[tesseract]

Well, I did it. That was a PITA fo' sho'. Sweating, untangling wires, I kept having to remind myself, 'this is supposed to be fun, this is fun, c'mon, enjoy it...' ...

Anyhoo. The sound is better. I'm too tired to really tell how much better.

The setup certainly has serious impracticalities for living. This says, "I value good sound over pretty much every other lifestyle consideration." Hence, it may be changing soon. Fun to experiment, though. Life is short. 

Good job. Don't buy new speakers until you figure out your room. You may find you like what you hear. It isn't like the speakers you have now are no good.

Can you spread the B&W's farther apart about 3-4" each, and bring them forward a hair?

Also, can you move the couch away from the back wall a little more?

[tesseract]

If you guys can find something like this for under $1,500 please let everyone know.

- Soundfield Audio Monitor 1 and the Chase 10.2 subwoofer.


Disclosure: I am a volunteer moderator for the Chase Home Theater forum. I am also a moderator for the Home Theater Shack Forum. I make no money from audio, my suggestions in this thread and others always have the OP's best interests in mind. I am not here to push any one brand.

[srb]

You may also be getting some unwanted reflections from the front baffles.  You might want to experiment with some felt tweeter diffraction rings.  You could get a few very inexpensive pieces of ~ 1/4" to 3/8" wool felt to experiment with, and if you think they are beneficial in your situation and want something better looking, you can always get a pair of commercial precision cut ones.
 
Steve

[neekomax]

- Soundfield Audio Monitor 1 and the Chase 10.2 subwoofer.


Disclosure: I am a volunteer moderator for the Chase Home Theater forum. I am also a moderator for the Home Theater Shack Forum. I make no money from audio, my suggestions in this thread and others always have the OP's best interests in mind. I am not here to push any one brand.

Tesseract, these are AJ's monitors with the active subs built in, correct? The ones that don't quite exist yet  ?

[tesseract]

You may also be getting some unwanted reflections from the front baffles.  You might want to experiment with some felt tweeter diffraction rings.  You could get a few very inexpensive pieces of ~1/4" felt to experiment with, and if you think they are beneficial in your situation and want something better looking, you can always get a pair of commercial precision cut ones.
 
Steve

The front baffles of the 602S2 are textured for the express purpose of defeating diffraction.

[srb]

The front baffles of the 602S2 are textured for the express purpose of defeating diffraction.

Yes, and the molded baffle is not a soft material.  I owned a pair of 602 S3 and liked what the felt diffraction rings brought to the party.
 
Steve
 

[neekomax]

Update: Sound is definitely better set up this way. Listening to Chris Whitley's 'Perfect Day' album at pretty low volume, but the sound seems to have more detail, better stereo image, and decent tonal balance. Speakers are less 'there'. 

[tesseract]

Tesseract, these are AJ's monitors with the active subs built in, correct? The ones that don't quite exist yet  ?

Best ask AJ this question. He has posted in another thread that the Monitor 1's are to be placed into production very soon.

I would encourage you to continue to experiment. If you can get good sound out of what you have now, if and when you do upgrade speakers, you will already know pretty much where to place them for best effect.   

[neekomax]

Yes, and the molded baffle is not a soft material.  I owned a pair of 602 S3 and liked what the felt diffraction rings brought to the party.
 
Steve

Steve, do you have a photo or a link showing diffraction rings implemented, just curious?

[neekomax]

Best ask AJ this question. He has posted in another thread that the Monitor 1's are to be placed into production very soon.

Have you heard them? Impressions?

[tesseract]

Yes, and the molded baffle is not a soft material.  I owned a pair of 602 S3 and liked what the felt diffraction rings brought to the party.
 
Steve

The material doesn't need to be soft to defeat diffraction. But you have hands on experience with this, and may very well have heard an audible improvement.

Maybe I should have done this to my DM601's & 602S3's instead of selling them. Nah...   

[tesseract]

Have you heard them? Impressions?

No, I have not had a chance to listen. Impressions can be found here at AC, and here. http://www.stereophile.com/content/soundfield-audio

[srb]

The material doesn't need to be soft to defeat diffraction. But you have hands on experience with this, and may very well have heard an audible improvement.

Maybe I should have done this to my DM601's & 602S3's instead of selling them. Nah... 

tesseract, I know what you're saying, but at the time I believed they made the fairly bright aluminum tweeters a little less so as well as making the sound a bit clearer.
 
But soon after I got the upgrade bug and am now two speakers beyond those!
 

Steve, do you have a photo or a link showing diffraction rings implemented, just curious?

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of my 602s with them, that was pre-forum and pre-digital camera.  But here is a picture of an Onix Reference 1.
 

 
I just thought with a little quick and dirty DIY you could see if they make a difference for you.  After cutting to the desired rectangular size, I clamped the pieces to a scrap board and used a hole saw to cut ..... the hole.
 
Steve
 
 

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Neeko, glad to see you have better sound with the new room position.  By the way, we has a pair of B&W 602,S2's and sold them in favor of the PSB B'6's.  It is a more tonally balanced speaker with tighter, cleaner bass but not as forward a sound and a little less HF detail,  Definetly more air and tansparencey and a liquid midrange with no fatigue are harshness.

[JLM]

Glad we could help.  Hopefully you're on your way to finding listening enjoyment.

I'd suggest lowering the speakers (conventional wisdom says to have the tweeter at ear level from the listening position).

Around here we like the sponser brands and other direct buy brands (typically this doubles the content value).  If you do enough homework (reading between the lines on all the information on the net) you can get a good idea of what the piece is without seeing/hearing it first.  If you do miss, the cost of selling it is less too (especially if you bought it used).  And it's fun to swap gear anyway.

[neekomax]

Update: It's the morning, so I got a chance to put on some music with bass. Me'shell Ndegeocello's Comfort Woman (amazing album, by the way). Verdict: Bass lacks here. Could it be that the bay is 'eating' the frequencies below 60Hz? I'm going to switch out the B&Ws for the Def Techs with their subs as an experiment. Maybe they'll sound great there

[Letitroll98]

Have you heard them? Impressions?

I've heard them and was very impressed.  The dominant characteristic is dynamic, these baby's will rock your socks off.  Yet they still sound sweet and detailed with more intimate music, throwing a deep and wide soundstage.  You also save the cost of a subwoofer as they are included within the speaker.

I guess the best way to describe them is go listen to a KEF bookshelf speaker, then imagine what it would sound like with a much better crossover, a better cabinet, and bass that is tight, dynamic, and very deep.  All the benefits of the KEF driver, with the nasal colorations gone and the mushy bass replaced.

[neekomax]

I've heard them and was very impressed.  The dominant characteristic is dynamic, these baby's will rock your socks off.  Yet they still sound sweet and detailed with more intimate music, throwing a deep and wide soundstage.  You also save the cost of a subwoofer as they are included within the speaker.

I guess the best way to describe them is go listen to a KEF bookshelf speaker, then imagine what it would sound like with a much better crossover, a better cabinet, and bass that is tight, dynamic, and very deep.  All the benefits of the KEF driver, with the nasal colorations gone and the mushy bass replaced.

Man, are people hot on these things. I do like the integrated stereo subs in my Def Techs. As a matter of fact, I'm listening to them right now, and the bass that the B&Ws weren't giving me is definitely here with these. Soundstage isn't as defined though. Overall these are more satisfying, cause I need to have bass in my music.