Subject: Re: [AUDITORY] loudspeaker recommendations From: =?windows-1250?Q?Stefan_Schreitm=FCller?= <=?windows-1250?Q?Stefan_Schreitm=FCller?=> Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2017 11:19:25 +0000 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>--_000_A8714C2A60A53E4294FF9CCD2FE6F435B4882F3CUKK088ADSUKKOEL_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1250" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Maria, i think you received a lot of valuable information, especially from Pawel. Adding one important aspect everyone "nowadays" should consider when invest= ing in active monitors for uses in listening tests: Make sure they are "rea= dy to go" afte turning power on! My personal experience form both Adam F5 a= nd KRK Rokit5 is that both need a few seconds to "awake" from standby and w= ork only once a certain threshold is exceeded (respective of 45dBSPL or so!= !) otherwise there is no sound. The KRK=B4s even turn off during listening = to quiet music unless i turn them up (and down again) every 20 mins or so, = which is not only unconvenient but can be really problematic for uses durin= g (calibrated) listening tests especially at low levels. I feel that this i= s a relatively new albeit unnecessary feature for whatever reason (saving e= nergy?) manufacturers hopefully will remove in future products. Stefan ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stefan Schreitmueller, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Jean-Uhrmacher-Institut f=FCr klinische HNO-Forschung Universit=E4t zu K=F6ln Geibelstr. 29-31 50931 K=F6ln Germany Tel.: 0221 478 97 015 Fax: 0221 478 97 010 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stefan_Schreitmueller2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________ Von: Pawe=B3 Ku=9Cmierek [pawel.kusmierek@xxxxxxxx Gesendet: Mittwoch, 8. M=E4rz 2017 14:40 Betreff: Re: loudspeaker recommendations Hi Maria, I would look into professional and semi-professional studio "monitors", i.e= , small-ish powered loudspeakers designed for very faithful reproduction fr= om small distances. Usually the recommended listening distance is about 1 m= , but I am pretty sure that smaller models should work very well at smaller= distances too ("well" in terms of perceptual "fusion" of the tweeter and w= oofer sound). Most models are two-way, but as I said, they should work fine= at small listening distances. One-way (single-cone) speakers will usually = have problems with good quality over wide range of frequencies. As for the manufacturers: someone suggested Genelec and these have very goo= d reputation. Adam-Audio are excellent monitors, (I actually have an older model from the= A series at home) in terms of faithful and transparent reproduction, possi= bly due to unique tweeter construction. Tannoy (British!) also makes fine monitors. Other (cheaper?) options includ= e Yamaha, KRK. Alesis, PreSonus, JPL (professional). Behringer and M-Audio = are the cheapest end and I have had some problems with M-Audio gear (though= not speakers). One way to achieve high sound quality and wide frequency range while avoidi= ng separation of woofer and tweeter sound at small listening distances is t= o look for concentric speakers, i.e., with tweeter placed in the center of = the woofer. These are rare though, I think, except for car audio (which I w= ould not recommend for several reasons). Tannoy used to make concentric dri= vers and used them in some higher-end monitors, but I am not sure if they d= o it anymore. Hope this helps, Pawel On Tue, Mar 7, 2017 at 5:26 PM, Chait, Maria <m.chait@xxxxxxxx<mailto:m.ch= ait@xxxxxxxx>> wrote: Dear Colleagues, So far we have been conducting our behavioural experiments using high quali= ty headphones, but for various reasons will need to shift to using free fie= ld sound presentation for some of our work. I was hoping you might be able= to recommend a high quality loud speaker to use for this purpose; Ideally,= one that we can purchase easily from the UK. Our requirements: Experiments are conducted in a small-ish sound-proof boo= th, and we plan to position a single loudspeaker about 50-70 cm in front of= the listener (space constraints prevents this from being any further away)= . Stimuli are spectrally rich =91soundscapes=92. My understanding is that we should prefer single cone speakers? Many thanks, Maria Maria Chait PhD m.chait@xxxxxxxx<mailto:m.chait@xxxxxxxx> Reader in Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience Lab site: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ear/research/chaitlab/ UCL Ear Institute 332 Gray's Inn Road London WC1X 8EE --_000_A8714C2A60A53E4294FF9CCD2FE6F435B4882F3CUKK088ADSUKKOEL_ Content-Type: text/html; charset="windows-1250" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html dir=3D"ltr"> <head> <meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dwindows-1= 250"> <style type=3D"text/css" id=3D"owaParaStyle">P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:= 0;}</style> </head> <body fpstyle=3D"1" ocsi=3D"0"> <div style=3D"direction: ltr;font-family: Tahoma;color: #000000;font-size: = 10pt;"><br> <div><span> <div><span>Hi Maria,</span></div> <div><span><br> </span></div> <div><span>i think you received a lot of valuable information, especially f= rom Pawel.</span></div> <div><span>Adding one important aspect everyone </span><span><span><span>&q= uot;nowadays" should consider when </span></span>investing in active monitors for uses in listening tests: Mak= e sure they are "ready to go" afte turning power on! My personal = experience form both Adam F5 and KRK Rokit5 is that both need a few seconds= to "awake" from standby and work only once a certain threshold is exceeded (respective of 45dBSPL or so!!) otherwise = there is no sound. The KRK=B4s even turn off during listening to quiet musi= c unless i turn them up (and down again) every 20 mins or so, which is not = only unconvenient but can be really problematic for uses during (calibrated) listening tests especially at low= levels. I feel that this is a relatively new albeit unnecessary feature fo= r whatever reason (saving energy?) manufacturers hopefully will remove in f= uture products.</span></div> <div><span><br> </span></div> <div><span>Stefan</span></div> </span> <div style=3D"font-family:Tahoma; font-size:13px"> <div style=3D"font-family:Tahoma; font-size:13px"> <div style=3D"font-family:Tahoma; font-size:13px"> <div style=3D"font-family:Tahoma; font-size:13px"> <div style=3D"font-family:Tahoma; font-size:13px"><br> ------------------------------------------------------------------------<br= > Stefan Schreitmueller, Dipl.-Ing. (FH)<br> Jean-Uhrmacher-Institut f=FCr klinische HNO-Forschung<br> Universit=E4t zu K=F6ln<br> Geibelstr. 29-31<br> 50931 K=F6ln<br> Germany<br> Tel.: 0221 478 97 015<br> Fax: 0221 478 97 010<br> <br> https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stefan_Schreitmueller2<br> ------------------------------------------------------------------------<br= > </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style=3D"font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; font-size: 16px= "> <hr tabindex=3D"-1"> <div id=3D"divRpF567660" style=3D"direction: ltr;"><font color=3D"#000000" = size=3D"2" face=3D"Tahoma"><b>Von:</b> Pawe=B3 Ku=9Cmierek [pawel.kusmierek= @xxxxxxxx<br> <b>Gesendet:</b> Mittwoch, 8. M=E4rz 2017 14:40<br> <b>Betreff:</b> Re: loudspeaker recommendations<br> </font><br> </div> <div></div> <div> <div dir=3D"ltr">Hi Maria, <div><br> </div> <div>I would look into professional and semi-professional studio "moni= tors", i.e, small-ish powered loudspeakers designed for very faithful = reproduction from small distances. Usually the recommended listening distan= ce is about 1 m, but I am pretty sure that smaller models should work very well at smaller distances too ("well&= quot; in terms of perceptual "fusion" of the tweeter and woofer s= ound). Most models are two-way, but as I said, they should work fine at sma= ll listening distances. One-way (single-cone) speakers will usually have problems with good quality over wide range of frequencie= s.<br> <br> As for the manufacturers: someone suggested Genelec and these have very goo= d reputation.<br> Adam-Audio are excellent monitors, (I actually have an older model from the= A series at home) in terms of faithful and transparent reproduction, possi= bly due to unique tweeter construction.<br> Tannoy (British!) also makes fine monitors. Other (cheaper?) options includ= e Yamaha, KRK. Alesis, PreSonus, JPL (professional). Behringer and M-Audio = are the cheapest end and I have had some problems with M-Audio gear (though= not speakers).<br> <br> One way to achieve high sound quality and wide frequency range while avoidi= ng separation of woofer and tweeter sound at small listening distances is t= o look for concentric speakers, i.e., with tweeter placed in the center of = the woofer. These are rare though, I think, except for car audio (which I would not recommend for several rea= sons). Tannoy used to make concentric drivers and used them in some higher-= end monitors, but I am not sure if they do it anymore.<br> <br> Hope this helps,</div> <div><br> </div> <div>Pawel<br> </div> </div> <div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br> <div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Tue, Mar 7, 2017 at 5:26 PM, Chait, Maria <sp= an dir=3D"ltr"> <<a href=3D"mailto:m.chait@xxxxxxxx" target=3D"_blank">m.chait@xxxxxxxx= k</a>></span> wrote:<br> <blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex; border-left:1= px #ccc solid; padding-left:1ex"> <div lang=3D"EN-GB"> <div class=3D"m_6438720729442586234WordSection1"> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Dear Colleagues,<u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">So far we have been conducting our behavioural exper= iments using high quality headphones, but for various reasons will need to = shift to using free field sound presentation for some of our work. I = was hoping you might be able to recommend a high quality loud speaker to use for this purpose; Ideally, one that we = can purchase easily from the UK. <u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Our requirements: Experiments are conducted in= a small-ish sound-proof booth, and we plan to position a single loudspeake= r about 50-70 cm in front of the listener (space constraints prevents this = from being any further away). Stimuli are spectrally rich =91soundscapes=92. <u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">My understanding is that we should prefer single con= e speakers?<u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Many thanks,<u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Maria<u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Maria Chait PhD<u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><a href=3D"mailto:m.chait@xxxxxxxx" target=3D"_blan= k"><span style=3D"color:blue">m.chait@xxxxxxxx</span></a><u></u><u></u></p= > <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Reader in Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience <u></u><u>= </u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Lab site: <a href=3D"http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ear/r= esearch/chaitlab/" target=3D"_blank"><span style=3D"color:blue">http://www.= ucl.ac.uk/<wbr>ear/research/chaitlab/</span></a><u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">UCL Ear Institute<u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">332 Gray's Inn Road<u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">London WC1X 8EE<u></u><u></u></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p> </div> </div> </blockquote> </div> <br> </div> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html> --_000_A8714C2A60A53E4294FF9CCD2FE6F435B4882F3CUKK088ADSUKKOEL_--