MB QUART VS05BE bookshelf speakers - My take and Impressions

[tdogroeder]

Yes, I know about them - however remember, the Vera has a 3 inch voice coil
and can handle some good power.

I don't understand the inner workings of speaker parts as you stated that make them one better than another or power handling etc., but I do see that Alexxa are not very efficient.

 

[zieglj01]

I don't understand the inner workings of speaker parts as you stated that make them one better than another or power handling etc., but I do see that Alexxa are not very efficient.

If you have the power, they will take it - a good mid-level receiver
that can handle 4 ohms, will drive them.
MB Quart Alexxa B-One playing Bass I love you - YouTube

 

[tdogroeder]

I have a yamaha rxv765 & emotiva lpa-1 amp, so I have sufficient power. In the future I plan to get a crown XLS1000 or NXLS1500 amp for 2 channel set-up.

 

[GeneC]

Does anyone who bought a Vera center speaker care to give their opinion? I've found some traditional center speakers, including the Infinity Beta 360 and the Mordaunt-Short 905, to be a bit thin sounding compared to their bookshelf and floorstanding stablemates.

As for the Alexxa's, I've never cared for a bottom mounted tweeter. Just doesn't seem "right" to me. Any thoughts?

 

[zieglj01]

As for the Alexxa's, I've never cared for a bottom mounted tweeter. Just doesn't seem "right" to me. Any thoughts?

The bottom tweeter should not be a problem, and the crossover will work with the driver design/layout.

There seems to be no complaint here
REVIEW: MB Quart Alexxa AS-B1 Speakers - NeuGeo - Speaker Asylum

 

[GeneC]

Nice review. He mentions a likeness to Dynaudio and Totem. Two of my favorites although I have never owned Totem's, just heard them. I just think a bottom mounted tweeter makes it a little more difficult to properly place the speaker (getting the tweeter at or above ear level). I'm just curious what the theory is for putting the tweeter on the bottom.

BTW, I was late to the Vera/Alexxa closeout by Shopatron. Were there other models that sold out before I became aware? Such as the Alexxa center or the Vera 01 or F1?

Thanks.

 

[zieglj01]

Nice review. He mentions a likeness to Dynaudio and Totem. Two of my favorites although I have never owned Totem's, just heard them. I just think a bottom mounted tweeter makes it a little more difficult to properly place the speaker (getting the tweeter at or above ear level). I'm just curious what the theory is for putting the tweeter on the bottom.

BTW, I was late to the Vera/Alexxa closeout by Shopatron. Were there other models that sold out before I became aware? Such as the Alexxa center or the Vera 01 or F1?

The tweeter placement is more likely due to cabinet design and for best imaging - others have
also done this.

I was also late to Shopatron, so I do not know about all the former deals. The Alexxa bookshelf
as a vertical center with the towers or stand/shelf mount speakers, is a good option.

 

[Lulimet]

Does anyone who bought a Vera center speaker care to give their opinion? I've found some traditional center speakers, including the Infinity Beta 360 and the Mordaunt-Short 905, to be a bit thin sounding compared to their bookshelf and floorstanding stablemates.

I bought the Vera center and it's even more badass than the bookshelves. I thought maybe I made a mistake by not going with 3 pairs of bookshelves and use one as a center, but after I received the center I am glad I got it. Just awesome.

 

[GeneC]

Here are some speakers. Yes, I was very carefull. These speakers were very easy to pull apart. Those who own them might want to check the tightness of the four nuts on the back panel. Mine seemed to be a tad on the loose side.



View attachment 13369 View attachment 13370

 

[rojo]

Nudies! How do you like their sound Gene?

Sent from my LG-VS980 using Tapatalk

 

[zieglj01]

Here are some speakers. Yes, I was very carefull. These speakers were very easy to pull apart. Those who own them might want to check the tightness of the four nuts on the back panel. Mine seemed to be a tad on the loose side.

I did that early on

If you get a chance, take and show the picture of the crossover network -
there are some big crossover parts

The spider for the woofer, I think is in the middle of the 3 inch voice coil!

There is no way that the Vera has the look of a $500 speaker - I have
opened a whole lot of speakers, and the build quality, drivers and the
network of the Vera, is a step above many out there.

 

[GeneC]

Their great! The worst thing about them is they make the other speakers I have sound not so good anymore . The mid-range clarity is what really stands out.

It's interesting how they go together. Four long rods sandwich the cabinet between the front and back panels. Nice that they used long strands of speaker wire between the crossover and the drivers. It also looks like the woofer can be connected as 6 ohm or 12 ohm. Every part seems to be of very high quality. I had a few other pictures but they somehow vanished while up-loading. My fault I'm sure.

I really haven't listened to them all that much. I'm waiting on delivery of three center speakers (maple of course) since the bookshelves aren't available anymore. They only charged $120 to ship all three (yoo-hoo!) but they're coming by freight instead of UPS. I was hoping someone would return a pair or sell them on ebay/audiogon/etc but it didn't look like that was going to happen. Now I have to figure out how to integrate two centers as fronts. Finding info on these is real tough. Things like the crossover point and design (2-way or 2 1/2 way), is the center much different in design then the VS 1B besides orientation (and the obvious)? Then there's cosmetics. I'll figure something out, but concidering the idea's that are bouncing around in my head the rest of you guys might not like what I might end up doing! It's going to take a few weeks to get this all figured out but I'll let you know what I came up with. If anyone has any idea's on the best way to proceed don't be afraid to chime in. This could be fun!....or a complete disaster.

 

[Lulimet]

The center speaker has that big heavy base attached to it. You'll probably be left with holes after you remove it. I am assuming you'll want them to stand up vertically like the VS 01Bs.

Look at the picture.

 

[GeneC]

The center speaker has that big heavy base attached to it. You'll probably be left with holes after you remove it. I am assuming you'll want them to stand up vertically like the VS 01Bs.

Look at the picture.

Ya, there's a few obsticles I'll have to overcome. But if I somehow find a way to do it right they'll be amazing!

I'm not sure how/why the picture of the crossover wound up on this reply but there it is!

 

[GeneC]

I did that early on

If you get a chance, take and show the picture of the crossover network -
there are some big crossover parts

The spider for the woofer, I think is in the middle of the 3 inch voice coil!

There is no way that the Vera has the look of a $500 speaker - I have
opened a whole lot of speakers, and the build quality, drivers and the
network of the Vera, is a step above many out there.

I've taken apart more then a few speakers and two that impressed me were the Swan Diva's and the Dynaudio Audience. The Diva C3 center was amazing and the crossover was simply insane looking! A lot of effort went into those. The driver on Dynaudio's is also very unique. They seem to start and stop very quickly.

View attachment 13381

 

[zieglj01]

Ya, there's a few obsticles I'll have to overcome. But if I somehow find a way to do it right they'll be amazing!

I'm not sure how/why the picture of the crossover wound up on this reply but there it is!

That seems like a good option you are trying - the holes should not be that big
when you remove the stand - should be able to neatly fix that.

The VS-1B bookshelf also has 2 ports - one is on the back side.

Nice picture of the crossover - good job, now I do not need to buy a cell phone
to take some pictures.

 

[Lulimet]

I'm waiting on delivery of three center speakers (maple of course) since the bookshelves aren't available anymore.

So, it's been 6 days now. Did they arrive yet?

 

[GeneC]

Yes, they arrived last week. I've got a lot going on right now but I've done some minor mods. I'll post details/pictures later today or tomorrow.

Update with pictures:

I removed the base from the two that will be used as fronts. I also peeled of the logo's from the grills and re-mounted them on the bottom's of the grills. Very easy and quite successfull. Looks like they were supposed to be fronts now except for the mounting holes on one side of each speaker. I positioned the speakers so those mounting holes are on the outsides and I really can't see them unless i look specifically for them. The only other issue is the very small logo's on the speaker themselves. With the grills on you can't see that one is on the top but up-side down. With the grills off this would bother me. The solution would be to dis-assemble the speaker and flip the front face-plate putting the logo on the bottom. I have a feeling the center speaker would be a little harder to re-assemble (it has 6 rods instead of 4) so I doubt I'll be doing that unless absolutely necessary.

The other thing is the speakers height. On 24" stands the speaker is a bit brighter, the tonal quality of the midrange a bit higher and a little bit less bass response. I trying out different heights by removing parts of my speaker (plant ) stands and using (or not) the speakers base plate. It really does make a difference. View attachment 13418

Apparently I've exceded some sort of "quota" and can't upload any more pictures .

 

[zieglj01]

Apparently I've exceded some sort of "quota" and can't upload any more pictures .

You can delete some old pictures to clear/make room, to upload some new ones.

 

[GeneC]

Here's a couple more. First one is the stand fully assembled with the Vera's base. In other words, as high as it can go. The other is with the grill on with the logo in the original place.View attachment 13421