Not exactly on point but just wanted to say that I had a pair of Ohm C that were fantastic, especially with acoustic instrument reproduction. They especially excelled at making acoustic guitar sound like it was in the room. I was an acoustic guitar player back then and appreciated that. Had them for a few decades and re-foamed twice before "upgrading". Don't know if this is the case nowadays but these were very forgiving with regard to room placement.
Why not acoustic suspension?
When I was young, late 60's early 70's, the sealed or acoustic suspension speakers were quite commonplace. Now bass reflex, ported speakers seem to be much more common. My understanding is that both speaker designs, assuming competent design will perform very well. Perhaps with the ported getting a slightly lower bass response and higher efficiency gives it the edge. Thinking efficiency though, amplifier watts don't cost that much more today so it doesn't seem like a deal maker. What I don't understand from a pragmatic corporate standpoint is why more acoustic suspension speakers aren't available. My understanding is that the sealed speaker box can be smaller which would be a plus from a cost standpoint, both in less material, lighter cabinet and more speakers could be shipped in a truck reducing shipping cost. Any thoughts as to why the industry has shifted so hard in the bass reflex direction?
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@oddiofyl I heard the Studio Electric M5's at AXPONA two years ago and thought they sounded excellent. I probably would have ordered a pair if my wife wasn't with me :) I believe they were driven with Benchmark electronics. |
@yogiboy - That link is a real blast from the past- 1970s Marantz receiver? |
Two things. Much of our reference is what we are familiar with. Almost all box speakers are reflex so that's the sound we are used to. Secondly bass reflex sounds bassier and most of us like that. Bass reflex can be good, but good closed box is superior to good bass reflex. That is closed box will have less overhang, resonance not in the recording than bass reflex. That makes reflex sound richer than closed box albeit with less detail. Most listeners thin that richness is better sounding. They like that coloration. By the way acoustic suspension is a special version of closed box. All acoustic suspension is closed box but not all closed box is acoustic suspension. The terms are not interchangeable. It's just that when closed box was big, most of the market, before Thiele/Small taught us how to do better reflex speakers, almost all closed boxes were acoustic suspension. Since the history is decades ago many audiophiles just recall the term acoustic suspension and think it is the same as closed box. |
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