Crossovers.
Well there are differences in crossovers. I think you are trying to avoid the phase shift and veiling caused by crossovers. An active crossover won't have the same problems a passive one will- you'll find some relief there. Also they type of crossover network- butterworth, 4th order linkwitz reilly etc has a factor.
Of course for manufacturers that means another power supply case etc. unless they build an electronic crossover into the speaker. At that point they may as well build an amp into the speaker as well- .....besides you should be running longer interconnect cable as opposed to speaker cable.
Of course you'll get magnetic interactions unless you design a tall floor stander with the drivers elevated and the amp at the bottom. Lets not forget introducing vibration into the component. Ooops bettter put it back outside.
So what am I saying... it is all a trade off and we have to be careful to chose the trade off that is least offensive to our senses.
So many people are against using EQ for good reasons. A graphic eq will ussually introduce more problems than it's worth- cutting peaks is much better than boosting.. a parametric eq is better and if you are listening to digital you may as well do it in the
digital domain- parametrically.
The attitude is that everything in the signal path degrades the signal and looses something. I am not completely party to this type of thinking. I think items of high quality inserted into the signal path might not do as much damage as the problem they are trying to solve..
As for the pictured phones they look beautiful. How much $$$?
They have to be a Japan only item. Some Americans are so much more price sensitive than some of the Japanese and often buy according to self imposed price points even if it means not getting complete satisfaction. With such small houses and walls of paper (Yeah I know times have changed) headphones are probably a really big plus in Japan.
The Japanese readily accept high quality and are willing to pay a premium for a premium experience- look at their steak and fruits- all on a much higher level than USA stuff. Lots more $$$$$.
I had to buy a Nakamichi 1200 TP (pre-amp and tuner with remote Preamp and viscoelastic damped suspension) it was a Nakamichi "Special Shop" unit (with the tone controls deleted and parts upgrades) in Japan and have it changed over so it can pick us USA FM (we use the odd 101.1, 101.3 etc. frequencies) It is so far ahead of any of the car audio head units that you can buy in the USA. I know from experience if you want to buy a Japanese electronics piece in the USA chances are that in Japan there is a even higher model unit available for sale.
I wanted to buy a Sony Professional Walkman WM-D6C- but I will first check to see if there is a high end Japanese version first. Remember the Sony Bodokan walkman? What happened to these?
Anyhow Speakers will always outperform headphones at the Lunatic fringe..... but only if you position your speakers correctly.
I spent a good part of today installing a 1.2 farad capacitor in my home system to reduce voltage ripple. It really did not make much difference, but then I started going through the pieces of music I use to tune speakers and using the A-B repeat function of my Wadia 860CD player to tweak the positioning.
I couldn't have moved the angle by more than 5 degrees on either speaker. I used some pink noise to get the levels just right. Sent a slow low frequency sweep through the speakers and heard audible buzzing- traced that to loose screws on the driver of one speaker. Then several human voices again AB repeat. Very careful channel balance using a centered human voice. Then back to tuning the toe in properly. Again redo the channel balance until dead center.
So after about 15-20 movements I think ----this just isn't worth it. I've maxed out these speakers. I'm getting all I can. I refuse to think of myself as obsesive compulsive- perfectionist is the term I prefer. Well one more movement and all of a sudden it all snaps into focus. Couldn't have been more than 2 degrees of speaker movement. I had just been overshooting with each adjustment.
I played a breathy female centered singer and messed with the toe in. Too much toed in and the singer loses air and breath, too far out and the singer appears to be coming from 2 distinct sources. The a little fine tuning for getting the singers lisp just right and BLAMMMMMMMMMMO!!!! I hit it. Now I can hear new detail in so much more music....faint back up singers distinct, faint whispers, I greatly enlarged the sizer of the sound stage in depth and the whole recorded venue appearded to be more spacious, I can hear the recording engineer messing with the potentiometers (ooooh great
) but anyhow- you have to really mess with speakers to get it right.
Often the more resolving the speaker- the "more tightly it has to be "focused" with the other speaker. Its like trying to get too lasers the thickness of a human hair to intersect.....but when you do you are in business. Some speakers like many B & W 's are not so sensitive to speaker placement (which is why I do so many of these in high end systems I do for others- some "significant other" or vaccuming chambermaid always messes with placement and ruins it and B & W's won't loose as much of their sound quality if placed poorly as other speakers). But even B & W's will take this ridiculous need for tweakage to get the last 25% of the sound out of the speaker. Unfortunately some high end speakers will lose over 70% of their sonic value if set up improperly. (think Dipoles )
I've got some music playing now and I swear you would think you were in a magnificant cathedral. Every so often while typing this I hear a new sound in a recording I never heard before that adds more layer and nuance to the music- I instinctively look up from my keyboard- I love this.... it is all worth it.
I want this experience in headphones...... I've been after it since I bought one of the first Aiwa Walkman's in 1978. I've watched the quality of portables increase and then plummet. I know there has got to be a better way.
I think a pair of headphones with Nuvistors built into them would eliminate long "speaker" cables . They might prevent you from getting hit by a car at night LOL!
Keep your head toasty warm in the winter.
Anyhow years ago I had a headphone experience that was beyond my speaker experience. Then I upgraded my system and found audio nirvana. I had to sell that system 15 years later (I actually made $$$ on the deal) and ever since then I've felt like an audio orphan.
My speakers ProAc Response 1Sc's can get me some of the way there..... but at times they fall flat on their face. But it is closer than a lot of gear costing a lot more.
Headphones should be the quickest route to audio nirvana..... but I really don't think a lot of the quality is there- except perhaps at the Orpheus level. Headphones have great upper midbass- something that so many speakers seem to be lacking as many sub sats got from a 6 inch driver to a 12 inch driver. Headphones seem fuller in this range.
So if you aren't happy with your speakers- pick up one of the models I mentioned and spend forever tweaking them- you will get amazing sound- (though not with the Acoustic Energy speakers) So many variables though- how wide apart how close to the rear wall how close to the side walls, microscopic toe in and toe out. (Gotta buy breat stands as well... they make as much difference as upgrading two models). Where is the optimal listening position? And then you have to know what to listen for and why......damn its a long path and much more education is needed to reach this level than I would like to think about.
One reward though....... anyone who walks into my house always says it is by far the best sound they have ever ever heard and life like- erie how it is just like massed voices.
but then I get suckered into doing their systems.....
With Headphones I could say... Just buy this. Done.
Speakers are like raw ingredients. You can buy them but without a good chef ---- you may as well eat out.
