Soundfield Audio Monitor 1 - Page 3

M1's and the center arrived in one piece!

Good stuff. What color did you get? I think AJ will be shipping my Cherry M1's tomorrow.

I went with the 'Upgraded' sub woofers, black Cab's, and chocolate stained front baffle. In my dim home the baffles color looks more like 'seal grey' - a blend of Brown/Grey. The overall look is neutral which blends with my decor perfectly. The stained baffle allows for a bit of contrast with the drivers and stand. Sweet.

Unless Del Cosmos posts pics no one should believe him.
Ok, how embarrassing is this, I didn't realize you were you...
I'm listening to yours right now.
Yes, shipping tomorrow.....double boxed!

cheers,

AJ

What's the upgrade if you don't mind my asking, something other than the TB? Enjoy!!

Hi Paul, he's using primarily for HT, no additional subs at the moment and so opted for the TC Epic 8's:


cheers,

AJ

Indeed... I'm still dialing them in and taming the bass. Boom boom pow up in here.

Holy crap. I actually wondered if that driver would work. Truly epic. I have a TC LMS-R 12 sub in the wings right now, a little too much for the current apartment. Been waiting to close on a short sale for 11 months (offer accepted August 2011)! I am smitten with the adjustable bass, it's just such a great feature. And when reviewers say things things are smooth, they're not kidding. They really take the nasties out of live sports and movies.

I have a camera coming soon so I'll take some pictures. In real life, the contrast isn't as apparent. The woofer logo is hardly noticeable and the baffle is dull/darker with less 'red'. Subtle and blends well.

Since people asked me for a pic, here is the best I could do with my cellphone camera. The center is huge and features two high excursion 6.5" woofers.
Due to the weight of the center, I was unable to mount it on the shelf above my TV. I'm working on a new TV stand that could fit the center in a shelf. Unfortunately only a handful have 9"+ high shelf openings.


Edited by Del Cosmos - 7/27/12 at 6:21pm

Well, that's one way to test the structural integrity of the center!
I'm almost afraid to ask how much that TV weighs....

76 lbs!

It seems to me that these speakers are supposed to sound good in a room even without room treatment. So, do these benefit from a room that is treated?

Only if you're on serious drugs or a studiophile.
Hi Richard, I certainly can't promise (and don't) they will sound good to everyone in every room. That is an impossibility.
Some folks who like to see that kind of stuff and perhaps desire a much sharper, more "studio pan pot stereo construct precision" spatial presentation/sound, might prefer some form of treatment.
I don't because I attend lots of live classical, jazz and other types of non-amplified music and prefer that sort of "realistic" presentation. I also fully understand what folks like Floyd Toole found in controlled listening tests...and exactly how to apply that to my speakers. So that show after show, event after event (including local ones) sometimes in shoebox cramped, sparsely furnished hotel rooms, potential customers in droves still find the sound pleasing. Apparently the same for customers who have purchased. At least above the Schroeder frequency. For below, I prefer treating ears to added LF sources, which will spatially smooth the LF, adding a touch of EQ if necessary.
I do think the basic sealed/active design gives them a decent chance of achieving satisfactory bass in many rooms, even used as pure 2 ch only. YMMV.

Ouch!

One of my wife's uncles was at my house today. He had no clue what speakers I have. The big ones. The small ones. Yeah.

Anyways, he decided to give me a lecture about how my room would sound even better if I added acoustic panels.
Edited by AcuDefTechGuy - 7/29/12 at 9:37am

Yes i do, would you like share some of your thought about acoustic treatment.
I do think some treatments is necessary. I live in a concrete appartment and it is small place. The listen distance is short, about 8 feet and wall to wall is 11. so i get reveneration at louds levels. So everyroom is different...

Ricardo, have you done sweeps to try and find the approximate frequency(cies) where the reverb occurs?

No, i havent, im not that technical, but i think eventually need to get into this. Im also getting a lot high frequencies refletions. Is like im in a tile room playing my spekaers but much less severe. I just moved to a new home, and my ST sound different , in a negative way. In my old place (Bedroom,) though the room was smaller, the speaker was in the right place. They had room behind and in fornt of them, so they sounded right. Also, maybe becuase i had alot of junk thats helped disperse and absorb the sound..
So what exactly is needed? So far i know is REW, SPL meter, but what else? I plan on getting mini dsp 2.1 with parametric eq, which also works with REW.

Thanks Cschang for chimming in.

Here's my thoughts. Not every room needs acoustic panels. Most decent rooms just need soft sofas, carpets, rugs, curtains, drapes, books, etc.

Before people deck their walls with rows of panels, they should measure their room response first.

A lot of extremely knowledgeable people including AJ don't use acoustic panels. You won't find acoustic panels in the homes of Siegfried Linkwitz and Dennis Murphy either.
Edited by AcuDefTechGuy - 7/29/12 at 8:55am

So is this new room much more open? Do you have the speakers closer to the walls? What kind of floor is it? Are there a lot of windows?

Like ADTG said, measure the room. Looks like you have the right equipment to do so.

I don't have much sound treatment in my room. Just some home made sound panels and heavy curtains in the front corners of the room. These made a noticeable difference in the lower frequencies which I was trying to tame.

Measuring the room is key... Just try and fix obvious problems if they exist.
Edited by Del Cosmos - 7/29/12 at 9:40am

Agree, i will do some measurements to see if that back up from what im hearing..
Thank you

Yes, moving to a new home and the speaker audio stuff are going first.
I think the problem is mostly concrete walls, short distance from wall to wall, and tight space. L shape multiroom 11.5x19.5. Im residing in Asia not in the US now. The sub are in the corner. The speaker can be pulled from walll about 16 inches but faces ashort listen distance. Well, i will get the rew stuff going to see whats is going on, it is going to be fun just need to make some time.
By the way, does any brand ew spl meter needs to be calibrated? I have heard that they need calibration, i thought i could just use them right out of the plastic package?

Agree on the measuring first. I measured my room by clapping, my ears heard "ping". So I treated lightly.

I think the decision to use treatments depends on the room. I have a non symmetrical room and sit closer to the back wall that I would like. I will be adding a few absorbers to correct these obvious faults, and using room measurements to guide the process. I will say that I have never felt the need to treat any other room I've had a system in, my current room is just that difficult. This has also guided my choice of changing to constant directivity speakers.

Sure is fun listening to the SAM1's while typing this.

I just talked to UPS to reverse the charge they pulled on me regarding the M1s.

Anyway, so yesterday I got an email from UPS saying that I was being charged $33 because "I REPORTED DAMAGE TO THE M1 SPEAKERS"!

They said that I personally called them and reported damage and that they attempted 3 times to come to your house to inspect the 2 boxes!

How bizarre is that?

So I told them I never did SUCH THING!

So they reversed the charge but their only explanation was that I MUST HAVE CALLED AND FILED THE CLAIM!

Is this the Twilight Zone or what?

Audiogon charged me commissions for selling two amps I never owned, listed or sold. Their justification was that I must have done it because they charged me.

Wow. Un-freakin-believable!

I would say is room depedent. I did not use any absortion panels in my bedroom and it sounded great. Im moving into an apartment with concrete walls, im pretty sure something needs to be done way before the speaker were in. Even my wife complainted about the echo she was hearing. For now i think if i dont use any treatment then i would say the speakers needs to be in a new spot.