Is it my imagination or....

[admin_exported]

Has filling the bottom compartment of the AE Neo 3's (all the way) resulted in killing off the deep bass that I could hear so clearly and replacing it with a damp squib of bass weight in comparison?

I am sure this is exactly what I am hearing and it hasn't simply "tightened the bass up"and worst of all, once you put the sealer on, there is no way of taking the filling of sand out again

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, sounds like you may have overdamped them.

That's why the manual says

"Be aware that the plastic bung has not been designed to be removable after insertion. You may wish to use a temporary removable plug until you have made your decision"

 

[matthewpiano]

Looks like some advice from AEJim could be greatly needed here!!

I hope there is a way round this and that you haven't ruined your new speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

I did read that Andrew but I also read The Aefis Neo Three can be mass loaded in a compartment at the bottom of the cabinet. Mass loading can significantly improve the performance of the speaker. Well, it has significantly changed the performance of the speaker but certainly not for the better.

 

[Anonymous]

Somehow despite being sealed and without being designed to be removed, in i have managed to get the sealers out and intact thank god! happened in the last 5 mins, now emptying the sand out, i am going to seal these but without any sand.

I hope this is a lesson to people, it's a lesson i will never forget anyway

 

[Andrew Everard]

Try partially loading them. Maybe about half full.

 

[Johnno2]

The evo3 I bought was already sand loaded,no wonder they weigh a ton! with a big bass too,wonder what they would sound like if I try to empty the sand. Then again I like the sound as it is ,better leave well alone. If you liked the bass before ,perhaps you should just leave them empty,but you could always experiment.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah you know you want to find out

for what it's worth I have made the decision to leave the speakers just as they are without any loading.

 

[Anonymous]

hi fi newbie:
ÿAh you know you want to find outÿ

for what it's worth I have made the decision to leave the speakers just as they are without any loading.ÿ

So you didn't fill / seal them?ÿ

 

[AEJim]

Mass-loading is something worth experimenting with, especially if you have problems with bass boom in your room (not meaning to sound like a rapper, it just rhymes!) - but things can be taken too far by overdamping.

Speakers are designed with the cabinet as part of the sound, and removing too much of that cabinet character can hamper the sound rather than help - I remember some very inert concrete speakers being made in the 80's/90's - they didn't sound too good! The Neo's were designed without the mass-loading so under normal circumstances will sound best this way, if you get too much overblown low end the option is there for you to tailor it, best so in stages as suggested by Andrew.

If you're happy with the sound then it's usually best not to change things, or if you do then leave the bungs out as mentioned so the mass loading can be removed easily afterwards (what you use to mass-load is another topic all in itself, the speakers we've supplied pre-loaded in the past used metal filings). If however, you happed to have sealed the bungs in place and can't get them out (fortunately not the case for the OP!) then don't worry too much about damaging the bungs to get them out - I've even had to drill some out in the past. Leaving the cavity open will have no discernable effect on the sound as the chamber is sealed internally. If the cosmetics of the open hole bother you, you can always give us a call to get a new set!

 

[Anonymous]

It just required a lot of prising out

yeah I understand what you are saying, I have these positioned about 18 inches from the rear walls and it sounds great, no booming, so no reason to dampen the bass. Yes Octopo I did fill them but was horrified when I realised that my actions had left a detrimental effect on the sound, suddenly it sounded quite lifeless and flat but no thankfully, it's all out and they are great speakers.

Hope you managed to sell all the Neo 3's on ebay

 

[Anonymous]

I had the Neo 3's, filled them around 3/5's with atacama atabites and that seemed to be the best compromise of bass punch and definition, still have them redundant in the cupboard downstairs *sniff*