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Shahinian Arcs - room acoustics?

MrDTuk

pfm Member
Hello all,

With traditional forward firing stereo speakers there is a lot of talk regarding sweet spots, stereo imaging and also... room treatment.

With shahinian speakers what is peoples experience with this? Have rooms required treating in the same way or do these speakers work in a different manner an it doesn't matter as much?

Whats your experience.
 
Shahinians don't give the normal image that most front firing speakers aim for. The image tend to be more diffuse and less precise. However, they are often easier to place. In my experience, listening off axis is often just as good as being in the sweet spot. I had Arcs for around 14 years and loved them. If a precise, being able to locate the instruments within cm type presentation is your bag, they're probably not for you. It never has been for me as I've always felt that, by and large, stereo image was a construct and not as important as other aspects, such as dynamics which Shahinians possess in abundance.

I have treated my room though and have tried to break up large expanses of hard wall with soft material. Any echoey room generally benefits from this.
 
If you are suffering from ‘boomy bass’ you can treat that with EQ to remove the room mode peaks just as you would with any other loudspeaker.
I would always advise that initially you acoustically measure with REW and a microphone, which will show you exactly what is going on.
Keith
 
I have Duevel Planets, rather than Shahinians. My listening room is small and too nearly cube-shaped, so I have found diffraction/absorption panels behind the listening position worthwhile.

Greater benefit, though, has come from analysis and correction of the speaker/room interaction with a DSPeaker Anti-Mode 2 unit, a component which I would now never be without. It has very useful parametric equalisation as well as automated correction in the low-frequency domain. A hugely enhanced "tone control"...
 
I’m pretty sure that Dick Shahinian himself positioned them well out into the room, but a good bit closer together than would give the 60 degree spread that is customary for conventional speakers. Not quite double mono, but close. And you might want to listen from a decent distance - well into the reverberant field. I had Obelisks, lovely, but frustrating as the image was all over the place. The one thing about them was that if you heard them playing from outside the room, it sounded more like there was real music in the room than any other speakers I’ve had. But most of his speakers are on wheels, or easily lift-able, so mess around.
 
Have used and listened to many Shahinian speakers from all the range and there is some merit in doing a little to the room.

However as has been said you just sit them down and they play, into the room is best but they still work fine a foot or two from a wall.

I heard one story where someone suggested having the speakers almost side by side but angled out, this would be a great solution for someone with limited space.

However they are a speaker you either like or dislike, for those that do there is no other speaker that comes close.
 
I had both Arcs and Obelisks for ages.

Two observations - as others have said, get them out into the room. All those drive units and passive radiators cause havoc with boundary reflections.

They also go deep, and that also excites the room somewhat.

In a big room, with space to breathe and well driven, they can be so musical. A pair of Arcs killed my upgraditis for a decade.
 
Great thoughts all,
Well my listening room is 7 x 13 feet. so definitely on the small side. Time will tell how the perform in such a space...
Collection is pending so I will report back when I have tried them out.
 
I have more experience of the Obelisks and particularly Diapasons. Neither of them give a pinpoint holographic soundstage (neither does real life) but instrument positioning is precise and benefits from a much more 3D quality to the soundstage, making them much less fussy about where people sit to get the most out of the experience. You can actually wander about and the soundstage remains quite palpable.

I don't find them particularly fussy about being close to a wall, but the bass response means they do need to be kept away from corners. Pulling them out into the room on their casters does improve things for a serious listening session, though, as does angling them slightly inwards. Although they do work surprisingly well close together, they also work surprisingly well further apart than conventional speakers without the soundstage collapsing. What this means is you have a lot of leeway to experiment, not least of all because they suffer much less from having furniture in between them, as well.
 
Hello, I’m new to posting on here, but I’ve had arcs for 20 years and thought I might chip in.
I think arcs do image, and they certainly do soundstage. Mine are 13 inches out and slightly toed in, about 6 foot apart.As with any speaker it depends on what’s upstream.
I think they are sensitive to room acoustics- if I roll up the rug ( for instance)it’s a big difference, toe in and distance from the wall can really change the sound.
One of the great things about arcs is their discreet appearance and they are so easy to move.
 
Hello, I’m new to posting on here, but I’ve had arcs for 20 years and thought I might chip in.
I think arcs do image, and they certainly do soundstage. Mine are 13 inches out and slightly toed in, about 6 foot apart.As with any speaker it depends on what’s upstream.
I think they are sensitive to room acoustics- if I roll up the rug ( for instance)it’s a big difference, toe in and distance from the wall can really change the sound.
One of the great things about arcs is their discreet appearance and they are so easy to move.


Hello Canton,
which amplifier and speaker cables do you use?
 
Hello Canton,
which amplifier and speaker cables do you use?
Hi Rushboy, I have a dynavector hx1.2 into the arcs. I used nac a5 for many years, tried kimber 8tc but although it provided a more refined sound I found it killed the forward momentum in the music. For over a year now I’ve been using witch hat phantom- for me a much better cable than the naim.
 
This may stir some strongly held opinion...
I love my arcs. They are about 8 foot apart, about 6 inches from the wall. Angled in significantly (probably each about 20 degrees) - that's because the walls are behind them (continuation from a bay window). It seems to make more difference them being flat (relatively) to the wall than their orientation to the room does.
To my surprise, the best listening position for me is......between them. About 1 foot forward. I know, I know.
Its also very good further forward.
And surprisingly good right off to one side on a sofa that's there.
One of the reasons I love the arcs is the sound they make. Another is their flexibility in a space that isn't music-led.
 
I have always said, what works for your ears is what is best. Shahinian are very flexible designs really.
 
I have 20 year old Arcs which are about 7 feet apart and toed in quite hard. They fire across the room - not ideal but can’t rearrange. I was getting problems with a harshness in vocals which I eventually calmed down with foam corner bass traps on the front corners. I then did inch by inch placing of the speakers and found that the sound did change. They are about 18 inches out from the wall. They are very musical speakers to my ears.
 
The first time I heard Arcs was at Graham's Hifi (big listening room) I was blown away. It was one of those moments that stays with you. Deep bass, loads of detail, and an amazing ethereal sound across the room.

I then tried them at home in a 4x4m room and it sounded like the tweeters were blown because there was so much bass!

In a bigger space, new home, they sounded fantastic. But I agree that they're better away from the walls.
 
The first time I heard Arcs was at Graham's Hifi (big listening room) I was blown away. It was one of those moments that stays with you. Deep bass, loads of detail, and an amazing ethereal sound across the room.

I then tried them at home in a 4x4m room and it sounded like the tweeters were blown because there was so much bass!

In a bigger space, new home, they sounded fantastic. But I agree that they're better away from the walls.

I only operate my Arc in a 4x4m room. They do not sound like you describe them.
In no case too much bass and without highs.
 
I only operate my Arc in a 4x4m room. They do not sound like you describe them.
In no case too much bass and without highs.

It was an awkward room for some reason. Not sure why. Kans and P3ESR were probably best in there, couldn’t get anything bigger to work.
 


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