Question Are B & W 706 s 2 speakers bright sounding ?

[gitesh_b]

Thank you alll for suggestions .

Mogambi 15 awg cost 100 $ and 12 awg cost 145 $ . Alternative , is furutech fs 301 14 awg which w/o biwiring will cost the same . I will check on inexpensive but reliable 12 awg options

will try to position speakers better but wife not ok . . Will let them play out and see.

@2cents these b & w 706 s2 are brand new not pre owned

 

[podknocker]

Different speaker leads won't make a difference. Excessive brightness could be reduced by introducing more soft materials into the room. Carpets and drapes, sofas, books etc. In cinemas, there is usually a treble boost in order to compensate for the seating and a cinema full of people, with their soft and very absorbent clothing. In my city, many years ago, the 3 large theatres were replaced by a cineplex with 7 much smaller theatres. They were very bright and painful as they didn't reduce this treble boost and it was so uncomfortable, especially when these smaller rooms were barely half full. I had to walk out of a couple of films, because I feared I would go deaf. Never again. Very loud pubs and clubs and cinemas can damage your hearing for good and I've avoided this stuff as much as possible.

 

[nopiano]

@2cents these b & w 706 s2 are brand new not pre owned

I take it that is the name of a store and not the price?! 🤣🤣

 

[Fandango Andy]

Thank you alll for suggestions .

Mogambi 15 awg cost 100 $ and 12 awg cost 145 $ . Alternative , is furutech fs 301 14 awg which w/o biwiring will cost the same . I will check on inexpensive but reliable 12 awg options

will try to position speakers better but wife not ok . . Will let them play out and see.

@2cents these b & w 706 s2 are brand new not pre owned

You are trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist while ignoring very real one. Some people will tell you cables make no difference, other will tell you should spend 10% of your budget on the best cables you can afford. The truth is probably somewhere between those points. If you were to write a list in order of effectiveness, all the things that can improve or destroy the sound of a hifi, the resonance of the room, and the positioning of the speakers will be towards the top of the list. The difference between an OK and a high end cable will be towards the bottom of the list.

Let me use a couple of analogies:

Think of a speaker cable as s pipe and the current as water flowing in that pipe. If you need a lot of water to flow through that pipe a wider wipe will make it easier. A really small pipe may burst under the pressure. A pipe that is a little too small will mot be as effective, but will do the job. A supper wide pipe wider than is needed will have no extra benefit. That's gauge.

The difference between cheap wire, good copper wire is as follows: Cheap random metal is less conductive. this is like having rubble in the pipe interrupting the flow of water. A copper wire is a nice clean smooth pipe where the water can flow freely. Your high end cables are the equivalent of polishing the inside of the pipe to make it super smooth. It may make a difference, but it will be so small you won't even notice.

The second analogy. This on the sound as a rubber ball. If you throw thar ball in a room full of hard surfaces it will bounce all over the place. If you throw it at a supper sold cushion it won't bounce. Your aim is to reduce how much it bounces, therefor, you want more softer absorbent surface and less hard resonating ones.

As for the distance to the rear, if you are too close to the wall, you are doing to have big base frequencies bouncing back at you out of time with what is coming out of the front of the box!

In short, worry about the things that will make a big difference such as positioning before you start spending big money on small tweaks.

 

[podknocker]

I wouldn't obsess about the speaker leads. Get the gauge you need and make sure it's robust enough to move around, but not snag or get tangled. It's true the conductivity of 6N copper will be slightly better than something used to connect a cooker, but there will be no audible difference. Your amp and speakers won't notice this marginal increase in efficiency. It's minute amounts and the movement of charge is still going the be the same speed, approaching the speed of light. Using 6N copper, rather than the cheapest stuff won't make any noticeable difference at all. Sending current down at 90% light speed, or at 89.99999% is not worth worrying about.

 

[gitesh_b]

Have been listening speakers for one week . Maybe will take one more week for speakers to open up .
Tried toe in and straight ahead placement . Since I listen to streaming music mainly tried using the equaliser on Spotify and Apple Music from IPad . Current configuration being iPad connected with audio Jack RCA cable to HK 3380 and b & w 706 s2 . Tried using tonal controls on the amp also .

Still fatiguing to my ears whilst rest of the family find it ok !!!! 😞

 

[Fandango Andy]

Have been listening speakers for one week . Maybe will take one more week for speakers to open up .
Tried toe in and straight ahead placement . Since I listen to streaming music mainly tried using the equaliser on Spotify and Apple Music from IPad . Current configuration being iPad connected with audio Jack RCA cable to HK 3380 and b & w 706 s2 . Tried using tonal controls on the amp also .

Still fatiguing to my ears whilst rest of the family find it ok !!!! 😞

Did you sort out the positioning?

 

[gitesh_b]

Did you sort out the positioning?

distance from rear is 0.25 m is a hard constraint now as tv , amp and speakers placed on a glass table for aesthetics . Distance between speakers is 1.5 m . Listening distance 2.5 m. It’s in the lobby with front , left and right walls 5 m+ distance.

I tried various setups while keeping the rear bass port partially plugged to avoid booming sound. The best sounding position is speakers straight no toe in or out .

Yesterday I removed the plugs and instead put pillows between rear wall and the speakers . It sounded better .I am thinking of bass absorbers in on the rear wall of the speakers as of now after more trial.

 

[nopiano]

amp and speakers placed on a glass table for aesthetics

…is a disaster, in principle at least. Without decent stands the B&W can’t perform remotely as designed. Glass is about the worst possible surface, sorry!

 

[Fandango Andy]

distance from rear is 0.25 m is a hard constraint now as tv , amp and speakers placed on a glass table for aesthetics . Distance between speakers is 1.5 m . Listening distance 2.5 m. It’s in the lobby with front , left and right walls 5 m+ distance.

I tried various setups while keeping the rear bass port partially plugged to avoid booming sound. The best sounding position is speakers straight no toe in or out .

Yesterday I removed the plugs and instead put pillows between rear wall and the speakers . It sounded better .I am thinking of bass absorbers in on the rear wall of the speakers as of now after more trial.

Short of moving them to a glass conservatory with a concrete floor, your speakers probably sound as bad as the possibly can. do you have a picture of the set-up to see if there are any obvious and easy fixes? here are a few thoughts:

Distance between speakers is 1.5 m

2m would be better. Is the table 1.5m wide? easy fix, get a pair of speaker stands and put them either side.

If the table is wider move them out to 2m or as close to it as they can be,

distance from rear is 0.25 m

If you are able to put them on stands, just bring them forward.

If stuck with the glass table move the table further from the wall, and the speakers to the front of the table. You may get away with 0.5 rear of the speaker to the wall, but more is probably optimal.

Listening distance 2.5 m

A little closer may be better, but if you can move the speakers forward, that will do half the job for you.

amp and speakers placed on a glass table for aesthetics

I hope its a very aesthetically pleasing table if its worth destroying your sound. Not a good as speaker stands, but the there are various types of isolation feet you can put under the speakers. This is worth a try.

I am thinking of bass absorbers in on the rear wall of the speakers

This may help, but don't spend a fortune, as you are still dealing with lots of compromises.

It’s in the lobby with front , left and right walls 5 m+ distance.

What are the dimensions of the room. the way you word it could mean a 5m x 5m room, or it could be that you have 5m on either side of your speakers. that would be huge.

 

[gitesh_b]

Short of moving them to a glass conservatory with a concrete floor, your speakers probably sound as bad as the possibly can. do you have a picture of the set-up to see if there are any obvious and easy fixes? here are a few thoughts:


2m would be better. Is the table 1.5m wide? easy fix, get a pair of speaker stands and put them either side.

If the table is wider move them out to 2m or as close to it as they can be,



If you are able to put them on stands, just bring them forward.

If stuck with the glass table move the table further from the wall, and the speakers to the front of the table. You may get away with 0.5 rear of the speaker to the wall, but more is probably optimal.



A little closer may be better, but if you can move the speakers forward, that will do half the job for you.



I hope its a very aesthetically pleasing table if its worth destroying your sound. Not a good as speaker stands, but the there are various types of isolation feet you can put under the speakers. This is worth a try.



This may help, but don't spend a fortune, as you are still dealing with lots of compromises.



What are the dimensions of the room. the way you word it could mean a 5m x 5m room, or it could be that you have 5m on either side of your speakers. that would be huge.