say it as it is
pfm Member
yes now my replacement drivers have arrived just need to find time to fit them, knock up some grilles and then see about getting them in place and set up still to cut gaskets and plates to size.
Great thread guys. Enjoying reading all your comments. I was following the SBL topic as I got my SBL a few months ago after last hearing them in the late 90's during my first steps in the real hifi world. Never looked at ATC so grateful for the expert views by Birdseed. Fascinating insight and possibility of greater performance over SBL. I don't know if I get to that level. I can only read, wait or dream...
Well for me the SBLs were like that heard them as a kid no way I could ever afford them or the collection of olive boxes feeding them. Combination of values plummeting over time has allowed me to get well used SBLs very cheap and slowly fix them up. Like wise the many olive boxes are slowly building up as their values bring them into my reach now.
So I fully get your point I just set my goals lower
Does this mean I'll never get the best out of them? Is the brick wall urban legend or ??
Make sure they are set up, gently push in the woofer evenly and let go, it should come out slowly, if it jumps straight out then they are not set up.
I have to say I go against this rule. Partially because of plasterboard walls but mainly as I prefer them angled in slightly & away from the wall around 4 to 5 inches.Make sure they are right up against, people that have not had SBLs don't always realise, i.e. the cross over should be like less than a cm from the back.
Make sure they are set up, gently push in the woofer evenly and let go, it should come out slowly, if it jumps straight out then they are not set up.
I have to say I go against this rule. Partially because of plasterboard walls but mainly as I prefer them angled in slightly & away from the wall around 4 to 5 inches.
I went from SBLs to active ATC40S. Presentation is different, better midrange & bass (as you would expect). ATCs don’t need loads of space behind so they should fit perfectly in most rooms.Very helpful, thanks for the feedback.
How would folks here compare them to the ATC SCM 19s? I have my own sense but would like to hear others.
Make sure they are set up, gently push in the woofer evenly and let go, it should come out slowly, if it jumps straight out then they are not set up.
I have heard this many times; maybe it is a valid test but there are several things I am not sure about.
First, Naim was obviously concerned about the coupling between the middle and lower boxes and I don't see how this can test that. What I mean is: if you press too hard and the spikes sink deep through the pads and into the wood the coupling is too rigid, I presume. There was always the question about whether the spikes should pierce the pads at all and I recall that Naim itself was inconsistent on this point. I think the issue with transporting the SBLs assembled is more as much to do with interfering with the exact tightness of the coupling, as with the risk of breaking the airtight seal.
Second, the seal is obviously important too. However, if the seal is perfect would that not make the drivers pop back quickly rather than slowly, under pressure from the compression of air caused by the seal? Slow in and out implies to me a slightly imperfect seal, ie. air is gradually being squeezed out and gradually sucked back in. Maybe this imperfect seal is correct?
It would be interesting if someone would conduct listening tests on SBLs in various states of misconfiguration to explore the impact of these setup issues.
Regardless, I'm pretty sure that many or most SBLs that have been knocked about a bit and transported assembled do not sound as they should.
Tim
julian vereker said:I have found that with some care 5 or 6 moves are possible without any remedial action to the pads.
julian vereker said:There is some misunderstanding here . . . the bass box should be pressed onto the spikes such that the box does not rock, end of story. - The aluminium pads were an afterthought solely to make the setup easier and more repeatable.
The connection between the bass box and the spikes is part of the design - it is not one of isolation, but defined contact.
julian vereker said:When the speaker is first assembled, the woofer box is pressed onto the spikes to make indentations in the aluminium pads to make it easier to locate the woofer box after the silicone has been applied. The woofer box is then pressed down firmly after the silicone has been applied to ensure that any excess is spread out and is not pushing the woofer box up.
After the assembly has been done a number of times, the holes may become enlarged in the spike protectors which in itself doesn’t matter as long as the seal is remade, but it is important to check that the foam gasket does not touch the underside of the woofer box when it is placed on the spikes (i.e. there must be a gap for the silicone).
If you have any doubts, read the manual or check with your dealer.
This is a very important part of the correct operation of the SBL, and if the woofer box is not firmly on the spikes, the sound quality IS SERIOUSLY degraded.
Bottom line, don't think too much, just do the test as described.
On decoupling, it's not necessarily as straight forward, as sometimes you'll see people saying that the boxes should be decoupled as far as possible, while at other times it'll be maintained that a good amount of pressure should be applied to the middle box when setting up, seemingly contradicting the decoupling thing.
I would also add, I recently replaced the tweeters in my NBLs for new ones, and the difference, was frankly astounding. All these people pissing around with ethernet switches lol.
If you got them for a song, if you can source a pair of tweeters could be worth while, I got mine from willys hifi. I tell you though getting them out of an SBL is a total bitch.