The active speakers club

[Vladimir]

Comment taken from Gearslutz

The ME Geithain RL901K are one of Geithain's "Cardioid" series. These have a cardioid response at low frequencies where all other monitors go omni-directuonal.

I know I loved Tannoys for their coaxial design, but I never heard this cardioid trick done with bass. We all know bass is omnidirectional (360 degrees sphere), and is a problem for positioning speaker in untreated domestic situation near walls and corners.

I'm calling marketing waffle on the Geithain RL901K polar response from their website.

I'm not aware of any other 32 hz polar response charts for any other speaker - so we don't know if the Geithan chart is good bad or indifferent.

The Geithain polar response chart looks like it might well have different scaling to other polar response charts I've seen (which have generally included c300 hz upwards only).

The mounting plate for the squawker and tweeter might make a small difference to the polar response. It's highly unlikely to make a huge difference to the 32 hz radiation pattern.

Apart from that mounting plate, there's nothing that I can see about the design of that speaker that would indicate that it should have a particularly special polar response at 32 hz.

I don't believe their cardoid bass claim for one second.

Might be. I never had my hands on one.

The bass cardioid trickery is done with ports in the box AFAIK. Some have slots in the back and others at the front. The idea is to cancel the bass in the back. Nothing to do with coaxial mounting of the squaker and tweeter.

 

[Vladimir]

Meyer Sound have a DIY Audio thread.

 

[Vladimir]

Comment taken from Gearslutz

The ME Geithain RL901K are one of Geithain's "Cardioid" series. These have a cardioid response at low frequencies where all other monitors go omni-directuonal.

I know I loved Tannoys for their coaxial design, but I never heard this cardioid trick done with bass. We all know bass is omnidirectional (360 degrees sphere), and is a problem for positioning speaker in untreated domestic situation near walls and corners.

I'm calling marketing waffle on the Geithain RL901K polar response from their website.

I'm not aware of any other 32 hz polar response charts for any other speaker - so we don't know if the Geithan chart is good bad or indifferent.

The Geithain polar response chart looks like it might well have different scaling to other polar response charts I've seen (which have generally included c300 hz upwards only).

The mounting plate for the squawker and tweeter might make a small difference to the polar response. It's highly unlikely to make a huge difference to the 32 hz radiation pattern.

Apart from that mounting plate, there's nothing that I can see about the design of that speaker that would indicate that it should have a particularly special polar response at 32 hz.

I don't believe their cardoid bass claim for one second.

Might be. I never had my hands on one.

The bass cardioid trickery is done with ports in the box AFAIK. Some have slots in the back and others at the front. The idea is to cancel the bass in the back. Nothing to do with coaxial mounting of the squaker and tweeter.

Apparently they achieve the bass cardioid pattern with cavities and damping. But also they have the midrange unit in a cardioid arrangement for better directivity.

The proof is in the pudding, so if anyone has a chance to audition these please also report your impressions on the forum.

 

[Andrewjvt]

https://youtu.be/3TbYEtB0wxo

 

[Vladimir]

How do they walk so comfortably underneath those huge suspended ATCs. I'd be paranoid.

 

[Andrewjvt]

How do they walk so comfortably underneath those huge suspended ATCs. I'd be paranoid.

140kg each
Just one of them could wipe out little mix in one go...
hmmmmm lets hope little mix go over to visit

 

[Vladimir]

*lol*

 

[tonky]

How do they walk so comfortably underneath those huge suspended ATCs. I'd be paranoid.

140kg each Just one of them could wipe out little mix in one go... hmmmmm lets hope little mix go over to visit

Never heard those ATC actives - but I love them already!!

tonky

 

[Andrewjvt]

How do they walk so comfortably underneath those huge suspended ATCs. I'd be paranoid.

140kg each Just one of them could wipe out little mix in one go... hmmmmm lets hope little mix go over to visit

Never heard those ATC actives - but I love them already!!

tonky

Never heard the 300s and doubt i ever will but the 100s are the best ive heard imo

 

[Vladimir]

Sound Link Pro Audio talk on MEGs.

 

[Frank Harvey]

David should talk these up, musicians and engineers seem to love them.

I would love to hear those Krypton 3s....

As my surroundings are still relatively new, I've not yet "treated" the room, so things are slightly reflective at the moment, and you can hear that when you listen to most of the speakers I have. But if I put on a pair of Amphions, they don't excite the room in the same way. Amazing to suddenly hear less of the room in that way (it was the second thing I noticed about them).

 

[Vladimir]

David should talk these up, musicians and engineers seem to love them.

 

[Vladimir]

Looks wise they seem extremely domestic friendly, compared to say K+H.

 

[Vladimir]

David should talk these up, musicians and engineers seem to love them.

I would love to hear those Krypton 3s....

As my surroundings are still relatively new, I've not yet "treated" the room, so things are slightly reflective at the moment, and you can hear that when you listen to most of the speakers I have. But if I put on a pair of Amphions, they don't excite the room in the same way. Amazing to suddenly hear less of the room in that way (it was the second thing I noticed about them).

Good feature. I prefer that over extreme DSP EQ tweaks.

WAF on these is excellent. *biggrin*

 

[Frank Harvey]

Not active though. Although that doesn't seem to bother the engineers who use them...

 

[Vladimir]

Not active though. Although that doesn't seem to bother the engineers who use them...

I don't see pros getting flustered over active vs passive as much as audiophiles do.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Never heard those ATC actives - but I love them already!!

tonky

Hi tonky

I've been using ATC active monitors for many years now (coupled with JL Audio subs) and more lately to bring them all together just nicely JL's CR-1 (active subwoofer crossover). I feel this a cracking loudspeaker system.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[muljao]

For anyone looking for a preamp, Amazon UK now has the Arcam Irdac II for 299. I have not heard this but my many read ups lead me to the conclusion that it is probably well worth that price

 

[drummerman]

For anyone looking for a preamp, Amazon UK now has the Arcam Irdac II for 299. I have not heard this but my many read ups lead me to the conclusion that it is probably well worth that price

Good value and great for an all digital set up. Unfortunately no analogue in.

As to the Amphions a bit further up the page, I love the looks and they are highly regarded.

 

[muljao]

[/quote]

Good value and great for an all digital set up. Unfortunately no analogue in.

[/quote]

Yes, missing an analogue in. I'm not so sure an analogue in is as critical as it used to be unless you are a Vinyl user or have an old tv you want to use, but for all digital it looks good, must put my credit card away before i buy yet another not needed gadget

 

[Andrewjvt]

Oppo sonica could be a very good option also

 

[Frank Harvey]

As to the Amphions a bit further up the page, I love the looks and they are highly regarded.

They weren't even on my radar when starting up, but after hearing them it was obvious they're a bit special - lots of colour options too with the grilles. The Argon 1s will be turning up early next week. I've been trying to work out why I like them, and I think one aspect is a low crossover point - 1800Hz rather than the usual 3-4kHz, which projects more of the frequency range from a single point - so it may be because I'm used to KEF's UniQ array that I appreciate what these do. Seems to be a common theme to the speakers I've chosen so far!

 

[muljao]

Oppo sonica could be a very good option also

Very likely a good piece of kit but in a different price range

 

[muljao]

I'm not sure anyone is interested as most entries here are fairly costly high tech gear but just in case

I recently bought Mackie Mr6 mk3s, i said earlier I was impressed, but it's better i think to give thoughts after a while rather than straight away.

Firstly, for anyone very new to active speakers, unless you want to get up and adjust volume level on two speakers everytime you need to change you'll either need a source that you can control volume on (Chromecast Audio being one example, many Bluetooth devices, or some cd players etc) or a preamp (Arcam irdac 2, m-dac etc). I settled on a rather cheap av receiver -marantz sr4400-that has preouts. This gave me multiple inputs, digital and audio, and a tuner. Due the fact it has no hdmi i got it for 60 pounds delivered, there are even better deals to be had. This receiver may not be good enough to get the best from expensive speakers, but i think it works with the Mackies just fine.

I like the warm marantz sound. The speakers themselves are very detailed and superbly powerful and neutral. I have heard speakers able to go as loud, but not with the control and lack of distortion that these speakers manage, at least not in the price range.

Some say studio monitors cannot successfully be used at home as they are to detailed and flat. I'd beg to differ, but this is a matter of opinion. Every review of gear for music praises detail and accuracy except when studio monitors are mentioned, then they are to much. Ok don't think they are to much for everyone, and some obviously will like and dislike them. I also don't think it is accurate that you need to be two feet from them, they fill the room as good as or better than some speakers of similar size.

These are not for everyone, but there's value to be had if they suit you.

I believe at this price point, a small increase in budget can yield a relatively big improvement in quality. My speakers are budget, if by spending another few hundred you can significantly improve quality, i can understand why some people jump up and down about some active setups

 

[Vladimir]

Good writeup and I'm glad you like your Mackies.

I think small jumps in budget actives yields little difference. What you get for a bit more money is bit more of the same with very slight improvements. Only major leaps get you to wow.

Unless I have 4000eur to spend I wouldn't change up from my JBLs or your Mackies, Yamaha HS, Adam Fs...