Listening distance new speakers: Dynaudio home/pro audio vs Adam pro

[soundwave]

Hi everyone. First of all sorry for my English, I'm not a native speaker. Regarding the level of my technical knowledge I'm a total noob. Therefor I seek assistance.

I would like to buy a new stereo system for the living room in my new house. I have always had passive speakers in the past. But recently I bought a pair of JBL LSR305 speakers for my computer room and I'm quite happy with them. They sound really good. Therefor I also want my new speakers to be active ones.

Unfortunately there are not that many hifi speaker companies who produces active speakers. That's why I'm also looking at the pro speaker manufacturers. I have had many Dynaudio speakers in the past which I liked. I also like the sound of the Adam speakers from a friend of mine. Therefor I have narrowed down my choises for the following options:

- Dynaudio Lyd48 + Dynaudio 18S - 3 way monitor + subwoofer
- Dynaudio Focus 400 XD - 2,5 way system
- Adam Audio S3V - 3 way system
- Adam Audio S2V + Adam Audio sub12 - 2 way monitor + subwoofer

A dissadvantage of the studio monitors is that they require stands, which cost extra money. My main concern however is that Lyd48 and Adam S2V are recommended for near field listening. The listening position for me will be a maximum of 3,5 - 4 meters away from the speakers. Not exactly nearfield.... Is it still a wise decision to use either of these speakers speakers for my living room? What will happen if you use a near field monitor not for near field listening?

Ofcourse I can also go with the Focus XD but they are really expensive and I think they do not offer as much value for money as the pro speakers. For instance Dynaudio has the subwoofers 18S (pro version) and Sub 6 (home version). The are identical, yet the Sub 6 cost a 1000 euro's more! The Adam S3V is also quite expensive which leaves no money left for a subwoofer.

 

[dc655321]

Great question(s) and timing! I'm also curious about these.
The Lyd48 is on my short-list for auditioning for potential home use as well.
Similar listening position as you state.

 

[Soniclife]

I would not worry about it, nearfield means they can be used close up, far field means they can fill a room with sound, all you have suggested look good to me. I would research which pro audio shops are good with returns so you can buy and try at home.

The dynaudio subwoofer is very clever for setting up with their own monitors, that would influence me.

 

[soundwave]

I now see that Adam speakers are measered by Adam from 4 meters away. Including the 'nearfield monitor` S2V.

 

[Pio2001]

What will happen if you use a near field monitor not for near field listening?.

There will be no problem with the sound quality. If it is good near field, it will be good far field.
The opposite is not true : if you listen too close to a far field monitor, the bass and treble drivers might not merge properly.

The problem is that the near field monitor might lack the necessary power for far field listening. The listening level will be limited.

 

[Old Listener]

I've been using Dynaudio LYD48s in a 21 by 15 by 9 foot room with a 9-9.5 foot distance from speakers to listener.

I usually listen at 70-80 dB average levels at the listening position as reported by a sound level meter. For some music I might listen at 85-90 dB levels. The LYD48s sound very good at those levels. No sense of strain or compression.

Bass is well defined and not lacking in volume from the LYD48s. Very enjoyable. Midrange is very detailed and very pleasing. Highs sound good to me within the limits of my hearing. I'm a very happy camper.

 

[CaptObvious]

A nice upgrade from the JBL 305 are the 8 inch JBL 308. On sale they go for $200 a speaker on Amazon.

 

[dc655321]

I auditioned the Dynaudio Focus 20 XD last Saturday, and was not impressed in any sense.
Well, $7k (quoted) was impressively over-priced, so I guess there's that...

I suspect that the speakers were not given much chance to shine though, as the "listening room" at the local dealer was not good - approximately 15'x12', speakers < 2' from the wall, listening position parallel to the short axis, mid-room, and against the front wall.

They were very boomy/loose/resonant at that listening position, but sounded ok near(ish)-field... :-(

 

[andreasmaaan]

I auditioned the Dynaudio Focus 20 XD last Saturday, and was not impressed in any sense.
Well, $7k (quoted) was impressively over-priced, so I guess there's that...

I suspect that the speakers were not given much chance to shine though, as the "listening room" at the local dealer was not good - approximately 15'x12', speakers < 2' from the wall, listening position parallel to the short axis, mid-room, and against the front wall.

They were very boomy/loose/resonant at that listening position, but sounded ok near(ish)-field... :-(

That's interesting. The models they superseded seemed to measure extremely well.

 

[dc655321]

That's interesting. The models they superseded seemed to measure extremely well.

Yeah, I've read that report too, thus I had high expectations.
Moving off the listening sofa toward the speaker relieved the throbbing bass.
Maybe we were sitting in a room node?

In addition to the usual palette of audio dealer tunes, I had the guy play Better Things (Massive Attack).
This is a simple song (instrumentally), but the bass-line is great for highlighting problems in that region.
And it's a cool tune...

 

[andreasmaaan]

Yeah, I've read that report too, thus I had high expectations.
Moving off the listening sofa toward the speaker relieved the throbbing bass.
Maybe we were sitting in a room node?

In addition to the usual palette of audio dealer tunes, I had the guy play Better Things (Massive Attack).
This is a simple song (instrumentally), but the bass-line is great for highlighting problems in that region.
And it's a cool tune...

Totally agree

The measurements seem to show a lot of bass - maybe too much for the room you were in? Very hard to say I guess. Bass tends to be more room than speaker in smaller rooms.

Did you hear any apparent issues in the mids and highs that you recall?

EDIT: I also notice in the measurements of the previous model that they have a pretty erratic vertical polar response. Judging from that and the step response, it seems they are using 1st order filters.

 

[dc655321]

Did you hear any apparent issues in the mids and highs that you recall?

None that I recall. Vocals and percussive transients sounded great.

The measurements seem to show a lot of bass - maybe too much for the room you were in? Very hard to say I guess. Bass tends to be more room than speaker in smaller rooms.

Agreed - bass was overwhelming (quantity and quality) in my scenario.

Like I said, I think I would chalk most of my poor impression up to the listening position/room.
I'm not sure how that place would sell anything if all customers have to experience that too.

 

[andreasmaaan]

None that I recall. Vocals and percussive transients sounded great.



Agreed - bass was overwhelming (quantity and quality) in my scenario.

Like I said, I think I would chalk most of my poor impression up to the listening position/room.
I'm not sure how that place would sell anything if all customers have to experience that too.

Haha. I could imagine the overpowering bass might be a selling point for many customers.

 

[dc655321]

@andreasmaaan, I came across this the other day and was reminded of our conversation. A couple of points in it stood out as perfectly describing what I was hearing from the Focus 20 XD speakers (or, should I say from the listening room?):

Rear wall reflections:

Many home theaters exist in rooms so small that the seating is close to or against the rear wall. This is a problem for three reasons:

- Sound from the front loudspeakers reflects off the wall behind the listeners and distorts both the timbre and soundstage (see Section 9.6, p.279). This is especially damaging to stereo phantom images.

- Standing waves always have high-sound-pressure regions adjacent to walls, meaning that there is a high probability of those listeners hearing excessive bass. Mode attenuation schemes can be advantageous (Section 8.2, p. 224).

- It is not possible to position loudspeakers behind the listeners so some directional effects are not possible.

Points 1 & 2 describe my experience perfectly: no imaging and excessive bass.

 

[Sal1950]

Like I said, I think I would chalk most of my poor impression up to the listening position/room.
I'm not sure how that place would sell anything if all customers have to experience that too.

Send in the DRC

 

[andreasmaaan]

@andreasmaaan, I came across this the other day and was reminded of our conversation. A couple of points in it stood out as perfectly describing what I was hearing from the Focus 20 XD speakers (or, should I say from the listening room?):

Points 1 & 2 describe my experience perfectly: no imaging and excessive bass.

Absolutely. Close to walls is always a hot zone for bass.

Re: effects on imaging, Toole's research seems to indicate that these are less drastic than usually thought, unless the reflection is so strong as to disrupt the precedence effect (see this article for example).

I'm not sure how significant the effect might have been in that demo room you visited.

 

[dc655321]

I'm not sure how significant the effect might have been in that demo room you visited.

The center image was non-existent, so I'd say it was a fairly significant effect.

And thanks for link.

 

[dc655321]

Send in the DRC

lol. I don't think they would get the hint.

On my way out the door, the salesman was extolling the virtues of his new "upgraded" AC cable.

Me: "Uh huh... Thanks. Bye"

 

[andreasmaaan]

The center image was non-existent, so I'd say it was a fairly significant effect.

And thanks for link.

hahahaha fair enough

 

[Sal1950]

The center image was non-existent, so I'd say it was a fairly significant effect.

On my way out the door, the salesman was extolling the virtues of his new "upgraded" AC cable.

Maybe it really does need that AC cable upgrade?