B

bruno

Enthusiast
Hi! I need to buy new speakers, and I could very much use some advice from more expert people.
I had planned to spend around 400-700 euros, and I will need to be able to wall mount them (with brackets, so I guess they would be around 10 centimeters out from the wall). My room is around 25 square meters, with stone floor, and I listen to music like the beatles, miles davis, jimi hendrix and james brown.
One thing that I don't like with my current speakers is that they have a kind of boomy bass that reverberates in the room. I guess that has a lot to do with the acoustics of the room, so my new speakers would need to be very 'un-boomy', if you know what i mean - fast and clear.
I have been looking around and found a couple of speakers that I think could work: B&W 685, Focal 706V, Monitor Audio RS1 and B&W CM1. I guess my old 35 watt Rotel amplifier would be able to drive any of those (?).

The 685s and 706Vs have the advantage of having the bass reflex port on the front, which I suppose should do for a tidier bass sound, but then I'm not much of an expert on these things. On the other hand the RS1 and CM1 are considerably smaller (an advantage IMO, especially if you want to mount them an the wall) and more attractive, but perhaps the rear bass reflex ports would be too much of a problem?
What would you recommend? Think clear, airy and fast sound!

Thanks for your help!
 
F

fredk

Audioholic General
Changing speakers will not make up for poor room acoustics. If you have a lot of reverberation/reflection in your room, buying speakers with rolled of bass will result in less bass that is still boomy.

If you have easy access to a computer in that room, consider buying a microphone and using software like REW to verify where the boom is coming from before spending any money.
 
B

bruno

Enthusiast
Thanks for your input. Yes, I guess I have to do something about my room acoustics.
So, it doesn't really make any substantial difference to have a speaker with rear bass reflex mounted close to the wall? Front or rear bass reflex port isn't a thing to really take in consideration? If I could just as well buy a speaker with rear bass reflex, I would have considerably more options.
 
D

daxarms

Enthusiast
I'm not entirely sure I understand you're problem, if you're just getting alot of echoes in the room. More fluffy stuff is the answer, (aka drapes, couch ect.) rooms with bare hard walls, concrete floors (things like this are common in europe if I'm thinking correctly) Will make any music reverberate. Its usually described as having a "Live" room. (This is why recording studios deaden sound on the walls). If your speakers themselves are creating the overwhelming bass new speakers may help, or you may be able to equalize it out. I agree with the suggestion of using software like rew to figure out the source of the booming. Hope this helps
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Boomy Bass from normal speakers can be caused by numerous variables. But I do think your money would be better spent on upgrading your room rather than your speakers. A company over here in the states makes sub-par speakers for their price range, but in their stores they build special rooms with great acoustics and eq's to make them sound amazing. As a result people think they are the best.

The point is that improving your room will improve your speakers.

First thing to get would be some rugs and drapes for windows. This will serve two purposes.

One it will lower energy bills and improve the temperature of your space. Two it will improve your sound quality big time. After that hang some paintings, etc on the walls. In most cases Fabric is your friend. Just make sure it looks good too. We wouldn't want people to think you have no taste. I think the drapes over windows and some rugs on the floor will do wonders for your setup. While you doing drapes. Make sure you cover every window in the house. It will save on energy and improve the temperature of your place.

You can go further than that, but at least start there. If you are allowed to modify your place. Then consider getting some acoustical padding and laying carpet over it on the floor. And you may even redo the walls. This will make your place quieter/warmer/cooler(in summer).

A bare room is a bad room. Once you've done that then we can talk speakers. Treat the room first. As far as porting goes. I don't see it making a huge difference. because boomy base is caused by the room acoustics not the speaker.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
The dimensions of the room make a big difference because the standing waves can coincide to become destructive or constructive interference. Destructive interference will cancel the energy to whatever degree it can and constructive does the opposite. When the frequencies are in the range that makes the sound boomy, it's trouble. The length, width and height all come into play with this. If the room is square or rectangular, it's easy enough to calculate. If the room is oddly shaped, it's not as easy to calculate but the dimensions still determine what frequencies will be problematic.

Here's more information than you may want, but look at the sections about standing waves and absorption/reflection/diffusion.

http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html
 
no. 5

no. 5

Audioholic Field Marshall
The dimensions of the room make a big difference because the standing waves can coincide to become destructive or constructive interference. Destructive interference will cancel the energy to whatever degree it can and constructive does the opposite. When the frequencies are in the range that makes the sound boomy, it's trouble. The length, width and height all come into play with this. If the room is square or rectangular, it's easy enough to calculate. If the room is oddly shaped, it's not as easy to calculate but the dimensions still determine what frequencies will be problematic.
To add to that, the physical location of the loudspeaker determines which stranding waves it will energize, and which standing waves are active at your listening position then control what you will hear as far as lower frequencies. So "boom" can sometimes be fixed by moving your chair or speaker.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
To add to that, the physical location of the loudspeaker determines which stranding waves it will energize, and which standing waves are active at your listening position then control what you will hear as far as lower frequencies. So "boom" can sometimes be fixed by moving your chair or speaker.
Absolutely. Also, sitting against the back wall is a bad place when it comes to bass.
 
R-Carpenter

R-Carpenter

Audioholic
Acoustics treatments will not be effective in the lower range. The ones that are design for the low end cancellation, cost a lot.
Move your speakers around and try to eliminate standing wave. (I am repeating no.5)
Rear ported speakers will not work for you.
For clarity and resolution try some ProAcs and Sonus Faber.
 

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