Ron's Favorite Private Rooms + Systems of All Time

[Lagonda]

Put your speakers on pedestals and fantasize they are small monitors - MOOHAHAHA !!
Maybe your room feels bigger… LOL.. !!!

I have them on mini pedestals already to avoid floor vibrations from messing up the bass. I am going to cut holes in the beautiful wood floor and cement large stone slabs to the foundation at some point.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

I am going to cut holes in the beautiful wood floor

...any chance you could mitigate structural concerns from beneath the floor? He sez, having not seen what's below.

 

[Amir]

In this case you are referring to slam bang macro dynamics. I have never heard an inefficient speaker remotely match the dynamic range of low to high rise of an instrument or orchestra. Not even close. They seem very flat in a narrow range in comparision. No matter what the mammoth amps driving them are.

Dynamics of a high sensitivity easy to drive speaker allows you to listen to the smallest shift and rise and fall in comparison and larger swings. For better macro dynamics, bigger woofers and horn size is required in addition to the ease of movement and drive. Of course horn woofers are easier to drive and much bigger than the ones in Wilsons or rockports (e.g. two 15 inches horn loaded in one speaker), and require less grip to push. They might not come with the same box colouration cone users are used to (the box allows loudness from a smaller woofer, tricking lesser experienced people into thinking they are getting more bass, where in essence it is the same box colour).

Big wilsons (before 2010) micro dynamics and dynamic range is ok , the important key to get good dynamics from cone (dynamic driver) speakers is not just going for higher efficiency, the room speaker interaction is very very important. You can increase dynamics if you find the perfect position in the room.
Larger rooms with wider rear wall can help but finally the most important key is the speaker placement.

lower efficiency cone speakers need proper low feedback high power amplifiers (very rare) and finding match amplifiers is not easy. The AC power quality is also very important for dynamics of high power amplifiers.

Huge impact of speaker placement on the sound is the big secret of high end audio.

 

[bonzo75]

Big wilsons (before 2010) micro dynamics and dynamic range is ok , the important key to get good dynamics from cone (dynamic driver) speakers is not just going for higher efficiency, the room speaker interaction is very very important. You can increase dynamics if you find the perfect position in the room.
Larger rooms with wider rear wall can help but finally the most important key is the speaker placement.

lower efficiency cone speakers need proper low feedback high power amplifiers (very rare) and finding match amplifiers is not easy. The AC power quality is also very important for dynamics of high power amplifiers.

Huge impact of speaker placement on the sound is the big secret of high end audio.

Yes all the inefficient systems I visited none of them knew how to place systems.

 

[Amir]

All horns you listened are less sensitive to room intraction

 

[bonzo75]

All horns you listened are less sensitive to room intraction

Thanks for explaining. You are awesome

 

[Audiohertz2]

No Room interaction ...!

 

[Audiohertz2]

Big wilsons (before 2010) micro dynamics and dynamic range is ok , the important key to get good dynamics from cone (dynamic driver) speakers is not just going for higher efficiency, the room speaker interaction is very very important. You can increase dynamics if you find the perfect position in the room.
Larger rooms with wider rear wall can help but finally the most important key is the speaker placement.

lower efficiency cone speakers need proper low feedback high power amplifiers (very rare) and finding match amplifiers is not easy. The AC power quality is also very important for dynamics of high power amplifiers.

Huge impact of speaker placement on the sound is the big secret of high end audio.

Can we define Low /High efficiency or are we talking Sensitivity

 

[Lagonda]

...any chance you could mitigate structural concerns from beneath the floor? He sez, having not seen what's below.

There is a small cavity with isolation, above the concrete foundation. Not large, but enough for sympathetic vibrations from the wood planks. These speakers put out a lot of bass when you turn up the volume.

 

[Kingrex]

Dynamics of a high sensitivity easy to drive speaker allows you to listen to the smallest shift and rise and fall in comparison and larger swings. For better macro dynamics, bigger woofers and horn size is required in addition to the ease of movement and drive. Of course horn woofers are easier to drive and much bigger than the ones in Wilsons or rockports (e.g. two 15 inches horn loaded in one speaker), and require less grip to push. They might not come with the same box colouration cone users are used to (the box allows loudness from a smaller woofer, tricking lesser experienced people into thinking they are getting more bass, where in essence it is the same box colour).

I am not disagreeing. But, woofers do take some power to control. I believe a more optimally designed system would hand 80 hert to maybe 120 hert signal to woofers that are coupled to a fairly stout amp. I'm not saying what type amp. But SS does control bass quite well. I don't think SET would be optimum, even in a horn loaded woofer.

 

[Kingrex]

I have them on mini pedestals already to avoid floor vibrations from messing up the bass. I am going to cut holes in the beautiful wood floor and cement large stone slabs to the foundation at some point.

Try wood beams on screw jacks below the floor with green glue or some dense polymer between the beam and floor joist. Don't wreck your floor before exhausting other options.

 

[bonzo75]

I am not disagreeing. But, woofers do take some power to control. I believe a more optimally designed system would hand 80 hert to maybe 120 hert signal to woofers that are coupled to a fairly stout amp. I'm not saying what type amp. But SS does control bass quite well. I don't think SET would be optimum, even in a horn loaded woofer.

No depends on the type of woofer. There are woofers requiring more grip and low output impedance amps and there are those who do not

 

[bonzo75]

I have them on mini pedestals already to avoid floor vibrations from messing up the bass. I am going to cut holes in the beautiful wood floor and cement large stone slabs to the foundation at some point.

That's what Audiocrack did. I think you should then also add a lot of grounding, then isolate the grounders.

 

[Lagonda]

Try wood beams on screw jacks below the floor with green glue or some dense polymer between the beam and floor joist. Don't wreck your floor before exhausting other options.

Regretfully there is no access from the side without cutting up parts of the floor up anyway.

 

[treitz3]

Ouch. That's a painful scenario.

Tom

 

[Kingrex]

Regretfully there is no access from the side without cutting up parts of the floor up anyway. View attachment 139670

Nice setup.

 

[Kingrex]

No depends on the type of woofer. There are woofers requiring more grip and low output impedance amps and there are those who do not

I believe bass requires power to reach its full potential. I have heard a very nice SET 45 driving the horn, tweeter and a 12" ported woofer. It was very enjoyable. But I bet the bottom end would have been more full and tight had the woofer been on a stand alone amp, direct coupled with 100 watts.

Howards big horns used 50 watts on the horn but they had 150 watts to the 2 x 12 inch horn loaded woofers. Great ease.
.

 

[Lagonda]

Nice setup.

Thank you The MBL's are second system now, the ML Statements are in their place, open baffle mid-bass like your system.

 

[Kingrex]

Thank you The MBL's are second system now, the ML Statements are in their place, open baffle mid-bass like your system.

Holly smokes. You have 2 premium systems. MBL and Martin Logan?. I retired to soon. Stuck with what I have.

 

[Lagonda]

Holly smokes. You have 2 premium systems. MBL and Martin Logan?. I retired to soon. Stuck with what I have.

You have a wonderful system, much like Grahams, if i ever get a additional horn system i will probably go PAP