Finally, after many days of glue, stinky fingers and back breaking moments, I am glad to report that the Boston speakers are working well (well is an understatement!) The time, effort and dust were all really worth its weight in gold.
When I first listened to the speakers, I lamented at the somewhat biased frequency response- the midrange was way shallow and the treble stuck out like a polar bear in the Sahara Desert.
Having been fitted with new foam surrounds, the speakers certainly exhibit less of that edgy character, and impress with their detail (more so in the treble department, there are two tweeter units as opposed to one). That said, I do prefer the Mordaunt Short speakers for music. The tweeter unit may not be as “garang” and involving as the Bostons, but the midrange timbre soothes and makes the best out of voices like Michael Buble’s.
And here is a little explanation on THX, taken from Wikepedia.
Definition of THX
THX is the trade name of a high-fidelity sound reproduction standard for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, and car audio systems. THX was developed by Tomlinson Holman at George Lucas's company Lucasfilm in 1982 to ensure that the soundtrack for the third Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi, would be accurately reproduced in the best venues.
The THX system is not a recording technology, and it does not specify a sound recording format; all sound formats, whether digital (Dolby Digital, SDDS) or analog (Dolby SR, Ultra-Stereo), can be "shown in THX." THX is mainly a quality assurance system. THX-certified theaters provide a high-quality, predictable playback environment to ensure that any film soundtrack mixed in THX will sound as near as possible to the intentions of the mixing engineer. THX also provides certified theaters with a special crossover circuit whose use is part of the standard. Certification of an auditorium entails specific acoustic and other technical requirements; architectural requirements include a floating floor, baffled and acoustically treated walls, no parallel walls (to reduce standing waves), a perforated screen (to allow center channel continuity), and NC30 rating for background noise.
So essentially, if you have THX certified equipment, you can expect a more faithful reproduction of the movie soundtrack, translating into a more cinematic experience. And that was certainly what I got- sharper swords, more explosive explosion, Hairs on end, I heard details in effects, scores and soundtracks than I missed out with conventional speakers.
The trade off: My 50watt Yamaha subwoofer, a solid piece of low note generator on its own, can’t really match up with the larger main speakers in terms of loudness and sheer conviction. The limited space in my hall means that it would be rather hard to fit a bigger (and more substantial) subwoofer unit.
And while my setup is less than ideal, I am looking forward to a widescreen TV and a larger sub to deliver a greater cinema experience at home. Till then, here are some visuals…
The huge Boston 555THX LCR -restored lovingly.
A close up of the hall setup, and my comically disproportionate subwoofer.
its finally here.
I laid my hands on some speaker surrounds from Sim Lim Tower. Armed with a container of speaker glue, here's what I am doing...restoring my beloved Boston THX speakers!
Enjoy!
The black surround foam- being coated with speaker glue
Glue is all around. Now the speaker looks wierd, dosent it?
Lo and behold, as the glue dries, the speaker looks so much better!
The restored Boston 575X dipole speaker.
There's more to come, when I move in my humongous 12 inch air mover!
Stay tuned.
Its certainly been a very long time since I posted anything here. Church's been busy procuring a new sound system in line with its renovation plan, and I've certainly succeeded in getting myself
over involved in the planning, review and research.
Well it certainly is a joy to be involved in something that you are passionate about- I believe that passion remains as your strongest driving factor.
Following my buddy's decision to move, I was blessed with a few new toys; The Atlantic Technology model 251LR speakers, the Atlantic Technology model 253c center speaker, and a Sherwood R-945RDSMKII HT Receiver.
Upgrading to an AC-3 (Dolby Digital) receiver isn't the latest trend in town, but it beats watching DVDs in Pro Logic mode. The 5 discrete channel really puts you into the middle of the action, all with greater detail and clarity. Woot.
A pity that there was some problems with the onboard DTS encoder- I'm sure I would have been offered a greater audio treat!
Finally, having a matched LCR (Left Right Centre) speaker system sounds great. For once, the frequency response is consistent- cars zooming past don't sound different as it passes through the speakers. The Atlantic Technology model 253c center speaker has midrange and treble controls, that allow you to match the midrange and treble response to your front speakers. Naturally, there was already a preset to match with the front speakers. =)
In an hour, I was watching Elektra and enjoying the upgraded, glorious sound of Dolby Digital.
Yet another turn of events. My tenants moved out, leaving me with their Boston THX home theatre speakers. It comes in matching LCR speakers (Boston 555X), dipolar surround speakers (575X) and the 595X sub woofer. Yes, this is my first pair of THX certified speakers ever, so I am very excited!
Now that the 595x sub woofer employs a 12' driver, I am so gonna have a hard time finding space for this massive low note generator in my house (freq response 20hz-80hz, +/-3db)
The catch is, the edges (surrounds) of all the main speakers have rotted away, leaving me with no bass response, and an extremely nasal midrange)
Nonetheless, I've gathered a few sites that can help anyone with the same predicament. Hope this helps.
http://www.decware.com/newsite/refoam.htm
http://www.speakerworks.net/
So much for the talk, now the visuals.
Boston 555X LCR speakers
A close up of the almighty..
The disintegrated surround thats messing up the sound...
Stripped clean and ready for re-foaming
re foaming 8 woofers ( 2 more along the way) isn't fun!
I'd be glad to report on how the restoration process went, so hang on tight!
till then,
noed resarf
Speaker placement?
This is one of the most subjective topics over, I guess. I remember a buddy's father working in the hifi line who suggested that the quality and tonal characteristics of a speaker was just but one factor. The room acoustics, and the placement of the speakers, are instrumental in shaping the sound.
I cant help but agree that it has a part to play in shaping the sound. I tip-toed my speakers a little at home and at work. By and jolly, the soundstage is much improved. Directionivity is a notch up, and for speakers whose treble are limited in dispersion, this helps to ensure that you hear clear, crisp treble.
Certain manufacturers have differing advices when it comes to positioning, but in general, here are a few tips we can follow:
1) Speakers should be elevated in such a way that the tweeter (the speaker producing the highs) should be positioned at ear levels as much as possible. This not only ensures clarity, but preserves the stereo image of your music.
2) Rear ported speakers (with bass reflex holes) should be distanced from the wall. Then again, different manufacturers have differing guidelines. Like us humans, the ports need to breathe in order to attain maximum efficiency.
True, you can park your speakers near a boundary wall and attain up to +6db of bass gain, but i'd prefer even bass that dosent kill out the other frequencies. The same trick goes for subwoofers!
3) Subwoofers: This is a tip I've gained from reading magazines. Place your sub in the centre of the room, play a piece of music with good bass content, and walk around your room. Places where the bass sounds the fullest are "nodes", and are ideal placement locations for your subwoofer. Caliberate the crossover though! A bass hump may not sound so fun as you think.
4) Surround speakers are not meant to be "in your face". They are there to add this extra acoustic dimension and theatrical ambience. Some manufactueres recommend placement 1 -2 feet above ear height. Dipole surround speakers go further and throw the sound in two directions.
And for those of you intending to set up a home theatre system, here is an article I'd like to share with you =). Enjoy.
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Yes, we all know that with good quality surround sound you’re surrounded by the music. You can hear the planes fly overhead in the military movie and the footsteps come up from behind in your favorite video game. If the intent is to be surrounded by sound, why do so many people continue to place all the speakers at the front of the room?
Speaker placement is one of the biggest mistakes in setting up a home theater system. We suppose that’s because if you plug the DVD player into the wrong place, it literally won’t work. With speakers, you can plant them anywhere in the room and they’ll still work. They just might not sound as good as they could. This seemingly small oversight could be the roadblock that keeps your home theater system from achieving it ultimate potential as a high definition powerhouse.
To deliver maximum acoustic effect, place the front speakers at the front of the room near the television with the center channel directly above or below the TV. From a seated position, you should be able to see directly into the tweeter and midrange units. If there are obstructions between your ears and these speaker units, the sound may be diffused, or you will simply not hear the high-frequency tones. Your listening position should also be approximately equidistant from the speakers.
The rear speakers should be behind the listener and pointed slightly inward toward the center of the room. Speakers should be at the same height as the listener. People frequently place speakers at the top of the wall close to the ceiling – that’s too high to sound good to the person lounging on the couch. If the speakers are too close to the walls or, too close to each other, the sound may be absorbed by the room or cancelled out by the other speakers before it reaches your ears.
The subwoofer can be hidden out of sight (don’t worry – it won’t be out of mind, you’ll be able to hear it). Just make sure it’s at least a foot away from the wall.
Camouflage the wires … not the sound
None of that sounds too complicated, so why do we have so many problems setting up our speakers? It frequently comes down to aesthetics . How do you hide those darn speaker wires? Here are some quick tricks to camouflage these behind-the-scene heroes of your dream home entertainment system.
If you’re in the process of building a new home or remodeling, consider running speaker wires through he walls, ceilings or floors. Even if you’re not remodeling, you can hire someone to install in-wall speakers to eliminate all unsightly wires. If you time it right, this small addition to the project can reap big benefits for the aesthetics of your home theater space and may even help with resale value in the long run.
If you’re renting, leasing or just don’t have the luxury of breaking open the walls, another good option is readily available at your local hardware store. Speaker cables can be run along walls and hidden in baseboards or along molding. Another option is to cover them with conduits that are painted to match the color scheme of the room.
A special type of speaker wire has an adhesive backing, making it easy to just press the tape up against the wall for it to stay in place. Then it can be painted over. If you’ve got wall-to-wall carpeting, you can run the wire under the carpet, but be careful if you have hardwood or tile floors with carpets. You don’t want people to trip.
Another option is to purchase one of the newer wireless surround-sound systems. These eliminate the need to run speaker wire from the front to the back of the room, but still require an electrical outlet at the back of the room and wiring to connect the rear speakers to a central hub.
It does take a little extra effort to get the speakers in the right spot – and have the room look great at the same time. But it is well worth it when you watch that first scary movie and you jump right out of your chair when the bad guy comes up from behind!
I know this is way toooo soon for another post, but here's something visual for you all!
Here's some itchy fingers dissecting my Bose Freespace subwoofer. I hope Bose is not going to kill me for any unauthorised "mishandling".
This bass box weighs 16.8kg and has a 100watt mono amp for the LF and two sets of 25watt amp for the satellite. Since its advent in Mos Burger outlets, I was always amazed by the bass quality of Bose. You can imagine how happy I was to lay my hands on one set. I've always wanted to own a Bose in my life.
Thanks be to God. I've yet to enter quarter life and I've got that fulfilled already!
So much for the talk. Here are some visuals.
Woohoo. So much for a visual treat ya? Be back for more. :)
Cheers.
Once again, I've rekindled my love for hifi and great sounds with the unveiling of this blog. With this, I hope to be able to share, with other like minded folks, this passion of mine and which I am eager to learn more about.
Dont get me wrong! I'm no big time hifi expert per se. Like most, I have limited knowledge of these fantastic stuff. And that's where my dear readers come in, to read, share and progress in this journey of learning and hearing. :)
So what makes a good hifi? In my personal opinion, I'd prefer for a neutral system, one that is as honest as possible. In other words, I'd like it if its not too inclined towards bloated bass, or too much treble. It should calm me when the music calls for it, and excite when the CD in the player warrants that.
There are some systems in Singapore, that in my opinion, has earned my extreme liking. One is the system located in Gramaphone @ Capitol. Its made up of a Spark CD player, a Primaire A.30 amp, and Klipsch floorstanders. I just love the bass extension of the floorstanders! The smoothness of the delivery never fails to amaze me.
As for me, Im listening to my tunes through a Harmon Kardon AVR 35 receiver, a pair of Mordaunt Short MS10i Pearls as the mains, with a Jamo Centre 70 and a pair of Kenwood rears. A Bose Freespace sub fills in the gap. The weakest link of my system has got to be my Sharp DVD player, which does a pretty great job for movies, but not for music! Tunes played through the FM receiver sounds alot better as compared to CD equivalents.
I'd be looking to upgrade my system sooon. The first to go will be the Bose sub. It a good performer, but totally mismatched to my main speakers!
So much for the first blog. I'll be back with more! Hang in there and God bless =)
