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Speakers that sound BIG and don't look like droids

I have a pair of Mordaunt-Short Carnival 3s, which have no bass or scale to speak of. But for a short while I had a Vincent 993 (I think) 200 watt power amp. Suddenly there was deep and powerful bass! The sound was huge with these small and cheap speakers, but sadly the amp was faulty, so I had to send it back.

Mordaunt_Short_Carnival3_f3_700x379_pixels.gif

Don't discount the the amp's contribution!
 
I have a pair of Mordaunt-Short Carnival 3s, which have no bass or scale to speak of. But for a short while I had a Vincent 993 (I think) 200 watt power amp. Suddenly there was deep and powerful bass! The sound was huge with these small and cheap speakers, but sadly the amp was faulty, so I had to send it back.

Mordaunt_Short_Carnival3_f3_700x379_pixels.gif

Don't discount the the amp's contribution!

This is a fair point. I have a 750W per channel Yamaha PC-5002M and it can extract both scale and bass from Goodmans Maxim 2s…
 
I have a pair of Mordaunt-Short Carnival 3s, which have no bass or scale to speak of. But for a short while I had a Vincent 993 (I think) 200 watt power amp. Suddenly there was deep and powerful bass! The sound was huge with these small and cheap speakers, but sadly the amp was faulty, so I had to send it back.

Mordaunt_Short_Carnival3_f3_700x379_pixels.gif

Don't discount the the amp's contribution!
Best cheap speakers I ever heard with a very very deep bass is the Tangent TM1 and no need to break the bank to give it a try :

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649414112-tangent-tm1-speakers/
 
Might work, had some nice speakers, Meridian, Audio Physic, Audio Note... none came close for height or scale:
 
JBL Studio 590s.Best bang for your buck speakers and they sound very big,dynamic and open.Also easy to drive.They can overpower small rooms however.
 
Naim n-Sats are the largest sounding small speakers I have experience of. Now I have Klipsch Heresy IIIs, more or less 3 cubic feet and, cranking up the volume, happy and BIG sounding.
 
Until they go wrong...

This is what would worry me about a lot of the new generation of active speakers that incorporate computers running dsp. Computer tech doesn't last long and I wonder what support there might be for broken (i.e., bricked) D&D 8Cs or Kii 3s in 10 years time. No issue with 10 year old Tannoys or ATCs (even active) because, even if the manufacturers go bust, the expertise required to repair these simple analogue devices will always be there.
 
This is what would worry me about a lot of the new generation of active speakers that incorporate computers running dsp. Computer tech doesn't last long and I wonder what support there might be for broken (i.e., bricked) D&D 8Cs or Kii 3s in 10 years time. No issue with 10 year old Tannoys or ATCs (even active) because, even if the manufacturers go bust, the expertise required to repair these simple analogue devices will always be there.

Exactly...
 
This is what would worry me about a lot of the new generation of active speakers that incorporate computers running dsp. Computer tech doesn't last long and I wonder what support there might be for broken (i.e., bricked) D&D 8Cs or Kii 3s in 10 years time. No issue with 10 year old Tannoys or ATCs (even active) because, even if the manufacturers go bust, the expertise required to repair these simple analogue devices will always be there.

Not in disagreement here just citing experience with older generation active dsps - namely Meridian. I am running a pair of near 30 year old ones which seem to be fine, although they have been completely re capped along with any problematic resistors.
There are no replacement parts for the dsp parts (unless you can find something online) or the main bass and mid drivers although it is possible to run the current generation tweeters.
Speaking with an engineer friend who is an enthusiast in the brand, his experience is that the dsp speakers tend to be pretty robust. If there is a flaw or weakness it’s with some of the switch mode PSUs in some of the other products.
These meridian DSPs are likely ‘simpler’ in design compared to the D&D and Kii types but all being said, I’d not be put off by taking the plunge into ownership, if I wanted to or could go in that direction with D&D or Kii Audio.
 
The Meridian DSPs are very capable of big sound. The DSP8000s are a touch Vaderesque but the bass units are side mounted so they look uncluttered - they can achieve terrifying sound pressure levels. My desktop DSP33s are nice with the grilles on but reveal their inner droid when the grilles are removed.
 
Tangent TM1 and TM3 were the only speakers I ever heard using the B200 SP1014 that worked.
So true ! Nevertheless, I still have a pair of IMF Super Compact first generation with the mentioned woofer and bass is rather good. Not as loud but certainly as deep and a bit more under control when played very loud as this design of speakers is almost a sealed one :

 


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