For the FAO of stereoists

[mik]

Subtle and classy

A mere 530kg per speaker

[DeskJockey]

With the current Chromecast outage running into the second day, I'm wondering about replacing mine. They're out of support, so it is entirely possible Google just shrugs and walks away (mine are Audios, newer devices are not affected by the looks of it).

Our requirements are fairly simple: Spotify and BBC radio. Looking at the Wiim as an option, but it isn't clear how well BBC works on them. I know some of you have them, so what's your experience? We're an android household, no iDevices.

Edit: the issue appears linked to expired certificates.

[mik]

@DeskJockey I've never played BBC sounds through my stereo, but I've just confirmed that eldesk miklet's Pixel connects to the Wiim Pro via spotify without any issue (and in the same way as idevices).

[Gavster]

There's been a proliferation of very, very cheap speakers on Amazon that often have some good reviews, especially given the price. Decided to give a pair a go for my kitchen, to replace the rather weedy Bose Soundtouch 10 that I was using before.

I began looking at these, both around £60 (depending if they're running a discount or not) and the front face is about A5 in size:
Sanyun SW208 https://amzn.to/4suxzM7
Majority Bookshelf https://amzn.to/498IPWW

Then ended up looking at these larger, more powerful versions around £100 and nearer A4 in size:
Azatom Bookshelf https://amzn.to/4pv9KRM (I bought these ones)
Roxel Onyx XL https://amzn.to/4pozPSb (I did consider the standard Onyx which comes in different finishes, however a lot of reviews said their was a constant low level hissing sound and Amazon indicated that a lot of them get returned)

Arriving tomorrow and am curious to hear how they sound and if they manage to fill the space or not.

[Gavster]

Arrived today and they sound amazing (for £100), they're really warm with a full sound that fills my kitchen nicely. Kinda wondering if they're overkill and I should've gone for the smaller Majority or Sanyun's. Either way, I'm really impressed with the value for money.

First song when I hit play was Curtis Harding "I won't let you down' and it sounded just great.

[Gavster]

Hmmmm, or the smaller Azatom M3's might have done the job at a far smaller size too

https://amzn.to/4aOK5jh

[mik]

Hmmmm, or the smaller Azatom M3's might have done the job at a far smaller size too

https://amzn.to/4aOK5jh

Freq response of the M5 is (quoted at) 35Hz-20kHz, vs the M3's 45Hz-20kHz. I'd assume the low frequency figures for both are -6dB rather than -3dB readings (as otherwise they both look rather optimistic), but regardless - you wouldn't get the same depth of bass from the M3's that you are hearing on the M5's.

they sound amazing (for £100)

And at the end of the day - all that really matters is whether you are happy with them

[Gavster]

That's a good point about the response, and if I'm happy with how they sound then probably best to stick with them, they do the job nicely.

It does blow me away how good 'cheap' speakers sound compared to 20 years ago. There seem to be so many budget brands around who make speakers that sound so strong for the price point.

[Mito Man]

I was looking at those Amazon speakers a few weeks ago but I bought a Samsung HW-Q600F/XU soundbar with subwoofer for £200 when they suddenly got discounted, not to use as a tv soundbar. I wanted a discreet Bluetooth speaker but the form factor of the skinny soundbar was much more suitable for my location, and the wireless subwoofer also a bonus. As an overall package it’s way better than my much more expensive Sonos Play 5.

[GG.]

So I'm in a bit of a quandry since moving house - ironically the old lounge was almost a perfect cube so had big bass resonance issues and was below the master bedroom so anything above a mouse's fart elicited banging on the ceiling from my wife...

Now I have a room way away from the bedrooms and can crank it as loud as I like... but it sounds awful

Now I've gone from too much bass to seemingly a bass null in the listening position and lots of nasty side reflections. Part of the problem is the room is long and thin and I'm sitting half way down it so effectively I must be at the point where the bass wave reflected from the wall behind (and maybe even down from the ceiling) cancels out. Its also evident that the Sonus Faber standmounts and Devialet 120 are not sufficiently powerful for this room...

So now I have a quandry of what I can do with the listening position and which of speakers and amp I switch out first. I may even have to swap things around and move the sofa to one end and have the speakers in the middle of room to see if that helps. Maybe I need to enlist the help of a professional...

I both love and hate hi-fi sometimes.

[mik]

I'd look at your speakers before the amp (which isn't exactly weedy).

And as your wife is no longer banging (sorry to hear that), then I'd be looking at adding an active sub too.

You may still have issues unless you strategically deploy some accoustic materials of course, but at least you'll be confident there isn't an issue with adequate bass generation.

[Jobbo]

Sounds like a fun opportunity to try new kit. If you're not going to enjoy that process then just a get a soundbar

[Mito Man]

Have you fully furnished your room? Got a rug?

[Jimexpl]

mode response on long/narrow rooms is a pain.
Moving your speakers closer, with a big gap from the rear wall can make a surprising difference, but two subwoofers correctly positions is probably the answer!

Have a read of the Cedia RP22 book - all the maths is pretty straightforward.

[GG.]

Have you fully furnished your room? Got a rug?

No I do need a rug - there are going to be a lot of reflections from the in-built cupboard doors in the shelving either side of the speakers though, plus the rug won't do anything for the bass issue.

[GG.]

Sounds like a fun opportunity to try new kit. If you're not going to enjoy that process then just a get a soundbar

Ha yes it is - problem is more the $$$ it is going to involve and I have concerns that if the room is unfixable I've just chucked loads of money at something without making it better.

[GG.]

mode response on long/narrow rooms is a pain.
Moving your speakers closer, with a big gap from the rear wall can make a surprising difference, but two subwoofers correctly positions is probably the answer!

Have a read of the Cedia RP22 book - all the maths is pretty straightforward.

Are you in this area, Jim? Sorry for the memory lapse but I know someone has made posts on here about sophisticated installs, etc.

ETA - sorry, yes it was you who was helping with the WiFi query I had. Do you have details you can PM me / a website?

[Jimexpl]

mode response on long/narrow rooms is a pain.
Moving your speakers closer, with a big gap from the rear wall can make a surprising difference, but two subwoofers correctly positions is probably the answer!

Have a read of the Cedia RP22 book - all the maths is pretty straightforward.

Are you in this area, Jim? Sorry for the memory lapse but I know someone has made posts on here about sophisticated installs, etc.

ETA - sorry, yes it was you who was helping with the WiFi query I had. Do you have details you can PM me / a website?

https://cedia.org/site/assets/files/605 ... t_2023.pdf


Page 81 onwards

[GG.]

mode response on long/narrow rooms is a pain.
Moving your speakers closer, with a big gap from the rear wall can make a surprising difference, but two subwoofers correctly positions is probably the answer!

Have a read of the Cedia RP22 book - all the maths is pretty straightforward.

Are you in this area, Jim? Sorry for the memory lapse but I know someone has made posts on here about sophisticated installs, etc.

ETA - sorry, yes it was you who was helping with the WiFi query I had. Do you have details you can PM me / a website?

[ur]https://cedia.org/site/assets/files/605 ... t_2023.pdf[/url]


Page 81 onwards

Thank you - yes I downloaded a copy. I suppose effectively what you're saying is that the main speaker placement is probably never going to correct for the room modes and I'm actually better getting one or more subs. Maybe that is what I try out first. It is also going to take the strain off the amp if it is not cranking a small pair of standmounts to generate sufficient bass output.

The think that makes it doubly tricky is that the subwoofer position is also a pain as the side walls are almost entirely covered in bookshelves so really I'm limited to putting it/them in behind the main speakers.

FWIW the room is 7.5m long and 3.73m wide (though that is to the walls so it is narrower than that if you take the available floor space. I would guess also near 3m high with an additional cavity in the centre where there is a type of skylight arrangement

[Jimexpl]

Here's a simple room calculator showing problem frequencies -

https://patchify.app/tools/room-mode-calculator