Event Opals - Where can I audition them (Yorks/Humber)

[JMac]

Quite a few people have recommended that a test these speakers out now to the point that I need to audition them before I start planning any future upgrades. From where I am now the next move is going to be in the £1000's bracket and the reports on the Events are too good to ignore.

Problem is, with them being studio monitors, I'm struggling to find anywhere I can test them out.

 

[BigH]

I don't think you will get them in hifi shops, pro shops may have them. Think they are about £2,000?

I read about several people who have had them, lots of bass, they are very heavy 25kgs each, someone says there is hiss from the tweeters. Actually one guy lives in Hull but he has sold them.

Are they for use in living room?

 

[davedotco]

The Opal is a formidable speaker, more a mid than a near field, with good bandwidth and high ouput capability. You will need space and a well behaved room to get the best from them.

As a point of comparison I suggest you take a look at the Unity Audio The Rock, comparable price but in my opinion rather more listenable than the Opals, particularly if the levels used are more domestic rather than studio.

Another rather good but somewhat cheaper option would be the Quested S8r.

These are serious speakers that require proper auditioning, try Studiocare in Liverpool or Studiospares in north London.

 

[JMac]

Thanks. Its the mid field that I'm looking for as I listen to my system sat at a desk, working. Speakers are positioned approx 2m in front of me. The only thing that worries me is the room layout. Its a loft room that I use as an office and is rectangular in shape with sloping eaves at the speaker end.

 

[davedotco]

The Opals are big and powerfull and at 2m you are pretty close, I would be wary of such speakers at such close quarters.

One of the issues with studio speakers is that, as you go up in price, you are paying a lot for bandwidth and level capabilities, not always the most important factors for home use. I have been fortunate to have spent some time with the Unity Audio Rock in recent months and it is a speaker that I feel makes the pro - hi-fi transition very nicely as indeed does the Questeds.

I am fortunate in that I have a couple of mates who work for a local music/pro store and they know a lot of people, most notably at big London dealers Studiospares, so I get to hear some pro gear from time to time.

The big issue remains auditioning the options, a very different environment from most hi-fi stores, so this is worth bearing in mind. Get on the phone, see who has what and what are they prepared to play you.

 

[BigH]

Thanks. Its the mid field that I'm looking for as I listen to my system sat at a desk, working. Speakers are positioned approx 2m in front of me. The only thing that worries me is the room layout. Its a loft room that I use as an office and is rectangular in shape with sloping eaves at the speaker end.

I think there will be too much bass from that distance. Also some users say good for impact and shorter listening but tiring after a while. With eaves that may help with the bass though. If it was me I would be looking looking something a bit smaller unless you are a basshead.

 

[JMac]

Surely distance shouldnt be too much of an issue with a speaker intended to be used as a near field monitor? Especially given the amount of adjustment you can make via the settings?

 

[davedotco]

Surely distance shouldnt be too much of an issue with a speaker intended to be used as a near field monitor? Especially given the amount of adjustment you can make via the settings?

All very true.

The Opals are big and very powerful, really made to be used in an acoustically controlled environment, if you have the expertese and self control to set them up properly then i think you will love them.

Get it wrong and they can be somewhat unruly, hence the reservations but do it right and they will be great.

 

[Broner]

Surely distance shouldnt be too much of an issue with a speaker intended to be used as a near field monitor? Especially given the amount of adjustment you can make via the settings?

All very true.

The Opals are big and very powerful, really made to be used in an acoustically controlled environment, if you have the expertese and self control to set them up properly then i think you will love them.

Get it wrong and they can be somewhat unruly, hence the reservations but do it right and they will be great.

But what could possibly be the problem (and the reason behind it) if they aren't properly set up?

1) assuming that there is enough distance between the speakers and the walls.

2) compared to other speakers.

And why would one classify a speaker such as the Opal Event to be more of a midfield speaker?

EDIT: apologies if the reasons have already been given.

 

[davedotco]

Morning Broner, I'll do my best.

The 'setup' as I have termed it is to do with the nature of speakers like the Opals. They are capable of far higher output and tremendous power bandwidth, particularly at the bass end, not only do they go down below 50hz but the deliver considerable power at such frequencies, unlike most hi-fi speakers. Why else would you need a bass amplifier that produces 387 watts of continuous power?

The energy capabilities of such speakers is pretty formidable and they are really designed for use in an acoustically controlled environment. Pump out that much low frequency energy into a 'normal' room and you will get every window, piece of furniture and pretty much everything else buzzing and booming along with the music.

This is further compounded by the tendency to play these kinds of speakers louder than normal, almost all of the cues that tell you when a hi-fi system is getting loud are absent here, no clipping, dynamic compression or cabinet boom for example. Getting the balance right and the level correct is what I mean when I refer to 'setup'.

The whole nearfield/midfield/farfield thing as applied to monitors is a bit of a nonsense really. In theory a true nearfield monitor would have a different 'polar' response to take account of the fact that the direct sound predominates but in the real world this is rarely done.

These days a 'nearfield monitor' is really just marketing speak for a monitor that simply does not go loud enough to be used at a distance. As it will usually be smaller and much cheaper than a main monitor, the drivers will be smaller and closer together, thus 'integrating' better when listened to close. They will not go as loud as main monitors but if they are close enough that is not a big issue and because they are putting out far less power (energy) into the room, acoustic controll is less of an issue.

There are a few exceptions, serious monitors like the Opals, developed because some producers/engineers like to listen close, are about as near as you can get to proper nearfield speakers, though my preference is to set these up about 10ft from the listening position and in free space.

 

[Broner]

Hi Dave, it's been a while. The pair of A5X's are still going strong 🙂.

Anyway, so one of the strenghts of the Opal Events (solid reproduction of low frequencies) could very well be a vice in some households. That's interesting. I consider the Opal Events a possible candidate if/when I move to a somewhat bigger house, so I'm mildly interested in threads that show up on these speakers.

With respect to the differences between nearfield or midfield speakers: I guessed that much, but wasn't sure.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Cheers!

 

[Craig M.]

The Opals bass can be 'tamed' by using the positioning controls, when I first got mine they were positioned in exactly the same place as my ATC scm19 had been without issue (about 30cm from rear of speaker to wall with me sat about 3 metres away). They also include a mic and software for measuring the rooms bass response and controls for putting a dip in the bass output at a certain frequency to help tame a room mode. Between the two I found it fairly easy to get a subjectively flat response (it didn't measure flat). DDC is right about the bass power but they're not just about bass, they'll make most comparably priced hifi amp and speaker combo's look like a bit of a joke. Tweeter hiss is audible upto 2 feet away in a silent room but you'd never notice it otherwise or with music playing. The amount of power they can produce is jaw dropping though, I only ever turned them up once and was starting to wonder if it might damage my house walls. Most of the time I was just tickling them. Sound presentation is what I would call 'front row', like you are up close and personal.

I changed mine because I was getting increasingly worried about my daughter pulling one of them on top of herself (I found it impossible to secure them properly with blu-tac) for some AVI ADM9rs. No problem with stability after sticking them to some heavy stands and, although they lost out in some areas, actually preferred the more 'comfortable' sound of the AVI's.

Don't get too hung up on Opals though, lots of quality pro actives in that price range, I would've particularly liked to have heard some Questeds.

Edit: The Production Room in Leeds might have some worth hearing.

 

[steve_1979]

Don't get too hung up on Opals though, lots of quality pro actives in that price range, I would've particularly liked to have heard some Questeds.

+1

The Opals are great speakers. Also worth listening to are the 6.5" and 8" models from Quested and Genelec which are just as good technically and from my own personal point of view the Quested's are the best.

 

[steve_1979]

.
...I presume they are quite efficient so they go loud on amplification that could be something like 2x120W RMS at 8ohms (20Hz-20kHz @0.1% THD). Seems more than enough power, but I don't see the need for them to boost the specs like Yamaha would do for their cheap receivers.

Genelec on the other hand seem to be very conservative (or is that really just honest?) with their power ratings. They're often quoted as much less than equivalent speakers from other manufacturers but they're still able to go as loud (or louder) without any sign of compression or harshness to the sound.

 

[Vladimir]

OK, I changed my mind. It's 1kW RMS per speaker. *preved*

 

[Vladimir]

Why else would you need a bass amplifier that produces 387 watts of continuous power?

This is the PSU inside the Opals. 2x30VAC, 2.1A 250VA transformer and not very big capacitors. They claim 1kW in peaks, but I presume that is PMPO.



Low Frequency Amplifier[/b]
- Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz (±0.1dB)
- Operating Band Pass: 20Hz - 1,600Hz
- Total Harmonic Distortion: 0.009% @ 300 watts into 5 ohm load
- Voltage Gain: 24dB
- Long Term Power @ 5 Ohms*: 270 watts
- Continuous Power @ 5 Ohms**: 387 watts
- Burst Power @ 5 Ohms***: 600 watts
- Output Topology: Class AB
- Cooling: Convection - Aluminium Heat Sink

* Both high frequency and low frequency were measured simultaneously for this specification.

** Continuous power was measured using 1kHz sine wave signal

I presume they are quite efficient so they go loud on amplification that could be something like 2x120W RMS at 8ohms (20Hz-20kHz @0.1% THD). Seems more than enough power, but I don't see the need for them to boost the specs like Yamaha would do for their cheap receivers.

 

[Vladimir]

P = V * І / 1.41

P1 = 30 * 2.1 / 1.41 = 44.68W RMS

*scratch_one-s_head*

There are 2 x 30VAC rails at 2.1A.

P1 = V * I = 63W

P2 = V * I = 63W

Add the 3rd secondary rail on the transformer, 15VAC at 0.5A (P = 7.5W), for the standby, preamp etc.

P1 + P2 + P3 = 133.5W on a 250VA transformer with 5A fuse. So I presume each speaker has 88W RMS continuous power available from the PSU. How much of it survives considering it is a Class AB, I have no idea. But at least 25% should be dissipated as heat. So 66Wpc RMS continuous at 8 ohms? Seems right by the looks of the amp.

 

[jezf1000]

I've owned Opals from new for around six months. They replaced Shahinian Obelisks, a formidable speaker but not wife compatible - certainly not with my wife anyway!

Firstly, I am extremely happy with these speakers but they took a lot of running in and fettling with room EQ.

I have fairly high end sources with a Mac Mini/Weiss dac202 & a LP12/Aro with a Brinkmann Fein phono stage. Stands are Partington Broadsides.

Like other audiophiles, I took the plunge on these as they were pretty cheap (£2k is cheap for what you get!).

I can't think of any active speaker or amp/passive speaker that delivers anywhere near the performance of the Opals, they murder AVI ADM9'1s which I've also owned. They do finesse as well as brute force and they never sound tiring. Vocals can be astonishingly good at times, expensive valve good. I sit 12 feet away from the Opals so hiss is never a problem and have a fairly well damped room due to the furniture.