Monitor Audio R One HD versus R225HDS

[micks_address]

Hi Folks, To allow me to upgrade screen size from 42" to 50" I'm looking at relacing my left/right R225HDs with an R One HD Here's my current (yes very cramped) set up.

If I get rid of the left/right speaker, I could probably fit the soundbar under the new screen. Now what I'm worried about is that I'll get a big decrease in stereo performance with the soundbar. I use a Denon 3310 and listen to mp3's from my Oppo Bd93 and more often vinyl from my Project Turntable. As demo's a hard to get over here, I was wondering if anyone had any experience of the R One HD when used with stereo music ? I use a RSw12 subwoofer. Cheers, Mick

Pic sorted - mods.

 

[Leeps]

Hi Mick

I have a Radius One HD, but I choose not to use it for stereo duties. It's great for movies; incisive, sharp with good steering effects, but I prefer to use the Zone 2 of my AV Receiver to feed some conventional bookshelf speakers (Ruark Epilogues) which are immeasurably better than the Radius One for stereo - it's hard to believe they're running off the same amp. You can try using the 'Extended Stereo' mode on your AV receiver to spread the sound across all available channels, but that's not a genuinely hi-fi solution.

The reason I like the Radius One for my situation is also for space. The intention is eventually to purchase a Naim Unitilite (or similar) to feed my stereo speakers (currently on Atacama stands left and right of my TV) then leaving my Zone 2 of my AV receiver free to go from 5.1 to 7.1 with the Radius.

It may not work for you, but if you had Radius for cinema duties like me, could you look at getting some high-performance mini monitors (like my favourite Neat iotas) off your AV receiver's zone 2 for stereo duties and wall mount them?

Ultimately, this could simply be too high a cost to pay for your larger screen size. Sometimes, it's better to put the sensible hat on and fend off 'upgradeitis'!!

Leeps

 

[Leeps]

PS...

Just noticed your signature more carefully. Why don't you try as a test using your R90HD's so play some stereo music? The Radius One is essentially a couple of R90HD's at either end with a R225HD in the middle of one cabinet.

This would give you a good idea of how stereo music sounds, although make sure you keep them both close together. From memory (I'm at work in lunch break right now), the Radius is about 500mm wide, so set them up within that width.

Happy experimenting!

 

[micks_address]

Good thinking that will be my first step! I do have a Denon DAB 38 mini hifi in an ajoining room which i have some boston acoustics a26s connected to. I've been toying with moving the turntable to that room as an alternative

 

[XMB]

Why not just mount your current left and right speakers further apart, as you seem to have pleant of space? Don't be too frightened to have them quite a distance from the TV, even if they are not symetrycal, as the surround amp and centre speaker will create a prper sound field. Then when listening to stero sound you will have a better image. This solution will also save you some money!

You can easily try it out as a tempory measue to see how you get on.

 

[micks_address]

i dont have that much space unfortunately, I could move the right further towards the wall, and move the left out a couple of inches.. but its going to dominate the room and my wife wont go for it, the thinking behind going for the soundbar is the footprint of the new tv would essentially the same as the current one plus the speakers that are there. Also my moving the left speaker much out its going to overhang the turntable so will have trouble lifting on/off the dust cover

 

[bigboss]

I think R One HD is the best compromise in your situation. It performs very well.

 

[micks_address]

Thanks bigboss, for the moment i've put my 225s up for sale locally, ill demo the r90s for stereo over the weekend to see how they go. Im letting the 225s go got about 125 pounds each which i think is fair value but no bites yet!

 

[sta99y]

Thanks bigboss, for the moment i've put my 225s up for sale locally, ill demo the r90s for stereo over the weekend to see how they go. Im letting the 225s go got about 125 pounds each which i think is fair value but no bites yet!

can I ask where there advertised??

edit: I see they sold!! Peebs got a good deal.

 

[micks_address]

Yes hopefully he enjoys them as much as i have!

The tv looks naked now with no speakers around it, but strangely almost bigger! I'll be ordering the R One HD towards the end of the month, then probably replacing the tv towards the end of the year. I'll hang on for the ranges to bed in, problems to surface if any and see whats the best option... im leaning towards a 50" VT60 though.. anything bigger would be to much.. think it will be a nice upgrade to go gtom 42" to 50" hopefully the downgrade in speaker quality (maybe) will be worth it for a bigger screen. Which lends itself to an interesting question. Would you rather have a bigger screen with slightly less in the audio department or smaller screen with the best audio you can buy?

Cheers,
Mick

 

[bigboss]

Go for the largest screen you can afford, as long as the viewing distance allows it.

 

[micks_address]

Hi Guys,

So todays Im placing the order for my R One HD. Couple of questions. I'm guessing that though its a single unit, it has three sets of speaker connections so I can just connect up the left/center/right speaker wires that I have from my receiver to the R One?

The other question is re isolation. I'll be placing it under the tv on a glass shelf. Should I try and put something like foam or a dampening material between the speaker and the shelf to help with vibrations through the shelf unit?

Cheers,
Mick

 

[Leeps]

Hi Mick

Yes, there are three sets of speaker connections, although they're all fairly close together near the centre of the unit. As far as isolation is concerned, the Radius One comes with rubber feet you can stick on. (There's also the alternative of wall-mounting, but I appreciate that's not suitable for your corner placing).

My only concern about the rubber feet is that the speaker sits completely flat. This is fine if the speaker's pointing at ear height, but not ideal if it's pointing at your knees, so you might want to experiment and listen to it in situ before sticking them on.

Hope you're happy with the results.

 

[micks_address]

so you would suggest maybe something like these to angle the speaker upwards?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0002D0B4K/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d3_i4?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0YAR9Q9KKAZZMEEAG1AP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=358549207&pf_rd_i=468294

 

[Leeps]

Interesting link Mick - I haven't seen those before, but might be tempted to give them a try myself. My Radius One is sat on the front of my AV cabinet, which is lower than average, so these could improve things.

Certainly worth experimenting - try it flat initially before you stick the self-adhesive rubber feet on and see what it sounds like (perhaps with some impromptu spacers to lift them off the shelf; there may be a little bass boom but I would imagine that the tweeters are the most affected by the exact attitude of the Radius One).

If you do decide to get the foam wedges, I'd be interested to know how you get on with them and how well they fit the Radius One.

 

[micks_address]

Well eventually my R One HD has arrived! I had to wait over a month for it as I negotiated a very keen price which was based on my retailer being able to include my order with another order from Monitor Audio and as the second order didnt ship till this week I had a long long wait!

http://i40.tinypic.com/2iw0eg9.jpg

Very happy with it.. I've only had the TV speakers for use for the last month and what a difference a proper speaker makes! The R One HD is a lovely neat solution and fits in grand under my TV and is roughly the same width as the TV so looks like it was made to fit!

Listened to some vinyl last night and the stereo sound using my av receiver is pretty great.. no real pereceived downgrade from the R225s I had for left/right.

So far very happy!

Thanks for the help/advice

Cheers,
Mick

 

[bigboss]

:cheers:

Looks nice!

 

[micks_address]

:cheers: Looks nice!

Thanks bb but i think my wife copped on to my cunning plan straight away... she was like... ohh i suppose a larger screen will be the next thing to land!

 

[Leeps]

Glad you're happy with the end result Mick. I think the Radius One trounces most "soundbars", even quite costly ones I've heard.

Enjoy!!

 

[bigboss]

Although technically it's not a soundbar. It needs an amplifier.

 

[Leeps]

Although technically it's not a soundbar. It needs an amplifier.

Quite agreed BigBoss, but the cost of my amp and Radius One was about the same as a Yamaha YSP-2200 (which my father owns). I know which I prefer! It may not have the 'pretend rear effects' but it has a nice clean punchy sound, something that the Yamaha doesn't have. In fact, the Yammy has turned into an expensive paperweight because parents don't see an improvement over TV sound!! £800 is a lot of money to spend when the results are so poor. Not sure how it managed such rave reviews.

Having said that, it's quite a cool looking paperweight!!!

 

[bigboss]

Oh yes, I would expect the R One HD + amplifier to outperform a soundbar.

 

[micks_address]

well for movies up to 60% of the audio comes from the centre speaker so with the r one hd im not loosing anything from my old r225hd centre as the speaker in the r one hd is essentially a r225 with two r90hds tagged on each end.. to be honest i dont miss the other speakers at all, when i listened to music before i always used my receiver in 'stereo' mode which was using the rsw12 with the two r225s for music anyway so now its basically two r90s with the rsw12 instead. The look is much better.. the r one is pretty much bang on the same width as my tv.. i actually dont think i'll be upgrading my screen this year after all, as from my viewing distance (about 6 to 9 feet depending where on the sofa you sit) 42" seems pretty big.. very happy so far.. i have still to run audessy calibration as i need to get the house to myself but i doubt it will be much different from the current settings!

Thanks,
Mick

 

[micks_address]

Well its taken till nearly the end of the year, but i have replaced my VT30 with a 50VT65 and very happy with the results. I have the VT65 a few months now and had it calibrated yesterday. Its a great screen and the move from 42 to 50" has really been great. Im happy enough with the r one hd. I cant say I've noticed much of a decrease in performance from the r225s. http://i39.tinypic.com/jgkvh5.jpg Cheers, Mick

 

[Leeps]

Glad you're pleased with the results.

i must thank you for your recommendation of the Auralex Mopads. They've made a remarkable difference.

I've taken a journey in the opposite direction to you, partly because I don't have the same limitations you worked with as my set-up isn't located in the corner of my room. I did have the Radius One to begin with (now up for sale on a well-known online marketing resource!) as my original intention was to have a separate 2-channel system. However once everything was in situ, I was surprised at how good the music sounded, particularly using the Extended Stereo setting on my amp. My only criticism of the Radius speakers is that although they're pin sharp precise with steering effects, for music, their soundstage can seem restricted. So using Extended Stereo (albeit with the fader halfway towards the front) opens up the soundstage beautifully.

Anyway, as I was pretty pleased with the musical qualities I decided to get the R270HD floorstanders, which I can site reasonably far apart which again widens the soundstage with music AND steering effects with movies.

So in the centre now I have the Radius 250HD in front of the TV, placed on two sets of Auralex Mopads (which doubles the angle upward). The Mopads have worked very well indeed. They direct the tweeters at my ears instead of my knees (helpful, seeing I don't have any available ears halfway down my legs) and they really help to isolate the centre speaker from my wooden (MDF) cabinet. I did get a little resonance before using the rubber feet supplied with the the Radius One, so the Mopads have knocked that on the head.

i'd certainly recommend the Auralex Mopads to anyone who has their centre speaker placed on a cabinet. You get quite a large set of the foam wedges; using different combinations you can combine them to angle the centre flat, or at two choices of gradients. So thanks again for the tip.