Speaker stands..

Hi,

I bought a pair of jmlab cobalt 806 speakers recently for my bedroom, and (me being the idiot I am) paid no attention to where they were going. I made space for them on my chest of drawers (ikea aneboda) and realised they sounded awful. The bass wasn't totally there and the treble was. They put out the very low bass but no punchy bass. Now I'm not convinced the speakers are to blame because I stuck one of them on the floor and left one on the drawer. The bass sounded a bit better, and the treble was tamed a little but still no good. So I put them both on the floor (carpeted floor) expecting the bass to appear, but now they sound worse than before! I don't understand why.

I'm thinking of buying some stands, but I don't understand why they would make a difference (Though I always read they do). Can someone please offer me some advice/tips on how to improve the bass?

Thankyou

 

Get stand high enough so in your listening position the tweeters are at ear level.

The work beacause they allow the speaker to operate from a rigid stable platform and sink cabinet energy away from the drivers. They do other things but in simple terms they allow the speakers to operate at there best.

As to which type a lot depends on how deep your pockets are !

 

I use Target MR70's. As Target now supply direct, they are good value for money.

What electronics are you using?

JMlab speakers are known for being a tad bright and explicit in the treble regions. You may have a poor match if your electronics are also bright in nature or lacking in bass in the bass department.

 

Hi,
Zanash, is cabinet energy when the speaker shakes from the movement of the woofer? How does it normally affect the sound?

technobear, at the moment I'm using an eltax dvd player (old crusty thing, soon to be replaced with a squeezebox3) as the source going straight to my Audiolab 8000lx.
I've had a better listen today and I've found that I've been sitting in the wrong place when listening. I sat further back, right up against the back wall and the speakers sound pretty good! The bass and treble starts to balance out, but I think it could be better.

The target MR70's are a bit too rich for my blood, I'd like to spend upto £50 for some stands. Is there a good set in this price range?
Thanks

 

Sorry, forgot the link: http://www.targetshop.co.uk/

They do a model at £55.

Also at about that price is the Mission Stancette:



And the similar Atacama Nexus for about £60:

 

yes no maybe.....any from any source if that makes any sense.

 

I would expect the Squeezebox to be a bit or a revelation after your DVD player. I haven't heard that particular model but most budget DVD players play CDs as an afterthought and are not awfully good at it. A lack of bass weight is not a surprise.

However, Audiolab amps always had a reputation for being quite explicit, analytical, even clinical. In the right company this could be a good thing and some good vinyl systems were built using these amps.

JMlab speakers also have a reputation for explicitness and for being a bit on the bright side of neutral. As you have found, you can adjust this a little by careful positioning.

You may find that the Squeezebox 3 will restore enough balance to your system to give you a good result and sound far nicer into the bargain.

Let us know how you get on.

 

Zanash, I get what you mean, thanks for the info.

Chris, I'll be over the moon if the Squeezebox is better than my dvd player. It's a tough one to beat however as it supports dolby pro logic!
Now to the stands.. The Target ones look ok, a bit thin compared to the Atacama Nexus stands though. Are Alphason's any good? There's a pair in Argos for £30 here: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5343418.htm
anyone used these before?

 

There could be a number of reasons for the lack of bass, but whenever you move the speakers near a room boundary you would expect to hear an increase in bass. So speakers sitting on the floor should have more bass, they will sound awful but they should have more bass, is that what you experienced? It could be that you happen to be sitting in a null, where particular bass frequencies happen to be cancelled by the effect of reflections in the room.

Try moving the speakers around and change your listening position to see if you can get some improvement in the bass. You will also get best imaging from your speakers if they are positioned symetrically in the room, not always possible I know but try to avoid one on a shelf and one on the floor.

I wouldn't expect radical bass improvement just by putting the speakers on stands but you should get a more even frequency because they will me moved away from other boundaries and the tweeter will be at ear level. Have a dig around on google there are lots of articles about speaker placement that you might find useful.

M

 

Those alphason stands will be ideal. Don't fill them with anything though as this kills the music imo. I am a big fan of JMLab speakers (take a peek at my system) and I think you will be bloomin' surprised when you hear them on proper stands...
Where do you live? If you live in the north west I could pop round and have a look if you like.

 

Hunt around for the JMLab stands, you might be lucky and find a pair on sale at a dealer or on their web page.

I now the guys at Noteworthy Audio they often have some good deals:

http://www.noteworthyaudio.co.uk/Offers.html

 

Hi,
Muttondraw, yep, the speakers do have more bass on the floor, but not much articulation to it (boomy). Still, I've left them both there as after I changed listening position they sounded better than on the drawer (where the tweeter was above ear-level anyway- too harsh).
Alex, lovely setup you've got there! Very s****y (edit: how can you star out the word s w a n k y!!?) I've decided not to get the Alphasons that I linked to for fear that they may 'ring.' I've orderd a pair of Nexus 6's instead after reading a couple of reviews. I'm quite a few miles from the NW, I think I'm classed as a south midlander (recent move has left me disorientated) so it'd be a bit of a journey for you. Plus, it's not such a crisis as my first post made it sound like. After listening for a while from different positions I'm starting to see some very good points to my setup (main one being that it's very detailed) and I'm sure when I get my stands and squeezebox and set it up properly it'll sound a load better.
ListeningEar, I did have a look for jmlab stands, and I think I found some too but they were over-budget.
Thanks

 

Hi everyone.
I got my stands (Nexus 6) all set up in my room. They look pretty cool and the sound from the spoeakers now is... lurrrrvly! I approve (am a bit shocked too at the difference they make!)

Specifically, the balance of the sound has fallen in place. Treble doesn't sound exaggerated - okay maybe it's a touch "out there" but that's just the way the speakers are- and the bass bumps along nicely. It goes low and sounds clean. The punchiness to the bass that I said was lacking/non existant has now turned up making hip-hop sound alot more like it should. Midrange has also come out a bit more, it all sounds very good!
Still not perfect though. Some of the more complicated electronic music I listen to sounds a bit confused when the volume goes up. Not ear piercing, but happily loud and then it goes a bit pear shaped/distracting. I hope that's due to my dvd player being ****. I still haven't ordered a squeezebox yet, but will do so now. I just get that "cheapskate" feeling that the price is going to drop as soon as I get it! lol

Anywho, thanks for convincing me to get some stands. Shame on me for doubting their usefullness!