Acoustic suspension or bass reflex

marcok

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What kind of system do you prefer ? Acoustic suspension or bass reflex ?
I know that it's a one million dollar question , but I'd like to know what is more popular here in this forum .
I am an AR and Infinity fan ( I have a pair of AR 9 ) , so my taste is clear .
Probably the reason is that European rooms are generally smaller than in U.S and so acoustic suspension at my home
( the size of my living room is 5x5 mt ) is the right choice .
Ciao
Marco
 
Lazarus Short

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Good speakers have been made according to both approaches. You are wise to know, and use to your advantage, the difference.
 
Master Tasuke

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these are the mains i'm currently stuck with, a pair of CS-G503 reflex 4-ways from (probably) the very early '90s.
they are rather cheaply manufactured, but have always seemed to sound quite good to my ears all the same;








i just today found a bunch of fiberglass insulation, and lined the interiors of both cabinets with the stuff.
previously, the cabinets had only the smallest little swatch of insulation at the very bottom.
whether that was due to cost cutting or deliberate tuning of the cabinets i don't know,
what i do know is i am not at all certain as to whether padding these things internally has really had a positive effect,
as they now "seem" deeper and tighter, but quite possibly sort of "boomy"

thoughts, opinions and/or advice?
 
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CASSETTE DECK

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marcok said:
What kind of system do you prefer ? Acoustic suspension or bass reflex ?
I know that it's a one million dollar question , but I'd like to know what is more popular here in this forum .
Click to expand...
I definitely prefer a well designed bass reflex speaker system to speakers with acoustic suspension. I have modified a few pairs of speakers to add a ventilation tube at the back to improve the low bass response and reduce the air temperature inside the speaker enclosures at high power levels to improve reliability. I have limited the diameter of the ventilation tube to retain a measure of acoustic suspension.

http://forums.phxaudiotape.com/show...D-SOUND-QUALITY!?p=81820&viewfull=1#post81820
 
jbeckva

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Lazarus Short said:
Good speakers have been made according to both approaches. You are wise to know, and use to your advantage, the difference.
Click to expand...
Seriously that is a good analogy. I've for the most part liked the bass reflex designs, but never quite analyzed why. Can you describe it? That is something where I could almost put my finger on...
 
Master Tasuke

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after a few days of listening... it sure seems to. LFs seem... much tighter. i was kind of worried that the tonal balance was being thrown off,
but then i realized that the modification seems to have improved bass response to the point where it is no longer necessary to have the slight bass tone control boost
that the system had once always seemed to have benefited from. in fact, it all seems to sound it's best now with tone controls at flat.

i kind of figure that that must mean i'm sort of headed in the right general direction here, but not being the most self-assured person in the world,
i was kind of insecure in my own judgement, at first, anyway...
 
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Web Police

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I have owned both types over the years and my favorites Acoustic suspension that comes to mind is the Yamaha NS-1000 speakers. I can't really say what my favority Bass-Reflex speaker is though as I have had many pair.
 
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laatsch55

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Lazarus Short said:
Lee, don't you think you need to REINFORCE those corner walls? You wouldn't make K-Horn cabinets out of drywall, would you? I know that design utilizes the corner wall as part of the speaker...
Click to expand...
There's 8" of concrete behind that sheetrock Laz...
 
laatsch55

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They haven't yet Bob, but the Roses just outside this wall have gotten strange over the years....
 
Bob Boyer

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Master Tasuke said:
after a few days of listening... it sure seems to. LFs seem... much tighter. i was kind of worried that the tonal balance was being thrown off,
but then i realized that the modification seems to have improved bass response to the point where it is no longer necessary to have the slight bass tone control boost
that the system had once always seemed to have benefited from. in fact, it all seems to sound it's best now with tone controls at flat.

i kind of figure that that must mean i'm sort of headed in the right general direction here, but not being the most self-assured person in the world,
i was kind of insecure in my own judgement, at first, anyway...
Click to expand...
Generally speaking, anything you might do to make the room into which soundwaves are broadcast less rectangular and smooth (carpets, pictures on walls, bookcases, acoustic treatment, whatever) will tighten up the sound to some extent as the waves would no longer be bouncing around inside a smooth, rectangular box. My guess is that the same principle holds true for the area inside the speaker box? Seems to me that adding the insulation as you did would certainly cut down on any sort of "standing wave"-like reflections going on inside a nekked cabinet... That would tighten up the bass while not effecting the frequency balance of the speaker, which is what you've noticed..
 
Skynyrd77

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My cabs on my modded cerwins are packed with lambs wool. And my speak guy said to always lean my speakers back and that lines up the drivers to keep the sound as even as possible. Back to the hearing line and trying to keep tight to that line. I hope this makes sense and don't make me sound dumb lmfao..
 
Master Tasuke

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Bob Boyer said:
G Seems to me that adding the insulation as you did would certainly cut down on any sort of "standing wave"-like reflections going on inside a nekked cabinet... That would tighten up the bass while not effecting the frequency balance of the speaker, which is what you've noticed..
Click to expand...

boy has it ever, now that i've had time to get used to the change and really take a stab at analyzing it.
they really do sound better now with less tone control assistance.

and indeed, the cabinets were very nearly "nekkid" inside before i got to them.
a VERY tiny patch of insulation planted at the very bottom... not even enough to cover the entire "floorboard"

the CS-G503 seems a generally honest loudspeaker design, hampered by manufacture to a very tight price point...
 
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