Speaker update

All--

Thanks for the feedback you provided me regarding speakers. I pursued two main courses of action: auditioning new speakers and making the SBLs sound as good as they should.

As a brief refresher, I was frustrated with the performance of the speakers I had on hand: a pair of Kan 1s and a pair of SBLs (S/N 45xxx, new bass drivers fitted). The Kans were exciting and communicative; the SBLs much more informative and extended but not as fun. My experience with hearing SBLs both at the dealer I used to work for and at Chris Kosters home was a constant reminder that mine were not performing as well as they should.

I auditioned a number of speakers with an eye to replacing the SBLs but wasn't convinced by any of them--most were simply bad, the few that weren't would never fit the room or the budget. I also never heard one as fast as the SBLs or the Kans. A few speakers that I tried: Dunlavy, Spendor, Aerial, B&W (I know--had to try them again), Dynaudio (pretty good), Linn, Avalon, Thiel, and Vandersteen (pretty good). Without turning this into a tome, suffice it to say none of them did what is most important to me the way the Kans and SBLs do.

Given that I had the SBLs and the knowledge that they could (and should) sound better I set about maximizing them. A call to Chris Koster suggested that the woofer opening be routed out and the woofers resealed. A visit to Chris and the woofer opening was enlarged so that the woofers had a bit of movement in the opening until bolted in. Following this the woofers were sealed with new sealant (blue stuff--forget the name). Took them home, resealed the woofer cabinets to the bass cabinets, and fired them up. Major step forward--bass was more extended and controlled, and all the music breathed and flowed better. Music also got more lively--better tunefulness. The next step was to try out a new passive crossover. This gave an improvement in the articulation and speed of the speaker. Combined, these two have made the difference between the SBLs being very good and being the 3rd most musical speaker I have heard, behind NBLs and DBLs (of course).

Suggestions--if you have older SBLs that have the new bass drivers fitted, make sure the woofer openings are routed out and that the drivers are sealed properly. Also, if you have older passive crossovers try a new set.

Conclusions--I'm keeping the SBLs. For what I want from a speaker there is nothing even close to their performance in a price bracket that I can afford yet. Ironically, right after I finished getting my black SBLs right I was offered a pair in cherry that are made from the new cabinets. So I will be getting those to replace my black ones. And after all that work !

Now if my XPS would just show up I would really be in business !

Cheers and thank you all again !

Bob–