First pic of the new room

[j_garcia]

It is possible it has the filter too, but it doesn't sound like it to my ears, though I usually have DFDB on when I have larger speakers hooked to it. I rarely use those speakers with it, I've always used something else and it has always done OK. 27W is probably TOTAL, so it 14-15 wpc is probably about right. I've used it as a bedroom system for over 20 years and it still works great

 

[j_garcia]

No pics of the MB42Xs because they're basically identical in size/form factor to the CB3s, just without the gloss front bezel. Initial impression of them last night was very good. These have less bass than the CB3 due to the longer excursion driver in the CB3. The bass ratings seem optimistic on both of them, likely a -6dB rather than -3dB, but they are small and deep bass wasn't really to be expected. This one sounds to be somewhere in the 70Hz range -3dB, so they'll want a sub. They had no problem blending with my sub too, so they have a pretty generous natural roll off. The tweeter is identical to the CB3, but the blend to the mid and clarity seems to be noticeably improved with the implementation of the x-over. Just like the CB3, I could not push them to their limits at acceptable listening levels. They do ring slightly when pushed REALLY hard, well above what anyone would reasonably listen at, and even at what I consider elevated levels, I found them to be very stable and clear. Vocals lack a little bit of lower mid, but clarity is definitely there. Like the CB3, they lack some 3 dimensionality to their depth, but they image well and easily hold their own.

A bonus with these seems to be that they also have standard size binding posts so I didn't need patch cables to hook them up. Comparing them to the BS22LR, I'd have to say with a sub, I'd actually prefer these The tweeter sounds better than the one in the BS22s easily and the mids are very close, possibly a bit more clear here. Better bass is where the BS22 wins and can be used without a sub if needed, but these are also nearly half the size of the BS22s. Now I'm really curious to hear the center when I get it (still backordered). I threw a TON of different stuff at them last night and they handled everything well. For under $100, these things are rather surprisingly good. More time with them and I'll post more thoughts on them.

 

[JohnN.]

Nice setup!

 

[j_garcia]

The low profile Dayton showed up yesterday. I was actually surprised, it is even smaller than I expected. It includes plastic brackets to stand on its side and for wall mounting. It feels light but solid and has all the standard features one might hope for in a budget sub.

Tried it out with music first and it fills in well with an 80Hz x-over and blended easily with my mains just adjusting by ear. Punchy but not boomy or one note. I didn't have it properly placed in the room so the top end did get a little overemphasized, but with good placement and calibration, I'm sure it will be fine. It can't move air like a bigger sub, but it really does a surprisingly good job for the price and size. Sitting next to my curtain playing with some heavy music, the port was able to move the curtain, so there's decent air movement actually. Already took it over and set it up at the kid's place and they're happy with it

With movies, it really handled itself well. Tried out a few scenes that I know exceed its rated -3db, such as Edge of Tomorrow, and it held its own. It did not show signs of stress or port noise at all, so I believe it is using a subsonic filter high enough to keep it under control, and that's a good thing IMO.

 

[j_garcia]

Have not made changes in a LONG time really. This one gives me more room in the rack. Took longer to haul it upstairs than to swap it with the XPA-3.

 

[afterlife2]

Congrats JG. What does it weigh?

 

[fuzz092888]

Congrats JG. What does it weigh?

Bout 70.4lbs

 

[afterlife2]

Dang half my weight. Well almost add 20 more lbs.

 

[j_garcia]

Yeah it is about a good 10lb more than the XPA-3 at least.

 

[afterlife2]

How's your back?

 

[j_garcia]

How's your back?

Third story. It was pretty brutal, but I managed

 

[j_garcia]

My 4S11 from Bluejeans finally showed up this weekend after a week delay. They put it in a lock box and said they left a key but there was no key... After days of back and forth I finally told them to PUT IT IN A DIFFERENT BOX.

So finally moved the surrounds to the XPA-5 and switched the CA0W1s to the X-A100, though not sure if they'll stay that way. Can't use the sub that way, which isn't a bad thing, but also means I have to use volume control on the 105 since A100 doesn't have a remote function. May look at selling either the Carnegies or the A/V-2s so I can order the custom matching center for the CA0W1s so they can become my primary system.

Moved things around to allow for the cable box that they gave me as part of my price lowering deal. I activated it a week ago. It has been on a total of about 10 minutes.

 

[j_garcia]

I spent maybe two hours with them listening to just a few albums. LOL, have them setup on my $5 garage sale stands that the kids are getting with them. From their pictures, they don't look so big, but they are rather large and I should have guessed that given their 6 1/2" woofer. The benefit of that size is that they have pretty good bass on their own.

They sound just a hair soft in the upper midrange, but vocals are strong and clear. They do lack some very fine detail in the lower midrange IMO, but not to the point where I'd say it causes them not to sound good. Even when cranked up, they don't exhibit any noticeable breakup, and they are well behaved and smooth sounding. Honestly, I expected that they'd be good coming from Dennis, they still surprised me at how good they sound. Nothing else I've heard at the $200 point is this good. I noticed the lower sensitivity and didn't think it would be an issue, but they do really need to be cranked quite a bit more than my other speakers to get into their sweet spot, so they are not necessarily the easiest to drive. That said, when I was driving them with my Emo X-A100 direct from my 105 (50W), they sounded just fine and filled the room adequately with no sub. My room is quite large, so they ultimately need a sub here, but they hold their own by themselves.

They have a nice, wide presentation and things feel well placed with them, they image well and do very little wrong. Though they blend well, the tweeter seems to outclass the woofer a little, and the cabinets are not fully inert, but this IS originally a $100 speaker, so that is just sort of nit picking. I don't really have any complaints about them and I am sure they will remain right up there in my top budget speaker recommendation.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Thanks for your thoughts on these John.

My guess is that the cabinets are masking some of that mid range detail...even If just a little. I wonder if a brace and peel and seal would do enough to be worth the effort....if one was so inclined.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[j_garcia]

OK so just dropped the MC-700 in and for the first time noticed it does not have multichannel analog inputs, only two sets of stereo. I gained 2 HDMI ports that I don't currently need but lost m/c analog in. OOPS. I liked to use the 105 for multichannel SACD and DVD-A because its analog section sounded quite a bit better than the UMC-200. So now multichannel music will be via HDMI only and we'll see after calibration whether or not the MC-700 sounds good enough that way and how long it remains in the system.

 

[j_garcia]

Calibrated and making some tweaks to it. It isn't night and day vs. the UMC, but it does sound better. EmoQ still did some of the same things on the cal such as setting the mains to large and sub x-over very high, but after a few minor tweaks it is sounding really nice.

 

[Grassy]

Nice work mate and looking good.

 

[Pogre]

I spent maybe two hours with them listening to just a few albums. LOL, have them setup on my $5 garage sale stands that the kids are getting with them. From their pictures, they don't look so big, but they are rather large and I should have guessed that given their 6 1/2" woofer. The benefit of that size is that they have pretty good bass on their own.

They sound just a hair soft in the upper midrange, but vocals are strong and clear. They do lack some very fine detail in the lower midrange IMO, but not to the point where I'd say it causes them not to sound good. Even when cranked up, they don't exhibit any noticeable breakup, and they are well behaved and smooth sounding. Honestly, I expected that they'd be good coming from Dennis, they still surprised me at how good they sound. Nothing else I've heard at the $200 point is this good. I noticed the lower sensitivity and didn't think it would be an issue, but they do really need to be cranked quite a bit more than my other speakers to get into their sweet spot, so they are not necessarily the easiest to drive. That said, when I was driving them with my Emo X-A100 direct from my 105 (50W), they sounded just fine and filled the room adequately with no sub. My room is quite large, so they ultimately need a sub here, but they hold their own by themselves.

They have a nice, wide presentation and things feel well placed with them, they image well and do very little wrong. Though they blend well, the tweeter seems to outclass the woofer a little, and the cabinets are not fully inert, but this IS originally a $100 speaker, so that is just sort of nit picking. I don't really have any complaints about them and I am sure they will remain right up there in my top budget speaker recommendation.

Those 5 dollar garage sale stands are the exact same stands I use, but replaced the columns with heavy lumber. They're very sturdy now and weigh about 45-50lbs with the speakers on them. What a coincidence.

Nice setup, btw. Those AA's are a nice gift.

 

[Justin Bass]

A work in progress....

Makes my rack look kinda small. Not sure where all my DVDs are going to go...missing from this room still are about half of my 300+ CDs and most of my 350+ DVDs... Just painted the facing wall grey, and not sure what the rest of the walls are going to be, but something neutral-warm.

I went with a High speed steel color. 400 disc cd player, lots of blu ray and 4k, 3d movies.

 

[j_garcia]

I went with a High speed steel color. 400 disc cd player, lots of blu ray and 4k, 3d movies.

Having lost some discs in a changer when it died, I don't trust changers anymore. There's a reason why none of the big companies make them anymore.