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Cambridge Audio Minx Loudspeaker Discussion Thread - Page 29

post #841 of 1431
10/1/12 at 6:11pm
I'd call this Dutch review."I'd like one of these, wooden shoe?"
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post #842 of 1431
10/1/12 at 6:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by taichi4 View Post

I would imagine the conventional driver in the Min 21 which complements the BMR, will more adequately fill the hole between sub woofer and BMR.

I could see why they needed to fix this since their Sub (X200 + Satellite (Min 10) combo was tested as lacking between approximately 120-150 hz.
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post #843 of 1431
10/1/12 at 6:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by taichi4 View Post

I'd call this Dutch review."I'd like one of these, wooden shoe?"

I had to re-read that five times before I finally got it. biggrin.gif
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post #844 of 1431
10/1/12 at 6:27pm
I see no reason to Minx words, as I tend to be a Min-imalist.
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post #845 of 1431
10/1/12 at 6:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by taichi4 View Post

I see no reason to Minx words, as I tend to be a Min-imalist.

That's funny, I don't care who you are... smile.gif
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post #846 of 1431
10/1/12 at 7:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimWilson View Post

That's funny, I don't care who you are... smile.gif

That's good of you, but I didn't expect you to make much ado about nothing, anyway.
Edited by taichi4 - 10/2/12 at 8:46am
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post #847 of 1431
10/3/12 at 3:56am
Hi

I have mentioned earlier in the thread, that I had a problem with tiny and thin sound from the min11 used as center speaker.

Therefore I borrowed a min21 from the hifi-dealer where I bought the system, to test if it sounded better and would have a larger sound. But as a center speaker the min21 did not sound any better at all. It sounds tiny and thin in the same way that the min11 does. I switched between the speakers several times and tried with different movies (dvd and blu-ray). To me the two speakers when used as center sounded completely identical. I think it may be because the voices and dialogues in films lies in the high frequencies and handling of these are identical in the two speakers - something Perpendicular also have mentioned earlier. But I do not know it exactly, it's just a guess.

I think I will keep the min11 as center for now and see how it acts after some more hours of break-in.

But I am glad I have tested it, so I would not go thinking whether I should have had bought the min21 as center speaker or not.

A suggestion for Cambridge Audio could be that they make a dedicated and larger center speaker, that fits the rest of the minx system. A center speaker that has some extra power and some more depth. That would be great.

JP
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post #848 of 1431
10/3/12 at 4:54pm
It would be wonderful if someone (Maybe a dealer) could run some frequency response curves on the NEW Min 21 and even better if they could run it on both the Min 20 and Min 21 run full range. Too bead Cambridge Audio does not publish response curves on all of the speakers within this family.

Chucka
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post #849 of 1431
10/3/12 at 8:05pm
Thread Starter 
There are two response curves taken for the Min 10 and X200 Subwoofer but none for the Min 20. Here is one of them from Home Theater Magazine.

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post #850 of 1431
10/3/12 at 8:27pm
Thank You Perpendicular for posting this response curve.

But we know the Min 21 has better Low Frequency response and we now have this Min 20 curve to compare it to. So someone with Anthem EQ or some other analyzer needs to post their response curves of the Mn 21 so we can compare the differences... Please :-)

Chucka
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post #851 of 1431
10/15/12 at 5:13am
Hello everybody,

I've been following this thread for a while now and this is my first post, since I have finally decided for the CA Minx as my new speakers set.

As many of you, I come from larger, 2-way wooden bookshelf speakers, and moving into a new appartment (I live in Barcelona, Spain, so sorry for my English..) made me go the "small" way. I had the chance to demo the B&W MT-50 set, and even if they sound great, they still look like robot heads coming out from the wall, and they are a bit too expensive for my budget.

I recently had the chance to demo the Minx in another specialized audio shop, and they surprised me, they sound like something way bigger than they are. I demoed a pair of min20s with an x200 sub. Even if the satellites were way too close to each other, in a 2 or 3 ft wide CA display, they managed to create a wide and full sound space in the shop, despite the large size of the place and its irregular shape, columns, etc. So I expect the 21s to sound as good as these or even better!

My idea is to use three min21s as R and L front, and central, and two 11s as rears, together with the x200 sub. One of my concerns now is the center speaker. It will be sitting in front of the TV set, a Panasonic 50VT50 that I will buy together with the speakers when we get the living room furniture delivered in some 2 or 3 weeks.

The thing is that, sitting on its stand, the VT50 leaves less than 2 inches of space under the panel, maybe close to 3 in. if we count the frame around the screen itself. So that means the center min21 should be placed horizontaly and without the 600D table stand in order to prevent it from covering the bottom of the tv picture. Can these speakers be placed like that? Would it affect its sound? Any advice?

Thanks to all, great forum!!
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post #852 of 1431
10/15/12 at 9:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lluberest View Post

As many of you, I come from larger, 2-way wooden bookshelf speakers, and moving into a new appartment (I live in Barcelona, Spain, so sorry for my English..) made me go the "small" way.

No need to worry at all - your English is quite good!

Quote:
Originally Posted by lluberest View Post

The thing is that, sitting on its stand, the VT50 leaves less than 2 inches of space under the panel, maybe close to 3 in. if we count the frame around the screen itself. So that means the center min21 should be placed horizontaly and without the 600D table stand in order to prevent it from covering the bottom of the tv picture. Can these speakers be placed like that? Would it affect its sound? Any advice?

The Min 20 and 21 can be used horizontally, so that's not a problem. Cambridge Audio even sells a grill with their emblem sideways, just in case you want to use them as a center. I would make sure it's pointed up towards the listeners ears though, so you can be sure they hear all the sound possible.
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post #853 of 1431
10/15/12 at 10:54am
Thank you so much for your reply, Jim.

What actually concerns me the most about that center speaker is that the stand usually isolates the speaker's cabinet vibrations so they are not transmitted to the surface where the speaker sits. In this case, it will be a sort of cabinet furniture, which means a hollow wooden box. Wouldn't it vibrate if in full contact with the speaker's body?
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post #854 of 1431
10/15/12 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lluberest View Post

Wouldn't it vibrate if in full contact with the speaker's body?

Probably not.

The Min 21 has a rigid cabinet, uses tiny 2.25 inch drivers and isn't going to be run below 150Hz. Add all that up and the possibility of any type of vibration is pretty small. It would probably still be a good idea to place a piece of cloth or foam underneath it though, just to be certain. Maybe even something like a SpeakerDude (which would not only insulate it from any potential vibrations, but would also angle it up towards the listeners).
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post #855 of 1431
10/17/12 at 11:44am
Hello,

I need to buy an Amplifier to my Cambridge Audio Set (3 Min21 Front;2 Min11 Back), what do you think about these :

PIONEER RECEIVER VSX-422-K - 215.20€
PIONEER RECEIVER VSX-527-K - 287€
Onkyo TX-SR313 - 249€
Sony STR-DH820 - 290€

I cannot give more than 300€, so what do you think match better with my set?

Thanks a lot
smile.gif
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post #856 of 1431
10/17/12 at 2:36pm
Hi,
I have owned a MINX system for the last 9 months and have been experimenting with setup, and taking lots of learnings from what has been contributed in this thread, thanks everyone. I thought it was about time to give something back so here is a brief summary of what I have done/found to date:

1. Started with a 2 x MIN20, 1 x x300 sub, 1 x azur551R receiver
2. Found that the MIN20's took a long time to break-in. Re-calibrated system after 25 hours, big improvement, repeated again at 50 hours, not so big improvement, repeated again at approx. 200 hours, another big improvement.
3. Experimented with cross-overs between 110 and 200, found best at this stage to be 110, was getting voice bleed from DVD through sub at anything higher than 110 (didn't sound good at all).
4. Found that the sub actually takes longer to break-in and after a while was able to set cross-over to 120 without problems.
4. Raised MIN20 fronts to ear hight using stands adapted from kef eggs model. Big improvement (20%).
5. Purchased MIN20 for centre before old version sells out, wanted a matched set across the front.
6. Biggest benefit with adding centre MIN20 was actually being able to raise the cross-over for the left and right fronts to 130. My receiver enables you to set separate cross-overs for each speaker set, so I was able to set the centre down to 120 and the other fronts to 130. This meant that most of the voice frequencies that go to the centre could be left at 120, avoiding the voice bleed into the sub, and music through the left and right fronts at 130. This combination works brilliantly. I get little or no directional sound from the sub. In the future I may try to lift the fronts to 140, leaving the centre at 120, but for now, system is performing like a champ.

I hope this helps others in their quest for good sound.

Colinius
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post #857 of 1431
10/17/12 at 4:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colinius View Post

1. Started with a 2 x MIN20, 1 x x300 sub, 1 x azur551R receiver

How do you like the Azur 551R? I've been doing a little research on that model (and several others) because I'm thinking of getting a new receiver.
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post #858 of 1431
10/17/12 at 4:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colinius View Post

Hi,
I have owned a MINX system for the last 9 months and have been experimenting with setup, and taking lots of learnings from what has been contributed in this thread, thanks everyone. I thought it was about time to give something back so here is a brief summary of what I have done/found to date:
1. Started with a 2 x MIN20, 1 x x300 sub, 1 x azur551R receiver
2. Found that the MIN20's took a long time to break-in. Re-calibrated system after 25 hours, big improvement, repeated again at 50 hours, not so big improvement, repeated again at approx. 200 hours, another big improvement.
3. Experimented with cross-overs between 110 and 200, found best at this stage to be 110, was getting voice bleed from DVD through sub at anything higher than 110 (didn't sound good at all).
4. Found that the sub actually takes longer to break-in and after a while was able to set cross-over to 120 without problems.
4. Raised MIN20 fronts to ear hight using stands adapted from kef eggs model. Big improvement (20%).
5. Purchased MIN20 for centre before old version sells out, wanted a matched set across the front.
6. Biggest benefit with adding centre MIN20 was actually being able to raise the cross-over for the left and right fronts to 130. My receiver enables you to set separate cross-overs for each speaker set, so I was able to set the centre down to 120 and the other fronts to 130. This meant that most of the voice frequencies that go to the centre could be left at 120, avoiding the voice bleed into the sub, and music through the left and right fronts at 130. This combination works brilliantly. I get little or no directional sound from the sub. In the future I may try to lift the fronts to 140, leaving the centre at 120, but for now, system is performing like a champ.
I hope this helps others in their quest for good sound.
Colinius

Hi,

Very interesting to read about your Crossover settings - as low as 110hz & mainly between 120hz-130Hz & using the older Min20's - My understanding from this thread was the Min10's/Min20's must be set at about 150hz as a minimum & in some cases even higher - up to 200hz?

Bazzy!
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post #859 of 1431
10/17/12 at 6:26pm
In my case, the position of the subwoofer was the determining factor in selecting a cross-over of 120/130. In my experience, anything much above 120 will generate directional frequencies for the sub which is not ideal. If you locate the sub very close to your fronts then this is not so much of an issue, and I can imagine cross-overs of 140/150 should work OK. My sub is located off to the side of the fronts (about 1.5 metres), and I find in this location 120 is tops if I don't want to hear anything coming direct from the sub. This is why my centre plays such an important role is offloading voice from the sub so I can take my fronts upto 130.
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post #860 of 1431
10/17/12 at 6:36pm
LOVE IT!
If you want to give priority to good sound, rather than flashy features then the 551R is perfect. I find it a very good match with the MIN20's and x300, but then I guess it should be, given that is all coming from the same manufacturer. I have had Denon and Kef equipment in the past and its way better than that stuff. The clarity of the MIN20 is exceptional, the only thing I would want is a little bit more warmth in tone, but what can you expect from such a small and non-wooden speaker.smile.gif I would definitely recommend the 551R (CA are you listening, I take all credit cards:p). Happy to answer any questions you may have on the 551R.
Cheers
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post #861 of 1431
10/17/12 at 6:46pm
Do you find the lack of any type of auto-EQ to be a problem? I would love Audyssey, but CA didn't including anything like that with the 551R. For what they're charging I find that rather shocking. confused.gif
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post #862 of 1431
10/17/12 at 6:59pm
I've never had the benefit of that feature in any of the equipment I have owned, so I guess i didn't miss it. For everyday use, their CAMCAS system works pretty well to help with setup. However if you want to get the sound perfect than it does take a bit of fiddling and trial and error with some settings in the receiver. For me this was a compromise I was willing to except.
Colinius
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post #863 of 1431
10/28/12 at 10:44am
Hi everyone again,

I have my walls ready for the coming of my Minx set next week! All the wiring done and hidden, a real beauty, thanks to the crafty hands of my old man, experience is a degree in itself...

But now the problem is: having my whole apartment walls painted white, most of the furniture going to be white because me and the wife wanted the place to look and feel clean, luminous and relaxing (and indeed it does), and so having ordered the Minx in gloss white, I find out now that the 400M wall mounts are only available in BLACK! eek.gifmad.gif

In fact, the most annoying thing of all is that I could find them in white on the web, (so they exist!!) basically on two online shops: Crutchfield (US) and Richer Sounds (UK). Then you can also find them on amazon, but at the end you realize that the seller is either Crutchfield or Richer Sounds. And none of them ships out of US of UK, so being here at Barcelona, a nice beautiful modern European city, I have to stick myself to four black bugs between white walls and white speakers...

Do you think I have any alternative to just having them black and painting them white myself? Do you know of any other shop in the US or UK that may ship to Spain those white 400Ms?

Thank you! I hope I'll soon be able to post some pics of the final result!! biggrin.gif
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post #864 of 1431
10/28/12 at 4:13pm
I would just paint them and be done with it. Cambridge Audio seems to have few dealers, no matter what country you live in, so it might not be easy to find the white ones.
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post #865 of 1431
10/29/12 at 2:53am
Strange thing though is that in Cambridge Audio's website (not only Spain's, also UK's) the 400Ms appear available only in black, so maybe the white stands are not made by CA...
It would be nice if someone having the white ones could tell us if they're Cambridge Audio branded or not.

Thanks!
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post #866 of 1431
10/29/12 at 7:23am
Great news! Just got a phone call from my retailer. My Minx set arrives tomorrow, and... he managed to get the 400M wall mounts in WHITE!!!

As far as I know, there's this "distributor" or "wholesaler", not sure of which is the correct word to say it in English. It would be the "intermediary" or "agent" (that's 2 more words for it tongue.gif) that links the brand, in this case Cambridge Audio, with each retailer in a given territory, and it's like the responsible of this linking in terms of delivery, product info, etc.

So when my retailer told me the wall mounts were only available in black, he was referring to the info given to him by this "agent" or "distributor", as we call it here in Spanish (distribuidor). And at the same time, I could see myself in CA's website and other online shops that it was just like that, apart from Crutchfield in the US and RS in the UK.

Now apparently, when my retailer got in touch with the "distributor" to place my order, this one told him that they "still had some 400M wall mounts in white, just in case I would like to have them the same color as the speakers..." eek.gifeek.gif

I guess all my workmates are wondering why I have this wide smile on my face on a Monday morning, but that phone call felt just great!

I'll post some pics as soon as I get them..
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post #867 of 1431
10/29/12 at 7:54am
Congratulations, that sounds great! The Minx speakers take quite a while to fully break in -- at least 25 hours -- so allow them sufficient time before making any real judgements. Be sure to come back and post your opinion as well.
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post #868 of 1431
10/29/12 at 11:12am
Thanks for the advice. Do you recommend me any particular settings / volume / kind of music or movies to break them in properly?

I guess it's better to have all of them sounding together during this break in process, isn't it? I mean even if listening to stereo recorded music, set the AV receiver to a multichanel 5.1 output, so all of the speakers "age" at the same time.
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post #869 of 1431
10/29/12 at 12:09pm
Use them as you normally would, just don't turn the volume up too loud for the first few hours. The surrounds will always be used less than the front three channels, but there's nothing special you have to know when breaking them in.

The tendency for most people is to hook up their new system and start evaluating it immediately. Unfortunately, the speakers have not had sufficient time to loosen up and won't sound as good. After a few dozen hours everything is ready to go, and at that point you'll probably notice they sound better then when you first heard them.
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post #870 of 1431
11/5/12 at 9:50am
Here they are!!!!!!!!





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