N805 & HTM2: Should They Sound The Same?

[steelgtr]

I bought a used trio and have had them for 2 weeks. At times, I have been noticing that the htm2 sounds a little muddier and less clear than I had hoped.

When I change my center speaker setup from small to none and route the center to one of the mains, the 805 does sound brighter and clearer than the htm2.

How close should these sound with dialog? I had wanted a matching front trio and had hoped it would be closer.

thx,

bob

[Kal Rubinson]

They should sound quite similar IF they were in the same position since the acoustical situation affects the sound. Try putting the HTM2 in the place of the 805 to see if they sound alike and that the HTM2 (or 805) is not defective. If all's well, try re-aiming or repositioning the HTM2 to optimize the timbre match to the 805s.

Kal (who prefers three identical speakers up front)

[greggz]

Ditto to what Kal said. When I first had my 805s and HTM2 I thought the HTM2 sounded different (though not muddier) than the 805s. Turns out it was just speaker boundary interactions. The 805s are closer to the side wall than the center and that was culprit. Temporarily switching the HTM2 with one of the 805s proved this. It made the one 805 sound different. Some acoustic treatments at first reflection points can help with this.

Also, how do you have your HTM2 positioned and angled? If it’s stuffed inside an entertainment center that would certainly negatively affect the sound. Is it possible you have the tweeter aimed way over your head? Floor standing, the HTM2 requires very little tilt. If you have your HTM2 tilted at any significant angle it could put your ears outside the desired angle of dispersion. If you have the HTM2 on top of a TV, however, it may require a fair amount of tilt to bring it in alignment with your ears. (Though rarely practical, personally I think if your going to put a HTM above a screen/tv, you should mount it upside down for best sound)

Lastly make sure that your jumpers are tight and that you are actually getting sound from the tweeter. Feeding current to only the midrange/woofer would certainly make it sound muddy.

[misterdoggy]

Tilting and aiming are very important. Draw an imaginary line from the Tweeter like a rifle and have it aimed at both the height of your head and the center of our listening position.

The tweeter aimed right at you can change a lot of things. If its aimed too low you lose detail and becomes blurry.

Also the htm2 likes space around it and doesn't like to be enclosed, especially the htm2D with the rear vents.

[steelgtr]

Ditto to what Kal said.

Also, how do you have your HTM2 positioned and angled? If it’s stuffed inside an entertainment center that would certainly negatively affect the sound.

It is in a cabinet with a large covey hole right under the CRT. It's on a custom stand that angles the tweeter right at my head, 6 feet away. It sits about 6"s off the bottom of the cabinet. Almost zero clearance on the sides, 8"'s to the back and about 3"s from the top of the tweeter to the top of the opening. If I slide the speaker out and get the tweeter past the lip of the cabinet, it seems to open up more.

Lastly make sure that your jumpers are tight and that you are actually getting sound from the tweeter. Feeding current to only the midrange/woofer would certainly make it sound muddy

That's good but I did order a new Canare bi-wire cable from Bluejeans

.

OK, I swapped out one 805 with the HTM2 and the negative difference shows up that way too. Must be placement in the "hole" and I know that cabinet isn't helping, but it's all I got. I'm close to getting a Pio 84 Elite rcvr and let the room EQ work it's magic.

thx,

bob

[wolfgang]

I suspect the receiver would'nt have enough processing ability to correct the sound difference you noticed. However, would be interested to hear the outcome of your experiment. Maybe post a photo of your set up and lets see if anyone is bright enough to see if you could do apply some acoustics treatment. Hopefully it might be as simple thing like place some isoloation pad below the HTM2 to reduce the cabinet resonanting or push the speaker a bit further out.

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/2331

[wolfgang]

double post

[steelgtr]

I suspect the reviever would'nt have enough processing ability to correct the sound difference you noticed. However, would be interested to hear the outcome of your experiment. Maybe post a photo of your set up and lets see if anyone is bright enough to see if you could do apply some acoustics treatment. Hopefully it might be as simple thing like place some isoloation pad below the HTM2 to reduce the cabinet resonanting or push the speaker a bit further out.

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/s...roduct_id/2331

Thanks,

The Pioneer auto room eq usually does a nice job (9 band eq)

I'll post a pic later. I would describe the sound as "boxy"

thx

bob

[steelgtr]

Pics

OK, Guys

Finally got some pics. Any suggestions greatly appreciated to help with the muffled boxed in sound because of the cabinet.

http://home.comcast.net/~steelgtr/Resize_of_IMG_3250.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~steelgtr/Resize_of_IMG_3251.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~steelgtr/Resize_of_IMG_3252.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~steelgtr/Resize_of_IMG_3253.jpg

[misterdoggy]

you could also try advancing the speaker so the tweeter is just in front of the cabinet

[steelgtr]

you could also try advancing the speaker so the tweeter is just in front of the cabinet

Yes, that does help some. Thanks for reminding me. Still like to know if any treatment could be applied inside the cabinet?

thx

bob

[misterdoggy]

how about popping out the back wall. Its snug as a bug in a rug in there so there's not much to do. Getting the front of the speaker advanced out an inch or 2 can make a world of difference. Also angling the tweeter so its in directline with yourhead height at sitting position with nothing blocking you and speaker. You can also play with the HT speaker settings and add a little more volume in the center speaker or little more treble, but this can be tricky.

[steelgtr]

how about popping out the back wall. Its snug as a bug in a rug in there so there's not much to do. Getting the front of the speaker advanced out an inch or 2 can make a world of difference. Also angling the tweeter so its in directline with yourhead height at sitting position with nothing blocking you and speaker. You can also play with the HT speaker settings and add a little more volume in the center speaker or little more treble, but this can be tricky.

Don't think I can pop out the wall. Too many wires back there The tilt stand does point the tweet right at me on the couch and I will try to slide it forward when in use. I'm hoping to hang a 50" Panny 9UK plasma on that back wall and move the center up where the TV is now :dance:


bob

[EDS]

Are you opposed to putting it on top of your tv? Simple, cheap, and easy. That's what I have at home.

[steelgtr]

Are you opposed to putting it on top of your tv? Simple, cheap, and easy. That's what I have at home.

I'll try it I really don't like the look, tho. Plus, that puts the tweeter sky high!


bob

[RNKC]

Putting the HTM up top does look a little odd, but I put mine on top of the TV and although the tweeter is higher than those on the mains, the sound is pretty good. In fact, sonically I find that things work better with the HTM up top then when I tried it down below like yours is now.