BeoWorld North America

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Piaf — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:38:02 GMT

Hi Martin,

Well the difference is absolutely amazing. Before I had a pair of speakers that sounded odd at best and the sound deteriorated with a volume increase. At “80” on the Beomaster 4500 the sound was so garbled that it was intolerable to listen to….. almost like damage was being done to the speakers.

With the reset buttons depressed the speakers transformed into a delightful entertainment source.

As to my personal (highly subjective) assessment, I would really need to spend a bit more time with them to give a fair “rating.” However, like the Linn Isobariks, I find the MC120.2’s a bit too “bright” in the upper range for my taste. Yet at the same time (a contradiction) I admire the upper end clarity that is so lacking in the McIntosh ML-2’s.

So in short, I like them, especially when comparing the bass response to the S75’s.

Jeff

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Medogsfat — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:04:18 GMT

Oh dear - I too can hang my head in shame as I was scratching my head trying to think of your problem before adding my 2 penn'orth to this thread.

I have some of these and they are just about my favourite B&O passive speakers. Martin supplied me with a capacitor kit for the crossovers which brightened them up beautifully.

Chris.

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Dillen — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:14:33 GMT

Well Jeff, that wasn't stupid at all. Yes, they are reset buttons.
Actually, I think it makes a few others feel a bit stupid for not thinking about that - myself included...

How do you like them then ?

Martin

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Piaf — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:21:50 GMT

Hi Martin,

This may sound like a stupid question (I am known for these…) but are the two gray tabs next to the red LED supposed to be popped out, or recessed?

I “assumed” that the grey posts were reset buttons for the over-load circuit, so I pressed them both in and they did not pop out. I figured it couldn’t hurt to try this.

Now it seems that the speakers are playing well. Am I kidding myself, or was this the problem in the first place?

Jeff

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Dillen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:11:01 GMT

Looking fine, original and untouched so far.
Let's eliminate an eventual problem by shortening out the safety relay;
Short the two purple wires that goes to the relay mounted on the front
and try playing the speakers again.

Martin

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Piaf — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:08:51 GMT

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Piaf — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:06:43 GMT

another view.

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Piaf — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:03:01 GMT

Hi Martin,

Here are the photos you asked for. (One art a time)

Jeff

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Peter — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:31:17 GMT

A good suggestion. My MS150s sounded appalling when they came back from Bellac and sounded as if they had been blown. Once the protection circuit was attended to, they started singing again. Worth a look!

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Piaf — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:18:16 GMT

Hi Martin,

I stand corrected, these are indeed MC120.2 speakers. From what I can tell there never was a S120.2 only a S120 or it nearly identical replacement, the MC120.2

I am heartened by your assessment that these are one of the best sounding speakers for their size.

I will try to take pictures of the crossover and drivers today and post them. I will also look for corrosion at the overload circuit.

I don’t know what is wrong with these speakers, but something sure is. A low volume they sound OK, but odd, at the same time. However pressed they sound like something (the amp or the speaker) were being WAY over-driven which is IMPOSSIUBLE with the combination of MC120.2 speaker and Beomaster 4500 as the speaker can take far more power than the amp can produce, and the 4500 will protect itself from being over-driven.

I just need to get these photos taken and posted for you to see.

Jeff

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Dillen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:56:15 GMT

It has been seen before so not a bad idea at all !

Martin

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

tournedos — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:22:32 GMT

Just a thought, wouldn't the overload protection relay distort the sound if the contacts were oxidating? (not probable I think, since they never move normally, but...).

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Dillen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:16:47 GMT

Yes, it answered my question in that it was NOT S120.2 but MC120.2

Some of the best sounding speakers for their size, in my opinion.

From the front everything looks original and fine, though the woofers obviously weren't refoam'ed yet.

Martin

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Piaf — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:25:40 GMT

Well, there is certainly something wrong with these speakers, no doubt of any kind about that!

While they were “happier” being run by the Beomaster 2400, producing a somewhat better over all sound, they still distorted (if less) when the BM 2400 was pushed to its limits….. while making the S-75 extremely unhappy being pushed beyond its limits.

I finally decided to spare the S75 and turn off the left channel allowing me to really push the S120.2 speaker.

Again it did better and at a moderate volume the sound isn’t bad, just not stellar.

I re-connected the removed S-75 to the Beomaster 2400 and immediately confirmed that they sound MUCH better than the S120.2’s.

At least they look “pretty” esthetically and make wonderful background music.

Jeff

Re: Poor Sound Quality from S120.2 Speakers!!!

Piaf — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:03:02 GMT

Here is the front of the two S120.2 speakers.