Covers on or Off

[Auricauricle]

I'll tell ya where ta ticket!

[hermanv]

I don't mean to sound so chauvinistic, but when I bought my B&W 802F Specials, there was an optional "wife-hood" to place over the exposed midrange/tweeter assembly. Now there was a sexist item if there ever was one!

I think you missed it, the wife hood was meant to go over the wife leaving the speaker operating at it's best and attenuating a great deal of audio spectral noise to boot.

[GMichael]

I think you missed it, the wife hood was meant to go over the wife leaving the speaker operating at it's best and attenuating a great deal of audio spectral noise to boot.

Did it come with a rope? My wife is smarter than most and may even be able to figure out how to get the cover off if not tied down.

[Hyfi]

My Dynaudio Audience 82s have the plug holes on the back so if you take the covers off the front, you have some place to put them. I would take that as designed to be off but I leave them onn due to the ugly black fronts. Mt JM-Labs on the other hand have the wood grain on front baffle so they look better without.

[emaidel]

I think you missed it, the wife hood was meant to go over the wife leaving the speaker operating at it's best and attenuating a great deal of audio spectral noise to boot.

Damn! How could I have been so dumb?

[simmel]

Well after an extended listening session last night the covers are back ON.
The only adjustment I made was to pull the speakers about two feet into the room away from the wall. With the covers off the highs got a bit tiring on my ears after about an hour, so I put the covers on again and that was much better certainly in the mid range and on the highs. The base on female vocals sounded a bit muddy but more than acceptable but on piano and guitar parts it was superb all round.
So they are staying ON.

[Ajani]

Did it come with a rope? My wife is smarter than most and may even be able to figure out how to get the cover off if not tied down.

No need for rope.... I find that a little Chloroform works perfectly...

[GMichael]

No need for rope.... I find that a little Chloroform works perfectly...

You vary smart man.

[Auricauricle]

I think you missed it, the wife hood was meant to go over the wife leaving the speaker operating at it's best and attenuating a great deal of audio spectral noise to boot.

Is that the device that we saw used in the film "Fargo"? Mebbe I should look into dat!

[hermanv]

Well after an extended listening session last night the covers are back ON.
The only adjustment I made was to pull the speakers about two feet into the room away from the wall. With the covers off the highs got a bit tiring on my ears after about an hour, so I put the covers on again and that was much better certainly in the mid range and on the highs. The base on female vocals sounded a bit muddy but more than acceptable but on piano and guitar parts it was superb all round.
So they are staying ON.

Muddy bass is often a room effect. Moving the speakers even further from the wall may help.

According to George Cardas here are the best initial speaker placements:

The distance from the center of the woofer face to the side walls is:
Room Width times .276 (RW x .276)

The distance from the center of the woofer face to the wall behind the speaker is:
Room Width times .447 (RW x .447)

Every time I've tried these dimensions bass was excellent, next fine tune the treble with toe in. This will get you close to a correct final placement.

[Kevio]

The distance from the center of the woofer face to the wall behind the speaker is:
Room Width times .447 (RW x .447)

That's in the middle of the room. Where do you sit?

[E-Stat]

That's in the middle of the room.

Only if your room is square. Hopefully, that is not the case.

Cardas Method

rw

[hermanv]

Conventional thinking was that speakers worked best placed along the long wall. I've used this equation to put them on the short wall with great success.

[IBSTORMIN]

I took a cover off my speaker and found the cover isn't just cloth like I thought. There is a plastic sheet with closely spaced holes behind the cloth. No wonder it sounds different with it in place.

[simmel]

That's in the middle of the room. Where do you sit?

I agree with Kevio, my room is almost square and this formula would put my speakers in the middle of the room, but if you add the space that the chest of drawers along the back wall takes up, then I would have about three feet between me and the speakers. So that puts the mockers on that then.
Not everyone has the advantage of a dedicated listening room and one which is specially built for the purpose (the nearest I have got which would fit this, is the hallway from the front door to the foot of the stairs). And if you do not have such a listening room then you have to make the best of what you have.
I go to my local Hi End dealers every so often to have a mooch and hopefully do some listening. He has got some serious Hi-Fi gear, but his room is also almost square and the speakers invariably placed approx three to four feet from the rear wall and about six feet apart some toed in and some not. This guy has been in the business for over twenty five years and knows what he's talking about.
Of course when I win the national lottery things will change but until then......

[hermanv]

If you visit the Cardas site, he does offer a special placement solution for square rooms.

http://www.cardas.com/content.php?ar...g=Room+Setup+8

This placement while less ideal regarding bass nodes does recognize the limitations for a room that has other uses besides dedicated listening.

Golden Rectangles, 1.618 (side wall) x 1 (rear wall) on one side and 1 (side wall) x 1.618 (rear wall) create diagonal lines for speaker placement in a square room.

[JoeE SP9]

I agree with Hobby that it is speaker dependent.

The 'stats use stretched spandex, so as Kevio suggests, their affect is nil. This I determined with my previous stats which originally used a thicker weave cloth that did attenuate the highs. I later had a seamstress make some similar spandex socks which were acoustically transparent. In the HT system, I find the Polks are a bit bright, so I prefer leaving the grilles on (along with a 2 db treble cut). With the vintage double New Advents, I split the difference after much experimentation with not only grill position, but tweeter level. The grilles definitely make a difference and I prefer running the lowers on and the uppers naked. With them, it also opens up the soundstage a bit as well. I run the lowers on attenuate and the uppers on normal.

While I am largely an audiophile minimalist, I prefer having tweeter level controls on speakers. I find that speakers that are flat in an anechoic environment to be intolerably bright.

rw

Thanks E-Stat. I think I'll try some spandex covers on mine. My stats have that "double knit" fabric. I've always liked the sound of them naked but the agricultural look has always been too much for me.
Maybe I can have a picture silk screened on. Does anyone know if you can silkscreen spandex? Will it muddy up the sound?

[E-Stat]

Thanks E-Stat. I think I'll try some spandex covers on mine.

I updated my original 2+2s to the OFC wired panels back in '86 or so which required removing the socks. It was then I discovered the veiling effect of the stock cloth. For a while, I ran them naked and trying painting the frames white to match. Eventually, I had the spandex socks made. They need to be very tight vertically. So much so that it might seem at first they will not reach top to bottom. They were visually open to the degree that you could easily make out details of the panel grid. Also, I bypassed the fuse block and replaced the oxidized Monster cable. Those changes really opened up the top.

rw

[JoeE SP9]

E-Stat;
Replacing the monster cable in the interfaces is something I hadn't thought of. It's a very good idea. Is there anything in particular you recommend.

[Auricauricle]

Might to be able to find sumpin suitable at the local Victoria's Secret....

[E-Stat]

E-Stat;
Replacing the monster cable in the interfaces is something I hadn't thought of. It's a very good idea. Is there anything in particular you recommend.

I didn't use any exotic wire as a replacement. The problem was the horrible oxidation that had occurred over time. It added an edgy "zing" to the sound.

rw

[E-Stat]

Might to be able to find sumpin suitable at the local Victoria's Secret....

LOL! I ended up buying around fifty yards of "swimsuit fabric" at the local Hancock Fabric store to cover my DIY bass traps. Victoria's Secret would have been waaay too expensive. I'm sure the ladies there wondered what the heck I wanted with so much of that material.

rw

[JoeE SP9]

Well E-Stat you've given me my project for this Saturday! I've got 20Ft. or so of TRS Megacable lying around. A quick look at it shows no discoloration. Now, where did I put my big soldering iron?

[Auricauricle]

Yeah, but think it, E-stat....You would've DEFINITELY given the music yer undivided attention!

Wunner if they sell spikes? Y' know...for the speakers 'n such stuff.

[simmel]

Good, now all I have to do is see if I can squeeze two large leather sofas, a book case, a large chest of drawers, one dinning table and six chairs, the wife's TV and the four foot square glass table into the bedroom and the kitchen, and I'm all set.
Now I can set up my HiFi in the almost empty living/dining room.

That's if I live long enough.