If you want the best bang for your buck, buy 2nd hand every time, buy high end speakers of a couple of decades ago and they will sound better than almost all mid-high priced ones now, inflation has sent new prices rocketing, poor value now.
I’m a big fan of sealed boxes, I’ve always had difficulty with ported speakers, the only speakers I’ve got to work in my current room were Naim SBL, Proac Tablette 10 and currently have Falcon LS3/5a.
Ported good if you can move them 1/3rd of the way into the room, closed boxes theoretically have better bass transient response, but you are never gonna get full range without a sub.
Very helpful and informative video! Excellent advice for different speaker types ( sealed, front ported, rear ported etc). I’m looking forward to the next video on speaker placement. Hope it will come out really soon!
Of all the speakers I have owned (too many), it’s the first set I owned - AR18LS that I wish I could own again. Sadly I threw them away when the bass driver foams rotted away. I didn’t know you could refoam them. Later, after getting the hifi bug again, I learned you can refoam them, bought a few used pairs of models higher up in the range, but it’s the 18s I still miss. I have Proac in my main system now.
Thanks, helpful video. Love my AR18s, great fun and certainly hold the listeners attention. Do you refoam yours yourself? Managed to do mine with some gear from a firm in the Netherlands. Oh, Mission Freedom 5s also have a bottom port that vented through pillars between the speaker bottom and a base plate. The instructions say to place them within 30cm from the wall.
@@cheshireaudio I'm sure there are others who offer foam for the 18s... but those chaps state it's for that particular driver. I put a lot of effort into cleaning the rim of the cage/basket before glueing on the new foam, i think it pays off. I also remove as much glue as possible from the cone edge, so the new foam is almost perfectly flush. I don't remove the coil covers though, I don't believe there is any need as long as you thoroughly test for rubbing before gluing the outside edge. My brother has one of those REL q something subwoofers... he thought it was destined for the tip... I asked him to check the foam... tah dah, job done. He was so pleased and such a small outlay. He did buy me a rather nice LP for my efforts.
I just bought a pair of new in unopened box discontinued RX3's. I'm really looking forward to setting them up in my all Rega system running through my new Elex mk4. I am also running a Rel tx9 sub. I'm hoping it will be as good as it was with my old R5's. Thanks for posting! 😊
Brilliant video thanks, Phil. Just had a tweak and reposition of the Wilmslow Audio LS3a Plus speakers in my office and it's made a huge difference to the cohesiveness of the system and the music seems to come from everywhere rather than "hearing the speaker". It's lovely!
I notice you left out Di-pole Radiators; namely Quad Electrostatics. I have a pair of the ESL 57's and they need to be about a metre away from the wall, to breath properly. Trouble is, my living room measures 4 m by 6 m and the layout of window; door; storage heater and power sockets, means I have them firing across the narrow part of the room, whereas, they'd work better if they fired down the length of the room and were against the walls, but at 90 degrees to the walls. I did try to rearrange my room - several times - but eventually returned to the current situation. As a result of the above, they dominate the room; more-so because I have them on stands, to get them up off the carpet. If nothing else, that gives a better sound stage and tone and helps the Bass, which as you will know, doesn't go very low on ESL 57's - 45 Hz; however, as my ears are now 74 years of age, that's not a bad thing, especially given the types of music I listen to. Early Music - anything prior to J S Bach; Folk and World Music; some Jazz and Choral works, all of which benefit from the range of the 57's. - 45 Hz to 18 kHz. They are especially good for female voices. Anyway, that's for this video and looking forward to Part Three.
I had inherited from my parents speakers as a kid. I remember buying Public Enemy’s second album and having to stuff the speakers with socks to stop them vibrating. Great days. Etc
Another informative video. My set up is in our open plan kitchen dining area as that's where I spend most of my time, my question is on the sweet spot of a room as I won't be stationery and moving around so will this have any bearing?
many thanks for your comments ... you may need to experiment a bit, but generally firing to speakers straight down the room (ie no 'toe in') gives a bigger sweet spot
Just picked up a pair of AR18s for $50 USD. Can't wait to try them out, after hearing a lot of good things about them. You mentioned sealing them to get the best sound out of them. What product(s) can you recommend to seal them? Great video. Some of this stuff you covered here I learned from my grandfather and from a recording engineer friend of mine, so it'd good to get a refresher as well as hearing some new tips and tricks I've never known. Great video.
Amazing to see those A&Rs in your mix. I once had the 18s back in the 80s and what big open dynamic performance for the size. Think I had them powered with a Nad 3020 and Dual 505 TT. But those speakers are so memorable even today. I’m now digital with a Naim system and Monitor Audio bronze 5. But I do miss something in the sound from the past years especially with turntable set up. My best system a long time ago was the high end Linn LP12, and Naim based separates with a 250 Nap power amp and Linn Saras - Happy Days!! Thanks for the reviews and happy to subscribe to your channel.
cheshiraudio,thank you for this very informative video of different types affordable speakers. I can`t speak for all your subscribers but your videos are amongst my most eagerly awaited,maybe you could do comparison videos on turntables & phono stages/pre amps,due to the fact vinyl has hit a new highths over the last few years - when you get some spare time of course,I hope the shop is booming with customers &/or orders.
That’s really nice of you, thank you... phonostages is a great idea, lots to talk about there :-) there will be a few days delay before I can get part 3 out... but hopefully mid week next week
I don’t have any panel speaker available to show at the moment... when I had Magnaplanars they worked best about 6 feet from the wall, which is about 1/3 of the way up the room
If you want the best bang for your buck, buy 2nd hand every time, buy high end speakers of a couple of decades ago and they will sound better than almost all mid-high priced ones now, inflation has sent new prices rocketing, poor value now.
Don't listen to this it all depends on where the wife say's you can put the speakers 😂😂👍
sad but true :-)
Clever man... Happy wife, happy home! 😅
Not a single kevlar or carbon fiber cone speaker. I know id be a customer if i was English :)
I’m a big fan of sealed boxes, I’ve always had difficulty with ported speakers, the only speakers I’ve got to work in my current room were Naim SBL, Proac Tablette 10 and currently have Falcon LS3/5a.
Ported good if you can move them 1/3rd of the way into the room, closed boxes theoretically have better bass transient response, but you are never gonna get full range without a sub.
Very helpful and informative video! Excellent advice for different speaker types ( sealed, front ported, rear ported etc). I’m looking forward to the next video on speaker placement. Hope it will come out really soon!
Of all the speakers I have owned (too many), it’s the first set I owned - AR18LS that I wish I could own again. Sadly I threw them away when the bass driver foams rotted away. I didn’t know you could refoam them. Later, after getting the hifi bug again, I learned you can refoam them, bought a few used pairs of models higher up in the range, but it’s the 18s I still miss. I have Proac in my main system now.
I did exactly the same and also miss them the most.
Thanks, helpful video. Love my AR18s, great fun and certainly hold the listeners attention. Do you refoam yours yourself? Managed to do mine with some gear from a firm in the Netherlands. Oh, Mission Freedom 5s also have a bottom port that vented through pillars between the speaker bottom and a base plate. The instructions say to place them within 30cm from the wall.
Yes, reformed a few now... and Missions. Not a particularly neat job on this pair - usually buy from the guys in Holland too
@@cheshireaudio I'm sure there are others who offer foam for the 18s... but those chaps state it's for that particular driver. I put a lot of effort into cleaning the rim of the cage/basket before glueing on the new foam, i think it pays off. I also remove as much glue as possible from the cone edge, so the new foam is almost perfectly flush. I don't remove the coil covers though, I don't believe there is any need as long as you thoroughly test for rubbing before gluing the outside edge.
My brother has one of those REL q something subwoofers... he thought it was destined for the tip... I asked him to check the foam... tah dah, job done. He was so pleased and such a small outlay. He did buy me a rather nice LP for my efforts.
I just bought a pair of new in unopened box discontinued RX3's. I'm really looking forward to setting them up in my all Rega system running through my new Elex mk4. I am also running a Rel tx9 sub. I'm hoping it will be as good as it was with my old R5's. Thanks for posting! 😊
Brilliant video thanks, Phil. Just had a tweak and reposition of the Wilmslow Audio LS3a Plus speakers in my office and it's made a huge difference to the cohesiveness of the system and the music seems to come from everywhere rather than "hearing the speaker". It's lovely!
I notice you left out Di-pole Radiators; namely Quad Electrostatics. I have a pair of the ESL 57's and they need to be about a metre away from the wall, to breath properly. Trouble is, my living room measures 4 m by 6 m and the layout of window; door; storage heater and power sockets, means I have them firing across the narrow part of the room, whereas, they'd work better if they fired down the length of the room and were against the walls, but at 90 degrees to the walls. I did try to rearrange my room - several times - but eventually returned to the current situation.
As a result of the above, they dominate the room; more-so because I have them on stands, to get them up off the carpet. If nothing else, that gives a better sound stage and tone and helps the Bass, which as you will know, doesn't go very low on ESL 57's - 45 Hz; however, as my ears are now 74 years of age, that's not a bad thing, especially given the types of music I listen to. Early Music - anything prior to J S Bach; Folk and World Music; some Jazz and Choral works, all of which benefit from the range of the 57's. - 45 Hz to 18 kHz. They are especially good for female voices. Anyway, that's for this video and looking forward to Part Three.
I had inherited from my parents speakers as a kid. I remember buying Public Enemy’s second album and having to stuff the speakers with socks to stop them vibrating. Great days. Etc
How can Neat Iota be so small !?!?!?! I thought my Rega Alya were small but wow, these make Royd Minstrels look huge !
My DyneAudio’s came with foam plugs for the ports. Sounds horrendous.
Another informative video. My set up is in our open plan kitchen dining area as that's where I spend most of my time, my question is on the sweet spot of a room as I won't be stationery and moving around so will this have any bearing?
many thanks for your comments ... you may need to experiment a bit, but generally firing to speakers straight down the room (ie no 'toe in') gives a bigger sweet spot
Omni-directional speakers may work..
Interesting and educational.
A cone acts like a transformer.
Just picked up a pair of AR18s for $50 USD. Can't wait to try them out, after hearing a lot of good things about them. You mentioned sealing them to get the best sound out of them. What product(s) can you recommend to seal them? Great video. Some of this stuff you covered here I learned from my grandfather and from a recording engineer friend of mine, so it'd good to get a refresher as well as hearing some new tips and tricks I've never known. Great video.
I’ve always used clear silicon sealant... not to much, just a thin bead . Check that the main driver surrounds are ok
Amazing to see those A&Rs in your mix. I once had the 18s back in the 80s and what big open dynamic performance for the size. Think I had them powered with a Nad 3020 and Dual 505 TT. But those speakers are so memorable even today. I’m now digital with a Naim system and Monitor Audio bronze 5. But I do miss something in the sound from the past years especially with turntable set up. My best system a long time ago was the high end Linn LP12, and Naim based separates with a 250 Nap power amp and Linn Saras - Happy Days!! Thanks for the reviews and happy to subscribe to your channel.
That was such a popular system, Dual Nad AR :-)
cheshiraudio,thank you for this very informative video of different types affordable speakers.
I can`t speak for all your subscribers but your videos are amongst my most eagerly awaited,maybe you could do comparison videos on turntables & phono stages/pre amps,due to the fact vinyl has hit a new highths over the last few years - when you get some spare time of course,I hope the shop is booming with customers &/or orders.
That’s really nice of you, thank you... phonostages is a great idea, lots to talk about there :-) there will be a few days delay before I can get part 3 out... but hopefully mid week next week
great video thank you!
What are your thoughts on the q acoustics concept 40 floorstanders??
I am an agent for Q Acoustics, but don’t really do much with them... they are actually quite good though
Those Ophidians would be spot on size wise for my room. Might have to book a demo.
Ron, Just let me know ... they sound much huge, not sure how Gareth gets so much scale out of them
@@cheshireaudio Much huge i like that a new audiophile term , i might pinch that :)
what about panel speakers placement?
I don’t have any panel speaker available to show at the moment... when I had Magnaplanars they worked best about 6 feet from the wall, which is about 1/3 of the way up the room