Squeezebox Players

[decreate]

Hey,

Im really lost in this.  Ive finally got a great setup but due to lack of any equaliser I simply cannot enjoy my new audioengine A2 s with the squeezebox.  I end up feeding off my laptop most of the time instead which is a real shame.

Those of you who have the audioengines know that the sound is totally awesome except for the slightly high 125Khz zone which is fine but only if you can equalize the sound.

What is the way around this, id even have a hardware equaliser if it meant i had good sound.   I understand the software ones are very heavy.. or can i convert the eq in my mp3 files? anything would be better.

Looking forward to your thoughts..

[garymc]

are you saying that playing with your computer as source the speakers are OK.  Is this because you are using a software equalizer in your computer source?

Are the speakers too close to back wall or corners?

[garymc]

I too find my A5's a little bass heavy. But the speakers are forced to be in a bad situation for this (in a cabinet/shelf, so basically in corners that add to the bassyness. It is not too bad, and acceptable for my little "weekend cottage" setup.  However, I've thought about moving to these (note the ability to adjust bass).

http://emotivapro.com/products/powered_monitors/airmotiv5.php

[decreate]

yea im equalizing through winamp, hence preferring the computer connection. and thats blue tooth and its fine.

Its this last compromise i dont like, not having to switch on my computer, using SB is so nice but the bass is too much.

They are a bit close to the wall just because its the only place i have for them. ive moved them away now which is a bit better, but nothing beats taking about 20% off the +-125khz line with an equalizer for these speakers.

[garymc · Accepted solution]

Other than running some CPU intensive program like inquez (spelling?)  in conjunction with LMS (which wouldn't run on most NAS units), I'm not aware of any way to modify the EQ of the TOUCH.  Options would be something like the speakers I mentioned, or running TOUCH through a preamp/amp that has bass/treble controls and use passive speakers instead.

[decreate]

painful but what i expected to be honest!  Placement has helped a bit, otherwise ill just accept what ive got. Speakers are still great though

[pippin107]

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decreate wrote:

Those of you who have the audioengines know that the sound is totally awesome except for the slightly high 125Khz zone which is fine but only if you can equalize the sound.

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Actually no, I do not know that, instead I feel like you: they are too bass heavy for the volume they create. I think they are really only useful as near-field speakers in a not-too-small room (that is, e.g. when used as PC speakers on your desk) where this is less of an issue but if you put them in a really small room (I used them in a small bathroom once) they will throw too much bass so that the sound is never good and if you place them in a bigger room where you are not sitting right next to them (I use thjem in my bar right now which is open to the kitchen) they lack power.

Overall, I'm simply not as impressed with them as I used to be.

[garymc]

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pippin107 wrote:

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decreate wrote:

Those of you who have the audioengines know that the sound is totally awesome except for the slightly high 125Khz zone which is fine but only if you can equalize the sound.

---

Actually no, I do not know that, instead I feel like you: they are too bass heavy for the volume they create. I think they are really only useful as near-field speakers in a not-too-small room (that is, e.g. when used as PC speakers on your desk) where this is less of an issue but if you put them in a really small room (I used them in a small bathroom once) they will throw too much bass so that the sound is never good and if you place them in a bigger room where you are not sitting right next to them (I use thjem in my bar right now which is open to the kitchen) they lack power.

Overall, I'm simply not as impressed with them as I used to be.

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Pippin, any suggestions for better powered speakers?  I agree with your comments above. I have some A2s for my office computer and they sound good on my desk (but typically low volume and the office size itself is fairly large).  The A5s I use in a room that is one large family room space about 25 x 14, with the A5s at one end of the room.  Somewhat too bassy, but not enough to be distracting. Volume is certainly no problem, as I rarely have the speaker volume at more than 25% (with the TOUCH digital volume at about 75-85%). at about 50% speaker volume and 100% TOUCH volume, the neighbors would be complaining!

[squeezeit]

Tried raising the A2's a bit to possibly lower the bass reflection off of the surface?  Maybe just some books under them as a test?  I know for my A5's if I use them indoors I must place them right at the edge of the shelf to reduce such bass reflection, particularly at higher volumes.  For use outdoors or in a much bigger room the added bass they produce can really help.  Tone controls, at least on the low end, would be a great added feature to the AudioEngines.

[pippin107]

In the living room I now use a pair of Adam A5s (not to be confused with the Audioengines of the same name).

http://www.adam-audio.com/

I originally bought them for a smaller room and might some day trade them for a pair of A7x's but then the current model (A5x) is more powerful.

I really like their sound and clarity and when using lower volumes I still sometimes use them on their own even though this means changing the setup.

For normal listening I added a MicroVee sub even though I'm not a particular fan of subwoofers. It's hard to get the volumes right for both low and high volumes, I tend to change the sub's volume depending on how loud I want the music to be but the combination is quite good.

I was positively impressed by the MicroVee, I only bought it for it's size (GF opposes a huge sub in the living room) but it's actually powerful enough that I believe I never used it beyond a 25% volume setting.

For my bar I now use the A2s since that's what I have. I do also still have an old Bose set I used before I moved but that **bleep** even more so I only use it for playing music in a second room for parties, might eevntually sell it.