What are the other reviewers hearing with the $250
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- Опубліковано 5 лип 2024
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Which do you think is better these or the studio 530 bookshelves by JBL? Thanks man
I really enjoyed your review Erin. I actually bought this speaker early on before i started my channel. I thought the midrange was great and the top end was awesome. Tracy Chapman made me poop my pants. Love this speaker.
Thanks, Randy. I like Tracy Chapman as well... but I guess if she makes you feel that way then you'd definitely want a fast car to get to the bathroom ASAP. :)
@@ErinsAudioCorner nailed it
@@ErinsAudioCorner 🤣
@@ErinsAudioCorner a fast car with cheap audio
Any suggestions on a cheap amp to pair with these speakers? Want a 2.1 set up for my tv that has a remote! - Thanks
I agree with you on the crossovers. You nailed it 100%. "If you are going to modify your crossovers, just buy a better speaker to start with."
Or diy. It will be cheaper. If you have a tools to measure drivers and knowledge to build better crossover why not build something yourself?
I'm impressed with the Emotiva! A nice little speaker at a very interesting price point. But I'm just as impressed with you, Erin. You're single-handedly building a platform that's already one of the best sources for in-depth no-nonsense info on speakers. Kudos! Incredibly valuable work. Please do keep it up.
PS Bonus points for an oiled-up Drago and Balboa.
Thanks, man! I really appreciate the kind words. And... Yo, Adrian!
Thank you Erin. This was excellent and so well done. I loved hearing the data with the subjective reviews. I am always listening trying to figure out what I am hearing and the data gives it a name. Watching this made me think about my omd mirage speakers and how they would measure.
Interesting information on the Emotiva B1. I've been considering these but what other near field speakers do you think compete against and possibly might be better or for me to consider? Thanks
Love the new format of trying to join the dots between subjective opinion and measurements. Glad you mentioned how to pronounce "axis", I've head so many reviewers say "access" that i started to think it was just how Americans pronounced it.
It's pretty bad, but it's still not as bad as "etc" being pronounced "ECK-set-tra". :-)
Great review and analysis! Dig the Hoffman frame in the background too!!
I was trying to figure out the make of that bike! Thanks Big D!
Thanks man! Hoffman Taj frame FTW! Baby blue!
@@reserva120… whatever. 😎
Thank you so much, Erin for everything you do.
I would like to have more details about the verification with the accelerometer, I would like to try to do something similar, without Klippel .... Which accelerometer did you use? how did you apply it? Did you also test with systems other than Klippel?
Thank you very muchr
I'm very happy with Emotiva products so far. I purchased 2 amps and they run solid! I'll be ordering a pair of the B1+'s after seeing this review.
Great review Erin - love all your 80's/90's references - that t shirt is awesome!
You’re killing it man! Love the format
Always great to see when another objective reviewer has data the meshes well with your own. Much respect my friend.
I am curious about the accelerometer that you used on the side of the B1+ cabinet - where did you get the device, and how did you get the measurement / waterfall graph? Thanks!
Great idea for a new type of review that I haven’t seen elsewhere!
What amp/ wattage did you use? Is it the same that you use for testing all passives?
Agree that 400usd per pair for upgrades maybe over the top , but replacing cap on the tweeter , resistors , and coils if in direct signal path will make a difference that you can not measure, tonality, detail , soundstaging and other resolution aspects will improve once junk electrolitics are gone and resistors are non inductive with copper in signal path.... All if it will cost , say 50usd per pair and is well worth it on such speaker .
Erin, did you measure the drivers individually? It appears to be either a 4th order filter on the woofer, or a 2nd order with a notch filter? The tweeter seems to be 2nd order.
Any alternatives around that price range you prefer? My plan rn is to buy these, receiver, and sub, then eventually move these to surround and upgrade to tower speakers, thanks for any response!
Very nice .. I like this theme of reviewing the reviews for aligning the words to some data .. This is great !!! Love it.
Glad you liked it!
Can you get the Magnat Transpulse 1500 speakers? They are quite popular and have some bold claims. Now that they have made it to the US. Something I definitely want to consider. Curious how they measure. Its rare to find speakers that do both at sounding good and measure well.
Great review Erin. Really liked the new style
Great review bro, like how your including various subjective opinions and comparing then to actual data....awesome job bro!
I appreciate that!
A couple of the 3-way Emotivas have a resonance in the 1K range and adding some fiberglass insulation to the back wall behind mid woofer knocked it out. The polyfill wasnt doing much on its own. Curious if the same issue is happening here with this model as well. 🤔
Hi, Erin. Would you recommend these over the pulk xt15 or xt20? I generally like neutral speakers that respond well to equalization. I'm going to mainly use them for near field listening. Sorry, I know you have the data out there for people to see but the problem is that I'm visually impaired and it's impossible for me to properly see the data for myself. I noticed that these speakers you're reviewing in this video have a similar price range to the xt15s from Polk and I know that the xt20s are more expensive but just wondering in what order would you put these three speakers in your objective and subjective opinion. I am also a verse to harsh high frequencies and find them very fatiguing, very quickly, more than most people I would say.
I personally would use these, yes.
Great review as always
Hello Erin. Love what you are doing here! I am very new to the audiophile realm. I recently bought an Emotiva TA1 integrated amp and a set of these B1+’s. I only use this stuff for music in my little 10’ x 12’ office, not tv sound. Could you recommend a small sub or two that would do the job of coloring in the bottom a little? Thank you in advance…!
Nice work on the resonance investigation! May I ask what accelerometer you’re using? I was looking at the Yost Labs kits a while back, but open to other options.
I honestly don’t even know. I’ve had this one for well over a decade now and long since gotten rid of any packaging.
@@ErinsAudioCorner well that’s a damn long time, so no worries! Those units I mentioned are pretty cool, if you’re ever in the market for more. Fun things to have in the workshop drawer.
FWIW, I like the format and discussion of other reviewers' feedback for comparison. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome, thank you!
I had the zeros and the mid was scooped. The tweeter sounded great and the bass was very good.
Thank you, Erin, for sharing so much of info and "real data" through your channel. Appreciate it! Helping us to make intelligent decisions based on these.
One of the better reviews I've heard. Excellent work!
Appreciate that
Can you please measure and review the Dynaudio BM5 MKIII active monitor speakers wich dont have much in dept reviews like yours but I think they are very good speakers for the price cheers
According to their website, cabinets are made of HDF not MDF. Maybe it’s just a bit too thin. No complaints from me for only $250. I just bought two pair for surrounds. My LCR is going to be three T zero or T1+. Moving away from my 7 klipsch towers.
Thanks for the great review! Would you take the B1+ over the Monolith B6 if the price was the same or vice versa. At great prices they can come in about the same.
I think I'd lean toward the B1+.
I wonder if dynamat applied on the walls of the speaker would help (?).
Cabinet is made out of HDF, I have a set, and just confirmed on emotivas site it is a complete HDF box
Interesting. I was told MDF. Oh well. Point stands, though; they need thicker paneling or more dense. Thanks for the correction. 👍
What accelerometer was used in this video?
Is the B2+ worth it over the B1+ in a small 10'x13' room, I'm also debating about the c1+ or c2+
New Emotiva B2+. Not Quite What I Was Hoping For...
ua-cam.com/video/NEFvCIQSb-Y/v-deo.html
Great review Erin, love the addition of other reviewers comments, so would you say this is the best passive speaker so far that you have reviewed the would be good for surround duty? I need to buy five pairs so am not looking to spend a fortune.
Not sure I'd say it's the best for sure... but I don't think I'd have any issue recommending it for that purpose as long as you use a proper crossover.
Would you say that stuffing the port would take the F3 above 80Hz? In Europe its 325€ :(
I like this new idea or format, pretty cool.
Good to hear!
Спасибо за тест и обзор!
I just picked up a pair of these my amp is getting so hot! Im driving them with a Sony receiver with 90watts x2 with a sub going on 12 gauged copper wire. Never had any issues with my previous speakers. Anyone got any ideas why these are stressing my amp so much, even if I run them at like 20% power the amp gets hot and if I go to 40-50% power my stereo it smells and gets really warm.
Looks like a nice speaker at its price point if you can set it up accomodate the dispersion characteristics of the tweeter.
May be worth trying out some Dynamat to damp the cabinet.
I like the comparison to what other reviewers heard. Hearing ability ( I can't much above 14KHz @ 70) and room setup can really influence that greatly, but those are real life factors, so it helps provide a clue as to how sensitive a speaker may be to setup.
Thanks! FWIW, I actually did apply a square of CLD to the sidewall but the result didn’t change.
Often reviewers for audio dont know what is possible. You have heard some of the best, you know what the best sound like and on top of that have the technical chops. I would trust your input over 100 random reviews. You demonstrate with every video why you should be respected. You are professional and take measurement into your own hands. Frankly this level of reviewing for speakers should be the standard. This is the level you need to take it to make informed opinions about any speaker, good or bad.
Wow, thanks!
Does anyone prefer a differed bookshelf speaker in the $250 range?
what if you lined the inside of the box with butyl rubber sound deadening, i bet that would do the same thing to remove some of that resonance without having to redesign the speaker... just a thought
Nice one. I got the ELAC Debut B5.2 instead of these, and think they’re better. Especially horiz and vert response
I absolutely love my original B1s
I’m 15 and getting the t2+ and c2+ with the emotiva three channel basX amplifier for Christmas. That’s just my front stage. I’m looking to pick these up some time after Christmas along with dual monolith 10’s for subs. Great review and I love that shirt👌🏾
How are you liking them so far?
Great Analyse
A real good review 👌👏
Thanks. 🙂
Just add strategically-placed bracing to mitigate objectionable cabinet resonances.
Great lighting in this video!!!
Thanks, dude! Now, if I only I could do something about my face.... :D
@@ErinsAudioCorner botox!!! We can go together!!!!!
Stupid question, can adding Dynamat inside the baffle eliminate the 1khz to 3 khz bump?
I tried that. Didn’t help. :/
@@ErinsAudioCorner Thanks for the answer mate.
@@ErinsAudioCorner , what about plug port with foam?
I've got the Emotiva T2+. A few years ago, I spent quite a bit of time comparing it to the Infinity R263 tower and JBL 570 tower. In order, I preferred the JBL > Infinity > Emotiva, but all 3 are very close, and I think average preference(with other people)will be pretty even. I own the Infinity and Emotiva, and I held the JBL for a month for a friend. I thought all were very good speakers for the money. I think the 3 way Emotiva center channel is one of the best values out there. 3 way centers are imo a necessity, as 2 way centers(even the Revel C25) have off axis lobing problems, which essentially ruins their purpose.
B sounds like horns, without the kind of eq correction i would apply to those particular speakers. But i like the soundstage best. Sounds live and present and immediate.
Spinorama looks really good!
Indeed. Better than I expected.
nice review.
Get a threaded rod to fit across the interior with four nuts to fit. Guarantee after wedging, tightening those nuts, and applying some construction adhesive, side panel problems stop. forever. Should cost about $5.
Interesting tip. Do you position the rod in the middle or downwards toward the woofer?
@@stevenholt5484 CAUTION!! DON'T OVER TIGHTEN. You want firm, not holes or bulges.
To minimize resonances that are caused by buzzing side panels, pick a spot that is NOT centered in any of the subject panels. You can play with the location prior to gluing if it doesn't stop harmonizing to the music immediately. PIA maybe, but it's a hobby. The reason I suggest a threaded metal rod is it doesn't change displacement much, is easily variable in length by applying a metal file or saw blade. Do not place the rod in the precisely mirrored position. It actually can tamp down sympathetic vibrations further by placing the brace off-kilter. The available surfaces will be further divvied up into non-conforming, non-identical 'skins', thwarting what is annoying. Glue when you are finished around the ends.
I have no idea as to why this is not employed on 'bargain' speakers, let alone SOTAs. Your cabinet materials can be cheaper but still, give a decently rigid platform. Some of the open baffle designs could use this to stiffen that baffle with structural triangles which should interfere minimally with the 'openness''.
Have fun.
I am running away from the audiophilia-induced manias and am about to replace my aged receiver with a FINAL one with a terminal game system as principal feed. I sit 7 1/2 feet from a 4K 65" screen. I am unable to make out pixels at 4 feet. Why do I need or want 8K Resolution with the attendant demands? What are they going to introduce by way of 'better' acoustic formats? My enjoyment is not based on the presentation as much anymore (I'm old.), more as to how I am affected. I'm thinking about an old Stereophile interview of John Lee Hooker. The sole device for playing music in his home was (It's an old article and this part may not be precise.) a clock radio with a built-in cassette player. The interviewer of course had to ask why so cheesy. He heard the music in his head, not through his ears. That is our moment of Zen for today.
@@dennisbohner6876 thank you!
Great video. Thumbs up! Love my Emotiva B1+s. I wonder if some No-Rez lining the interior walls would help with the 1K resonance? I've got mine in a bedroom system paired with the Emotiva SE8 subwoofer and SVS Soundbase amplifier. The sole source is an Alexa dot playing Amazon HD music. This speaker is my goto recommendation above the Sony SSCS5 and ELAC B6.2.
Thanks! I tried CLD on one of the walls and it had no effect.
Oh man, this is awesome! I have almost the same setup. The only difference is I'm running a 250 watt RMS Dayton Audio 10" sealed subwoofer. I have really been considering the SE8 as a replacement because the Dayton is kind of old. I'm concerned about decreasing the woofer size from 10 to 8 inches though. How does the SE8 sound paired with the B1+s?
@@RdandTrk1 I think it sounds great. It was easy to integrate and and I only have the SE8 amp up about 1/2 way. It is punchy and never sounds like it lacks bottom end on any popular
music.
@@jeffsloane8628 Thank you for taking the time to reply. Have a great day!
Seems like they might have placed the bracing at the wrong height.
Dividing the box in 1/2 and 1/4 wavelength of the same resonance.
It's likely the only option.
With a horizontal window brace, one's forced to place the bracing between the two drivers.
It's essentially the only option;
- drivers c-t-c need to be as tight as possible
- baffle face as small as possible
- depth determined by tuning volume
- rear has the vent above, the input cup below
The only option is where it's placed.
Also, cabinet panel excitation isn't as intuitive as one would think. Such cabinet energy may be excited via physical means (reactionary forces transferred basket to baffle), rather than acoustic resonances.
@@FOH3663 yeah its hard to put it lower. But maybe no brace would be better. Or if theyd used just a square ”bar” that could have been placed in another place.
Just saying that they might be able to improve performance without adding cost.
@@magnusdanielsson2749
Yeah, I'm guessing they're always looking... but still, they're likely pleased, because it's solid performance for the price.
@@FOH3663 Yeah for sure it does look to be a nice speaker. Even better than many expensive "high end"-offerings.
I appreciate the primarily objective approach you take in your reviews. If you were selling speakers in a store, you would take customers to hear different ones and decide for themselves which they subjectively liked best. In a UA-cam video, the best one can do is to speak in more objective terms and supplement that with what they specify is their subjective impressions -- just as you do.
Cheers
Axis: Bold as Love!
It is labeled as 8 ohm, it is measured to be 4.8 ohm, with low sensitivity, most AVR will not able to drive the speakers to good potential
damn maybe this is why my amp is getting killed. If I run thinner wire would that help?
@@chrisschuele4743 thinner wire will not help. Either play @ low volume or get a better AVR (any AVR with MSRP above $1500) or an amp that is stable @ 4 ohm.
@@swllz Been using it with a box fan on top of the AVR and the temps stay below 80F is that still bad?
@@chrisschuele4743 May be ok for AVR's temp, however, the AVR still output's near square waves instead of sine wave's.
These B1+ have too less bass for me, at least what I heard via sound demos on UA-cam. I have this problem with many of these small bookshelf speakers. The problem with such cookie jars is that, according to the manufacturer, they are usually part of a speaker system and are therefore usually not intended for solo use in most cases. The least you can do is add a matching subwoofer, and if you're lucky, then it all sounds a bit rounder. To me, a bit bigger three-way bookshelf/floorstand speakers often sound much more balanced, even in the bass range.
Particularly true of Klipsch r-41m and r-51m. I actually dig some of the Polk Monitors and XT line. Natural rich deep bass.
My recommendation is to avoid any speaker manufacturer who pays for sales references, and gives samples for testing like Emotiva, Klipsh, and Polk. Buy a beatique speaker, or something that has to be purchased, and where companies do not give samples, like Paradigm. The reason they do that, is because they don't need the PR, and offer a generally superior product.
I own the T2+ and C2+ Emotiva speakers and would love it if Emotiva sent you those to test. I never owned any speakers around this price point to compare them to but I thoroughly enjoy them for both Movies and Music (Stereo). I see a lot of people recommending the B1+ as their main L/R as long as they have a subwoofer but I've never understood why, they have the T0/T1/T2 speakers which I would imagine perform a little bit better than the B1+ for further listening positions. If I could afford to send you my speakers to test I totally would but hopefully the day comes when you get your hands on them, love your reviews as always!
Not everyone wants or has the space for tower speakers.
@@loveracing1988 That's true! I think if you're in a position where Tower speakers wont fit in your Theater setup then you probably aren't sitting far away from the speakers to begin with.
@@Kamric68 or like me I don't have a dedicated theater. My setup is in my living room and I have no floor space for speakers.
@@loveracing1988 I don't necessarily have a dedicated theater, I have my setup in my living room as well. I guess it just depends on what furniture you prioritize for the space. For me I keep my towers relatively close to my TV area while remaining about 9 feet a part. Regardless of your setup though I wouldn't be cranking these lower efficiency 4ohm speakers too high unless you have the power to back it up but then you also have to consider dynamic range concerns at higher DBs that was mentioned in the video. Towers typically are more sensitive but you can get away with bookshelves by just sitting closer which results in less DB/meter of power.
I love your shirt!
Well, it is also axes, plural, right? ;)
Great video. But nice bike frame.
Besides Audioholics you’re my go to UA-cam and internet audio source for competent and unbiased reviews
Some people really like a boosted high end. They "hear" clarity, more resolving, and a cleaner sound. But in the end it is not neutral or right.
Why do people like those custom resin baskets better? I've had 2 different brands break from dropping everything else was fine. Ill take stamped steel until they use better material
👍👍!
For $179 a pair, get Monolith Encore B6
"Woven fiber" is almost always fiberglass.
It's cheap and works well.
At this price point, I can almost guarentee it's not carbon fiber.
Neumi BS5 explicitely states that they use a 5" glass fiber woofer and that goes for $110 a pair usually.
Which begs the question. If glass fiber cones are so affordable. Why are they relatively unpopular compared to paper.
I think paper is the cheapest cone material possible although I'm not gonna pretend to know about cone material prices. But it seems to me that glass fiber is the best of 3 worlds for me and probably the most jack of all trades cone material: Cheap, stiff and doesn't ring on beakup like metal cones making their implementations in a speaker more forgiving.
Makes me wonder also if the MCM 55-3550 is glass fiber, rather than the carbon fiber they claim considering newark sells them at $38 each. And has a cast basket which I can only assume is more expensive than stamped.
Paper works really well for speaker cones.
Many people prefer it (as do I) some of the most highly regarded speakers through history are paper cones.
Many high end speakers use paper perhaps with a lamination or matrix of another material.
Musical instruments are made of wood, paper is made of wood fiber.
Maybe this is a ridiculous correlation, but who knows?
If you charge $2000, the audiofools will buy them thinking this is a premium box! Measure Measure and Measure!
I really like your reviews but it seems like everyone that reviews an AMT call it a folded ribbon tweeter. It is a pleated diaphragm not a folded ribbon. This may confuse people about a true ribbon tweeter.
I LOVE sound of AMT and ribbons. This speaker is crazy good for under $300 pr. Wanna spend more Wharf 4.1 $800 pr. Or if you want audio heaven Quad S2 $1200 pr. Any of those NEEDS a sub...
It's a 5 1/4 what do you expect. It's got noticeable bass is more likely correct terminology
Ok
This speaker is awesome
It’s ridiculously cheap
It’s practically free
I don’t see how Emotiva makes 1 cent
These speakers are amazing if any sound comes out of them
But these actually sound amazing
Please review the Emotiva XB2🙏🏻
Feel free to email them on my behalf. I've asked many times.
Not to call anyone specific out, but those parts are often called 'cheesy', and that's about all they can be called because there is no evidence that parts costs makes any difference when like for like in parts measured value. There is a REASON why distortion measurements are not mentioned in these parts upgrades, as it would make Swiss out of their cheese claim.
Evidence?
I've performed experiments, dabbling in various parts spec, I've encountered what perhaps can be characterized as latent hysteresis or time constant like smearing of the signal.
I'm aware of biases that may corrupt my decisions, but some examples seemed quite clear, and seemingly repeatable.
@@pike3685
I've seen that work, it's been around for awhile.
I'm convinced, by that I mean there's no question about parts quality of identical value sounding different.
In this price range and drivers used, I don't think it would make sense to go with better crossover parts if no substantial improvements are achievable, especially the ones we can measure. Why spend more on x-o parts than on drivers themselves? Then, I bet GR Research and his followers, would automatically condemn the crossover to hell, including the binding posts and wiring, because they don't represent his boutique style quality. If regular SCR or similar poly caps and iron cored inductors are OK for expensive Focals, Revels, ATCs, then they should be good enough for any other product.
these b1+ should be compared to the Sony SSCS5 3-Way and klipsch rp-150m
If you want a better speaker yes you can buy a better speaker but you will be surprised as to the cheap build for a more expensive speaker. Just build your speaker with the tweeter and woofer and crossover you want and you’ll be better off
I rate it: doesn't get hard out of 10
I believe these are made of HDF.
Yea. Someone mentioned that. I replied below.
“Doesn’t get hard” bwahahahahahahaha 😂😂😂 oh lawd
🤣🤣🤣
I can only find this at 400€ (!) in europe. Sh|t
lol I'm listening again. I don't want to be a dck, I'm on yt a lot and I don't understand why the sound is so unpleasant here.
Keep up the great work. I always look forward to your videos. I'm gonna have to hear a pair of these sometime!
BTW, thank you for the "axis" and "access" comment. Also their, they're, there. Your and you're. It's and its. Spelling of definitely and disappointed. And others.
And can you please announce that "etc" IS pronounced "ett-set-tra" and ISN'T pronounced "ECK-set-tra".
OK. I'm done.
They are made from hdf
Those electrolytic beer cans gotta go.
A $230 speaker getting analyzed like its worth $10k.
fa ova thuhhhty yeahs
we've designed and built
saahb woeuffres
I hear Made by Uighurs
There some thinks that confuse me, because, how can somebody make a review based on data...some gear have better sinergy than other, have to consider cables, amplifiers, DACs, the quality of the recordings, the placement, the reflexions, the fact of a gear have or not made is burn...i don't see you saying what gear you have used and in what condicions....all that data makes me belive it isn't a honest and true review that you're given....!
Sure. Because someone’s opinion and sales/marketing regurgitation is more honest than raw data. That checks out.