Speaker stacking: what's the deal?
- Thread starter RunOutGroove
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- ads l570/2 jamo c103
Semanon
Super Member
I wouldn't worry about this affecting acoustics anymore than I'd worry about the effect of hanging a winter coat on a chair in the room. It just becomes another absorptive and reflective element with marginal impact.
just dave
vintage rules!
I would have to do a double blind A/B test. One with the coat and one without.Of course whats it made of factors in too.Is it 100% virgin lambs wool or wool from a sheep that gets around?
BTW love the avatar,the first image of a black hole,pretty amazing.
I'm not overly concerned about it, I'm just curious if the statement was specifically about speakers that were disconnected or just any other speakers in the room.
RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
Ok, so a week or so ago, I hooked up both sets of speakers and stacked the Jamos on top of the ADS. I used the I used the whole thing as a motivation to finally make up some bi-wire cables for the Jamos (which of course have dual connections) from some Monoprice wire (Access Series) and some quality seeming gold plated connectors that I ordered. In order so that the Jamo speakers wouldn't be too far away from the ideal level (and so that the whole thing might be a bit more stable), I laid the ADS speakers horizontally with the tweeters facing outward (with the Jamos placed vertically on top). And you ask, how did it sound? Well, both sets of speakers sounded good. I could hear that the Jamos suffered a bit with high end presence having to have them a bit higher than ideal listening level but much though, they mostly sounded good. Hard to really know, but it seemed like the ADS suffered more from having the tweeters a bit lower (as they were placed horizontally). The ADS are just a tad more open sounding, but when A/B'd with the Jamos it was clear to me that they're really missing something in the middle. The deep bass was being taken care of largely by my big 12" JBL sub, but the upper bass and particularly the midrange has MUCH more presence on the Jamos. Where the ADS are more open, the Jamos are considerably warmer sounding. The Jamos though the sound seems to be coming from a smaller, tighter source have much more depth in the imaging department than the ADS do.
I initially though that this setup might be nice in that I'd have choices of the kind of speaker voicing that I could choose. Hearing the two back to back like this though made me realize that I like the sound of the Jamos far better and so I dismantled this dual speaker setup thing, so now I've got just those Jamos in play. The fact is that I didn't have enough speaker outs for both of these speakers as well as my set of remotes in another room... and I missed having those hooked up. I could get another speaker switch box with more outputs, but I wasn't really feeling like I had much reason to keep the ADS hooked up for sonic type reasons and I was feeling that the whole mismatched look of them (different finishes) and the haphazard vibe of the stack was offending my aesthetic sense. Anyway, I still think that the ADS are cool speakers and maybe the among best available for what I paid for them ($175), but they just don't satisfy in the way that my Jamo speakers do (and with their plain black finish, they don't look as nice either). I'll probably sell these things, hopefully to a friend... or maybe trade them for some smaller speakers to replace by Quad 12L/2s with. Having hooked up those Quads again though, I'm realizing that the sound I'm getting from them, though not quite ideal is still very good (they have lots of detail, if not heft to the sound) and they might be improved a bit by hooking them up to some bi-wire cables that I'm going to make up with what's left of the Monoprice speaker wire spool that I have.
All and all it was a kind of educational experience and I'm glad that I did it as I now know much more definitively which is the favorite... and have learned just how different speakers can sound from one another. The one thing though that I had issue with was the plugging and unplugging of speaker cables into my Niles speaker selector box. Those little spring terminals are way too hard to get to and too close together. I think that I'm going to look for another speaker switch box (maybe one that can do another pair of speakers, because who knows?) which has real speaker posts that can take banana plugs. I was definitely cursing myself dealing with the speaker wire swapping, I tell ya...
I initially though that this setup might be nice in that I'd have choices of the kind of speaker voicing that I could choose. Hearing the two back to back like this though made me realize that I like the sound of the Jamos far better and so I dismantled this dual speaker setup thing, so now I've got just those Jamos in play. The fact is that I didn't have enough speaker outs for both of these speakers as well as my set of remotes in another room... and I missed having those hooked up. I could get another speaker switch box with more outputs, but I wasn't really feeling like I had much reason to keep the ADS hooked up for sonic type reasons and I was feeling that the whole mismatched look of them (different finishes) and the haphazard vibe of the stack was offending my aesthetic sense. Anyway, I still think that the ADS are cool speakers and maybe the among best available for what I paid for them ($175), but they just don't satisfy in the way that my Jamo speakers do (and with their plain black finish, they don't look as nice either). I'll probably sell these things, hopefully to a friend... or maybe trade them for some smaller speakers to replace by Quad 12L/2s with. Having hooked up those Quads again though, I'm realizing that the sound I'm getting from them, though not quite ideal is still very good (they have lots of detail, if not heft to the sound) and they might be improved a bit by hooking them up to some bi-wire cables that I'm going to make up with what's left of the Monoprice speaker wire spool that I have.
All and all it was a kind of educational experience and I'm glad that I did it as I now know much more definitively which is the favorite... and have learned just how different speakers can sound from one another. The one thing though that I had issue with was the plugging and unplugging of speaker cables into my Niles speaker selector box. Those little spring terminals are way too hard to get to and too close together. I think that I'm going to look for another speaker switch box (maybe one that can do another pair of speakers, because who knows?) which has real speaker posts that can take banana plugs. I was definitely cursing myself dealing with the speaker wire swapping, I tell ya...
Kind of the way I felt about the ADSs. I think they are a nice sounding speaker but am not blown away by them. That is why they left and the Nova 6s stayed. Another speaker that has been hyped over and over on AK was the Dynaco A25. I was so excited to get them and it ended up just another nice sounding speaker with a lot of bass for the size, and they are gone now as well.. I would like to try a bigger set of the ADSs and if I can ever find some close to me I will try them.
I actually prefer direct wire to terminal. I dont change stuff around more than every few months and most of my vintage speakers have wire nuts anyway. I had modern terminals installed on my Imperial 6s but still dont use the plugs.
And if you see some decent Nova 6s, grab them. I put them up in one of the bedroom systems with a Sansui G5700 and the bass amazes me for an 8in two speaker. They are damn close to the 7Bs. The Nova 6s won against the Small Advents and now the ADS 570/2s. If you find them make sure and recap them so you can see how they are supposed to sound.
Nova 6s on top of Imperial 6s.
RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
Interesting that those Realistic speakers are so good, but I don't doubt that they are. They might be one of those things that's just a well kept secret and I like the idea that there are still a few of those left. The only speakers that I might be interested in at this point are ones to replace my Quad 12L/2s, which aren't terrible by any means, but I feel like there may be something out there, something affordable even that I would like better. The only caveat though is that they need to be in the range of size that the Quads are, which is just 8" wide. They unfortunately need to fit in a very tight space.... and I suspect that these Novas are quite a bit larger than that. Still, if I came across a pair of those that looked to be in decent condition and were going for very cheap, I might have to pick them up... despite the fact that I don't have a use for them. I could upgrade those caps and give them to a friend. I'm not really even all that handy, but I'd still take a stab a simple soldering job like that, particularly if the stakes weren't too high with cheap speakers and cheap parts. It is really nice to have something that really works well that you've spent next to nothing on...
quiet
Addicted Member
Good job on taking the wall out.
The best part about working on the Novas is that the crossover panel unbolts and lifts out to work on. Two caps that are super easy to get to makes it a 25 minute job. That is all that ever needs to be done to them, the surrounds last forever.
Grab a set, recap them and listen, dont like them? You can at least get your money back. Also dont be afraid to put the whip to them.....they love power and can take a surprisingly large amount. Right now they are on the 75wpc G5700 and just soak up all it can give them...in the corners of our 20 foot long bedroom and toed in, the bass makes your teeth rattle.
Oh and the 6s were good sellers so they are still easy to find
RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
My system is up against a wall, but with a foot and a half or so of space. Not ideal I realize, but on the other end of it, there isn't a wall, but an archway type thing that opens up into another room (what would be the dining room, I suppose if I ever used it for that). I'm going to guess that this arrangement, which is essentially a double sized room is better acoustically than if there was a full wall in between these two rooms. There's probably 12" feet or so from the back of the couch that's the ideal listening spot to the wall in the next room... so I'm not hearing sound reflecting behind me very much...
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RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
I just did a search on my local Craigslist and there's an ad for a pair that the seller says are in great condition for all of $50. Unfortunately they're a 2.5 or so hour drive from where I am but at some point I could probably find a pair closer to home. Just as well though because I REALLY don't need another set of speakers! Not that this would stop me from buying a $50 pair that I thought might sound really good. What do the caps for them go for?
I think they were around $15 for all 4 with shipping and tax for the film ones. You might try Ebay as well. They are not too heavy so shipping is not a huge amount when you figure fuel cost.
I recapped about 6 sets in a month last April but I know the caps were not a lot. All you need are the fresh ones for them to sound new.
A/D/Slover
Well-Known Member
Curious about what amplifier you were using when you were not impressed with the ADS?
RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
I was using a Marantz 2270 receiver with them. It's not that I wasn't impressed by the ADS. There's something about them that's actually very nice and I can't imagine that oner could do any better for the $175 that they cost. It's just that when I was able to A/B them, I liked my Jamo C103 speakers much better. I also paid double the amount for those things and a new pair on Amazon is $1800, so maybe not a fair comparison. I did like the ADS though and I can only imagine that their bigger, higher end speakers sound even better...
I used mine with Marantz separates. They are nice speakers, but I like others more.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
In this case the juice wasn't worth the squeezing.
baeron
Lunatic Member
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