I have moved my very old unserviced Klimax (not with Katalyst) and old unserviced 552/500 and B&W 802 speakers to a new room. The sound is very hard and almost brittle. The only difference is that the spiked speakers are not on just the Mana sound stage, with a melamine top but on a piece of marble on the spikes of the Mana sound stage. Could this be the reason? The room is different but not obviously so. Is putting the speaker on the marble perhaps to blame? Hard work but of course can take them off, and put them on the sound stage like before or onto the floor with protectors for the spikes? I attach the picture:
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It would make sense to just put the speakers on the floor, otherwise you won’t know what is doing what. It is not a good idea to use the speakers so near to the corner - they need space around them - nor to have the speaker wire piled up in a heap.
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As an 802 owner myself I would definitely try them directly on the floor (with the spikes in the floor protectors).
Richard
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Lose the marble and maybe the mana, then let them settle for a week before doing anything else. That else could be reintroducing one element at a time but possibly a better bet would be playing with position, it looks like you’re corner loading at the moment.
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The 802 and 803 do very well close to boundaries and corners. This was a deciding factor when we bought ours. As always, each room plays them uniquely and once you change the room you are back to square one.
Unless the speakers are loading or strangling a particular frequency (or frequencies) due to the size and shape of the room, small changes to positioning and tow in are likely to make noticeable changes. It is likely that a couple of sweet spots will be found.
As stated multiple times up the thread, they will probably stand the best chance of performing optimally if placed directly on the floor. The downward firing ports are expecting the floor to be a certain distance below them. Jacking them up kind of defeats the object. But then again, when it comes to different rooms…
Patience and persistence will pay.
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Thank you all so much, I have done all this ( moved speakers and on the floor direct via spikes and protectors ) and little difference, so I think it may be largely the room, but I hugely appreciate your help.
The “room interface” is the hardest part to get right. That’s not just from me but a comment from Mike Valentine at last years Windsor Show. I am surprised the sound is brittle. 800 series speakers need a quality source, but I expect you know that! The 800 Diamond tweeter is one of the best there is. I could understand if you had too much bass as the D1 and D2 could be fussy in positioning and need an amp with “grip” which the 500 has. It will be ever “grippyer” if you have the DR upgrade to 552/500. Becomes a 750! D1 and D2 are more fussy in being close to walls and corners. My D3s in 99% of LPs/CDs is excellent in the bass. The 1% I put down to the recording. Stillpoints are worth considering. I take it the room has sufficient soft furnishings to mop up any excess treble?
If all else fails get the dealer who supplied your amps and 802s involved. Its in both your and their interest to get things right. You have a big investment in quality hi-fi. Your system should sound really great.
Douglas.
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Have checked all you cabling is back where it used to be, speaker cables have not been inverted by mistake.
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I’m decorating the lounge and with the wallpaper stripped and the curtains gone my 252/555 802’s sounds brighter. Could just be the room coverings…
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Hi Ross, Assuming we are looking at the left speaker, it looks like there could be a lot of glass between the two speakers. Is that the case with shuttered windows? If so, how does the room differ from the one you previously had the set in? ie, was there glass on the wall behind the speakers then too?
I admit I thought it was going to be the marble slabs. Too easy.
C.
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I think that it may well be
Thank you. Having taken the advice on board I have moved the speaker further away from the sides and it is better. ALSO I THINK THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A LOOSE CONNECTION TO ONE SPEAKER, THE BASE DRIVERS. This has helped a lot!! Thank you everyone for your help
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Hi Ross,
I use the 802D2 and 804D3.
In my experience, both speakers can sound a bit bright in modern rooms with little damping, such as a stone or wooden floor, flat walls and glass surfaces. I made my speakers sound much nicer by some acoustic measures including curtains behind the speakers and some carpets on the floor.
The now retired Head of R&D from B&W told me that one of the difficulties that speaker manufacturers have is: in what type of room will our customers use our products? He mentioned that B&W tunes their speakers to the average British home with quite some dampening material such as curtains, carpets and sofa´s.
Good luck!
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