Do folks use these speakers with a sub? Or just by themselves? Talking to dealers on the phone, they recommend against these as not having enough bass…
From what I’ve read here, most people don’t use a sub with them. I have no first hand experience with them but I do with the D2R’s.
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I don’t use a sub with mine. They sound great with a Supernait 3 and NDX2, but I wasn’t happy with them on a Nova, where they really lacked bass. So a lot will depend on what you drive them with - with the right electronics and on good stands and close to the wall, bass is very tight and fast and surprisingly deep for something so small. Many modern speakers are far too bassy for me, but then I prefer quality to quantity.
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The size of the room is quite relevant too.
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Not having enough bass for what? My room is: 21m2 with a 3m floor to ceiling and there’s no shortage of well integrated tuneful deep bass.
The front end is important too of course, but get that right and the Tab 10 Signatures sound far bigger than the laws of physics suggest they should.
You need to try them at home.
G
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Drooling over the Ebony finish with those copper-toned phase caps…
If they’d upgrade the logo typeface one day, it would be the icing on a truly lovely sonic cake.
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Obviously depends on the music one listens to. Good as they may be, they can’t help but have a significant drop down of deep bass, notwithstanding many reviews’ ridiculous claims of 30 or 35 Hz without publishing a -dB value. It’s bordering on being fraudulent actually, and I don’t know where they have it from, I found no measurements in any review. Though many say the value came from ProAc’s specs, but when I look there, I see 55 Hz, which is more realistic, but is also given without a -dB value. Assuming -6 dB at 55 Hz (as that’s a pretty common way to state the lowest limit), that’s missing a significant part of many kinds of music - though not all, and for certain kinds I’m sure they are a good match.
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I have them in both systems. One is NAC N172XS into a NAP180, the other a Unitiqute into a NAP100. One thing they do not lack is bass. They’re tighter than a snare drum and exceptionally fast.
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I also don’t use a sub and I think there’s plenty of quality bass.
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Hey at least they updated their website!!!
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It’s interesting to remember that the original Linn Kans were often criticised for having no bass. Usually by people who had heard them in very much sub-optimal circumstances. In my room at my parents house, which is where I mostly had them, they were actually verging on being a little bass-heavy!
I’ve always been fascinated by the Tablettes ever since they were introduced many years ago. One of those speakers that was very much on my radar but somehow I never got around to listening to for one reason or another. I suspect I would be bowled over by them.
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I’ve had the opportunity recently to listen to a few different pairs of small speakers paired with a nap 250 and appropriate pre/source. Speakers were ATC scm 7’s, Roger’s ls3/5a, and some older ATC’s, not sure which they were. This was a really good experience for me as there is so much discussion on here about smaller speakers. This has had me wondering if I might be better off with something similar. The words of others can be very persuasive and often has me doubting my setup.
On listening, I was really taken back by the capability of the ATC SCM7’s their clarity and detail quite amazing. The bass presence also defying my expectation, given the cabinet size. The strange thing about listening is that you settle into the system and it’s hard to make reference to another system in that moment. On returning to my own system I honestly expected to be a little disappointed that the size of my speakers didn’t bring more advantages. I was very wrong. What was immediately obvious in contrast is the ease and relaxed nature of my larger speakers. The much lower distortion level is obvious only when it’s gone. This brings a far less strained soundstage with more realistic sounding instruments and vocals.
This is not meant to be critical of smaller speakers, just a reminder that opinions are just that. I myself plan to buy a pair of proac tab 10’s for my second system. I’d just like to promote the fact that expensive Naim equipment is far more capable than what most small speakers can deliver. it’s not all about bass either, the amount of air a speaker can move can make a big difference to all aspects of the sound. I really enjoyed the sound of the smaller speakers and there was definitely a lot to like and I can absolutely see why people live with them.
My advice would be to explore some of the advantages of larger speakers, as the dealers suggest. Quality does not have to be sacrificed for quantity, you can have both.
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I didn’t use a sub while I had those tablette 10 signature. They were placed around 15cm away from the rear wall. Their sound was more balance in this position in my room.
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I cannot imagine a more terrible thing then mixing a sub with Tab10’s. No, they don’t do low bass… but the bass they make is musical and tuneful. A sub will only ruin the magic.
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Not sure I follow your logic here. It’s very easy to set up a sub badly and add bass to the detriment of the overall sound, but if you can get it right it can add a bit of magic to small speakers, or even large ones.
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I bought a pair of these last year and have been very happy with them. Reading reviews beforehand, I was struck by the enormous range of opinions about their bass capabilities, all the way from, and I quote, “absolutely absent bass” to bass that’s “astonishing”, “beyond belief”, etc.
I would describe the bass, in terms of depth and power, as adequate. With your eyes closed, you’d never mistake these for a big speaker. But the quality of bass they produce - taut, clean, tuneful, well integrated - is really excellent.
IMO, if any dealer is telling you that their bass is lacking, you can take that to mean that they believe that the bass of all small standmounters is unsatisfactory. If you’ve had similar speakers in the past and been happy with them, you need have no concerns about the Tabs on that score.
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While this sonic difference was obviously the case in this instance, I don’t think this down to down to ‘distortion’ from the smaller speakers. Unless pushed too hard.
And I think it’s not a general rule of smaller vs. larger speakers either. Apples vs. apples, as in with a similar quality/price level, large(r) speaker cabinets are inherently more prone to resonance and colouration (distortion).
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The bolded is important, and I agree. The Tabs or other good small speakers have many advantages over large speakers at the same price - 2K? But in the context of a 500 system like in this thread, one might consider larger speakers with a matching price tag, which has ample headroom for an appropriate cabinet construction.
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I think that for any volume a smaller driver has to move more to produce the same output level. It also has to produce the deepest of bass, as well as the midrange at the same time, and this is what increases the level of distortion. Don’t get me wrong they don’t sound “distorted” but in comparison to a speaker going to much less effort, there is a difference. Obviously many variables but I think it’s just physics. But obviously many variables.
That is a much wider discussion imo. With indeed many variables. I don’t think it’s as simple as a midrange has to do bass too, hence more distortion. You could name a list of pros & cons of both small and large speakers. For any type of speaker for that matter.