M3/open baffle tweaking

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ric

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M3/open baffle tweaking
« on: 18 Nov 2017, 03:47 pm »
Recently bought some fo.q damping sheets (Ebay) and tried them on just about everything as they are a peel and stick product. Besides putting strips on (a few tubes, transformer, pc and speaker cables, headshell) I also put some pieces on the metal frame that holds the speaker (don't know what that's called) on all four of the M3 speakers. Because I did so many areas, I can not definitively say what did what, but the already capable slam of the M3 Turbos S is even better, with more bass/mid bass articulation, authority and clarity.
Because the open baffle speaker access, this allows tweaking to areas hidden by box speakers so us tweakers have even more crap to mess with!
When I first got the M3's I found a pair of local MIT MH750 speaker cables and even though they are old, compared them with my Morrow Audio MA4 speaker cable. Even though the Morrow sounded fast and clean, the MIT's won out with just sounding right, with more of a natural, organic type of sound that to my ears proved the clear winner. Yesterday I cut open the plastic boxes that house the "interface" and wrapped the area with some fo.q product. Wow, whoda thunk? Anyway, if you're not familiar with fo.q, you can go fo.q yourself (joke) by checking out their website. For $30 or so Ebay bucks, the bang was definitely worth it. YMMV.

jseymour

Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #1 on: 18 Nov 2017, 04:00 pm »
Which fo.q product did you buy:  TA-32 or TA-102?

ric

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Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #2 on: 18 Nov 2017, 04:05 pm »
I bought the TA32. I'm sort of a newbie to the product, but my guess is that they would all work.

jseymour

Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #3 on: 18 Nov 2017, 04:12 pm »
Just placed an order for the TA-102 (1mm) for my Spatial M3 Triode Masters.  Nice tweak tip.  Thanks.

ric

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Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #4 on: 18 Nov 2017, 04:44 pm »
Let us know what you are hearing, as tweaks can be very subjective, due to the sensitivity of the listener vs. the subtlety of the tweak. I also recommend using (in my case Herbie's) some decoupling between the speaker and the floor. To my ears this works on any speaker. Good luck!

undertowogt1

Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #5 on: 18 Nov 2017, 05:12 pm »
Is it possible for you to upload a pic. I would be interested how his looks. I like the idea

ric

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Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #6 on: 18 Nov 2017, 05:55 pm »



Hope image worked. From the picture, I ended up using strips on every other "strut" just in case, but if it's just the speakers alone and not the rest of the system, try it on every strut.(?) The main point being "do no harm", and if your ears hear a difference, thats great.

mick wolfe

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Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #7 on: 18 Nov 2017, 06:02 pm »
Thx for the tip. I assume you're referring to the driver "basket" which is essentially the frame holding the driver itself. Now that's a tweak I wouldn't mind trying. Easy access and easily tunable/defeatable. Yes, pics would be nice. Thx.

who?me?

Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #8 on: 18 Nov 2017, 06:06 pm »
thx for the pic Ric. After reading about all the taping in the intro, I was afraid your stereo system looked like a mummy!

Interesting quick fix. be careful ,this technique can also over-deaden the sound, though likely on open-baffle i suppose. I was worried about vibration when I first picked up my M3Ts, they are pretty sturdy, but the design alone with 2 big heavy cones in vertical structure is not the best dampening despite the "good" rigidity. the open baffles already have more of a natural "live" sound to me due to the open baffle. if they are not sturdy, and vibrate more, the sound THEN sounds more distorted than live. just my opinion. e.g. the distortion of tubes often comes across as pleasurable harmonics, but is actually distortion.

Ric, do you use headphones/HPs? that anti-vibe foq-type substance is popular with headphone listeners who tweak their phones. E.g. me. I used a similar product to rude excessive bass in a pair of o/w wonderful Fostex HPs. it reduced the bass and brought out more detail in mids and highs.



Hope image worked. From the picture, I ended up using strips on every other "strut" just in case, but if it's just the speakers alone and not the rest of the system, try it on every strut.(?) The main point being "do no harm", and if your ears hear a difference, thats great.

ric

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Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #9 on: 18 Nov 2017, 06:58 pm »
I own a pair of sennheisors (sp?) but don't use them very often. The biggest question about vibration /micro vibration seems to be, when is vibration damping separating  too much? This material must need adhesive, it seems, in order for it to be effective. You can always peel it off, if it's effects are not pleasing.

undertowogt1

Re: M3/open baffle tweaking
« Reply #10 on: 18 Nov 2017, 07:26 pm »
Thanks for the pic. I guess if you don't want to see the dampening material at all you can add it on the inside of the basket. I may try this