Which Goes First

[newlash09]

Thanks again for the extra replies. The MAs are Blu Tacked on to Atacama Nexus stands. They are about a foot away fro rear wall. Bass port bungs are in - without them, the bass is boomy. The sound is not 'forward' enough and the mid range is 'muddled'. That's the best way I can describe it.

Hi daveyjay

I see that the ports are bunged as per your above post. I had tried bunging my Qacoustics concept speakers to enable a close wall placement. But it completely killed the sound and made it all sound flat. Much like you desrcibe it now. Can you please remove those port bunges and try moving the speakers a little further out into the room, till the bass boom stopped.

Iam not as experienced as the other folks here , and haven't heard much either. But from my reading alone, Iam given to understand that a lot of hobbyists like the arcam + monitor audio silver combination. So I guess you have the right chain with a promise of synergy..and you just need to apply some lower back grease to find that ideal speaker placement in your room without the bungs
All the best

 

[daveyjay]

Thanks for your suggestions Musicraft

 

[davidf]

Hi daveyjay

I see that the ports are bunged as per your above post. I had tried bunging my Qacoustics concept speakers to enable a close wall placement. But it completely killed the sound and made it all sound flat. Much like you desrcibe it now. Can you please remove those port bunges and try moving the speakers a little further out into the room, till the bass boom stopped.

That’s because a ported speaker is designed, surprisingly, as a ported speaker. The foam bungs are purely an addition to reduce bass to add flexibility with positioning, and as such, aren’t tested and designed for this use. This will be the case with all ported speakers, although there are a few ranges that don’t sound hideously flat when using them. This is why KEF went the changeable port route with the current Reference range, avoiding the sound issues created by bungs. Passive radiators work better than ports in close wall situations.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Thanks for your suggestions Musicraft

You're welcome

 

[chris661]

That’s because a ported speaker is designed, surprisingly, as a ported speaker. The foam bungs are purely an addition to reduce bass to add flexibility with positioning, and as such, aren’t tested and designed for this use. This will be the case with all ported speakers, although there are a few ranges that don’t sound hideously flat when using them. This is why KEF went the changeable port route with the current Reference range, avoiding the sound issues created by bungs. Passive radiators work better than ports in close wall situations.

A good speaker designer would ensure that the port bungs work fine, or they wouldn't include them.
I designed my PA speakers so that you can change the port tuning frequency using bungs to block a couple of the ports, and while each tuning frequency requires different EQ, each setting sounds good when properly set up - the lower tunings mean you get more low-frequency extension, but the drivers have to work harder to do it. Fortunately, they're good drivers (Faital 10FH520, 2x per side) and they can do the job. Remember, below the port tuning frequency you're getting cancellation and distortion.

Passive radiators work in the same way as ports, but they have a different set of tradeoffs:
- Where ports will undergo port compression at high levels, PRs will gradually add harmonic distortion due to suspension non-linearities
- PRs require more space on the speaker, and are generally more expensive
- Ports will usually have a quarter-wave resonance resulting in a narrow band of (delayed) midrange output.

Chris

 

[chris661]

Back to the original post, I think I've figured out the problem: does the sound improve if you turn it down a bit?
I'm wondering if you're simply asking too much of what are, after all, medium-sized bookshelf speakers.

Chris

 

[davidf]

But to optimise bung use you’re compromising how good the speaker should sound in its normal every day usage, the way it has been specifically designed. As I say, KEF have gone the replaceable port tubes in order to curtail low bass without the huge perceived effect on the rest of the frequency range.

 

[scene]

But to optimise bung use you’re compromising how good the speaker should sound in its normal every day usage, the way it has been specifically designed. As I say, KEF have gone the replaceable port tubes in order to curtail low bass without the huge perceived effect on the rest of the frequency range.

Agree - bungs are a compromise. The design will be optimised for no bung. I suspect they'll check to make sure with bung it sounds ok'ish, but nothing more. I've tried a number of speakers with port bungs (including an MA RS-LCR, out of interest) and have always removed and sort to improve positioning, or replace...

Referring to the OP's problem: when I bunged my RS-LCR it sounded (as best I can describe it) almost nasal - like someone singing with a blocked nose, is what I mean...