ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Most probably already know from my previous thread that I have just gotten my hands on the A9. Comments on sound quality?
Personally I find the sound quite nicely balanced except for the bass. I must say it is a little boomy and slow.
Gave my comments on sound quality regarding my a9 demo,you have bought one so you must like it,doesnt matter what anyone else thinks.
return it if you are not happy
Maybe the magnet still isn't quite big enough!
Ban boring signatures!
good one lol,it just needs LAT technology
I must take a listening to one of those at some point.
Too long to list....
Well I think they sacrificed bass integration for power instead. That is why the bass driver faces at the rear towards the boundaries (wall or floor) instead. Maybe It's my room but I have moved the boundary switch to wall already. Switch it further to corner? Won't be wise to return cos I have paid a premium 20% import tax for electronics to have it shipped overnight from NYC to Taiwan. The tax rate in Taiwan is 10.5% standard so.....I ended up paying way more than if I have just simply waited. Having used to getting things on a bargain sure didn't make this purchase a all too happy one.
I feel it is the bass integration that is really suffering. The port at the back does't seem to be contributing much so....
Must be your room as when I heard it,the bass was fantastic,one of the stand-out features of the sound very deep and tight.
Don't be grossed out everyone! I did try all three position switches but they did not work. I ended up blocking the bass port with a hand towel - the position switch is remained as wall. I have essentially made the A9 a sealed system. Clarity and articulation throughout the sound spectrum improved tremendously! I somewhat still feel that the bass isn't that well integrated but it is not that much of a problem anymore.
I did some research and funny thing that it is mentioned online that sealed bass alignment work better for smaller enclosures which is a category that the A9 definitely fit into. For the price I must admit that the sound is quite spectacular.
I must admit it would never have occured to me to spend £1700 on a speaker and then stuff a hand towel in it and totally cracker the designed performance - nice one!
"I did some research and funny thing that it is mentioned online that sealed bass alignment work better for smaller enclosures which is a category that the A9 definitely fit into. For the price I must admit that the sound is quite spectacular. "
What are you guys talking about? It's a well-known trick amongst audiophiles to block the bass port when speakers are causing room mode issues. There are port bungs are a reason (can't use those with the A9 cos there isn't one available in the market that would fit the shape of the bass port on the model so I had to improvise). The act of blocking the bass port might increase the excursion of the bass driver and risk damaging it but I made a judgement call - the A9 is completely active, will thus most likely have a subsonic bass filter built-in and I have reduced the bass level by changing the position switch to wall plus I am not exactly playing the A9 at rock concert levels. Ports act as resonators and tend to work best away from room boundaries. Most high-end loudspeakers are nowadays sealed or simply use the ports to relief some of the pressure on their bass drivers and not to augment them. You trade bass power for extension and better impulse response. You essentially change the bass-roll off from a steep -24db slope to a gentler but earlier -12db slope. It's hard for a non sound engineer like me to explain but please take a look at bass alignments of recent B&O loudspeakers!
Anyway try doing your research on this methodology and you will realize that it is quite a common practice to do what I did. The hand towel is admittedly not the most refined solution but it works!
And fine... I lied a little just not to risk sound like a total nerd.... I read about this trick on plenty of audiophile magazines and I know very well what are the pros and cons of sealing bass ports. I get crucified all the time when I mention something remotely nerdy here.
What are you guys talking about? It's a well-known trick amongst audiophiles to block the bass port when speakers are causing room mode issues. There are port bungs are a reason (can't do that with the A9 cos there isn't one available in the market that would fit the shape of the bass port on the model so I had to improvise). The act of blocking the bass port might increase the excursion of the bass driver and risk damaging it but I made a judgement call - the A9 is completely active, will thus most likely have a subsonic bass filter built-in and I have reduced the bass level by changing the position switch to wall plus I am not exactly playing the A9 at rock concert levels. Ports act as resonators and tend to work best away from room boundaries. Most high-end loudspeakers are nowadays. You trade bass power for extension and better impulse response. You essentially change the bass-roll off from a steep -12db slope to a gentler but earlier -6db slope. It's hard for a non sound engineer like me to explain but look at the design of recent B&O loudspeakers!
Anyway try doing your research on this methodology and you will realize that it is quite a common practice to do what I did. The hand towel is a solution is admittedly not the most refined but it works!
Lol... Really? You can't really see the towel from the outside though. I managed to stuff the towel in deep just deep enough so that it can't be seen from the sides but still remain accessible enough to be removed when need be.Okay I will take some with my iphone later. Don't mind the messy cables and uninspired zen interiors. I was not the one doing the decorating. I am not really one who is used to show and tell but for just to prove my case....
However, the nimbleness that you get from the sealed alignment is well worth the trouble trust me. Apparently people experiment with different densities of the material used to bung the port as well. I chose to pack my towel tightly so I can get the tightest seal, others might prefer to loosely pack the port so it behaves more like an aperiodic bass alignment instead like the type that is employed in Naim's latest range of loudspeakers. Again, the enclosure of the A9 is really small where a sealed bass alignment will benefit it the most. The smaller the enclosure and the bigger the bass driver relative to the enclosure size definitely guarantee significant contribution from the port. Now I kinda know why ATC employs sealed bass alignments for their smaller monitors but ported for the larger ones. I used to think it was an odd move because I thought that smaller speakers will benefit most from the bass boost from a ported design but if accuracy is what you are after......
Okay pics of the A9 posted along with an updated avatar pic where you can witness the true glory of my big head petite body proportion.