I need help from GMA Europa owners

Putting adhesive tape on a device that was designed to be direct coupled, such as an Audiopoint will greatly reduce its effectiveness.Tom

It's good to see you on the 'Gon again Roy!
Scott

Warren, you see.......your so vain that you don't realise when your being condescending( or perhaps your ALWAYS condescending). Your comment "owns me"? Hardly. Your comment disgusts me. I was merely trying to point out to someone who has not had the, er, priveledge, of reading your previous "anti-Europa" posts. Profess all the purple prowse you like upon your Caravelles. I'm fine with that. But your negative comments about the Europa's (however subtle you may think they are) don't set well with me. And anyone here who thinks Mr. Warren is NOT being condescending, all one need do is look at how he addresses the rest of us here. I do believe "audiophools" is his preferred label for the rest of us. As condescending as this label is, i'm CERTIAN Warren, when pressed, will make lite of it. Make no mistake, Warren thinks we are all "fools". I did get one positive comment from this post. I do think i'll ignore Warren's posts from this point forward.

Thanks Scott.

Tom- the Audiopoint cones may be designed to be "direct coupled", but that may not be the requirement for the system in which they are to be tried. The tape I mentioned is very thin- just a few thousands inch of adhesive, only. You think this interface would be a big issue, compared to the problem at hand? This is a 40+ lb cabinet on top of that thin layer, driven by a 6" woofer.

I postulated direct coupling could be part of the problem, with what to listen for, pro and con. Do you have a suggestion for Richs, and what he might listen for, when trying a particular 'device'?

Couple more ideas for Richs: Consider cleaning the contacts of your cables and jacks, even the digital ones. Rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol- the kind without added lanolin, with a cotton swab and pipe cleaners, should be enough to knock off the sulphurs and other compounds deposited in a house which cooks, where people breathe, etc. However, use it sparingly, as it contains water. Shut down all the power if you are feeling particularly sloppy. The next better stuff would be Caig De-Ox-It, thru PartsExpress.com.

Some of what you are hearing could certainly be the soft dome vs. hard dome, but I don't think that's the entire answer. The Europa's foam grill obscures some of the clarity, adding an overall haze, from blunting leading edges, and smearing out trailing edges. This may be part of what you are hearing, especially if you're used to hearing the Thiels without their cloth grills.

By removing the Europa's foam grill, the tweeter is too loud by .5dB, audible after 10+ CDs. We would send 2 tweeters measuring 0.5dB softer. But then the speakers would be slightly dull with the grills back in place... let me know.

See if all the screws are snug, including the three 2mm Allen bolts near the dome of the tweeter (don't put a lot of torque on those). Note the two different-size screws around the woofer.

Any chance the tweeters half fried? I've done that here.

Do the speakers need to finish breaking in?


Remember that fuzz or haze is a broadband problem, not a single-frequency resonance. Some 'solutions' induce single-tone resonances, like placing metal cones under a CD player (heard on a few notes in the right-hand of the piano).

Hope you can get some resolution to this (out of this?).

Best,
Roy

Songwriter (this is my last stab at this) I'm not knocking the Europas. They are for the money, (even, for, more money) a great speaker. Is that clear now. I recommended (Sistrum stands) which I believe will help them sound better than you've ever heard them. A couple of others hear Starsound, Sistrum and they gag. Whattayagonna do. I'm excited about what I own and love. I am blessed with a confident pair of tympanics. Very hard to disuade my ears from what I hear, but am always willing to listen, and have, on various ocassions, changed my mine. I was set, etched in stone, excited out of my mine, about purchasing the JmlabsMico Bes. Listened to them for an hour and freaked out. Best darn monitor (easily) these ears had ever heard. Money wasn't a factor purchasing these babies. Maybe a little wife pressure. Then I heard the Caravelles. Reluctantly. Well, you know which I chose. I'm teachable and don't take myself so serious. This is a great hobby and we all love our stuff. OK the boxing comment was unfair. It's over, and I made amends for it. Move on big guy. You enjoy yours and I will enjoy mine. I'll never say the Caravelles are better speakers than the Europas. I'll say I prefer them MUCH! more. Fair enough? Have a nice weekend. It's beautiful here, in Point Lookout and I'm going to have a great day. You do the same.
peace,
]warren