To bass or not to bass - Ovators S-400

Very difficult to say without swapping the loudspeakers room to room. I found the SN2 struggled a bit with the revealing nature of the S400 hence the move to 282/HCDR 200.

The bass with the latter is plentiful, tuneful and beautifully integrated.

G

Or swapping the amplifiers...

SN2 or 282/HCDR/250. Not a fair fight...

Room interaction is soooo unpredictable. S600 sounded really poor in the same room and position that allows the S400 to sound superb.

G

I will move the Ovators over the weekend, but since their Wife-Acceptance-Factor is virtually non-existent, they will most likely end up in the music room anyway

S-400's are light on bass. Or should I say they don't extend. You are hearing them correctly. 

James L posted:

S-400's are light on bass. Or should I say they don't extend. You are hearing them correctly. 

Not in my room.

G

Hungryhalibut posted:

Or swapping the amplifiers...

I agree with HH - the true test here is swapping the amps and keeping the speakers as the constant in the room. Swapping speakers is the lazy man's way out, though might provide some lateral insight. That said, I wouldn't consider some tweaking of the speaker position (once the amps are switched) as cheating .

Will do some tests - various options - over the course of this week and will revert with findings.

Adam

GraemeH posted:

James L posted:

S-400's are light on bass. Or should I say they don't extend. You are hearing them correctly. 

Not in my room.

G

Everyone has a different idea of what constitutes "good bass".  The 400's are -3dB at 36Hz, so subsonics will not be there. Also, if room geometry is creating peaks and nulls in the mid-bass, any speaker can sound wrong.  It's always been a case of YMMV...

Like Graeme, I got lucky with the 400s in my room. The output from the twin bass drivers is punchy, dynamic and very clear. On even my oldest jazz recordings, the standing bass notes are easy to follow. My trousers may not flap with modern electronica, but I don't feel that I am missing much in terms of musical communication.

ATB.

Hook

That's actually a very good description of Ovators that Hook just posted - they are very clear and punchy.

I found S400s very tight and punchy on the bass, but little excitement overall in the end. For me they performed at their best with higher frequencies especially when upgrading the front end, vocals especially sounded tremendous. 

I'm unsure as to why the S600 (300 252) produced 'less' bass (by quite a margin) than the S400 (200 282) when positioned in the same spot in the same room...There must be science behind an explanation.

G

Frank F posted:

Adam, if you need bass listen to Linn Isobariks or Saras.  I have a pair of Saras in Warsaw driven by 72/HC/250.  I also sometimes use Quad ESL63s for total lack of colouration!!  Either way the bass is clear and extended.  We will be in Waw later in the year if you want to listen?

FF

Frank - with pleasure. Drop me a line (email is in my profile) when you start planning your trip to Warsaw.

Adam

GraemeH posted:

I'm unsure as to why the S600 (300 252) produced 'less' bass (by quite a margin) than the S400 (200 282) when positioned in the same spot in the same room...There must be science behind an explanation.

G

One factor might be the 282.  I've twice found it seems to give a (pleasing to me) emphasis to the bass as compared to the 252. Not suggesting this characteristic is accurate but to my ears it is more enjoyable and fun.

Mike 

MDS posted:

GraemeH posted:

I'm unsure as to why the S600 (300 252) produced 'less' bass (by quite a margin) than the S400 (200 282) when positioned in the same spot in the same room...There must be science behind an explanation.

G

One factor might be the 282.  I've twice found it seems to give a (pleasing to me) emphasis to the bass as compared to the 252. Not suggesting this characteristic is accurate but to my ears it is more enjoyable and fun.

Mike 

Thanks Mike.

G

A short update.

Speakers were out of phase!

Traced it to incorrectly assembled NACA5 cables (got them 2 weeks ago) - one of the cables had black and red plugs (a speaker end) swapped around. Grrrr...!!!!

Also took the time to re-dress the system with Power Lines. Sounds like black velvet now (if velvet could actually emit sound, that is ).

Smile is back.

Adam Zielinski posted:

A short update.

Speakers were out of phase!

Traced it to incorrectly assembled NACA5 cables (got them 2 weeks ago) - one of the cables had black and red plugs (a speaker end) swapped around. Grrrr...!!!!

Also took the time to re-dress the system with Power Lines. Sounds like black velvet now (if velvet could actually emit sound, that is ).

Smile is back.

Excellent Adam!

G

Adam, are you going to swap the speakers/amps just for the sake of form?

Of course. 

Must test this option as well.