On July 2021, @amirm posted his review for the Polk S30 Center speaker that is $300. His results were much more positive (to the point of getting a 'recommended' award) and there are TWO chillin' pink panthers atop of the speaker.
Yes. Thanks for lending it. I am looking forward to the review.I am wondering if the L/R ports (their placement/design) are partially responsible... I would not dare ask @amirm to experiment with some lipstick (errrr... stuffing) for this cute piggie's pie/poop holes...
@Helicopter >> Would a smallish Polk Reserve R350 Center (unported LCR @four 4"woofers + 1" tweeter) satisfy your wish?
He has such a unit on loan...
There is never a change to the frequency response with biamping.One important question in the minds of many audio lovers that has not been assessed here yet is whether bi-amping makes any difference.
Center speakers like this are mostly used with AVRs that have too many amps for most users and thus give the option to bi-amp.
Bi-amping can potentially be assessed for the impact on:
1. Distortion levels
2. SPL at the same AVR volume
3. Frequency response
If there is time and interest to perform such analysis on this or any other speaker supporting bi-amping this would be super appreciated!
Or everything on the market is in some considerable qualitySur
Surly Amir isn’t somehow always getting duds? Everything he reviews seems to have it in some considerable quantity.
The only good way to get rid of a cabinet resonance is to replace the cabinet. I've had to replace some in warranty. Usually the manufacturer/importer replaced the entire speaker and they always wanted the resonating cabinet back for analysis. If a driver is buzzing/resonating then it gets replaced too. Trying to glue/a repair job on a cabinet is a waste of time and energy.Are resonanaces really that hard to rectify?
My first thought.....a defect or woofer that is not screwed down properly.
The only good way to get rid of a cabinet resonance is to replace the cabinet. I've had to replace some in warranty. Usually the manufacturer/importer replaced the entire speaker and they always wanted the resonating cabinet back for analysis. If a driver is buzzing/resonating then it gets replaced too. Trying to glue/a repair job on a cabinet is a waste of time and energy.
Pretty sure Andrew Jones' time at KEF helped them get to where they are today.And the coaxial center seems ideal for center channel. Kef has spent decades trying to overcome the inherent difficulties of coax…not surprising others have a way to go.
I would point out that he left KEF in 1994 and they have no doubt refined their coax designs since then.Pretty sure Andrew Jones' time at KEF helped them get to where they are today.
Same dude that designed the coax speaker reviewed here?
A DIY speaker is less likely to have bad cabinet resonances because cost-cutting in shipping weight and materials selection is not a consideration. Almost every single published design I've seen specs 3/4" mdf or baltic birch and bracing for anything bigger than 4" MT, and individual builders are frequently going beyond that with translam construction, poured concrete, constrained-layer damping, etc. That gets really expensive if you need to build 1000s of units and ship those heavy-ass boxes around the world, but for a one-time expenditure at the local home improvement store for a DIYer, it's totally stomach-able and he isn't under time/labour constraints in the first place.I meant as a manufacturer? What is actually the problem? Can they not make the enclosure a heavy brick that's packed with some sort of foam material where needed?
I guess I don't understand resonances, but I just don't understand what exactly established manufacturers are actually doing when putting out speakers with resonances in them. I'd understand DIY folks MAYBE, but with all the access to precise cutting instruments and things of that nature, I find it odd you have these things like this so commonplace. There some resonance in virtually every speaker review (heck even some Genelecs had them).
Like what's up with this resonance ordeal?
I would point out that he left KEF in 1994 and they have no doubt refined their coax designs since then.
I have given up on reasonably priced and well performing centre speakers after the reviews here and Erin's KEF R2C measurements and am very happy with a single KEF Q150 doing centre speaker duty, at only a couple of hundred dollars you get one of the better coax drivers in a good box and with a sub you don't need to worry how low it can go. Not a perfect match but well blending timbre to the LS50 Meta LRs, especially post Audyssey correction (which is a good idea for multichannel movies, anyway).
I meant as a manufacturer? What is actually the problem? Can they not make the enclosure a heavy brick that's packed with some sort of foam material where needed?
I guess I don't understand resonances, but I just don't understand what exactly established manufacturers are actually doing when putting out speakers with resonances in them. I'd understand DIY folks MAYBE, but with all the access to precise cutting instruments and things of that nature, I find it odd you have these things like this so commonplace. There some resonance in virtually every speaker review (heck even some Genelecs had them).
Like what's up with this resonance ordeal?
Pretty sure Andrew Jones' time at KEF helped them get to where they are today.
Same dude that designed the coax speaker reviewed here?
Actuall I wonder if one could just use an R3 as a center and call it a day.
They have advanced a lot since then. Drivers, The tangerine wave guide, the bumpy woofer surround, etc all are designed to mitigate the inherent problems of a coax design. Physics is hard