A silly quote

[3db]

Audio politics and religion.

You're such a trouble maker!!

 

[Irvrobinson]

One thing to keep in mind--this thread seems to be using the terms "sealed" and "acoustic suspension" interchangeably. Very few contemporary sealed speakers or sub woofers are acoustic suspension. A true AS woofer, like the old AR's, had an extremely compliant (floppy, even) suspension, and relied on the natural spring action of the sealed air in the box to control cone motion. Most modern woofers with a high QTs suitable for a sealed box still are much less compliant and are controlled primarily by their suspensions. I'm sure that if the AR guys were around today they would say any magic in the quality of their bass was due to the more linear spring provided by the trapped air.

That would be me, and you're correct, I've been discounting the subtlety of the true AS story. I suppose that's because I always thought that it was a bit more marketing than an audible advantage realized in product.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Audio politics and religion.

How would you compare the bass quality of the SCM7 to the 201/2?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

How would you compare the bass quality of the SCM7 to the 201/2?

The 201/2's bass is 200% better.

 

[PENG]

One thing to keep in mind--this thread seems to be using the terms "sealed" and "acoustic suspension" interchangeably. Very few contemporary sealed speakers or sub woofers are acoustic suspension.

When I dream about AS speakers, they are speakers by Advent, AR, Braun, Celestion (funny, they are the ABCs), there migh have been some ancient KEF models as well. I am also under the impression that non AS but sealed boxes were typically larger though not always, Bozak comes to mind.

 

[SonusAddictus]

I participated in the development of the SMS1. We did extensive measurements, and put in long hours of listening to several well known ported monitors before settling on acoustic suspension. Not all small ported boxes had "one note bass"...but many did. In an a sincere effort to avoid hyperbole, we used the word "often" when describing this issue, rather than making a blanket statement.

We felt it important to explain why we went in the direction we did. Please give them a listen, when you get a chance.

DM

Hi 12AU7,

Is there any chance you could share some general info or details about your participation in the development of the SMS1s?

I would agree with some of the other comments here that, while Acoustic Suspension had some advantages over ported and bass reflex speakers in the past, I don't think those advantages are necessarily so obvous today. I am nevertheless more interested in knowing - and of course hearing - what the SMS1 can acheive with Acoustic Suspension as Benchmark has implemented it, and how they compare to good ported and bass reflex speakers like the KEF Reference 201.2s, the KEF LS50s or the Dynaudio Focus 160.

It would be interesting if you couls share your experiences and impressions.

Cheers