Post by Bigman80 on Jun 20, 2021 21:42:36 GMT
You’ve never heard your speakers, well not quite.
Since my well chronicled speaker debacles were finally put to a swift end by the QAcoustics Concept 500’s, I have been thoroughly and unequivocally happy with them. Are they perfect? Close. VERY close.
My only issue with them, is that whilst they are by far and away the best speaker i have heard in my system, and quite possibly the best speaker i have heard anywhere, they have now and again just tipped the room over it’s “inactive” status. Hardly an issue with the speaker, but I am talking of my experience here. YMMV!
It doesn’t happen often, but it’s usually a Dire Straits track or something with a strong bassline that does it. It happens less frequently on the Soekris, as the digital’s ability to hold the tightest of basslines has helped massively. Hence my 90/10 split in favour of time spent with digital listening.
I always planned to try some Townshend products under them and today i got the opportunity.
Angus had planned a visit with me a few weeks back. Amongst the items he was bringing was a pair of Seismic Bars. Bought for his Monitor Audios but changed for Podiums very soon after. Since then, they have lay dormant in storage. Until today.
I must hold my hands up here…...I had told Angus not to bother bringing them originally, as I wasn't 100% convinced they would retain the type of bass I enjoy. I am very keen to have weight, heft and impact in my music, even if that boils over now and again. I’d rather have too much than not enough.
However, yesterday I thought “It’s a free swing. Stop being lazy and try them out”
After listening to pretty much everything we wanted to try out, Phonostages, cables...etc, we decided to put the bars in.
The bars are capable of supporting 20-50kgs, so my 42kg Q’s were in the sweet spot.
Fitting was very easy, rock the speaker one way, fit a bar…..rock it the other way...fit the bar….simple.
We’d listened to a wide variety of music but the last track we’d used was a half speed remaster of INXS - Need You Tonight. We’d also just finished evaluating the Avalon Phonostage so we left that in too. The rest of my system was exactly the same as always.
Obviously with my concern being that i’d lose some weight or heft from the music, I was keen to evaluate the lower registers first. It didn’t take long to allay any fears about the bottom end, because it lost no punch, heft or depth at all. Instead, some mush/smearing of the LF detail that I wasn't aware of previously, was completely eradicated.
The bass line was tight, fast and really punchy. Snappy and yet it still retained that weight element that I am very sensitive to.
I changed the LP to a more familiar piece of vinyl “Sera Una Noche - La Segunda”
A collection of stunning recordings by the “supergroup” that offer multiple styles of music, but as usual I reached for my favourite….Taquito Militar!
There are moments of decay in this track that lead seamlessly on to the next leading edge….an instrument or percussive beat ending and then another starting as the decay tails off. However, that now seemed to be completely untrue.
Now, there was silence between those moments of decay and leading edge. A drum would strike and as I expected the leading strike if the next drum to start….it didn’t….I was, for the first time, hearing the slight pause between drum strikes.
This continued throughout the tracks we played. Like the timing I had learned was wrong...I was too eager.... The track was perfect.
The music seemed to have more time, more space and more deliberate in how it’s connective melodys interacted with each other. Like a spider's web, the interweaving strands of information were forming a work of precision and intricacy. One that bewilders and captivates.
The important thing to recognise here is that the Seismic Bars DID NOT change the tonal characteristics of the speakers. I didn't lose that naturally accurate tone that I adore and I also didn’t lose any weight or impact, which surprised me, as I totally expected to.
Angus kindly offered to leave them with me on indefinite loan, which I quickly accepted.
We discussed the bars at length and in truth, we both identified the same changes in the performance, and identified how things were greatly improved with them in place. The odd bit of room interaction was now even less. The room definitely had less involvement on the sound.
It’s early days, but I will be playing a lot of music over the next few days and trying to get a more detailed evaluation on them.
However, i am already 100% convinced that they won’t be leaving my system.
Since my well chronicled speaker debacles were finally put to a swift end by the QAcoustics Concept 500’s, I have been thoroughly and unequivocally happy with them. Are they perfect? Close. VERY close.
My only issue with them, is that whilst they are by far and away the best speaker i have heard in my system, and quite possibly the best speaker i have heard anywhere, they have now and again just tipped the room over it’s “inactive” status. Hardly an issue with the speaker, but I am talking of my experience here. YMMV!
It doesn’t happen often, but it’s usually a Dire Straits track or something with a strong bassline that does it. It happens less frequently on the Soekris, as the digital’s ability to hold the tightest of basslines has helped massively. Hence my 90/10 split in favour of time spent with digital listening.
I always planned to try some Townshend products under them and today i got the opportunity.
Angus had planned a visit with me a few weeks back. Amongst the items he was bringing was a pair of Seismic Bars. Bought for his Monitor Audios but changed for Podiums very soon after. Since then, they have lay dormant in storage. Until today.
I must hold my hands up here…...I had told Angus not to bother bringing them originally, as I wasn't 100% convinced they would retain the type of bass I enjoy. I am very keen to have weight, heft and impact in my music, even if that boils over now and again. I’d rather have too much than not enough.
However, yesterday I thought “It’s a free swing. Stop being lazy and try them out”
After listening to pretty much everything we wanted to try out, Phonostages, cables...etc, we decided to put the bars in.
The bars are capable of supporting 20-50kgs, so my 42kg Q’s were in the sweet spot.
Fitting was very easy, rock the speaker one way, fit a bar…..rock it the other way...fit the bar….simple.
We’d listened to a wide variety of music but the last track we’d used was a half speed remaster of INXS - Need You Tonight. We’d also just finished evaluating the Avalon Phonostage so we left that in too. The rest of my system was exactly the same as always.
Obviously with my concern being that i’d lose some weight or heft from the music, I was keen to evaluate the lower registers first. It didn’t take long to allay any fears about the bottom end, because it lost no punch, heft or depth at all. Instead, some mush/smearing of the LF detail that I wasn't aware of previously, was completely eradicated.
The bass line was tight, fast and really punchy. Snappy and yet it still retained that weight element that I am very sensitive to.
I changed the LP to a more familiar piece of vinyl “Sera Una Noche - La Segunda”
A collection of stunning recordings by the “supergroup” that offer multiple styles of music, but as usual I reached for my favourite….Taquito Militar!
There are moments of decay in this track that lead seamlessly on to the next leading edge….an instrument or percussive beat ending and then another starting as the decay tails off. However, that now seemed to be completely untrue.
Now, there was silence between those moments of decay and leading edge. A drum would strike and as I expected the leading strike if the next drum to start….it didn’t….I was, for the first time, hearing the slight pause between drum strikes.
This continued throughout the tracks we played. Like the timing I had learned was wrong...I was too eager.... The track was perfect.
The music seemed to have more time, more space and more deliberate in how it’s connective melodys interacted with each other. Like a spider's web, the interweaving strands of information were forming a work of precision and intricacy. One that bewilders and captivates.
The important thing to recognise here is that the Seismic Bars DID NOT change the tonal characteristics of the speakers. I didn't lose that naturally accurate tone that I adore and I also didn’t lose any weight or impact, which surprised me, as I totally expected to.
Angus kindly offered to leave them with me on indefinite loan, which I quickly accepted.
We discussed the bars at length and in truth, we both identified the same changes in the performance, and identified how things were greatly improved with them in place. The odd bit of room interaction was now even less. The room definitely had less involvement on the sound.
It’s early days, but I will be playing a lot of music over the next few days and trying to get a more detailed evaluation on them.
However, i am already 100% convinced that they won’t be leaving my system.
