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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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In Reply to: Any speaker kits that sound good at low volume? posted by mer on October 24, 2000 at 15:51:37:
The conventional wisdom is that ported designs sound better at low volume levels, while sealed box designs need to be cranked a bit before the sound jells. Horns and electrostatics are considered the most uniform in response from one volume level to the next, because their diaphram motion is very small in relation to the amount of sound produced. A cone speaker is more in need of being 'tuned' or tweaked for best performance in a certain SPL range, somewhat like a sportscar engine that sputters below 2500 rpm but really takes off above 4000 rpm.
That won't help your brand selection any, but maybe the generalization will help you narrow your choice. The Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble and Ensemble II, designed by "audio legend" Henry Kloss, are on sale for $399 and $250 respectively, from HiFi.com. The Ensemble II 3-piece at $250 (free shipping both ways!!!) is a super deal. The bass uses a bandpass enclosure, and the satellites are smaller than shoeboxes. They should sound good at low volume. If you don't like it after 45 days they pay the postage back. If there's a better deal I haven't heard of it. And if you move the system to the playroom later, you will notice that the system can play LOUD as well, without distortion. The Ensemble got a good reveiw in Stereophile, but they shy away from talking about it because it's sold mail-order direct, and the showroom retailers don't dig it. OOPS - it's not a kit. Oh well. Maybe you can build your own 3-piece for under $500. Thanks to car audio, there's no shortage of big woofers for cheap at Circuit City and similar outlets.
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Follow Ups
- Re: Any speaker kits that sound good at low volume? - phenderson 10/27/0016:54:21 10/27/00 (0)
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