I purchased a handsome pair of Beovox S120.2 speakers and am thoroughly UNDER-whelmed. I had thought that the S120 was the pinnacle of the passive S-speakers. Not so.

I was replacing a set of S-75’s that had MUCH better sound quality, if lacking in the esthetic range. (They were not pristine.)

The S120’s have a booming bass, that is at BEST muddy and the upper range is WAY WAY WAY too crisp for my taste.

Perhaps the problem is I am powering these speakers with my favorite amplifier, a Beomaster 4500. In the past this amp powered THREE sets of inefficient speakers: McIntosh ML-2’s, Linn Isobarics, and Fisher XL/2’s all at the same time. The 4500 protested with reducing its volume when pressed past its comfort level, but now with no reduction in power just BIG TIME distortion at about “80” on the 4500’s volume level indicator….. I don’t know what to make of this situation.

The sound is “funky,” fake, and totally unreal and I am not the least bit pleased.  

Perhaps my favorite amp the Beomaster 4500 is not equal to the demands of the S120.2 speakers.

I am now thinking of switching speakers and powering the S120’s with my indestructible Beomaster 2400 that HAPPILY powered all three speakers with not the slightest hint of being over-stressed. The sound was wonderful…..although the 2400 heated up to what was for me an alarmingly hot state.

I suspect that in the right setting these S120’s would make a marvelous speaker.

I have tried everything and the only thing that seems to help is reducing the bass to “3” and the treble likewise.

This is really a shame as my S75’s are not particularly in good cosmetic shape, but sounded great….but looked badly in their prominent situation. The new S120’a look marvelous but sound like something from Radio Shack in the sixties.

The speakers are on stands that have them about 6” above the carpet. They also face from the end of an elongated room.  Problem? No problem?

Any ideas?

Jeff

Piaf:

The S120’s have a booming bass, that is at BEST muddy and the upper range is WAY WAY WAY too crisp for my taste.

I had a pair of S80.2's that sounded a bit like that. Turned out that somebody had "fixed" foam rot by throwing away the original woofers and replacing them with something else (and even bothered to scrape off the stickers so I couldn't make out what they were!). They became acceptable with a little tone control and are now at use at my girlfriend's.

But try a different amp before giving up, you may just be much more critical than I am.

Sounds odd! My S120s are really very good as are the others I have heard. Check the cross over before doing anything else. I never found the bass booming - my S75s were far more guilty of that , though in my youth this always seemed rather attractive! I agree with the thoughts that these may have been tampered with.

Thanks Mika and Peter for you commentaries and suggestions.

I rather doubt that these speakers, judging from their overall pristine condition have been “fooled with.” Certainly the speakers themselves almost certainly are correct and if they were ever re-foamed, it was properly done.

My B&O guru buddy in California says that “the last of the S series units were visually creative, but the units themselves were clever bass reflex designs with only one or two drivers and simple crossovers. The S120 is pretty much a 2-way speaker, bass reflex with a clever passive radiator, something JB Lansing also used to enhance bass.”

He goes on to state that they really need to be two feet above the floor not their current six inches.

My favorite speakers remain the McIntosh ML-2’s with their two 12” woofers each, 8” mid-range, and collection of small tweeters. The upper range is lacking, but the bass is truly impressive.

The Mac’s are followed by the Linn Isobarics, of which I admire their accuracy, although the bass is woefully lacking and I find the upper range a bit too bright for my taste….. not at all unlike the 120’s. However play a recording of a guitar or harpsichord and the Linns are truly brilliant.

The S75’s would be next as just a good and well balanced speaker.

Perhaps with better placement the S120’s will move up on what is totally my subjective rating list.

Jeff

Hi Piaf,

I have those same S120-2 speakers and they do not sound at all like what you describe.  Mine, driven by a 3300, I would describe as very smooth and true.  Good bass, but not at all booming and very even mid and high.  My suspicion would be the cross over network rather than the speakers themselves or the amp driving them.  I also have a pair of S45-2 which are a bit brighter with less bass than the S120-2.  I have an 8000 system on the way that includes a pair of the larger M100s and four of the P series speakers.  I will report back on what I perceive as the differences between these four types of speakers once I get a chance to test them in the various configurations with the 3300, 4500 and 8000 amps.

Jerry

I'm also owner of a pair Beovox S120 in white.

They were located in the east and Dillen got them for me. The natural rot was present so Dillen went through them.

Since then they have played very good. They do give a bit more bass than my S80.2 but they are great for listning and fits the matching white Beomaster 6000 very well.

My S80.2 also white sounds just as great. I have recently moved to a new flat with is much bigger and I'm a bit surpriced how good they sound compared to my Beolab 8000 system which is in great working order.

There is something wrong with those S120 speakers if they don't sound desent enough with the Beomaster 4500.

Jeff,

I agree, they shouldn't sound like you describe.
They are usually quite well balanced soundwise.
Any chance you can post photos of the drivers and maybe the crossovers ?

Martin

Hi Martin,

The odd sound doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the terrible distortion at higher volume.

My first reaction was the Beomaster 4500 was suffering once again under excessive load, BUT it didn’t cut back the volume as it did with its speaker plugs shorted out and powering three sets of speakers. No, the BM 4500 just kept powering away unperturbed.

The speakers are also clearly in wonderful shape, so now I share your suspicion that there is something wrong with the drivers or crossover network.

However, as usual, I have no idea where these two items are located and how best to get to them.

I tried to copy and paste photos, but it didn't work.

Jeff

If you have another amplifier (or a neighbours/friends etc.) you can test the speakers using that.
Maybe that will confirm if the problem is with the speakers or something else.

You can take a photo showing the front of the speakers with the cloths removed.
This will show us the front side of all the drivers and often be enough to
tell if something is not original here.

Six (I think) screws down some of the cloth grill holes hold the composite
front to the wooden cabinet. Careful when you lift the front off, there are two leads
to the DIN socket at the back and they are not very long. The front is (normally)
quite heavy because of the speaker drivers large magnets etc. and it can bind
to the cabinet so laying the cabinet on its side will sometimes ease the task
and the front won't fall out as uncontrolled.

The crossover will be visible as a circuit board and taking a photo of the
backside of the drivers and the crossover is now possible.

You should be able to insert a photo into each post, maybe not by copy/paste but by
uploading using the little icon in the tool bar when writing a post.

Martin

Hi Jeff,

Have to agree with the others and have a look at your crossovers. 

When I first got my current S80s, I found that with certain 'bassy' tracks that the speakers took on a boomy character and while obviously not as disturbing as you have described I decided to check out my cross overs and found that they were the original capacitors. After changing the caps the speakers became very well balanced,  as it became apparent that the treble was lacking previously.

Martin can help you out with a kit to change these. To check them, open the speaker by unscrewing the resin face (holding the drivers), the screws are concealed in the holes for the speaker frets.

Lastly, you say they are 6" above the floor, mine on the stands are 10" off the floor, could these be not original stands, and could this be contributing to the problem I wonder?

Hope you get to the bottom of this problem, I'm thinking of getting some S/MC120 myself!

Laurence.

Hi Martin and Laurence,

I have no idea how to post a photo on this site. The paste function calls for a URL address. I tried to copy and paste from both memory and via a word document, but with no results.

I am assuming from how badly these speakers perform that I have a crossover/driver problem. This is especially likely as at high volume the speakers go into a totally garbled mode... basically just awful noise more than music.

I can easily try them with the Beomaster 2400 or even the McIntosh 2255 which could provide MORE than their capacity.

One thing I find disturbing is that while I understand that these S120.2 speakers are not new, my 1971 McIntosh ML-2's have seen daily use for 38 years and are completely original, except for reconing. Even the S75's and S45's are original and still perform well. Ditto the 1982 Linn Isobaric speakers….. so why would a set of speakers from an excellent home (a millionaire) have defective crossover/drivers? Just wondering.

I will check this out further and advise you guys what I find out.

Jeff

The easdiest way to post pictures is using the attach file function. Write your post, then click on optios at the top of your reply. This opens a box and allows you to choose a file from your computer. Make sure it is a reasonably sized jpg.

- or mail them to one of us if everything else fails.

Are you sure they are Beovox S120.2 ?
I saw S120 and MC120.2 but never S120.2

Martin

I'd try another amp Jeff. I have MC120.2s that I'm currently using with a Beomaster 6000 4 Channel amp and they sound good, but not as good as when they're connected to my Beomaster 6000 (the 80s version). The 4500 wasn't the most powerful or capable amp ever - I wonder if you'd notice a difference with the 2400? Most people rate the newer 6000 a better amp than the 6000 Quad, and I put that difference down as the reason my ears tell me the speakers sound better with the supposedly better amp.

Hi Peter, Martin, and John,

I am about to test the S120.2’s on my Beomaster 2400. Will let you know the results ASAP.

Peter, it appears to be simple enough…. even an idiot should be able to post pictures…. So there is hope for me.

Jeff

Well that was not as intended, but it should answer Martin's question in regard to are these S120.2 speakers.

I'll try again.

Jeff

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

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

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

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...).

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

Martin

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

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!

Hi Martin,

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

Jeff

another view.