Speaker question

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floydfan
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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by floydfan »

Hi Doc

I have fired up the Goodmans using an old 1975 National Panasonic amp (just to be safe) and they sound fine at the moment and as yet the drivers seem balanced. I am running without the bass radiator as I was only checking for big errors but will put them back on and connect up my good amp and do some serious listening and decide if I need any dope on the bass drivers.
The most noticeable thing so far is that there is no "sweet spot" , if you move around the room there seems to be no difference in the sound.
I think they may turn out well.

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Dr Bunsen Honeydew
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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

Sounds like what I expected, keep us informed.

floydfan
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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by floydfan »

A little update for anyone interested.
I've been doing some listening with quite a variety of music. They seem melodic speakers and although I don't have a wide experience I compared them against my brother's £800 Castle's and I much preferred the Goodman's. The bass seemed much more clear and controlled. The presentation of the human voice is really "atmospheric" and true although this may be due to the A80. I really like the way voice is done with the NVA amps I have listened to.
Not all good news, however, at high volume the high frequency, although it seems true, has an edge to it and the bass seems swamped. This problem seems acute with some of my albums and not others. I wound up some Tangerine Dream and it seemed fine and they can make your ears bleed in a poor set-up.
ps the amp has remained cool with the fins having no detectable heat.

Daniel Quinn
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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by Daniel Quinn »

In my experience comparing bass reflex with infinite baffle [ acoustic suspension ] the bass on the B/R can sound more impressive initially , but prolonged listening taught me it was the box I was hearing not the music . Now I can hear a B/R sound immediately and I don't like it . Preferences will however vary .

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Dr Bunsen Honeydew
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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

It may be you are hearing the recording for what it is for the first time or It means the overall balance is not right yet. Can you push the speakers further back to the wall. Once you have tried speaker positioning then we can look at padding the high frequencies a bit.

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Dr Bunsen Honeydew
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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

How you getting on with these now.

floydfan
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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by floydfan »

Hi Richard

Sorry for the delay in answering but have been having a great time camping in France. Just got back on Friday and have just recovered from the drive up. When I got off the ferry in Plymouth I thought that all the drivers on the road were impatient maniacs. Had a couple of days rest at my son's in Bristol. great city, and drove up on Friday. What a nightmare! All the way up the M5 and M6 was either stop start or dicing with death with massive trucks at over the speed limit. There were two big crashes and loads of breakdowns on the road. It took me 10 hours of solid driving to go from Bristol to just north of Glasgow.
Anyway I have recovered so back to the speakers. They are up to this time the best speakers I have heard, though I don't have a lot of experience of different speakers. I have placed them 5 inches from a wall and this seems to have brought out the bass a bit although I am not sure if the balance is quite right. I have been listening to Black Sabbath and the bass lines are brilliant with no boom but at high volumes Ozzie's voice is a bit piercing. I am not sure if it is worth it to try to attenuate the treble as the speakers are so good at the moment. They did take a bit of getting used to as I am used to the sound coming straight at you from the speakers and the Goodmans do seem to place you "inside the music"
I have decided to wait a bit before I look at them again as I am waiting for my Sony turntable kit to arrive and that should stretch my capabilities. I will probably be back to you to advice before too long.

Cheers

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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by _D_S_J_R_ »

Ozzies voice as recorded and mixed CAN be a bit piercing. BS albums, although better sounding with the current remasters (on CD), never sounded particularly good on vinyl or original CD (the first album on my NEMS vinyl (sadly not the Vertigo issue) takes your fillings out)

I only have little memories of Dimension 8's, but I believe they're not as full-bodied as say, Goodwoods or Magnum K's. They just need a big amp and very careful positioning I reckon. Good luck :)
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way...The time has gone, The song is over, Thought I'd something more to say...

floydfan
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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by floydfan »

I am using A80 mk 2 so should be plenty of oomph. I will try pushing them nearer the wall to see what happens.

floydfan
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Re: Speaker question

Unread post by floydfan »

Been a while since I last posted but have been very happy with my set up. I am bi-amping the Goodmans with an A30 and A80 with a phono 2. Just one little niggle, at high sound levels the treble overpowers the bass a bit. It only happens when loud so have not worried too much about it. The sound is so close to what I want that I don't want to do anything drastic but I noticed in a post on here something about giving the tweeter a bit of dope to tame them and wondered if this would help. I also am looking at improving my speaker leads I have LS3 on bass and LS2 on the mids and tweeters would upgrading have any effect on balance.

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