johns@utcsrgv.UUCP (David Johns) (07/01/83)
I recently bought a pair of Radian Research speakers and am very pleased with their sound. The speakers cost me about 700 dollars (Can.) and I thought they had a very british sound even though they are supposedly made in the New York area. I was wondering if anyone else has heard of this brand of speaker or are they just some house brand?
dab@iedl02.UUCP (07/05/83)
References: utcsrgv.1654 Now I've heard everything. Forgive me if you have already been flooded with mail or replies, but what, pray tell, does a "british" speaker sound like?!? Perhaps you mean brightish? Maybe so.... Oh well.
gs@mit-eddie.UUCP (Gordon Strong) (07/06/83)
I too have bought Radian Research speakers (made by Becker Electronics). I am very pleased with their sound. I listen to a wide variety of musical styles and they work well on all of them. The particular speakers I have (I have forgotten the number) have a 12" woofer, 5" midrange, a dome tweeter and a port with treble/midrange level controls. I think they can handle ~80 watts/channel. I am most impressed with their efficiency and the clarity of reproduction. I have hooked up other speakers (from friends) and switched back and forth between the different sets and mine always seem to sound better/louder at the same amp volume setting. I think I paid $380. for the pair (it was an end-of-year sale amd I knew the salesman.. they listed at 800, and sold normally for 500). They were well worth the money. Gordon Strong genrad!mit-eddie!gs gs%mit-eecs@mit-mc
gs@mit-eddie.UUCP (07/06/83)
Relay-Version:version B 2.10 5/3/83; site wjh12.UUCP Posting-Version:version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mit-eddie.UUCP Path:wjh12!genrad!mit-eddie!gs Message-ID:<402@mit-eddie.UUCP> Date:Wed, 6-Jul-83 12:40:09 EDT Organization:MIT, Cambridge, MA I too have bought Radian Research speakers (made by Becker Electronics). I am very pleased with their sound. I listen to a wide variety of musical styles and they work well on all of them. The particular speakers I have (I have forgotten the number) have a 12" woofer, 5" midrange, a dome tweeter and a port with treble/midrange level controls. I think they can handle ~80 watts/channel. I am most impressed with their efficiency and the clarity of reproduction. I have hooked up other speakers (from friends) and switched back and forth between the different sets and mine always seem to sound better/louder at the same amp volume setting. I think I paid $380. for the pair (it was an end-of-year sale amd I knew the salesman.. they listed at 800, and sold normally for 500). They were well worth the money. Gordon Strong genrad!mit-eddie!gs gs%mit-eecs@mit-mc
tom@rlgvax.UUCP (07/07/83)
I am a bit confused, when in an A/B speaker test set up at home, that
the person said his own speakers sounded "louder/better". It's
a fairly well known fact that any A/B test made at different sound
levels is UNFAIR. That is because of the fact that louder
always sounds better (unless the two speakers are worlds apart in
performance). It is a common ploy by unreputable dealers to offer
an A/B test with the speaker they are trying to push played a little
louder -- unfortunately it works, and not with just novices.
So, when demo-ing speakers, always make sure that the loudness is matched
up as close as possible.
- Tom Beres
{seismo, allegra, mcnc}!rlgvax!tomgs@mit-eddie.UUCP (Gordon Strong) (07/08/83)
No, you don't understand about the A/B comparison test. I did this at home, with my system, and the volume set at the same level. The speaker switching was done with speaker selection knob. There is no way that I'd let some rip-off store try some cheap trick. I'll never take speakers home unless I know I can bring them back for a full refund. I could care less how they sound in the store...If they don't sound good in my room, then I don't want them (yes, yes, I know about EQ and such). If you can't get the refund deal from your store, I'd think twice about buying anything from them. Gordon Strong genrad!mit-eddie!gs gs%mit-eecs@mit-mc
dsn@umcp-cs.UUCP (07/11/83)
From: gs@mit-eddie.UUCP No, you don't understand about the A/B comparison test. I did this at home, with my system, and the volume set at the same level. The speaker switching was done with speaker selection knob. If that's the case, then your A/B comparison test was almost certainly misleading. No two types of speakers have exactly the same efficiency; the same level of input to two different types of speakers will result in differing levels of output. Small differences in output level--too small to be detected as one speaker sounding LOUDER than another--are usually perceived as differences in quality instead. The only way to do an A/B comparison correctly is with a meter to measure the volume produced as OUTPUT from the speaker. When you switch from one speaker to the other, adjust your volume control so that the output level from the second speaker is the same as from the first one. -- Dana S. Nau
seifert@ihuxl.UUCP (07/13/83)
"British" speakers intentionally "beam" the high frequencies at
you, as opposed the the "American" school of thought which tries
for as wide a pattern of dispersion as possible (remember omni-
directional speakers?).
The idea is to avoid early reflections which mess up the sound.
My view is that low frequencies are going to be omni-directional
(or close to it) no matter what you do, so build the high-
frequency drivers to match. Also, I don't like having the
sound change drastically when I walk around the room. Which also
explains why I haven't gotten Carver's sonic-holography toy.
There is the alternate method of eliminating early reflections:
cover the 'speaker' half of the room with sound absorbing
material, carpet, ceiling tile, rugs on the walls, etc. Put sound
reflecting material on the other end for balance. Put the
listening chair/sofa/whatever in the middle. I haven't tried
this, but would like to some day. Has anyone experimented with
this? It was in "Absolute sound" or "Sensible sound" a couple of
years ago.
An interesting side-effect of building speakers with 'wide-angle
tweeters' is that, in the old days, when tweeters beamed
horribly, they were also much more efficient than the woofer, and
would have a resistor in series to decrease the power to them.
Now they are building 180-degree tweeters and gee, it takes more
power to cover more area! To get enough power into the tweeter
of my AR-11s, they made the impedance at 10 kHz about 1.5 Ohms,
the max impedance is about 16 Ohms somewhere in the bass region.
The speakers are rated at 4 Ohms, but your amp better not mind
driving under 2 Ohms! And whatever you do, don't parallel
anything with them! (assuming solid state, tranformerless output
power amps.)
Dave Seifert
ihnp4!ihuxl!seifertnewman@utcsrgv.UUCP (Ken Newman) (07/15/83)
"British" speakers intentionally "beam" the high frequencies at
you, as opposed the the "American" school of thought which tries
for as wide a pattern of dispersion as possible (remember omni-
directional speakers?).
Opinion: I can't stand Advent speakers. They have a boomy bass
and generally sound like garbage.
Dave Seifert
ihnp4!ihuxl!seifert
---------------------------------------------------------------
I can't let this go by without comment. Both of the above were from
separate articles by the author indicated and both are utter rubbish.
I just didn't want someone in the market for speakers to be misled by
such unjustified statements.
decvax!utzoo!utcsrgv!newman
Ken Newmanseifert@ihuxl.UUCP (07/18/83)
Utter rubbish? Golly gee, I'm sorry we don't agree on this matter, but then, that's what keeps life from being boring, isn't it? I submitted a personal, subjective opinion to the net as part of a larger article, prefaced it with the word *opinion:* to make it clear that it was *only* an opinion, not claimed to be fact. For this sin I am blasted on an international network? Is there no newsgroup safe from the cancer of intolerance? Dave Seifert ihnp4!ihuxl!seifert
ruly@umcp-cs.UUCP (08/24/83)
I am looking for speakers (up to $1000/pr.) and have listened to Mariah Acoustics LS2, Vandersteen 2c, Fuselier Model 3, Daybreak and Spendor BC1 speakers. Recently, I read about Black Acoustics speakers (listprice $850/pr.) and would like to ask your opinion about these speakers (esp. the Blackshadow) since there is no Black Acoustics dealer in my resident area (Washington DC). Thank you. Ruly Arifin Computer Science Department, U of Md at College Park.
wjm@lcuxc.UUCP (B. Mitchell) (02/14/85)
As far as speakers in the $1000 to $2000 price range go, I think the JSE-1s compare favorably to ANYTHING selling for under $3K (except that their big brothers, the JSE-2s have a bit more bass). The imaging on the 1s must be heard to be believed - everyone who has heard my pair is quite impressed. They also have execellent frequency response. All this for $920 a pair. As I've mentioned before, The $ensible Sound has a glowing review of them, which they now consider to be their "reference" speaker - they used to like Vandersteen 2Cs before the JSEs came out. Some observations based on last year's speaker search that lead to my purchase of the JSEs. Keep in mind that these are strictly my personal opinions, not those of my employer or anyone else, and you should by all means listen to the speakers with the kind of music you like - bring records with you. If the dealer allows you a trial in your listening room at home, by all means take it - you want to minimize the number of variables that affect a speaker's performance. Personally, the 'steen's have too much "presence" in the 2-5 KHz range (like many speakers made on the West Coast, they tend to emphasize that frequency band to bring female vocalists out in front of a rock group) for my tastes. I also did not care for the B&W 802 or KEF 105.xs - they did not have the well defined imaging of the JSEs The problem with Quad ESL-63s is a) they cost $3K a pair (unless you can get a good buy on a used pair), b) they can be a problem to drive with some amps - true of electrostatics in general, and c) they are not really full range speakers - you need a sub-woofer with them. However, they have superb imaging, definition, and frequency response. As for the Polk SDA concept - I'm not convinced that it buys anything, and the Carver Sonic Hologram box has the advantage that it can be switched out if you don't feel it adds anything to a particular piece of music. Regards, Bill Mitchell (ihnp4!lcuxc!wjm)
emuroga@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (11/04/85)
Anybody have any experiences with any of these speakers: Vandersteen 2C Celestion SL6 Mirage 750 I listen mostly to pop and rock but some classical and jazz. I am really interested in imaging but without sacrificing dynamics. E. Muroga