Quad ESL help appreciated!

[Puffin]

WARNING: I am fully certified as clinically insane, but I have altered the phase on one speaker's LF in order to smooth out/cancel bass boom to good effect. Worth a try and won't cost anything. If it sounds rubbish/weird/like a Bose Wave Radio....remember the disclaimer made at the start of this post.

[Opti-cal]

That looks 'better', but the problem is still the 'trapped' space behind the speakers. This is exacerbated with the right-hand speaker being adjacent to the wall. What kind of absorbing material are you using. I have read of Quad 57s being used in corners each side of a chimney breast, using papier maché egg boxes as absorbing material, stuck to the wall behind the speakers. How close are the speakers to your listening position?

Have you spoken to Quad describing the phenomenon and asking for their advice? The people at Huntingdon are very helpful - give them a call.



My 57s are 2 metres in front of highly reflective patio doors, are adjacent to the side walls and are situated in a 'live' area of the room, but there is no bass bloom.

I have some proper studio style stuff (its actually just what expensive parts at my work turn up in for protection) foam squares with pointy foam triangles all along the back wall at the bottom with a pillow stuffed in the corner. As I was setting it up I could actually hear the differences each additional piece was making to the image. It was basically the more I piled up the better the sound became.

I have a suspicion if a fair amount was required then to deal with the bass boom before the bass output was "improved" by the service, I would need significantly more now. Which would probably end up being so much it would be piling up behind the speaker and likely counteract the positives of having space around the back in the first place.

The speakers are approximately 4 meters from my ears.

I will certainly speak to Quad to see if they have any advice or solutions.

Thanks for the suggestion, ideally I'd take everything out of the room, put up absorption panels and pull them out another meter as you suggest. Unfortunately I'm unlikely to retain this particular house to do so when she leaves me sighting hifi addiction as one of the many reasons . . . .

I'm in enough trouble already as this used to be our "TV/Film/Family room" . . . .

[Opti-cal]

WARNING: I am fully certified as clinically insane, but I have altered the phase on one speaker's LF in order to smooth out/cancel bass boom to good effect. Worth a try and won't cost anything. If it sounds rubbish/weird/like a Bose Wave Radio....remember the disclaimer made at the start of this post.

"A plan so crazy it just might work . . . "

I like it.

Does it do the job and retain the kind of signature sound??

Might be worth a try if I do my homework on where and how (on the speaker) . . .

[Puffin]

"A plan so crazy it just might work . . . "

I like it.

Does it do the job and retain the kind of signature sound??

Might be worth a try if I do my homework on where and how (on the speaker) . . .

Just stick the BLACK lead in the RED socket and the RED lead in the BLACK socket, ONE SPEAKER ONLY Left or Right...you chooooose

[Barry]

Just stick the BLACK lead in the RED socket and the RED lead in the BLACK socket, ONE SPEAKER ONLY Left or Right...you chooooose

That will put the speakers out of phase with one another and will destroy stereo imaging.

[Opti-cal]

Just stick the BLACK lead in the RED socket and the RED lead in the BLACK socket, ONE SPEAKER ONLY Left or Right...you chooooose

Ah right I thought you meant invert the bass panels inside the speaker so the treble panel would still be correct . . .

Might be worth a try.

Cheers.

[Opti-cal]

That will put the speakers out of phase with one another and will destroy stereo imaging.

Yes I've connected speakers out of phase accidentally before . . . does sound very weird but just as an exercise I might try it although as you say the image will suffer.

Cheers

[Barry]

Ah right I thought you meant invert the bass panels inside the speaker so the treble panel would still be correct . . .

Might be worth a try.

Cheers.

It might work, but the bass panels are sufficiently close together (they are separated by only about 3") you may get almost complete cancellation.

[Opti-cal]

It might work, but the bass panels are sufficiently close together (they are separated by only about 3") you may get almost complete cancellation.

Hmmm . . . sounds like I wouldn't get near a true representation of the sound, which is what I fell for with them in the first place . . . .

I'll go and have a think about what I can do - cheers for input so far all.

[walpurgis]

Reversing the polarity on the bass section of one speaker will almost certainly cause cancellation and reduce the perceived bass quantity, but I'm pretty sure you'll also get weird phase effects that'll mess the sound up.