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Naim SBL

Funny how tastes change, my own included. For multiple decades, that heater of yours would have looked deeply uncool. But now it's retro and in. Nice looking room.
 
Always liked the look of SBLs myself. OK, black ones aren't great but then no black speakers are. In a wood finish they blend right in nicely.
 
Charlie_1 said:
Funny how tastes change, my own included. For multiple decades, that heater of yours would have looked deeply uncool. But now it's retro and in. Nice looking room.
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My wife keeps saying we should get rid of it, it is not even connected to the gas.... It seems to fit with the room so it is staying for now.
 
I bought a pair of black SBL's when they first came out in the 80's, black went with the decor at the time. Had them for about twenty and liked them a lot but thought I would a change. Tried lots of other speakers and ended up returning to SBL's a couple of years back when I bought a pair from a fellow pink fisher. I like the look and the fact they are out of the way backs against the wall. I have never used Naim amps with them other than a Nait 2. I started my first pair with Exposure 11/12 and dual 4 and now I'm using Ion Systems pre with mono amps with the possibility of going active in the future using Ion Systems active cards. Some people think you have to use Naim amps with them but I don't think that is necessary. Now I would only replace them with SL2's but financially I don't think that will happen.
 
Faux said:
My wife keeps saying we should get rid of it, it is not even connected to the gas....
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My first house had one of those. Our current house has a plaster fireplace and it did have an electric fire which was never on. A few years ago I binned it and put a record storage unit in its place.
 
FC united said:
I dont know if these speakers are set up as good as they could be although I have done the push test on the drivers and one driver comes out a bit slower than the other.
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It's all a bit mysterious but I don't personally see how the push test can tell you, for example, if the middle box has been pushed down too hard onto the bottom box interfering with the "separate box" concept, which itself is a bit mysterious. You should have received the SBLs unassembled and either assembled yourself or got someone to do it? Obviously the snag if you did not, and want to break them apart and re-assemble to make sure they are right, is that you may need new gaskets and aluminium pads so it is a tricky decision if they seem to work OK. But I don't know how else you can know, particularly if they don't sound as good as they should.

Tim
 
Yeah, they look fine in a wood finish but they're not at all pretty in black ash. Obviously beauty being in the eye of the beholder, and my Tannoys don't exactly win 'bonniest baby (15" drive unit category", but.... black ash (of the cheap'n'nasty type). Which is a pity as they were a good match for whatever amp I had at the time, and I got them dirt cheap too....
 
FC united said:
... I have done the push test on the drivers and one driver comes out a bit slower than the other.
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onlyconnect said:
It's all a bit mysterious but I don't personally see how the push test can tell you, for example, if the middle box has been pushed down too hard onto the bottom box interfering with the "separate box" concept, which itself is a bit mysterious. You should have received the SBLs unassembled and either assembled yourself or got someone to do it? Obviously the snag if you did not, and want to break them apart and re-assemble to make sure they are right, is that you may need new gaskets and aluminium pads so it is a tricky decision if they seem to work OK. But I don't know how else you can know, particularly if they don't sound as good as they should.
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This sounds like a compromised silicone seal. Won't affect the treble though.
 
Mr Pig said:
Always liked the look of SBLs myself. OK, black ones aren't great but then no black speakers are. In a wood finish they blend right in nicely.
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I think Yamaha NS-1000Ms look fabulous in black. In fact, I prefer black to the ebony version.

Black LP12s, on the other hand, sound best. But I'd be a liar if I said I prefer the black finish. When I was contemplating the LP12 purchase way back in 1987, I had the choice of black, afro or rosewood. I wanted the rosewood, but pulled the trigger one day too late. The dealer sold the very last one the day before.
 
say it as it is said:
Out of interest what you use to make your grilles then
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Is this in response to my post earlier? If so, I was talking about the Epos, and they were 6mm mdf with acoustic cloth. I did something similar with some IBLs (didn’t change the sound).
 
James said:
This sounds like a compromised silicone seal. Won't affect the treble though.
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You are a speaker designer so know better than me. Also, it's obvious that the tweeter is in its own separate box. But my impression with speakers is that everything affects the perception of the sound, so if you change just the midrange, for example, the treble sounds different too. I can think of reasons for this, such as the changed EQ if the volume of the midrange is altered, as well as harmonics that blend with the sound above the main range of the driver. Note I do realise my ignorance here but I've learned to think of a loudspeaker as a system in which changing any one part can change the performance of the whole in ways that may be unexpected.

Tim
 
James said:
When I was contemplating the LP12 purchase way back in 1987, I had the choice of black, afro or rosewood. I wanted the rosewood, but pulled the trigger one day too late.
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I had one, still have the matching Isobariks. In the day I agree, it was the finish to have, but today there are so many lovely LP12 plinths I don't know what I would pick. Still think piano black looks pretty killer in the right context.
 
onlyconnect said:
You are a speaker designer so know better than me. Also, it's obvious that the tweeter is in its own separate box. But my impression with speakers is that everything affects the perception of the sound, so if you change just the midrange, for example, the treble sounds different too. I can think of reasons for this, such as the changed EQ if the volume of the midrange is altered, as well as harmonics that blend with the sound above the main range of the driver. Note I do realise my ignorance here but I've learned to think of a loudspeaker as a system in which changing any one part can change the performance of the whole in ways that may be unexpected.
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The midrange will not be changed by a slightly leaking seal. Only the bass loading. The OP might hear a bit of chuffing/farting if the silicone is loose.
 
say it as it is said:
ah right I had been looking at acoustic foam in 10mm or 15mm for SBLs
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Sorry, I don't won't to diverge too much from the conversation. But as for SBL grills/foam, these are great:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=154138946969

However, I have found MDF and acoustic cloth has worked well on many speakers, including IBLs. I haven't tried to make any for SBL's though:

IMG_2470 by Jon Moody, on Flickr

IMG_2468 by Jon Moody, on Flickr
 
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