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2 very different speakers: what to do?

jamesd

jamesd

pfm Member
Right now, I have the rare (for me) luxury of having two pretty decent pairs of speakers in my listening room for a few weeks. One is the Vienna Acoustics Bach Grand, which I've lived with for a few years now. The other pair are Rega RS3's. Both are powered by a Rega Brio-R.

The Viennas are listed at 4 ohms and have a 90db sensitivity rating. It is my understanding that the impedance curve on these is taxing on an amplifier.

The Regas are listed at 6 ohms and have an 89db sensitivity rating.

There are things I like about both speakers. I'm wondering if it's possible to get the best of both world with an electronics change or maybe some speaker positioning/acoustic treatments. The Regas have to be returned to their owner in a few weeks. I will be keeping the Viennas (or maybe looking for a speaker change?).

The Regas are very fast, have no bass overhang at all, and are not fussy about positioning; their imaging is fairly precise without having to dial them in. They have a good amount of detail. On the downside, they sound a bit thin...not a lot of meat on the bones and maybe a tad bright/hard.

The Viennas have a ton of meat on the bones. They could not be called thin. They have good detail, but not as much as the Regas. They have a bit too much bass overhang, but the quality of the bass is nicer and fatter. They are very smooth and never harsh. Their soundstage sounds a good bit more hazy than the Regas. They are easier to listen to for longer periods of time.

So: How do I get those positive qualities from the Regas out of the Viennas? Would a more powerful amp do the trick? My room is not large. Is it just the nature of the Viennas?

Any thoughts are appreciated!
 
I've got the RS5's and wasn't that impressed with them on the Brio-r but with a Sugden they absolutely sing.

While the Brio-r is a fantastic amp the Rega RS speakers need a much more powerful one.

I found the same as you once they were broken in they have fantastic mids/highs and guitars and pianos sound great but bass is a bit lacking. The sugden now gives them some power in the bass and they go much lower with much more control and authority.
 
Maybe pulling your Viennas out a bit more from the rear wall may help likewise moving the Regas closer to it.
 
Gerald said:
Can I get this straight you are asking how you get the qualities of a £580 pound speaker out of a £1800 speaker ?
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i suppose. The Regas are $1400 here and the Viennas are $2200.

i do prefer the Viennas, but there are some things the Regas do that I appreciate.
 
That dollar price certainly makes them more comparable than in the uk , what about larger rega's rs5 rs7 , they may give you the bass weight the rs3 aren't .whilst retaining the qualities you like .
 
That's a definite possibility, but I purchased the Viennas scratch-and-dent at a ridiculously good price, I feel compelled to keep them.

Could the deficiencies I cited in the Viennas be attributed to being under powered, or is that probably not the case?
 
IME if speakers are hard to drive an amp with more grunt will improve everything, very much including the sound stage. The question is, is that really your problem? - I'm not familiar with your equipment.
 
If you use a more powerful amplifier you may (but not guaranteed) get the bass under tighter control - but it won't improve other aspects unless it is an inherently better design.
 
I think Mark is on the right lines and what you are hearing is just the fundamental character differences between the 'speakers. The Regas share the company house sound which tallies with what is described and no doubt the VAs also. Assuming the Brio isn't clipping swapping it for a different SS amp is going to make a change varying between nothing and very mild at the bottom end. The Brio has a decently hefty PSU for it's rating and shouldn't get phased by 4 Ohm loads in a small room. Some older Rega amplifiers had higher than usual output impedance (for SS) which wasn't a surprise given the designers liking for valve amplifiers. If the Brio follows that trend you might get a slightly firmer bass with s different design but we're talking very close shades of grey.

You could try one of the larger RS models for more heft at the bottom. The upper bass/mid and HF are shared between most models so the overall character will largely remain, just with added weight, richness and power handling.
 
as a two way with a simple 3 element x-over they do not appear to be a difficult load irrespective of the 4 ohm rating

plug the rear port and see what happens .
 
^^ yes always worth a go. Sometimes a little open cell foam as sold in aquatic shops works well .
 
In truth, you don't appear to be completely persuaded by either speaker. There may be a far better choice out there...but how do you find it?
A problem most of us face. I'd go for the warmer sounding speaker, because a hard sound is more wearing, if initially more exciting. Sadly, all speakers are desperately inadequate, but we learn to adjust.
 
Yes, there's no question which speaker I'd save in a fire. I was hoping an electronics change would suffice. Thanks for all the feedback.

plugging the port is interesting. I'll have to see what that does for me.
 
The old trick of plugging the port with drinking straws may work.
Lastly, most modern speakers are ported boxes, i.e. they have a hole in them which reinforces bass. You can do a lot with this! An old tweek is to fill the port with a bundle of drinking straws, this reduces turbulence in the port, but also by using shorter or longer straws you can actually effect the frequency at which the port operates.
Similarly port output can be reduced by putting something in the port, such as wool, a foam plug or an old sock. This will reduce port output but also effect the way the bass driver is loaded, moving it closer to a sealed box design.
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While everyone is being so nice:

Has anyone heard Vienna's, Regas AND KEF LS50's? Wondering if they'd be that middle ground.
 
I've heard the Viennas and the Regas - to be honest, they are quite different things and many speakers are somewhere between them in terms of character.
 
YNWOAN said:
I've heard the Viennas and the Regas - to be honest, they are quite different things and many speakers are somewhere between them in terms of character.
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I don't think it would be unfair to characterize the Viennas as Sennheiser-like and the Regas as Grado-like. Quite different.
 
In My experience Vienna's never really connect listener to the music, too pleasing and laid back as opposite to real live music

I much prefer the fresh and natural uncoloured Rega presentation well aware some details missing, the important prat and tonality remain

Actually I slightly prefer older Ela and RS1 to RS3 (this may be down to the room in use) certainly not the higher RS5 &7 the larger the worse, avoid these "can be bas monsters" a home dem is possible

My result with Rega Brio amp and Ela/RS1 speakers based on Rega TT and CD source with allthough Rega cabling, thats where the fun start, great VFM and my choice on the budget

I would say your current amp is just about perfect for RS3 and not at all recommended to VA, these need a much beefier amp

What I miss in this thread what source in the game ?
 
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