Speakers that don't require a listener sweet spot.

All general audio posts go here.
User avatar
Classicrock
Posts: 2316
Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:51 pm
Location: Bristol
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 15 times
Great Britain

Speakers that don't require a listener sweet spot.

Unread post by Classicrock »

Some guy on Hoffman considering purchase of $17K Chinese horns (based on Youtube :lol: ) got me thinking about this.

Obviously NVA Cube designs qualify but what others? I suspect these massive horns may qualify but they sound a bit PA to me. Maybe Tannoy 12" dual concentric ?

[BBvideo=560,315]https://youtu.be/cOXvSWqMdl8[/BBvideo]
I Know What I like (In Your Wardrobe)

User avatar
Fretless
Posts: 9290
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
Location: Somewhere in Holland
Has thanked: 1487 times
Been thanked: 2280 times
Netherlands

Re: Speakers that don't require a listener sweet spot.

Unread post by Fretless »

THE Magnepan MMG magnetostatic panels I was using a few years back were also fairly easy in terms of a 'sweet spot' although they did need to be carefully positioned first (as do Cubes).

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro & AudioQuest

jimbob
Posts: 716
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:35 pm
Has thanked: 22 times
Been thanked: 22 times
Great Britain

Re: Speakers that don't require a listener sweet spot.

Unread post by jimbob »

There’s them odd looking MBL speakers too. No idea how much they are but they have expensive written all over them!
Squeezebox Touch - Cambridge Audio Azur (pre) - Mycetias 250A Power Amp - Mycetias V2 Speakers

User avatar
Lindsayt
Posts: 4213
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:06 pm
Has thanked: 1079 times
Been thanked: 692 times
Nauru

Re: Speakers that don't require a listener sweet spot.

Unread post by Lindsayt »

Classicrock wrote: Sun Mar 31, 2019 11:40 am Some guy on Hoffman considering purchase of $17K Chinese horns (based on Youtube :lol: ) got me thinking about this.

Obviously NVA Cube designs qualify but what others? I suspect these massive horns may qualify but they sound a bit PA to me. Maybe Tannoy 12" dual concentric ?

[BBvideo=560,315]https://youtu.be/cOXvSWqMdl8[/BBvideo]
You can't really tell anything about sound quality from a youtube video, apart from how echoey their room acoustics are and how crap the microphone was.

All of my horned speakers are more sweet spotty than NVA Cubes.

User avatar
Dr Bunsen Honeydew
Posts: 30758
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
Location: Muppet Labs
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 48 times

Re: Speakers that don't require a listener sweet spot.

Unread post by Dr Bunsen Honeydew »

The opposite is electrostatics, especially the Quad ESL 57, they are in reality giant headphones, there is only one spot where they really work even a foot or so outside that either side and the muddle starts to appear. Within that spot for midrange there is nothing to beat them, treble is a little curtailed and the bass is severely compromised. There are mods you can do to improve the bass as I worked out over 35 years ago when I was using them as reference. I learnt more than a little bit about them.

I call them musical masturbation, only the sweet spot gets the orgasm.

User avatar
Quarknosis
Posts: 346
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 8:42 pm
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 7 times

Re: Speakers that don't require a listener sweet spot.

Unread post by Quarknosis »

Would Shahinian speakers be able to provide music without a sweet spot?

I seem to remember another brand of speakers with upward firing drive units as well but can't think of the name of them.

Edit - looks like the brand I was thinking of is Sonab
Main System. Amp - Luxman LV-120, CD - Pioneer PDX505 & Hitachi DA 401. Turntable - Trio KD-2055/Denon DL-110 & Ortofon VMS20E. Cassette Deck - JVC KD A55. Speakers - Arcam Alpha connected with NVA LS3.

Headphone System - Little Dot Mkiii headphone amp, various vintage CD players into NVA P50 with Sennheiser HD600 and Beyer DT 880

wackyraces
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:06 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0
Great Britain

Re: Speakers that don't require a listener sweet spot.

Unread post by wackyraces »

I've never heard the Quad ESL 57's in my room, but but various owners have said that they have unrivalled transient response. The few micron thick membrane has already played the note while the cone on a Moving coil driver is still thinking about making a move!

The next best thing I can think of with electrostatic strengths are the aforementioned Magnepans - easier to accommodate in my room because I like their tall thin panels (rather than the low square panels of the Quads). I bought a pair of used really old Maggie MG-1's, I was casually listening to Radio Swiss Jazz, and the amount of time I turned my head in surprise based on the realistic sound of an instrument was very ear-opening. I sold them on in anticipation of owning a more modern variant of this excellent design.
System: AURALiC Mini - SPS DAC 3 - NVA P50sa / Croft 7 - Role Audio Enterprise

Post Reply