New speakers for the Mod686

Lol

OK boys and girls,

This is the official measurements of my speakers.

Tell me what I'm looking at and why it matters please. This is an area of gross neglect so need some guidance



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Hahaha, Westie, thanks for your guidance

Some people are more sensitive to FR than others. That’s aside, I’d simply say if it sounds good to you, it is good until such time as you hear something that leaves it standing.

I’d bet on you ending up with another vintage speaker within a 12” or greater paper cone bass unit though.

Don't ignore response curves but instead, learn how to interpret them as best as you can. Dispersion is very important on conventional speaker types, especially at the crossover point where nasty dips can occur off-axis. this may not be an issue in alively room listening head on, but in my case, the absorptive furnishings, carpets and so on tend to absorb this (very crude indeed, but this is one area the room makes a hell of a difference). If you look at the 'room' response below 200hz, you'll see a rise (it's a very coarse curve, but it's around 5db at least at 75Hz and TEN db at 50Hz). In the broadest sense, my room is doing this to a speaker designed 'flat' in an anechoic situation and just turning the bass down on my preamp isn't enough as the bass control on my preamp doesn't work high enough (I need the bass adjustments the Quad 34/44/66 and I think the 77 had which put a suckout in).

Vertical dispersion is important too as going above the tweeter can put an ever deepening dip/notch/suckout in the integration between the main unit and tweeter. My Harbeths suffer this for example and one severe one I remember was the B&W M805, despigned for sitting on a studio meter bridge with tweets at or just higher than the bass unit. If you stood up above them, the high frequencies kind of 'detached' from the rest of it and floated disconcertingly away and above everything else lower down.

Just my take, but try not to ignore the science just 'cos it can look confusing, but try to understand some of it and how it integrates with what we hear. I suppose subjectivist audio is as much psycho-acoustics too and that'll vary from one person to another, which is why the 'science' is there to try to tie it all down a bit...

Way off topic and I apologise. The two amps Oli has at present should completely disappear from the scene now and drive pretty much any domestic speaker without stress or attitude. As for speakers, owning a highly efficient 'retro' model has definite advantages and a gain in one area (deeper perceived bass extension) may well cause a severe reduction in efficiency further up before the crossover has done its nasties.

There are phone apps but more likely would be a mic and a software app on your computer. The published specs show both abechoic and in room plots. Macca was right about rolloff from 100 Hz. Personally I’d doubt any massive differences if you measured in your own room.

Good point. I like it.

Nah, I'm going floor stander if I'm changing them. I want a bit more space around the speaker. Room is smallish so imaging improved with the Mission floorstanders but insight fell off massivly

I'll have a look on you tube

So I'm just listening to see what point the bass is audible?

That doped pulp coned bass driver (Audax I think) has a wooden colouration through the lower mid that I don't like. Maybe others don't hear it, but I do. I could say the same about the ATC SCM100 too.

Just done the sweep test and the bass starts (audible, not feel) at 34hz possibly earlier but i have only set the volume at normal levels.

!st graph is your FR anechoic and in room. Bear in mind the in room will be done with the speakers placed as intended by design i.e hard up against a wall. Even then you're 5 db down at 50 Hz. That's going to give a lack of deep bass. On a test tone you'll hear low bass but not when you play music because it's too far down in level compared to the rest of the spectrum so it will be masked. Ideally you want the bass to be at a higher amplitude than the mid or top, the ears then balance this out as they are less sensitive to low frequencies. 


Second graph shows frequency response on axis (0 degrees) and at various points off axis. It is accepted fact that a speaker with a smooth off-axis response will sound  better on axis as reflected sound is evenly dispersed. They only get a bit wonky in the mids and HF, mostly over 5khz where not much is happening anyway, so that's not bad. 

Third graph shows your impedance across the frequency range. It's pretty much bang on 8 ohms right across the FR and higher in the bass. This is good, it gives the amplifier a very easy load. What you don't want is lots of peaks and troughs as that will work the amp much harder -  - that's what the Krell was designed for, speakers where the impedance swings all other the place, and especially where impedance goes very low. I suspect the Neurochrome will not be  bothered by such speakers either. But your Pioneers are almost as easy a load as a single driver speaker. Even a piss-poor amp will not struggle at all with them.