Almost got floored by Cambridge S30 - Page 8

Yall have my interest piqued about the modded S30! I feel that with a little more refinement, I could live with these speakers for a long, long time. Anyone else have impressions or details on the mod?

Awesome. As you can see in my other thread, I'm gonna have a hell of a time deciding between upgrading these speakers or replacing them. I love my S30 and they sound great, but I really want that last word in transparency, cohesion, and refinement.

My s30 is done being modded and is spending this Memorial day weekend with Dennis. If all goes well, I'll probably get to hear them next week.

I'm not sure if it will be the "last word in transparency, cohesion, and refinement." That's a lot to ask for with a modded $219 speaker haha. I'm sure it will be a very nice step towards those attributes.

This discussion might interest you.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums...ad.php?t=74410

Hmm yes "last word" isn't what I was looking for, more of "next step". I'm eager to hear your impressions.

[quote=Ster3ohead;20503247]My s30 is done being modded and is spending this Memorial day weekend with Dennis. If all goes well, I'll probably get to hear them next week.
QUOTE]

Yes, Ster3ohead's S30's have moved in for the weekend. We're planning a quick dip in the pool, and then some Carolina barbeque, mustard based of course. I spent the evening comparing the S30's with my own MB0W1 bookshelves using a magic instant comparo switching preamp. The woofers on the two speakers probably cost about the same to produce, although the MB0W1's is larger and works into a larger cabinet, resulting in about 8 Hz more bass extension (52 Hz vs. 60 Hz). But a pair of the Hiquphon 0W1 tweeters in my speaker cost about as much a pair as a pair of S30's. http://www.ellisaudio.com/hiquphon.htm

On some program material, I suspect a lot of people would be hard put to tell which speaker is which. On more demanding material, there's definitely a bit more glare on the modified S30's. The don't sound as relaxed and open as the MB0W1's. But then they don't cost $1000 a pair, which is what you would pay for the MB0W1's with really nice cabinets from, say, Salk Sound. http://www.salksound.com/caow1%20-%20home.htm I haven't heard every $300 speaker out there. But based on the ones I have heard, I think the S30's would be hard to beat in stock form, and definitely a class leader when modified. Still, the difference between the stock and the modified unit isn't huge, and it would cost over $100 to obtain the mod unless you're located very close to Washington, D.C.

What size room is everyone using these with? My limitations on center channel width have pushed me into higher priced goods (I was going to get the Pioneer's from BB), so I was going to go with the bookshelves and center first to ease my bank account into this.

Threads like these have me leaning towards the S30/S50 to start, to maybe grow into S70s in the future. I'd probably team anything I get with an Emotiva Ultra 10. I am considering other brands of bookshelves (Audio Advisor has free stands for the Mourdant Carnival 2), but don't even know if bookshelves like these will work in my room.

I'd be putting them into a family room that is 11'3"x18'11" with a connected (completely open) dining area that is 8'8"x11'3", with 10' ceilings. All the seating is within the width of where the speakers would be in the front. I'll either be getting a Yamaha 867 or Onkyo NR709 to run them if it matters.

lol. Dennis has my complete trust. If he feels water and bbq will improve and relax the sound.. than so be it

Wow. If I can get a slice of what your MBOW1 offers with the modded s30... I think I will be a very happy customer.

Well--we'll see. The S30 was good to start with. Again, this is more a matter of refinement, and you'll be working on long-term memory (which is anything over 10 minutes in this hobby). So please don't expect too much.

Still using the Snell as your main speakers?

And the mid-levels you're referring to are the NHT and Focal right?

I'm not anticipating a dramatic change. Refinement is all I need. Anything more than that is icing on the cake.

Although I don't have an original s30 to directly compare to, the process of taking notes and writing my s30 review did give me really good sense of its sound. I also have other speakers that I compared the original s30 against which I still can refer to.

They will most likely be arriving tomorrow so I'm very excited to get them back ! My music enjoyment has been noticeably lacking since my s30 left to be modded. This just confirms to me that the s30 sound is indeed something special to my ears.

how does the stock S30 compare to the classic two?

And if I remember, the S30 comes with port plugs, right? How does this affect its performance? I'd be putting it IN a bookshelf so this is of interest. TIA.

Are you talking about the stock S30 here?

Compared to the NHT Absolute Zero (haven't heard the Classic Two)... I thought the stock S30 was a little more over pronounced in upper portion of the mid range...

I found certain electric guitar notes to be edgier on the S30... not quite harsh, but not simply just crisp either... "edgy" is the best word I can think of to describe it.

Please delete this post.

Thank you Dennis. My modded s30 arrived safely. I appreciate the extra packaging..

Me <---------Modded S30--------- Dennis Murphy

My s30 has traveled quite a distance and it came back a much wiser sounding speaker.

I am loving the sound of the Cambridge s30 all over again!

Considering how long ago I heard the original s30 I questioned my ability to discern a difference. I’m proud to report I effortlessly heard a positive change in the sound signature.

After I unpacked the newly modded s30, I asked my better half to join me in listening to the speakers for the first time. We played a few tracks and after I formed my initial impressions I asked her what her thoughts were before I said anything. Without any hesitation whatsoever she said "it sounds better than before" and its “sound is more balanced." Hey! I thought I was the audiophile in the relationship . I do need to spend more time with them before I comment any further but I do agree that the sound is nicely balanced (and much more).

Thanks again Dennis! Your dedication made an additional two people here in the west coast very happy.

Hi I'm relieved to hear that you can hear a change. As I've stated before, a lot of people would find the effect of the mod very subtle, and with shipping it can cost $100, so it's not a free lunch. I was almost tempted to send them back unaltered for a true controlled blind test. But don't worry, I did operate on them, as you can confirm by taking off the back speaker terminal and staring at the mess inside. I flunked neatness in 7th grade shop.

Hey guys. I have been folllowing this thread for awhile now and your inputs were so good on these speakers so I bought a pair of the s30s to start. I just got a receiver (denon avr-1912) and was going to do a 2.1 setup but my came across some really old JBL speakers, 2 TLX 171,2 L3, and a psw-d112 sub.

I am trying to just make a simple home system and wanted your inputs because you guys are really knowledgeable about speakers and I have 0 clue. Do you think the s30s can be used as centers and the rest of the JBL speakers as fronts(tlx171), and rears(L3)? Should I just not use the JBL speakers at all? Any help/ideas are much appreciated.

The unmodded S30's have replaced my Audioengine's for my PC setup at work. They are still breaking in, so i will reserve judgement for a bit.