Where Have I Gone Wrong?

[Fred24]

I have been unhappy with my BX2 sound across the AS500. Thankfully I have the ideck 200 with arcam rPac in my room.

Problem:

The BX 2 simply is not delivering the depth of low frequency much less the sound stage is not expansive. Instrument gets muddle together. The mid and High are on the bright side going on harshness which often gives me ear fatigue. I don t seems to hear any much bass notes. Just imagine my ideck 200 has a more detail and deep bass note. (what a shame)

I like to think the AS500 is the weak link; but it contradict with WHF which quoted that AS500 when "Used with well-behaved speakers and electronics – Monitor Audio's BX2s andMarantz's CD6003 CD player, say – the A-S500 shines." im a bit confused now.

I have lost the joy of listening music in my lounge . i am so disappointed with the sound. My sound preference are: detail , warmish with expansive soundstage with proportionate articulate midrage and sparkly highs.

I am hoping that someone out there will point me in the right direction to resolve this issue.

Any suggestion are most welcome..

Fred

 

[BigH]

Have you got the speakers on proper stands? How large is your room?

 

[Fred24]

My room is 4 m x 5m and i have the sounstyle Z2 as my stand. QED aniversary cable with milty banna plug..

I have run-in the BX for 6 month.

i have checked the poles.

even checked if mid bass driver has been screwed well.

even test each drive seperately.

toe in the speaker.

i have even try a different source instead of my cd player

.............................................................................................but all to no avail

 

[CnoEvil]

Did you demo before buying, and if so, how did it sound?

 

[Fred24]

I did a demo. I end up taking the As500 over the marantz PM 6004 because it sounded a bit warmer to my ears ..To be honest the low frequency was lacking ..but since the demo room was not the best one ..in terms of size and no poper solid wall behind the speaker..i thought at home they will sound good..a mistake i so regret..but its done..

 

[matthewpiano]

I would lay the blame with the BX2s I'm afraid, having owned both a Yamaha A-S500 and BX2s in the past. To my ears the BX2s are technically very competent speakers but they don't really involve and they do lack depth. The best sound I heard from the A-S500 when I had it was with a pair of Mission MX1s. You should audition ideally, but you could probably sell the BX2s quite easily and replace them with some MX1s or MX2s with little financial cost.

 

[CnoEvil]

If your speaker cable is Silver coated, try some all-copper stuff like Linn K20 (ebay), QED 79 strand or Van Damme UP LC-OFC.....it might help and shouldn't cost too much.

Other than that, it's usually down to room acoustics (size / furnishings), speaker positioning, and whether you have a suspended wooden floor.

 

[matthewpiano]

Yes, do try Cno's suggestions before making any bigger changes. Playing around with positioning etc. can make huge differences (including level of toe-in, height, distance from walls, distance between speakers).

 

[Thompsonuxb]

yes, I would suggest playing with speaker position - although as I've found some amps favour certain bands within a speakers range - distance apart and location from side walls will make a big difference but if the Yamaha has the yamaha 'sound' lack of bass depth is not one of their shortfalls, although it is more defined in terms of variation of tone as opposed to thumpy thump bass,

Me suspects you want a bigger sound than the kit you have can deliver - if you sell the BX2 the Dali Zensor 5 are thumpers try them.

 

[Fred24]

Cno and matthewpiano thank you for the reply.

Cno i dont have lots of soft furnitures in the room.. the floor is in ceramic tiles and plus it have concrete walls..

However Matthew tell me more about the Mission MX1..is the MX 1 bass expansive and deep compare to the BX2 ?to my surprise i was not expecting the BX 2 to be the weak link..but now youre opening my mind to a new avenues. :clap: im happy to be making progress to identify the culprit..what makes even more interesting or shall i say bothers me; is the faff people have been making about the BX2s..

Moral of the story:

It reinforce the value of trusting your own ear and all emphasize on the importance demo..

 

[CnoEvil]

Cno i dont have lots of soft furniture the floor is in ceramic tiles plus concrete walls..

This will likely create "audio hell" unless you "soften" the room with sound absorbing decor (rugs, plants, bookcases, curtains etc)......or you can look into room treatment.

 

[matthewpiano]

The MX1s have a warmer and deeper-sounding bass than the BX2s. It is a less overtly analytical sound more of an involving and persuasive one. The MX2s are that bit better again. However, getting your room acoustics sorted should be your first priority IMO. Then demo the Missions with your amp and see what you think.

 

[CnoEvil]

However, getting your room acoustics sorted should be your first priority IMO....

...and mine.

Until the OP stops the soundwaves bouncing all over the place, every choice of speaker will be severely compromised.

 

[relocated]

Your room sounds like it isn't going to give any gear an easy ride.

Does the bass sound different in different parts of the room? It could be that your listening position is in a bass hole [a bass null, I think it is called] and as others have suggested this certainly could be helped just by moving your seat or the position of the speakers.

The notes getting 'muddled' is down to the speaker just not being as good as it should be and probably no amount of moving about will change that. The speakers are your weak point.

 

[CnoEvil]

The notes getting 'muddled' is down to the speaker just not being as good as it should be and probably no amount of moving about will change that. The speakers are your weak point.

ATM I would say the room is the weakpoint, and some of "the muddle" is probably down to room reflections.....and the speakers wouldn't be my first choice for a "live" room.

 

[Blackdawn]

Agree with cno about the room. Try moving the speakers closer to the back wall, this should re-inforce the bass output even if they are front ported. I've heard the BX2's and didn't think the bass was particularly weak. If you want more lower frequency bass I suggest floorstanders (you could try something like the Tannoy V4's which are a good price at the mo).

 

[ellisdj]

The seating position is probably a big bass null its a bugga when its like that.

rooms kills systems - even very exoctic expensive ones.

I would look into what you can do to the room - depending on how serious you are about getting good sound. You could chuck ££££ at the kit and still not be happy - I have done that a lot.

Thick Rug on the floor - acoustic panels behind your head and on the side walls (in the right spots) / corners if you can get away with it - hear that system be transformed.

Also copper speaker cabling is a good idea - the Van Damme cable Cno suggested will work well

 

[plastic penguin]

I have been unhappy with my BX2 sound across the AS500. Thankfully I have the ideck 200 with arcam rPac in my room.

Problem:

The BX 2 simply is not delivering the depth of low frequency much less the sound stage is not expansive. Instrument gets muddle together. The mid and High are on the bright side going on harshness which often gives me ear fatigue. I don t seems to hear any much bass notes. Just imagine my ideck 200 has a more detail and deep bass note. (what a shame)

I like to think the AS500 is the weak link; but it contradict with WHF which quoted that AS500 when "Used with well-behaved speakers and electronics – Monitor Audio's BX2s andMarantz's CD6003 CD player, say – the A-S500 shines." im a bit confused now.

I have lost the joy of listening music in my lounge . i am so disappointed with the sound. My sound preference are: detail , warmish with expansive soundstage with proportionate articulate midrage and sparkly highs.

I am hoping that someone out there will point me in the right direction to resolve this issue.

Any suggestion are most welcome..

Fred

Worth trying different positions for the speakers, although not sure a change of cables will give you the sound you're after.

Given your room size - assuming the other suggestions don't work - I'd be looking at floorstanders. Thinking in the region of MA BX5, this'll give you more bottom end grunt. Personally, from what I've read about the Yamaha, it needs speakers with a smoother/warmer presentation. Or the option of amps I'd be looking at Nad 326BEE or Arcam A18.

Like the others I'm a huge believer in room acoustics and you need to build a system based on how reflective or benevolent any individual rooms are.

 

[matthewpiano]

Beyond the room acoustics it would be well worth trying alternative amps with the BX2s as well as alternative speakers with the Yamaha, but I think you may need to go further up-market with the amp to get the best out of the BX2s (Arcam, as PP suggests, or Creek).

 

[RobinKidderminster]

£20 on rockwool as my sig suggests thrown into corners etc. If it works then you know how to proceed. Good luck

 

[Richard Allen]

I like to think the AS500 is the weak link; but it contradict with WHF which quoted that AS500 when "Used with well-behaved speakers and electronics – Monitor Audio's BX2s andMarantz's CD6003 CD player, say – the A-S500 shines."

Judging by what you say, I think the WHF team have got it wrong. Sorry, but you have just proved the point with your post. I would dump the BX2s and try something else like the new Q Acoustics jobby. OK. a bit more money but it will probably give you the bottom end you are looking for. Just my opinion.

GOLDEN RULE!!! Be led by your ears, not what's in a magazine. If they were bass shy in the shop as well as your room then maybe you should have passed them by in the 1st place. Like I said. Just my opinion.

 

[BigH]

Sounds like its your room more than anything, the BX2s are a reasonable size and should give a decent amount of bass, if that is not enough then you should look at some Floorstanders. I would try some rugs to cover up the tiles, esp. on the reflection points which are mid way between you and the speakers, so floor and walls.

You have checked they are in phase? Changing the wiring is worth a shot.

 

[MajorFubar]

I agree with everyone who says the room is your weakest point, followed by your speakers, which don't have the warm tonal-balance you crave. Don't waste your time and money on fancy speaker cable, the subtle differences they make won't fix a big problem.

 

[GCE]

I found this interesting review : http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Monitor-Audio-Bronze-BX2/user-reviews, from jason2202 Sun, 3 Apr 2011, 7:39pm : the m.audio seem to be a bit dry and don't pair with a little dry sounding AS 500

 

[relocated]

The notes getting 'muddled' is down to the speaker just not being as good as it should be and probably no amount of moving about will change that. The speakers are your weak point.

ATM I would say the room is the weakpoint, and some of "the muddle" is probably down to room reflections.....and the speakers wouldn't be my first choice for a "live" room.

Well spotted Cno, I should have added 'after your room' but I thought I had said more than enough about that.

I think an awful lot of system tweaking could be avoided if people considered their rooms more. I don't know enough about room treatment to comment and I have never been troubled by rooms in the past to need to worry; but more experimenting with speaker and seating positioning would bring about more valid results than other, money spending, changes.