Weird listening position, need help with choosing speakers (rear vs front port)

[Solist]

So after a couple days of research I narrowed my options for active speakers to these 4.


JBL LSR305 vs 305p mkII vs Mackie MR524 vs Presonus Eris E5

Its for my dads office. Its not a big room, 3,09x3,65m (10,1x12ft for you rebels out there). Height is 2,64m (8,7ft).

The thing that makes scratch my head the most is the bass port. While the JBL and Mackies are rear ported, the Eris have a front port. And I dont know which one would perform better, given the odd listening position. Behind the seat is a tall bookshelf, extending almost to the ceiling.

So rear port too far away from back wall, and front port is too close to front wall..

He likes bass, and has a bit of a hearing problem (severe dip at 4khz, from what I understand). And the Mackies do have a dip around that region..

They will be used only for listening to music, and I want something that does not cause ear fatigue, although I was wondering, given his hearing condition, if I should intentionally choose something with emphasis on HF?

 

[XEagleDriver]

Three "rebellious" questions .
1) Which is the front wall?
2) Is the chair & desk in the diagram where he will be?
3) Where do you intend to put the speakers?
Cheers,
XEagleDriver

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Solist]

Three "rebellious" questions .
1) Which is the front wall?
2) Is the chair & desk in the diagram where he will be?
3) Where do you intend to put the speakers?
Cheers,
XEagleDriver

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Thank you for the reply!

Here is the updated floorplan.



Yes, sadly there are no other options for the desk and chair to be.
Attached Thumbnails

 

[Solist]

This could be another option, but I doubt he will go for it.

The bookshelf has a cabinet on the bottom, and this would make it inaccessible.

 

[highfigh]

So after a couple days of research I narrowed my options for active speakers to these 4.


JBL LSR305 vs 305p mkII vs Mackie MR524 vs Presonus Eris E5

Its for my dads office. Its not a big room, 3,09x3,65m (10,1x12ft for you rebels out there). Height is 2,64m (8,7ft).

View attachment 51673

The thing that makes scratch my head the most is the bass port. While the JBL and Mackies are rear ported, the Eris have a front port. And I dont know which one would perform better, given the odd listening position. Behind the seat is a tall bookshelf, extending almost to the ceiling.

So rear port too far away from back wall, and front port is too close to front wall..

He likes bass, and has a bit of a hearing problem (severe dip at 4khz, from what I understand). And the Mackies do have a dip around that region..

They will be used only for listening to music, and I want something that does not cause ear fatigue, although I was wondering, given his hearing condition, if I should intentionally choose something with emphasis on HF?

If he plans to keep the door in front of the desk open, I think it will be a problem

Most people over 40 have a dip at 4KHz- audiologists call that a 'noise dip' because a lot of the common noises we're exposed to cause it. The Presonus graph shows a dip at 3.5KHz but also a wider range where the level is close to 6dB below that of 1.5KHz, which may make them sound a bit weak in the midrange, although absorption in the high frequencies should balance that as long as the speakers aren't extremely close and positioned so that the sound reflects off of the desk top. However, it has the three controls, so the sound can be tailored to someone's preference.

If possible, have him listen to some music through a system that can be equalized and if the system response is basically flat in that region, boost 4K a bit. If he says he doesn't like it, it's probably because he is accustomed to it and it's in his comfort zone. Leaving it boosted may cause hearing fatigue, but if the response can be changed in his system, that's really not a problem because it can be tailored to his hearing.

It would be helpful if Mackie provided a graph showing the response.

 

[Pogre]

I don't think you'll have any issues with rear ported unless like highfigh mentioned the door will always be open. Even at that I'm not so sure rear ported will be that big an issue. As far as powered speakers go the JBLs get lots of love and would likely be my choice.

 

[highfigh]

By the way- where do you get off calling anyone 'rebels'? You and yer new-fangled measurement units...why I oughtta......Get off my lawn!

Been working with Metric since 1970- don't care what units you want to use- go ahead and use Angstroms, for all I care.

 

[highfigh]

I don't think you'll have any issues with rear ported unless like highfigh mentioned the door will always be open. Even at that I'm not so sure rear ported will be that big an issue. As far as powered speakers go the JBLs get lots of love and would likely be my choice.

I was kidding. I posted that before I saw the second diagram, showing the speakers on the desk.

I was actually thinking that the Dayton 6.5" MK series would be pretty god, but they would need an amplifier- they're rated to 45Hz, but the Parts Express site doesn't show a graph with the response.

 

[XEagleDriver]

A port only needs a few inches to breathe effectively, so either port configuration will work for office option diagram 2 or 3.

He can always close the door if it bothers him in option 2.

Cheers,
XEagleDriver

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Solist]

Thank you for the replies!

Yes, the door will be closed, no worries about that

Those Daytons certainly get some very nice reviews. But would they work as near field?

I was also thinking of going with the JBL, but then I heard people complaining about hissing... I do not really mind it on my stereo, but I do not keep it powered all day. So I am leaning towards Mackies, the seem to have a lot more body, and they do appear punchy. This is at least what I could gather from YT comparisons.

One more thing... Any decent DAC for around or under 100€ with a volume knob?

I was honestly thinking of going with the Focusrite Scarlett solo.

Apologies for the overdone questions, but I am currently filled with work, so not much time to study active monitors and DACs.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I have used the JBL’s and they are very very good speakers. They do have a boundary compensation switch too. That could help to tame bass.

 

[highfigh]

Thank you for the replies!

Yes, the door will be closed, no worries about that

Those Daytons certainly get some very nice reviews. But would they work as near field?

I was also thinking of going with the JBL, but then I heard people complaining about hissing... I do not really mind it on my stereo, but I do not keep it powered all day. So I am leaning towards Mackies, the seem to have a lot more body, and they do appear punchy. This is at least what I could gather from YT comparisons.

One more thing... Any decent DAC for around or under 100€ with a volume knob?

I was honestly thinking of going with the Focusrite Scarlett solo.

Apologies for the overdone questions, but I am currently filled with work, so not much time to study active monitors and DACs.

Most speakers are measured from one meter away- they should be fine.

Look at the Signal/Noise ratio- you'll usually hear some hiss at short distance, but it's often because of improperly set level controls and too many stages of gain.

DO NOT use the sound from videos as the method for choosing speakers. There's no relation between that and hearing them with your own ears, but without being a recorded version.

Where are you located?

 

[Pogre]

Yeah, I agree with highfigh about trusting yt comparisons. At best they're inaccurate and at worse downright misleading. Too many factors to account for to trust the accuracy. The mic, the room, your device's speakers, mic position wrt to speaker placement, etc.

For instance, no matter what speakers are being compared in a yt video they all sound to me like the speakers in a Galaxy tab 12.2...

 

[Solist]

Most speakers are measured from one meter away- they should be fine.

Look at the Signal/Noise ratio- you'll usually hear some hiss at short distance, but it's often because of improperly set level controls and too many stages of gain.

DO NOT use the sound from videos as the method for choosing speakers. There's no relation between that and hearing them with your own ears, but without being a recorded version.

Where are you located?

I checked the SNR.

I talked with my father and he decided to try the Mackies. If he wont like them, we can still return them.

I know that yt is not ideal, but the hospitals are overrun currently, and he does not want to take chances. We live in Slovenia.

The good thing is that whatever he chooses, it will still be a significant upgrade from the typical PC speakers he is used to.

 

[Solist]

Yeah, I agree with highfigh about trusting yt comparisons. At best they're inaccurate and at worse downright misleading. Too many factors to account for to trust the accuracy. The mic, the room, your device's speakers, mic position wrt to speaker placement, etc.

For instance, no matter what speakers are being compared in a yt video they all sound to me like the speakers in a Galaxy tab 12.2...

I know. Tried to listen to them with my Sennheiser Momentum 2 over ear wired headphones (thats a mouthful of words!) Was the best I could do given the current situation where I live.

We will see if they manage to put a smile on his face or not. In the end thats all it matters.

Used to be a big fan of hifi stereo, and managed to put together a nice setup. But after a couple of years, I defaulted back to headphones. I just enjoy music more that way. Instead of growing grey hair because the imaging is slightly off etc.

When I now turn on the stereo, I just turn on the mono switch on the amp and be done with it.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yeah, I agree with highfigh about trusting yt comparisons. At best they're inaccurate and at worse downright misleading. Too many factors to account for to trust the accuracy. The mic, the room, your device's speakers, mic position wrt to speaker placement, etc.

For instance, no matter what speakers are being compared in a yt video they all sound to me like the speakers in a Galaxy tab 12.2...

Have you seen the speaker comparing tool on crutchfield? They seem to have bridged the gap between actually listening to speakers, and listening to them at home. With headphones…
Seems ridiculous to me, but I only looked for about 22 seconds. They do ask what headphones you’re using to match the FR.

 

[Solist]

Have you seen the speaker comparing tool on crutchfield? They seem to have bridged the gap between actually listening to speakers, and listening to them at home. With headphones…
Seems ridiculous to me, but I only looked for about 22 seconds. They do ask what headphones you’re using to match the FR.

No I have not, but is a much appreciated info!

I hope they extend the tool to all speakers. You can certainly hear some differences. But then again, as you guys pointed out. A speaker on a tall stand, will perform differently than one resting on some foam on top of a desk. Maybe then could add even that feature, that would be interesting.

 

[Pogre]

Have you seen the speaker comparing tool on crutchfield? They seem to have bridged the gap between actually listening to speakers, and listening to them at home. With headphones…
Seems ridiculous to me, but I only looked for about 22 seconds. They do ask what headphones you’re using to match the FR.

I've heard of it, but never played around with it. I don't own a good enough set of headphones to do any critical listening. I'm curious how it would work, tho I remain skeptical of the accuracy.

No I have not, but is a much appreciated info!

I hope they extend the tool to all speakers. You can certainly hear some differences. But then again, as you guys pointed out. A speaker on a tall stand, will perform differently than one resting on some foam on top of a desk. Maybe then could add even that feature, that would be interesting.

Here's a clip from a longer video that summarizes Audioholics' stance on yt comparison videos.

*Edit: I like this quote toward the end of the video. Sums it up rather well I think.

"Bad testing can be worse than no testing at all because it can elicit invalid observations and conclusions, science so demands".