help needed with new Spires

[miatancdan]

Not sure how long it be until Spires are broken in? Been playing them about 6 hours or more per day ( about 70 hours so far ) Just past 1 week old.

Been trying both 8 ohm and 4 ohm taps on my McIntosh MC302 power amplifier. When on 8 ohms bass seems better but highs bright and hard. On 4 ohm tap highs not so bright but bass is not as dynamic or deep.

Maybe I am being too impatient? Should be as I been working in audio industry for over 25 years. Just frustrating right now (((

Also put speakers back to 5 ft position from back wall for now as this is what is recommended. Do not understand why in my room seems more dynamic bass and openess at 7.5 ft, math wise - does not make sense?

Guess for moment not happy camper when Ethos sounded better with same placement.

btw sitting about 6-7 ft away from speakers

Will not have guys from work come over and hear speakers when I not yet happy with sound.

 

[Dougster]

I have my Spires set up in my 13 ft by 18ft 6 room, just under three feet from side walls ( door necessitates this!) and 20/23 inches from back wall, sitting position 12 feet from speakers. They sound fantastic like this even with reference to live unamplified music comparison recently via Edinburgh Festival concert and same artists CD! As you know they will repay very very obsessional toe in precision, with snap into place soundstage when sorted! Likewise vertical alignment.
Run in for 150 - 300 hours from memory, bass will be lumpy and slow before this and the panel may display some glare and lack of naturalness... These shortfalls will disappear! Reduce bass by minus 2 then increase by 0.5 steps to taste! Once run in and correctly aligned then spikes essential to get best focus and fun. Also suggest listening to some new material never played on your previous speakers, to move away from Ethos reference and assess new speakers more objectively - after 300 hours relax with a drop of the wine of your choice! They should delight you... All the best.

 

[miatancdan]

I have my Spires set up in my 13 ft by 18ft 6 room, just under three feet from side walls ( door necessitates this!) and 20/23 inches from back wall, sitting position 12 feet from speakers. They sound fantastic like this even with reference to live unamplified music comparison recently via Edinburgh Festival concert and same artists CD! As you know they will repay very very obsessional toe in precision, with snap into place soundstage when sorted! Likewise vertical alignment.
Run in for 150 - 300 hours from memory, bass will be lumpy and slow before this and the panel may display some glare and lack of naturalness... These shortfalls will disappear! Reduce bass by minus 2 then increase by 0.5 steps to taste! Once run in and correctly aligned then spikes essential to get best focus and fun. Also suggest listening to some new material never played on your previous speakers, to move away from Ethos reference and assess new speakers more objectively - after 300 hours relax with a drop of the wine of your choice! They should delight you... All the best.

I know you are correct Bruce, its waiting for the 150-300 hours to go by.... Guilty of being too impatient:devil: I am sure after that I be very happy with these Spires.
Will take at least 4 months to pay off credit card ( from purchasing Spires ) so room treatment, better speaker wires and balanced cables have to wait.

Dan

 

[beek]

Leave em on all day and nite even at a low volume at least some current will be pushing thru em.

 

[twich54]

I know you are correct Bruce, its waiting for the 150-300 hours to go by

total nonesense...........there is NOTHING in M/L speakers that requires that kind of electro-mechanical break-in. Psychoacoustical break-in of your mind....maybe !

Will take at least 4 months to pay off credit card ( from purchasing Spires ) so room treatment, better speaker wires and balanced cables have to wait.

Dan, there in lies the 'real' issue with your setup......acoustics.......as was talked about in your previous thread.

 

[Gordon]

If I recall correctly, Bruce (Dougster) and I had an in depth discussion on the merits of the Spire a year or more ago. I do believe his comprehension and ability to put into words is much better than mine, listen to what he says. The Spire is a great speaker. Give it some time and enjoy the great sound this speak will impart over time.

Sounds to me like buyers remorse. Relax, let them grow on you a bit and don't be in such a hurry to see angels and unicorns show up in your listening room!! It ain't going to happen!!

Gordon

 

[edwinr]

My Theos are now sounding really good after a week. I'm not sure that 150+ hours are necessary. I reckon the initial hour or so is the most important. After that, any 'improvement' is debatable. During that first hour or so, I ran the Theos with my Bryston. I didn't listen closely though. After half a day I changed to a Consonance M100+ tube amp with which I listened more intently.

Now moving on to your tube amp experiences, miatancdan, I tried the Consonance M100+ using both the 4 and 8 ohm taps. The 4 ohm tap had less power, but seemed to drive the panels okay. The 8 ohm tap had more power but I lost the sparkle. In both cases I noticed a fair bit of boom in the bass. I attributed this to the speaker needing more running in (incorrect!). Overall I thought the Theos was a good speaker but I would probably need a sub and or room treatments. The missing sparkle didn't really bother me, because I thought that would come later and as a whole, the speakers sounded very coherent.

Then I tried my Bryston B-60. Wow!!! The whole sound changed. I had dynamics that I couldn't believe, the bass extended to the nether regions, and the soundstage and highs were there for the taking. It was like I had changed my speakers for an entirely different model. When I plugged the Consonance back in, the lethargic sound presentation returned. Back to the Bryston and I was in awe. I have never heard such a dramatic difference between amplifiers. Obviously the tube amplifier doesn't like driving the panels in the treble region, and the Theos is so sensitive and revealing, the high definition bass driver is highlighting the lack of transparency in the Consonance's bass abilities.

I know McIntosh make nice amplifiers, and the MC302 is not a tube amp like the Consonance, but does this amp suit the Spires? Any solid state amp worth it's salt shouldn't need to rely on 4 or 8 ohm taps to drive most speakers. Doesn't the 4 ohm tap halve voltage and increase available current x2? The MC302 should have enough current with the 8 ohm tap to drive the Spires properly, so what your're hearing is maybe a tonal incompatiblity with the amplifier. I couldn't imagine your speakers are to blame. Can you try a different amp?

 

[miatancdan]

If I recall correctly, Bruce (Dougster) and I had an in depth discussion on the merits of the Spire a year or more ago. I do believe his comprehension and ability to put into words is much better than mine, listen to what he says. The Spire is a great speaker. Give it some time and enjoy the great sound this speak will impart over time.

Sounds to me like buyers remorse. Relax, let them grow on you a bit and don't be in such a hurry to see angels and unicorns show up in your listening room!! It ain't going to happen!!

Gordon

I agree with Bruce ( Dougster ) and know it going to take time before everything is cohesive ))) Already sound is getting better. It is not matter of buyers remorse but I do complain at times when I create debt, always want it paid off as quickly as possible. When I had pair of Dali speakers, they took 6 months to break in and for bass to be natural. Every day I do notice some changes in the sound.

Dan

 

[Bernard]

the bass extended to the nether regions,

I hope it did not make you lose control of YOUR nether regions

BTW when playing with the SP9, try your CDP on an input other than the "CD" input alone. That input has dropping resistors to reduce the input from the CDP by 12 db (early CDP's had outputs that were too high, and ARC compensated for that). With some CDPs the sound is not optimal on that input, but is fine on others..

 

[edwinr]

Thanks, Bernard. Now you mention this, I think this was rectified in later versions of the SP9.

 

[Bernard]

Thanks, Bernard. Now you mention this, I think this was rectified in later versions of the SP9.

I have the Mark II version, and it does have the dropping resistors.