Speaker Demo lined up for M-CR603

[womble72]

Found a nice local hifi dealer to let me spend some time listening to the following with my little M-CR603,

Dynaudio dm2/6 and Excite X12

Kef R100 and Ls50.

Shame I cannot test the Neat Iotas with my little Marantz but hopefully one of the above will provide me with a decent sound

 

[womble72]

I'd be interested to know which of the speakers I've selected to demo do you think will be ok with the little Marantz. I keep hearing that the Ls50 and Dynaudios are hard to drive but surely at moderate volumes they would be ok? I will post a review of my experience when I've had my demo (if anyone is interested).

 

[plastic penguin]

Boring answer - you'll have to decide and see which ones 'click' with the Marantz.

 

[MajorFubar]

and another boring answer from me: even if you usually use tone controls, make sure you audition the speakers with the tone-controls flat, and pick the pair which most closely matches your sonic tastes.

 

[BigH]

I would have thought the R100s would be better than the LS50s which maybe too revealing of your 603.

How about the Q Acoustics Concept 20

 

[GMK]

Count me in

 

[MajorFubar]

double post

 

[MikeToll]

Do post your experience of the demo, always interesting.

I recently purchased some ex-demo speakers and was surprised at just how different they sounded at home. The dealer said they would be better as his demo room is wooden flooring over a cellar and boy was he right. Better that way round! Positioning and the amount of toe in made another huge difference so only use the dealer demo as a rough guide.

 

[BigH]

Yes I have to agree about demo rooms, I have come to the conclusion that home demo is really the only way to test hifi.

 

[matthewpiano]

Agreed. I've never had a dealer demo that has given me an accurate picture yet, especially with speakers. Home demo is the only way.

 

[paddyb]

I'm home auditing some Kef Q100's with my CR603 at the moment and I'm disappointed in the quality at home compared to how they sounded in the demo room. I think it might be a positioning thing. I haven't got any stands and there's not enough shelf space for them, so I'm using a clunking great pair of 1970's Solavox speakers (44 x 25 x 20cm) as stands. Not ideal of course, but can I put the overpowering bass rumble when I play at any appreciable volume down to this? Any ideas on improvised speaker stands? I will buy some when I've decided on the speakers, but if I end up sticking with my Dali Zensor 1's, there's no need.

 

[chebby]

I haven't got any stands and there's not enough shelf space for them, so I'm using a clunking great pair of 1970's Solavox speakers (44 x 25 x 20cm) as stands. Not ideal of course, but can I put the overpowering bass rumble when I play at any appreciable volume down to this?

Absolutely yes. The worst thing to put speakers on are large hollow boxes.

Do you have a couple of wooden stools? Is there a charity shop nearby where you can buy a couple of sturdy wooden stools for a small sum? (Remove any cushioned seats from them and substitute a couple of £5 granite chopping boards and Blu-Tack them to the tops of the stools.)

Anything but large, hollow wooden boxes.

 

[gasolin]

I'm home auditing some Kef Q100's with my CR603 at the moment and I'm disappointed in the quality at home compared to how they sounded in the demo room. I think it might be a positioning thing. I haven't got any stands and there's not enough shelf space for them, so I'm using a clunking great pair of 1970's Solavox speakers (44 x 25 x 20cm) as stands. Not ideal of course, but can I put the overpowering bass rumble when I play at any appreciable volume down to this? Any ideas on improvised speaker stands? I will buy some when I've decided on the speakers, but if I end up sticking with my Dali Zensor 1's, there's no need.

I have bouight this one for my Dali zensor 1 http://www.thomann.de/gb/isoacoustics_iso_l8r155.htm you can buy this instead, cheaper but i don't think it's as good as the iso's http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_takustik_isopad.htm or mabye those real speaker stand in a more traditional way http://store.atacama-audio.co.uk/c/speaker-stands_nexus

 

[paddyb]

I have bouight this one for my Dali zensor 1 http://www.thomann.de/gb/isoacoustics_iso_l8r155.htm you can buy this instead, cheaper but i don't think it's as good as the iso's http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_takustik_isopad.htm or mabye those real speaker stand in a more traditional way http://store.atacama-audio.co.uk/c/speaker-stands_nexus

Thanks. The middle option would be worth trying, but I need to return the speakers by the weekend, so there's not time to order them. That gives me an idea though, how about some foam or cushions underneath them as a buffer between the speakers and the old boxes?

 

[gasolin]

In all such places where they sell studio,recording equipments they usually have some speaker foam to put under your speaker, so if you have a shop near your place, you might want to visit them, and mabye angle det up so the bass dosn't get effected by som table,bookshelf

 

[chebby]

I haven't got any stands and there's not enough shelf space for them, so I'm using a clunking great pair of 1970's Solavox speakers (44 x 25 x 20cm) as stands. Not ideal of course, but can I put the overpowering bass rumble when I play at any appreciable volume down to this?

Absolutely yes. The worst thing to put speakers on are large hollow boxes.

Do you have a couple of wooden stools? Is there a charity shop nearby where you can buy a couple of sturdy wooden stools for a small sum? (Remove any cushioned seats from them and substitute a couple of £5 granite chopping boards and Blu-Tack them to the tops of the stools.)

Anything but large, hollow wooden boxes.

Here is an Idea from Ikea...

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/24286205/

... two will only cost £16 from your local branch.

They are made from birch ply (strong) and have flat tops. Just need a few bits of Blu-Tack to stop the speakers moving around. (Another £1 for a pack.)

Once you have decided on the final choice of speakers, then you can save up for 'proper' speaker stands, but the Ikea stools have got to be infinitely better than having your demo speakers wobbling around on foam/cushions on top of big hollow speaker cabinets!

(And you can use the stools afterwards. Stick your pot plants on them maybe.)

 

[GMK]

And they can be painted to match the decor of your room. Great idea

 

[ID.]

Here is an Idea from Ikea...

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/24286205/

... two will only cost £16 from your local branch.

And much cheaper than the Alvar Aalto designed Artek Stool E60 on which it is based (but probably accoustically pretty similar).

 

[paddyb]

Thanks all for your suggestions. I like the stools and used to own some very similar ones. Unfortunately I don’t live near an Ikea, but I might pick some up next time I pass one as a permanent solution if you think they are up to the job? Would something like this with a plastic top be any good:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6006596.htm

A quick swoop around the local charity shops didn’t throw up anything useful, I have a few more idea’s to try:

I have a plastic nest of tables. I think I’ve tried them on these already when I was switching between the two sets of speakers, but I hadn’t identified this problem so specifically then, so I’ll give it another try. Being plastic though, I think they might still cause the same problems that the old speakers do?

Put them on my dining room table, it has a relatively solid wooden top, similar to this one:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6001443.htm

Test on my granite (or looks like granite) work surfaces in the kitchen, but the wooden storage cupboards might interfere a bit?

I’ll try these first, then:

I work for a theatre, so there must be something here that will help.

As always, suggestions / comments welcome.

 

[paddyb]

I’ve seen quite a few threads about homemade / improvised speaker stands. Here are a few:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/speakers/1119141-low-home-made-speaker-stands.html

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?105792-Improvised-speaker-quot-stands-quot

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=908416

Would putting them on a pile of books or a narrow (narrower than the speakers) plank of wood on the floor, angled upwards, work for testing purposes?

It sounds like filling the old cabinets with sand, sugar or cat litter might work as a more permanent solution. I quite like the look of them angled at 45 degrees, the wood matches the new speakers and an interesting blend of old and new technology.

I also have some stiff packing foam (not sure of the proper name for it), is this of any use? Haven’t been able to test yet as it was far too late to be blasting music out in a flat when I got home last night. Might try tonight or tomorrow morning.

 

[paddyb]

A pile of books did the trick!

Got some amazing room shaking bass of the Kef Q100’s, but not sure I like the overall sound as much as the cheaper Wharfdale 121’s, something a little clinical about it. Will do some more listening over the weekend.

 

[gasolin]

A pile of books did the trick!

Got some amazing room shaking bass of the Kef Q100’s, but not sure I like the overall sound as much as the cheaper Wharfdale 121’s, something a little clinical about it. Will do some more listening over the weekend.

Burn in... some say (in general) that burn in takes 50-100 hours

 

[paddyb]

Burn in... some say (in general) that burn in takes 50-100 hours

They're ex demo, so they should be run in. I can't put my finger on what's wrong, there's a bit more detail with the Kef's and they give a fuller sound, but something just grates with me slightly. I think it might me the metal tweeter, I read about a few people who don't like them. Saying that, they're beginning to grow on me. Some more listening needed I think.