One harbeth near the wall....

[piergj]

...wich model, between the Compact or the SHL5 ?

I have a pair of Stirling ls3/5a V2 wich sound too rounded on the bass - mid bass area. the position is near the wall (30 cm...) along a wall of 4 metres. One speaker have one corner near at 1 metre or less...

amplifier : Luxman L 505F or a valve Luxman sq38U last serie. cd player : Jolida Music Van (Chinese version of the Lua Cantilena sel)

i love jazz music e the "voice" of saxophones...

Do you think that i will suffer again in the bass area ?

many thanks from Italy

Pierluigi

[kittykat]

Imho, smaller speakers like the ls3/5a’s have physical limitations which affect the sound more than larger ones like the bigger Harbeths. Most small speaker constraints are quite well optimised (in relative terms) but nevertheless still compromised as a package (as a generalisation), with roll offs and an elevated response at around voice frequencies (in the case of the ls3/5a), which might be the softness you describe. Rogers came out with the AB1 subs to patch up the bottom, so it effectively became a pair of floor standing speakers in volume. The Celestion SL600’s were similar, small speakers and the patch was a sub.

I would get the biggest speakers you and your room can afford. I fell into the mini monitor trap of the 80’s with a pair of ns10M’s & then the ls3/5a (and much later again response 1’s). The small speakers im familiar with never ever gave the fulfilling, effortless, unrestrained, balanced and unforced sound of a well designed domestic size (as opposed to mini monitor) loudspeaker.

Pierjg, I’d first borrow any pair of larger speakers and try in your environment first to see if it fixes your problem.

[A.S.]

... I have a pair of Stirling ls3/5a V2 wich sound too rounded on the bass - mid bass area. the position is near the wall (30 cm...) ....

Before you rush in with a new speaker choice, I'd suggest that you really try and understand what's going on in your listening room. Small speakers are not normally known for "too rounded in the bass". So this implies to me that the position of the speakers (against the wall) has greatly boosted the bass you hear. If that is so, then any of the bigger Harbeths - which have more bass than the mini-monitors - will give you a bass that's even more boosted.

I strongly recommend that you try to identify which part of your problem is the room itself. Then you must decide if/what you can do to treat the room or reposition the speakers. Is it possible you could take a picture of your speakers in-room and share it with use here? I think that collectively we can help you achieve the best from your room.

What speakers did you use before the Stirlings and how did they sound in the bass?

[do_Ob]

Totally agree that you should look at your room first before deciding to purchase a new speaker. I had issues with uneven bass response in room and have rectified these with acoustic sound treatment.
I suggest that you either DIY a bass trap panel or purchase the commercially available types. The advantage with some commercial bass trap panels is that they employ a resonating membrane which helps with low frequency absorption.
I have also tried DIY and found that I made a broadband absorber and these are ok for use at the 1st reflection point, however these are not as effective compared to one using a resonating membrane.

I also use a Luxman amp and these Luxman amps do have great bass characteristics.

[garmtz]

Placement of the speakers and LISTENER (!) in the room affects bass response even more than bass traps. Just walk around in your room and hear how the bass changes. This is due to the nature of standing waves, which are i every room.

[piergj]

[IMG][/IMG]

Before you rush in with a new speaker choice, I'd suggest that you really try and understand what's going on in your listening room. Small speakers are not normally known for "too rounded in the bass". So this implies to me that the position of the speakers (against the wall) has greatly boosted the bass you hear. If that is so, then any of the bigger Harbeths - which have more bass than the mini-monitors - will give you a bass that's even more boosted.

I strongly recommend that you try to identify which part of your problem is the room itself. Then you must decide if/what you can do to treat the room or reposition the speakers. Is it possible you could take a picture of your speakers in-room and share it with use here? I think that collectively we can help you achieve the best from your room.

What speakers did you use before the Stirlings and how did they sound in the bass?

...many thanks.

i have two rooms and two different situation.

One is for the "audiophile moments2 with a Lux valve amp, with many Analog gear (two step-up, two phono stage and 4 cartridges ;-)...the speakers are Dynaudio 1.3 SE with Dynaudio stands ...and the room position is auio-grade. Off the rear wall, in central position in the room.

But the second room , is our living room, with tv, dvd etc etc.

i have a pair of Stirling (wich now i use with a pc and dac for a near-field listening in the long evenings) and the positions of TV set and speakers are near the wall. There is a sort of triangle for the video-listeners (a sort of home theatre in stereo channel only) and the Luxman L505-f is very huge in the bass frequency.

the problem , i know, is the near wall position. About dampings or similar can i find a solution with a good Waf ? And in the productions of harbeth there is a model wich less suffer the near position wall ?

Here it is...


Pierluigi

[garmtz]

the problem , i know, is the near wall position. About dampings or similar can i find a solution with a good Waf ? And in the productions of harbeth there is a model wich less suffer the near position wall ?

I am sorry to say there is no alternative for placing either the listener or the speakers away from the wall for less pronounced bass response. The P3 will suffer least from placement near a wall, as it has the least (deep) bass to begin with.

[honmanm]

Sorry if this seems like a silly suggestion, but can you (a) live with the bloated bass when watching TV (b) reposition the speakers for your listening sessions?

One of the nice things with mini monitors is that they are light enough to "live" near the walls and be moved into the best place for serious listening. You can mark the "listening session" position on the floor using pieces of sticky tape.