Mantown

[fuzz092888]

I was trying not to say anything about the beheadings, but since you brought it up....I wonder how that affects overall performance, since I'm guessing the crossover from the mid to the woofer was made with them sitting atop. Then again, he may be sitting so close to everything that might not matter anywho.

I aspire to cram as much stuff into my domicile as the monkey

 

[Adam]

I aspire to cram as much stuff into my domicile as the monkey

There's a joke in there somewhere...

NTTAWWT.

 

[Swerd]

You actually got them to fit. You've got to be the only person in the world with MBOW-1 3-way speakers for computer monitors.

The midrange and bass crossover was designed for the drivers to be closer, as they would be with the heads sitting directly on the bass boxes. If Dennis didn't already know you he might cringe. But he has probably seen worse with others .

 

[Alex2507]

I asked Dennis how far apart the bass cabs could be before I got in trouble. His answer while somewhat vague surely meant more than 2 feet: I'm certain of it. At this point I think just having them in the same room is bonus. Both subs are live. I think this is what they meant by overkill.

 

[Alex2507]

You actually got them to fit. You've got to be the only person in the world with MBOW-1 3-way speakers for computer monitors.

There was absolutely no way the Phil3s were gonna fit so I had to settle for these.

 

[fuzz092888]

There was absolutely no way the Phil3s were gonna fit so I had to settle for these.

Well of course they won't fit now.

 

[Alex2507]

The thing I expected was having < 450 Hz benefit from the mini fridge size bass cabinets and I got that but who knew the upper mids would sing the way they do. Hearing them at Dennis' and Edde's was one thing but now that I have 'em directly replacing the MB27s I can appreciate how that GR Research driver gets colored by what's above and below.



Having lived with the Swerd built MB27s on wall mounts for almost two years has taught me what to expect when I sit in this seat. Honestly they have never sounded as good as they did in Swerd's living room. The room, positioning ... whatever ... had the MB27s keeping up with both our SongTowers. Maybe it was the way Swerd's B&K amp synchronicitied with the speaker wire. Maybe it's just fallible human memory but they just did well in that room. Here in ManTown the MB27s seemed to have a different strong suit. That's really a comparison of the BR-1 speakers they replaced. The MB27s did something totally unexpected with the sound of the human voice. They added a level of realism that made you think the vocalist was in the room ... like right in front of you.



Now we've upped the ante with this OW1 tweeter. I was listening to The Counting Crows. Amidst all the good stuff I would normally expect I was delighted to be able to hear a mandolin playing way back in the background like somebody just strolled by playing one even though it wasn't part of the performance (@ ~ 45 seconds into Omaha: Track 2). Unfortunately I have become accustomed to the realism of vocals so that's just what I take to be the norm but the added realism that I noticed with vocals is now there with instruments and that little surprise is most noticeable so far with the piano on Van Morison's Moondance album. Later on I'm gonna crank the piss out of the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th. It's a tad early for all that now but I can't wait to hear that male soloist go from 0-60 like somebody dropped an anvil on his balls.



While I very much enjoyed the bottom end with the MB27s and the subs I have to say that this is a higher plane. These absolutely monstrous sealed bass cabinets totally eclipse what a ported GR Research driver can do. Then beyond that, the 60 Hz xo point hands the real bottom end off to the ported subs seamlessly. Previously I thought of the bass as clear and present which is good when you consider the spl's I normally listen at but now it's all just there. These are the speakers my subs were waiting for.



The MB27s? They're gonna be some mighty fine looking surrounds out in the living room. I appreciate that this is all still pretty humble stuff when you consider that some folks rock $2,500 bookshelves for surrounds to accompany their $10,000 mains but I still have a full head of hair ... I know, I can't believe I just said that either.

 

[Adam]

I appreciate that this is all still pretty humble stuff when you consider that some folks rock $2,500 bookshelves for surrounds to accompany their $10,000 mains but I still have a full head of hair ... I know, I can't believe I just said that either.

Awesome. I'm rockin' some $300 bookshelves for surrounds to accompany my $300 mains, and I don't even have a full head of hair.

On the flip side, I've got a s**t ton of carpet cleaners.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

The MB27s? They're gonna be some mighty fine looking surrounds out in the living room. I appreciate that this is all still pretty humble stuff when you consider that some folks rock $2,500 bookshelves for surrounds to accompany their $10,000 mains but I still have a full head of hair ... I know, I can't believe I just said that either.

All that and his wife has a closet full of shoes also...

 

[Rickster71]

When are we planning my next trip up to listen?

 

[Alex2507]

All that and his wife has a closet full of shoes also...

Her shoes have spilled over into ManTown but that's only because I needed the brownie points before buying the MBOW1s and DefTech Super Cube 1. Ima throw all that sh!t back out as soon as I get out of the Dog House.

When are we planning my next trip up to listen?

Hey, do it soon before the real weather hits. Cheryl gets Wed. and Thurs. off and I'll happily just not go to work pretty much any time. I guess I should ...

... oh my, just dropped the bass with Wyclef Jean's Guantalamera. That's just a rude amount of bass. I was gonna say that I should level match something but this music thing is kinda fun to listen to and I have to mount the 27s out in the living room and get ready for Monday. No wonder this stuff takes me so long. Work gets in the way.

I needed to light under Cheryl's @ss to get her moving on getting her winter/summer stuff swapped out along with getting her stuff sorted out from her last trip as she plans for her next trip. I'm telling her that you're coming next week. She wouldn't want you and Marie to see the place like this but it's no problem to have me tripping on it for months.

That's the real hitch here. I guess it's just clothes, how long could it take? Days? My people will be in touch with your people.

 

[Swerd]

Having lived with the Swerd built MB27s on wall mounts for almost two years has taught me what to expect when I sit in this seat. Honestly they have never sounded as good as they did in Swerd's living room. The room, positioning ... whatever ... had the MB27s keeping up with both our SongTowers. Maybe it was the way Swerd's B&K amp synchronicitied with the speaker wire. Maybe it's just fallible human memory but they just did well in that room.

It's got to be those speaker wires. They are cheap 12 gauge zip cord (probably Chinese made) I bought at Lowe's more than 10-12 years ago. They have oxidized and discolored severely over the years, leaving a gooey green coating between the copper wire and the once clear vinyl insulation. Those years of break-in were necessary before they developed that wonderful sound .

Here in ManTown the MB27s seemed to have a different strong suit. That's really a comparison of the BR-1 speakers they replaced. The MB27s did something totally unexpected with the sound of the human voice. They added a level of realism that made you think the vocalist was in the room ... like right in front of you.

A great description of what makes Dennis's speaker designs sound so good.

 

[Alex2507]

Here's the final answer for the right side.



They say bass is non directional but they ain't got my ears. I could/can always tell where my subs are and not having one on the right doesn't sound right. This weird lay down stuff puts the port on the floor and the bass cab's internal volume gets jammed in the corner. It's the only way to get the drivers out of the corner.

The left side is getting the love now. Aragon is being yanked. Two small Marantz monoblocks will drive the ST's in the living room. They fit in the EC. But that's the other room. Dennis' speakers are being driven by the trusty rx-v2600 and the subs get the big Marantz monoblocks. I like the 60 Hz cross. Sub frequencies are no longer localizable with a sub on each side. I just got through listening to some obscure Mendelssohn Recital on vinyl from '61 or something. You guys that have turntables not even plugged in ... you disgust me.

No more new speakers! That's what she said.

 

[Adam]

Over 12 hours to post that photo? You disgust me.

Maybe I'll take the time to dig out my turntable from the closet and take a photo of it for you. Nah.

 

[Alex2507]

Left side ...




Bigger picture ...




Oh ... what's that?






Can't be any clearer to me ...

 

[STRONGBADF1]

It says "straight"... That's the wrong setting for you.

 

[Adam]

It says "straight"... That's the wrong setting for you.

Sadly, that's the first thing that I thought of, too...

 

[Alex2507]

Here's where the old TH50PZ77U is stored. I get a killer OSD using this.

 

[Alex2507]

Now that any sound 'problems' are non existent I turned my eye to the issue of appearances. The toe kick on the MBOW1 bass cabinet was really freaking me out. I thought if I removed the trim which turned out to be Walnut fastened with biscuits and glue, that I could move the xo holding base to flush out with the front and top of the bass cabinet as it is now oriented. I got a look at the xo while I was at it. Ahhh ... yeah, just a little more involved than the xo in a Primus 360.

Then if I flushed out the front of the bass cabinet with the front of the sub ...



Then if I got some really good looking plastic laminate ...

 

[Alex2507]

In the absence of better things to do ...



I mounted some OWS-1s above the TV. It's funny how clear things become when you can a/b speakers. It's also funny that keeping the vertical line of the TV's edges as the speaker's edge made them look like Mickey Mouse ears. I don't like the look. After being pretty badly spoiled for the last couple of years with some of Dennis Murphy's designs, I couldn't bear the TV speakers for long. They got played for less than a minute. The OWS-1s got some of that Peel&Seal love way back and they are a huge improvement obviously over the TV speakers. Comparing the OWS-1s to the MBOW1 3-Ways was interesting. The human voice out of the Infinities sounds a little bit like it's coming from a machine. My first observation was that the balance of bass was different. I played around with the xo a little to give the Infinities a little bass. Too high a xo made them sound like they were seriously lacking.

So here's this: I'd rather hear the MBOW1s from the wrong direction than the Infinities from the right direction. The Infinities aren't bad. They're actually kind of nice but not MBOW1 nice. The 2600 rec'r driving these off the A/B switch allows for quick switching but no instant/automatic level matching. It's okay though. This ain't the Harman International facility.

On the topic of things I don't like seeing, the esthetic marriage of the MBOW1 and my DIY sub is killing me. BTW, how did I end up with 4 of these massive cabinets in such a small room? Well, as TLS is fond of pointing out, there is no substitution for displacement. Why couldn't I simply be a Bose fan?

Here's what's running through my head to make this unlikely mess look right: