Airmotiv T1 vs B1+BasX S8

[leonos]

I'm thinking about jumping into the Emotive pool  Currently, I'm thinking about the B1 with the BasX 8 for a desktop system that would be in an open basement.  Sub would be next to desk.  Since I hope to be building an actual office/music room, does it make sense to go with T1s instead?  The towers would be located behind or to one side of the desk.  That would also be the case for the bookshelves once the room is complete.

Thanks

Leon

[leonos]

I sprang for the Airmotiv B1 / BasX S8 combo . It will be a long week waiting for it to arrive.

[Deleted]

You are better off with the bookshelf B1 speakers, since you are sitting so close to them (at a desk). You will want to angle them upward toward your ears, so that your ears are directly in line with the tweeters. Then if you find the treble to be too hot at that distance, you can gradually toe-out the speakers away from your ears until the treble balance sounds right.

That will be a nice setup for you.

[Percussionista]

Jun 2, 2017 11:42:13 GMT -5 @roryb said:

You are better off with the bookshelf B1 speakers, since you are sitting so close to them (at a desk). You will want to angle them upward toward your ears, so that your ears are directly in line with the tweeters. Then if you find the treble to be too hot at that distance, you can gradually toe-out the speakers away from your ears until the treble balance sounds right.

Similar to how I have my Stealth-6's on my PC desk, except I have them on IsoAcoustics speaker stands (large, full height) to decouple the bass from the desk (which muddies the sound), and also raises the speakers so that the tweeters are at ear level). I do toe out the 6's a little too.

[leonos]

Jun 2, 2017 12:27:30 GMT -5 Percussionista said:

Jun 2, 2017 11:42:13 GMT -5 @roryb said:

You are better off with the bookshelf B1 speakers, since you are sitting so close to them (at a desk). You will want to angle them upward toward your ears, so that your ears are directly in line with the tweeters. Then if you find the treble to be too hot at that distance, you can gradually toe-out the speakers away from your ears until the treble balance sounds right.

Similar to how I have my Stealth-6's on my PC desk, except I have them on IsoAcoustics speaker stands (large, full height) to decouple the bass from the desk (which muddies the sound), and also raises the speakers so that the tweeters are at ear level). I do toe out the 6's a little too.

Since I have a glass top on the desk, I expect to do a lot of experimenting, including height, angles, foundations, crossover frequency, and even port bungs.  

[leonos]

The B1 and BasX S8 combo arrived last night. So far I am very pleased. When crossed over at 60hz the S8 integrated very well with the B-1's. When the upright bass was positioned on the left of the sound stage, the low bass appropriately seemed to come from that side, even though it is to the right of my desk.

I'll need to do some experimenting to optimize the imaging from the desk top, and also experiment with the phase control.

The combo is very pleasing!!!

So far the auto on feature for the S8 has been finicky, so I intend to keep raising the volume on the sub while decreasing the sub's trim on the receiver. The next step would be to try adding a Y-splitter at the sub's input.

Leon

[Percussionista]

Jun 2, 2017 12:27:30 GMT -5 Percussionista said:

Jun 2, 2017 11:42:13 GMT -5 @roryb said:

You are better off with the bookshelf B1 speakers, since you are sitting so close to them (at a desk). You will want to angle them upward toward your ears, so that your ears are directly in line with the tweeters. Then if you find the treble to be too hot at that distance, you can gradually toe-out the speakers away from your ears until the treble balance sounds right.

Similar to how I have my Stealth-6's on my PC desk, except I have them on IsoAcoustics speaker stands (large, full height) to decouple the bass from the desk (which muddies the sound), and also raises the speakers so that the tweeters are at ear level). I do toe out the 6's a little too.

I realize I misspoke slightly here and wanted to correct it: Initially I had the 6's pointed directly at me - 100% near field - so initially they were completely toed in. I have since toed them "out" from that position, so not pointing absolutely right at me.

[leonos]

UPDATE:  I am thoroughly enjoying the B1 + S8 combination.  I find myself pulling the speakers out to the front edge and sitting back about 5 feet.  With a very modest toe-in, the sound stage often seems to reach 5 to 10 degrees outside the speakers.  The slight bump at the highest frequencies allow for the detail such as reverb & echo to be very apparent - appropriate for the venue or true to the engineers' intent.  While the frequencies appear flat down to the 50 hz range (consistent with the published chart), I prefer the additional warmth and reach that the S8 contributes.  For those seeking neutral response the B1's should be very satisfying in a modest 2.0 setup.  While a 60 hz crossover on the AVR did produce allow for the sub and B1's to achieve a very flat, deep, and accurate reproduction of acoustic instruments (tuba, piano, bass drum, kick drum, upright bass, etc.), I found that I preferred the 80 hz crossover point because I prefer a touch a warmth.  At 80 hz I can run the sub a db or two higher and still have a cohesive walking bass line.

I should also add the the imaging and separation and imaging are very good.  I consider the B1's to be very clean and clear in their presentation.  I appreciate that the B1's present enough texture to allow the vocals and instruments to sound realistic.

No buyers remorse hear

Leon

[garbulky]

leonos
Glad to hear you are enjoying your gear. When you audition more expensive (non-Emotiva) gear, you are going to be shocked at how little your combo gives up to far far more expensive products. And I'm talking about very well reviewed high performance products. The resolution of the B1 ribbon tweeter is pretty ridiculous for the price. I'm basing that on the my listening impressions of the Airmotiv 4.
BTW, if you have the chance to go with dual subs, you are going to go all kinds of nuts. It's not about volume of which you probably have enough bass volume. It really does improve the soundstage making it more thick (palpable) and 3 dimensional.
Your choice to sit further back is a good one.

Let us know how it goes!
BTW, if you haven't already - check out room treatments! I find it improves your soundstage.
www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-Acoustic-Panel-24-x-48-x-2--1001.html
These are good. Put one behind your couch at head level on the wall.
I also found 2 inch acoustic foam tiles on amazon that are cheaper but they require a whole lot of them to make a difference and aren't easy on the eye.

[pknaz]

I'm really impressed with the S8, crazy good for the price.

[leonos]

Jun 17, 2017 1:37:14 GMT -5 garbulky said:

BTW, if you haven't already - check out room treatments! I find it improves your soundstage.
www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-Acoustic-Panel-24-x-48-x-2--1001.html
These are good. Put one behind your couch at head level on the wall.
I also found 2 inch acoustic foam tiles on amazon that are cheaper but they require a whole lot of them to make a difference and aren't easy on the eye.

Thanks great info for when the room is actually built.  Currently my desk is along the wall in a 2,000 sq ft basement.  It's actually not a bad space  

[garbulky]

Jun 18, 2017 10:39:34 GMT -5 leonos said:

Jun 17, 2017 1:37:14 GMT -5 garbulky said:

BTW, if you haven't already - check out room treatments! I find it improves your soundstage.
www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-Acoustic-Panel-24-x-48-x-2--1001.html
These are good. Put one behind your couch at head level on the wall.
I also found 2 inch acoustic foam tiles on amazon that are cheaper but they require a whole lot of them to make a difference and aren't easy on the eye.

Thanks great info for when the room is actually built.  Currently my desk is along the wall in a 2,000 sq ft basement.  It's actually not a bad space  

So you're sort of in the corner? You'd be surprised - even one will make a difference (Of the ats tiles - not the foam stuff).