I've had my Prodigies since 2000, and haven't been in the speaker market since then. Lately I've been wondering if the time is right to sell my Prodigies and get the Summit X? I've been out of the speaker game for so long, I'm wondering if the Summit X is a huge step forward than my Prodigies. Any suggestions or ideas?
Prodigy or Summit X
- Thread starter Waboman
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curious -- have you heard the summit? I am assuming you have not heard the X.... I have Odysseys - and heard the summit -- it is a different sound - and all I can say is - I would try before you buy... I like my odysseys/descent combo - and I liked the summits....I can't say I liked one over the other....I almost felt like I really needed to a/b them in the same room to see what I liked better....which I could not do at the time.
Waboman, if considering an update, I'd look at the Spires.
Since you already have a great sub, no need to overinvest in low-end on the Summits. A Spire will even give a tad better mid-bass (according to others reviews).
Since you already have a great sub, no need to overinvest in low-end on the Summits. A Spire will even give a tad better mid-bass (according to others reviews).
I have not heard the X's. This is all very preliminary, and still in the "what if" stage. You know how sometimes you get the itch to upgrade? Not saying I have the actual itch. But I have tossed the idea back and forth in my mind.
I may be way off on this, but the main reason I even started toying with this idea was because of too much bass. The Prodigies, combined with my Descent, are wreaking havoc when I run Audyssey. Jonathon, what do you think?
Jeff.
I may be way off on this, but the main reason I even started toying with this idea was because of too much bass. The Prodigies, combined with my Descent, are wreaking havoc when I run Audyssey. Jonathon, what do you think?
Jeff.
Are on a wood frame floor or slab? Wood floors are often a problem with the resonance they have.
I have been going through this same situation with bass in my system for a year or so. It finally hit me this weekend that I needed to get my 2 Vandersteen subs off the floor and on a base. I used 2"MDF spiked to the floor and set them on top. It was a night and day difference. The bass became very tight and precise. I was able to turn them up the sensitivity to match the db rating of my CLS's.
Before you buy new speakers try something like this. Most Home Depot's have 3/4" MDF in 2'x4' size. Buy one cut it in half and glue the two pieces together to make a 1 1/2" thick piece 2'x2'. You can make it thicker if you want. Take some 3" screws and drive them through the top so 1 1/2" or more is sticking out the bottom to act like spikes.
Set it on the floor and place your Descent on it. My guess is it will help. Your total investment will be $10 or so. If this works you can refine your design and change hardware.
Try placing the combination in different places in relation to your speakers.
I have been going through this same situation with bass in my system for a year or so. It finally hit me this weekend that I needed to get my 2 Vandersteen subs off the floor and on a base. I used 2"MDF spiked to the floor and set them on top. It was a night and day difference. The bass became very tight and precise. I was able to turn them up the sensitivity to match the db rating of my CLS's.
Before you buy new speakers try something like this. Most Home Depot's have 3/4" MDF in 2'x4' size. Buy one cut it in half and glue the two pieces together to make a 1 1/2" thick piece 2'x2'. You can make it thicker if you want. Take some 3" screws and drive them through the top so 1 1/2" or more is sticking out the bottom to act like spikes.
Set it on the floor and place your Descent on it. My guess is it will help. Your total investment will be $10 or so. If this works you can refine your design and change hardware.
Try placing the combination in different places in relation to your speakers.
Simply elevating your sub and getting it up off of the floor is supposed to tighten up the bass by putting the source of low frequencies in a better position within the room. I suppose it's a similar to moving your sub out of the corner which reinforces the low frequency nodes.
ASC makes a stand for subwoofers. It's not bad looking but designed for cube shaped subs. It would look better for the ML subs if it was built to the same 5-sided shape.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1004/ascsubtrap.htm
http://www.acousticsciences.com/subtrap.pdf
ASC makes a stand for subwoofers. It's not bad looking but designed for cube shaped subs. It would look better for the ML subs if it was built to the same 5-sided shape.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1004/ascsubtrap.htm
http://www.acousticsciences.com/subtrap.pdf
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Thanks guys.
What's happening is when I run Audyssey, no matter what I do, it places my sub at only 1.5' away. In reality, I'm 13.5' away. It's very confusing and frustrating. I had the crazy idea if I got a speaker that didn't have the bottom end like the Prodigies, Audyssey would then correctly identify my sub distance. I know, pretty lame. I think I was just using that as an excuse to upgrade. But when I really started to think about it, I like my Prodigies!!
So I did a complete 180 and decided to sell my McIntosh MC402 power amp and get the 501 mono-blocks instead.
What's happening is when I run Audyssey, no matter what I do, it places my sub at only 1.5' away.
In reality, I'm 13.5' away. It's very confusing and frustrating. I had the crazy idea if I got a speaker that didn't have the bottom end like the Prodigies, Audyssey would then correctly identify my sub distance. I know, pretty lame. I think I was just using that as an excuse to upgrade. But when I really started to think about it, I like my Prodigies!! So I did a complete 180 and decided to sell my McIntosh MC402 power amp and get the 501 mono-blocks instead.
Hi
Audyssey is probably trying to match absolute phase and delay by adjusting sub distance to 1,5'. So this setting can in fact be correct and optimal for you equipment and room acoustics. How does that setting sound to you?
Audyssey is probably trying to match absolute phase and delay by adjusting sub distance to 1,5'. So this setting can in fact be correct and optimal for you equipment and room acoustics. How does that setting sound to you?
I have recently had Prodigies and Summits (not SummitX) in my room. I compared them extensively over a 6 month period. It is a difficult decision to choose between them as they sound quite a bit different. I think the Prodigies sound warmer than the Summits but I did prefer the Summits in the end because they just seem to be more precise in revealing detail and the bass is much tighter and goes lower. Having said that about the bass, I would say that the Prodigy bass is also very good but it is of a different character.
Comparing the Prodigies and Summits was much harder than comparing the Prodigies and Quests (my previous speaker) because the Prodigies are in some ways just a better version of the Quests. The Summit is not a better version of the Prodigy, they are an entirely different speaker altogether. You would have to listen to each to decide.
I might also add that I have found the Summits to be more difficult to setup correctly than the Prodigy. In my room the Summit tended to over energise the room and sound a bit bright on some material, until I added some room treatment. The Prodigys seemed to be more forgiving although they may not be in a small room.
JonFo suggested to try a reading off to the side. So I placed the mic for position 1 off to the side. This yielded a sub distance of only 2.8' away. Granted it's a slight improvement, but nowhere near where it should be.
What is really confusing is how Audyssey gets my left Prodigy spot on, which is right next to my Descent???
Depending on the source it can sound okay. But most of the time I find the bass too heavy. Which presumably I would because Audyssey placed me only 1.5' away from my sub.
Hi Neil.
Thank you for the nice write up comparing the two speakers. After all is said and done, I've decided to keep my Prodigies. They're working quite well for me.
Jeff.
Gordon
Well-known member
Jeff, didn't I just see you at AA?
Gordon
Gordon
Gordon
Well-known member
Jeff, wait for the 501's before you trade off those speakers. Push them to the edge, then, if needed think about an upgrade! The 501 is a special piece!
Gordon
Gordon
Satch
Well-known member
Waboman,
Craig mentioned getting the sub off the floor with the ASC Sub Trap. I use one of these for my Depth i and it really worked for my room. My room is over a garage with 24" trusses (w/insolation). Even after almost 3k in RealTraps, I was still getting a big bump when listening to a bass player hit a low E. When I set the Depth i on the Sub Trap it tamed that freq. jump. Nothing scientific about this conclusion, just my ears and 30 years of bass playing... I'm still just a student here.
Satch
Craig mentioned getting the sub off the floor with the ASC Sub Trap. I use one of these for my Depth i and it really worked for my room. My room is over a garage with 24" trusses (w/insolation). Even after almost 3k in RealTraps, I was still getting a big bump when listening to a bass player hit a low E. When I set the Depth i on the Sub Trap it tamed that freq. jump. Nothing scientific about this conclusion, just my ears and 30 years of bass playing... I'm still just a student here.
Satch
