They certainly do not have a sweet spot. Mine are 7ft apart and rest about 12" from the wall. I pull them out about 18" for serious listening and they sound the same when I am sitting down and I have stood up and slowly walked up to the centre line (stood in the middle) of both speakers and even then they sound good. That's omni enough for me.
System Pics?
- Thread starter ks.234
- Start date
I replaced my Briks with active ATC 50s.
My Briks replaced quad Wharfedale Heritage Lintons.
The quad Lintons replaced quad original B&W 801's.
I've had Maggies and big ESLs.
I've had Linn Sara's.
I also had Acoustic Energy AE1 - pretty impressive unlike LS3/5as.
I've got Neat Iota Alphas as TV speakers - which look larger than the Larks.
I have them out of necessity and consider them way overpriced for what they can do.
I did think about auditioning some Shahinians but dealership nearby is a problem.
All opinions are my own and I know others may disagree.
As a previous Briks owner, what's your perspective of room filling ability between the two?
My wife will agree with these comments fortunately.
The Arcs look better than the Briks. That is admittedly a bit subjective.
The Arcs are dead easy to move around, the Briks aren't.
The Arcs have a noticeably better top end whereas the Briks have a slightly heavier bottom end.
The Briks really do need to be mounted on a Mana stand. That did make a big difference.
Totally score
Arcs - 51%
Briks on Mana - 49%
Interesting!
Realysm_42
pfm Member
Are they all that small?!
Surely thet produce -1 'basses'?
Surely thet produce -1 'basses'?
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
They really are fabulous speakers.
misterdog
Not the canine kind
TimF
pfm Member
Larcs or Obs?
[
That is a tough call. I love them both for what they do-or even can't. I once several years ago, replaced Obs with a pair of Larcs simply because they just didn't work in the bass/lower mids in my room that I had them in. The Larcs came in and did a very good job of things, yet also got a bit lost in that room, as it was really too big of space for them in my opinion. I kept the Larcs and still listened to them for quite some time until I sold them on.
I now have a room that is more suited to Larcs, and I was able to grab a nearly new, most recent series of the Larc. They just are fabulous little speakers. They are not Obelisks though, and I do miss what those speakers did when set up and driven properly in a room that works for them. I would love to try and mate the Larc to a good subwoofer or two, and I have been looking at the James Romeyn Debra series. Better yet would be to find one or two Hawk bass modules, but that would be like the proverbial unicorn, and also, may as well buy another pair of Obs. Geez this hobby(?) can get to be silly!
Last edited:
Realysm_42
pfm Member
Fair play, understand it's not all about one aspect, especially if they do other bits so well.
lawrence001
Basic Member
They must be if they're tiny.
geetee1972
pfm Member
I’m willing to bet it wasn’t the room that didn’t work with the Obelisks but rather the amps. im not excluding the room possibility but suspect it more likely the amps.That is a tough call. I love them both for what they do-or even can't. I once several years ago, replaced Obs with a pair of Larcs simply because they just didn't work in the bass/lower mids in my room that I had them in. The Larcs came in and did a very good job of things, yet also got a bit lost in that room, as it was really too big of space for them in my opinion. I kept the Larcs and still listened to them for quite some time until I sold them on.
I now have a room that is more suited to Larcs, and I was able to grab a nearly new, most recent series of the Larc. They just are fabulous little speakers. They are not Obelisks though, and I do miss what those speakers did when set up and driven properly in a room that works for them. I would love to try and mate the Larc to a good subwoofer or two, and I have been looking at the James Romeyn Debra series. Better yet would be to find one or two Hawk bass modules, but that would be like the proverbial unicorn, and also, may as well buy another pair of Obs. Geez this hobby(?) can get to be silly!
TimF
pfm Member
I tried a few amplifiers that were well recommended in my situation by Shahinian themselves. Notably from Plinius. I agree that with some of the Shinnies, amps become very critical and can be the source of a lot of ball ache. My room at the time was just a bit of a tough thing, and after borrowing amps and playing around with positioning and all sorts of incantations, it just wasn't going to happen, and I eventually moved on, reluctantly. And this wasn't my first go around with Obelisks, so I know what they are capable of. So, that time has moved on.
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
Yes. I now have Elves, Larcs and Obs. Anyone is welcome for a listen.
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
I have heard of people playing them on the floor lying down, on stands standing up, on shelves, the lot.
Suck it and see I guess
I have a place in Spain where I have a Sonos Amp powering a pair of Dali Oberon1 speakers. For space and furniture layout reasons the speakers have to be placed on a sideboard.
I keep kicking myself for not buying a good one box Naim streaming system firing into a decent pair of speakers.
I keep kicking myself for not buying a good one box Naim streaming system firing into a decent pair of speakers.
TimF
pfm Member
Mick, I have tried my Larcs in a several different positions, on the floor as the OP here has his, I have also had them-and somewhat prefer mine-in my current room, on stands that are heavy/solid, and have a top plate foot print of the exact dimensions of the Larc base, and standing upright. I have also had them on the same stand, only laying on the longer dimension/back of speaker, firing much like an elongated mini-monitor would. That too was an interesting listen, and actually very good too. I think ideally(?), to get the proper bass end, it is important that the bottom base of the speaker is on something solid, so that the friction loading(or whatever one would call the multiple tiny ports/holes in the bottom) of the cabinet works as intended.
But as a true bookshelf siting, I have not tried that, as I never really had a bookshelf that would allow such positioning, so I really cannot say. It would seem to me that depending on which way around you would situate the cabinet, it could impede the drivers from doing that open/semi omni thing. I am all for experimenting with speaker positioning though, even oddball settings that fly in the face of wisdom and convention, sometimes just works. It all comes down to the ears of the beholder in the end, and there really isn't such a right or wrong way with a lot of this stuff. FWIW.
The problem with the place in Spain is that it is a HiFi nightmare. Spanish houses have deep concrete floors and are floor tiled throughout. The walls are brick and the ceilings are solid concrete. This helps to keep the place cool but with a patio door, it is a bit of an echo chamber. Even a 2m x 3m rug and curtains do little to improve matters, so in a way, I suppose I may just have to learn to live with it.
TimF
pfm Member
That well could be, Mick. Sometimes it is just okay to have great music and not worry over what equipment it is being played on. I would much rather have that then no music at all! And with your Sonos/Dali's, I am sure it is very acceptable even if it might not be the ideal placement.