Hi all,

I want to share a little experience with all of you. I've made a couple of small adjustments to my set up (BL8000+BL7-4+BL2) and I noticed a decent improvement to the quality of sound! Sorry if it's some obvious things that everyone here knows about (I'm a beginner in hi fi's!). The fact that I went into a store to audition the BL9 last weekend inspired me to see how much I could squeeze out of my existing set up, to see if the BL9 is miles ahead to warrant an upgrade.

1) Moved the BL2 to in between the 2 speakers (BL8000) - originally due to a TV cabinet in the loungeroom, my previous arrangement was the BL2 at the very left hand side, then the 2 speakers on each side of the TV cabinet. The BL7-4 I've placed in front of the TV cabinet (I bought it as I plan to get rid of the cabinet later and get an LCD TV and just hang these 2 on the wall). I noticed that moving the BL2 to in between the speakers (ie, close to the centre), the bass sounded tighter (strange? I can't explain why) and seems to be "faster" (as we all know the BL2 is "slow"). The other improvement is that now the direction of the bass is coming from near the middle, it's more natural than it coming from one side (I know bass is supposed to be unidirectional, but you can actually feel a little of which side is stronger!)

2) Adding speaker spikes - I don't have speaker spikes, so what I've done is get some AA batteries, and lay them under the BL8000 and BL7-4 (which is standing on the floor at the moment) so it creates a gap between the speakers and the carpeted floor. There is significant improvement in sound. The bass is weaker but much more defined (no more thumping). Midrange and highs is clearer than before. Very impressed with the improvement! Previously I didn't expect spikes to make any difference as the BL8000 tube rest on a point in the base. Anyway, I'm going to buy proper speaker spikes now!

3) Tilting BL8000 towards listening position - we all know this but still worth a mention as that's what I've done in this exercise. I turned the BL8000 to face the middle of the sofa directly, instead of facing straight forward. Again the sound is clearer.

After these adjustments, I actually find the sound coming out of my combination (BL8000 + BL7-4 + BL2) is not much worse than what the BL9 sounded in the showroom! In fact I find this set up having a warmer sound than the BL9, both in the midrange and the bass.

Any comments are welcome!

Beomud 

maybe you can put a couple of Vibrapods under the 8000's instead of batteries .

 

http://www.vibrapod.com/ 

Placing the subwoofer in the middel is always better, and especially with the bl2. That's because the 2 supports up to 80hz. If you should mod the filter of the 2 to <55hz it would be good to place it in the corner too, but on normall conditions the center will be best. 

By making a different filter for the 2 you can improve the speed of the subwoofer to, and your setup will sound better .

My topic about the filter http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/thread/12514.aspx

btw, never tried it. I've bought a different set of speakers, because I couldn't find someone with the technical skills to make a different crossover... 

Well done! Positioning speakers does indeed make a huge difference to the sound and moving them even small amounts can change things by a fair amount. Angling the 8000s helps as the tweeters are quite directional - one advantage of the BL9s, and of course the BL9s also have what are just about subwoofers built in which helps with the directivity of the sound.

I wonder if is also worth trying, if you have not done so already,  connecting the BL2 to the output of the TV and then the Beolab 8000s to the BL2. This often also improves the performance of the 8000s as they don't have to deal with the lowest frequencies.

beomud:

2) Adding speaker spikes - I don't have speaker spikes, so what I've done is get some AA batteries, and lay them under the BL8000 and BL7-4 (which is standing on the floor at the moment) so it creates a gap between the speakers and the carpeted floor. There is significant improvement in sound. The bass is weaker but much more defined (no more thumping). Midrange and highs is clearer than before. Very impressed with the improvement! Previously I didn't expect spikes to make any difference as the BL8000 tube rest on a point in the base. Anyway, I'm going to buy proper speaker spikes now!

 

Didn't your get spikes with your BL8000? When I bought mine I got spikes and normal rubber feet with it. 

Thanks everyone for their comments! 

Beobird, thanks for the Vibrapod link. How's the Vibrapod different to other speaker spikes?

Peter, during the audition of the BL9, while I think the sound is amazing, and the bass being more defined (than the BL2) it sound a little more hollow (or "cold") compared to the BL8000. The other thing is the BL9 is much shorter than the BL8000 so unless I'm seated, otherwise I find the BL8000 to sound better when I'm standing up. So having the ALT on my 7-4 providing the clear vocals, I'm happy to have BL8000 as my side speakers. This is however, totally personal preference.

Thanks for the tip about connecting the BL8000 via the BL2. I used to do that, but now I have a preloved BS1, I have each speaker in it's own channel so I assume the BS1 will filter the bass accordingly.

Damatt, no I didn't get spikes with my BL8000! It wasn't in the box. Doh!

By the way, the staff at the store offered to play the same track of my CD on the BL5 for comparison. That moment was absolute bliss!

beomud:

By the way, the staff at the store offered to play the same track of my CD on the BL5 for comparison. That moment was absolute bliss!

They shouldn't be allowed to do that, it isn't fair!  

That could have been a smart move if I had the money! I would've picked BL5 instead :) The sound is so accurate you could forget about 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 set ups. 2.0 will do!

beomud:

Damatt, no I didn't get spikes with my BL8000! It wasn't in the box. Doh!

Then you should go back to the person who sold you these and ask for them! They are mentioned in the user-manual. 

beomud:

Thanks everyone for their comments! 

Beobird, thanks for the Vibrapod link. How's the Vibrapod different to other speaker spikes?

Peter, during the audition of the BL9, while I think the sound is amazing, and the bass being more defined (than the BL2) it sound a little more hollow (or "cold") compared to the BL8000. The other thing is the BL9 is much shorter than the BL8000 so unless I'm seated, otherwise I find the BL8000 to sound better when I'm standing up. So having the ALT on my 7-4 providing the clear vocals, I'm happy to have BL8000 as my side speakers. This is however, totally personal preference.

The hollowness of the sound of the BeoLab 9s is more likely due to the room you were listening in, and not the actual speakers. If you compared them directly (the dealer should be more than happy to bring the 9s out to your house so you can hear them) in the same room, you'd find the BeoLab 9s sound much 'fuller' and a little more 'present' (whilst the 8000s sound quite dull in the midrange and high-end in comparison).

The height thing is deceiving you! The drivers in the 8000s are actually only half way up the speakers, not at the top. The height of the BeoLab 9's tweeters and midrange driver are only a few CM off the height of the drivers in the 8000s. Bear in mind that the distribution pattern of the BeoLab 9s is actually angled upwards very slightly, so at a few CMs, the 9s should if anything sound a little taller than the 8000s.

You'd probably do better with some proper spikes under the 8000s, or something softer. I use a pair of B&W standmount speakers on top of some Soundstyle metal stands, and found they sound much better with cork pads between the speakers and stands in comparison to most other materials.

beomud:

Thanks everyone for their comments! 

Beobird, thanks for the Vibrapod link. How's the Vibrapod different to other speaker spikes?

They're made from rubber instead of iron and they're less high in comparisson with normal spikes. If the 8000's haven't got a hole for spike mounting the vibrapods will be fine. They will absorb the shocks from the speakers, so the sound will be a bit relaxerter and the bass will sound a bit better (especially on higher volumes) instead of making the floor shake like speakers do without demping or spikes on a hard floor .

Alex:

The height thing is deceiving you! The drivers in the 8000s are actually only half way up the speakers, not at the top. The height of the BeoLab 9's tweeters and midrange driver are only a few CM off the height of the drivers in the 8000s. Bear in mind that the distribution pattern of the BeoLab 9s is actually angled upwards very slightly, so at a few CMs, the 9s should if anything sound a little taller than the 8000s.

The geometry aside: the BL9s do sound better to me then BL8000, BUT I must confess that what seemed most striking to me when listening to the 9s (compared to other speakers, the 8000s included) was the perceived difference in how they disperse the sound depending on whether I was standing or sitting, indeed! I doubt - but wished - it's (only) my ears.

Damatt, oh that's ok. I've bought it a long time ago. It's my fault not to read the whole manual! I'm going to buy some proper ones on eBay then or go to the Vibrapod reseller here in Australia!

Alex, you're right, it could well be the showroom causing the hollowness! The best is always have them bring it to my own place so I could compare directly. I did notice the drivers in the 8000 were only halfway up the speakers but like you said they are a few cms above the height of the BL9. I think that did make a difference though because both my lounge and the showroom is quite small. I listen from less than 3 metres of the speakers, so if I stand up, the midrange driver is only up to my waist height so the sound wasn't that great. I'm sure if the room was bigger, that wouldn't have been a problem at all and the BL9 would be better in that environment, so it all changes according to the environment!

saf:

The geometry aside: the BL9s do sound better to me then BL8000, BUT I must confess that what seemed most striking to me when listening to the 9s (compared to other speakers, the 8000s included) was the perceived difference in how they disperse the sound depending on whether I was standing or sitting, indeed! I doubt - but wished - it's (only) my ears.

but then thats the whole point of the lens - to spread the mid to higher frequencies, which contain the directional detail, across a much broader horizontal plane. The "sweet spot" is therefore much wider than conventional speakers - aren't they clever

Sure, Puncher!

Isn't it though strange that even if both BL9 and BL5 are based on the same clever - and revered - principle, it's the 9's that force me down to my knees?

When finding the sweet spot, though the 5s command even more reverence, they just don't do it to me - perhaps only once, but this was financially.

In my pre B&O days I used Staedler erasers which I placed under the speakers, I assume they do the same as the spikes would?