Help me love my Airmotiv B1s

[OkazarTemp]

So you guys can add me on the list of Emotiva B1 owners. At the time of writing I am waiting for the C1s to come in and planning to run the system on the Denon x4400. But for now I am on a Sony STRDN1020 in AFD Auto (2.1) crossing the speakers at 80Hz to a Polk PSW111 8" 150RMS woofer

The previous set I used were the polk audio TL250s (which you can make the center out) and the predominant reason I wanted to upgrade heavily is because of dialogue unintelligibility I experienced when watching movies, forcing me to rewatch certain parts and/or use subs.





I decided to go with technology which can remedy some of those issues (issues which were hardware limited rather than mastering) and between the KEF Q100 and the B1s the Emotivas made lots of noise with their presence on the market (along with Zeos' reviews on the airmotiv 5s and 6s) which were highly praised by Zeos (lesser the B1s). Anyways I'm in no means an audiophile but have developed a passion for sound in recent times.





Well here they are I set them up and fired them off and sad to say that my impression of these are a mixed bag of nuts. Where do I begin...



imgur.com/a/Zq5Pw67



Design





First and foremost these speakers looks incredibly sexy without the grills. The grills are useless in a sense where there would be no real appeal of having them on (they're ugly) and even though they are magnetically held they don't have grooves to sit in so you find yourself planting these on the face of the speakers slightly off from eachother and if you have OCD like me they'll piss you right off... Take them and throw them out





Sound





This is where some of my squabbles come into play and I don't know how to weigh in my thoughts in this area. Firstly the AMT tweeters are fantastic. They play crisp, sharp notes and stand out especially well in vocal tracks and or string/brass instruments are playing. Transient response is bananas and you'll find some notes to "catch you off guard" with their immediate presence and their stopping of sound. No issues there. They are not harsh/tiring at all and are especially easy to listen to. Mid range is good balanced but the speakers are fairly recessed when it comes to the low end, which for me is fine because I have a woofer to compensate those frequencies.





Here's my issue with them.... While they sound great I can only describe these speakers as lacking in personality and it's bothering me.... Perhaps I'm not describing them with the right words but I tried watching my favorite sound demo from Dolby ( Atmosphere ) and the magical experience I got from my TL250s was not there... It's as if the speakers weren't trying to express any form of excitement to anyone as they stood there laid back and all...Since I refused to believe my ears with this clip I started to watch Mad Max and remembered the first 2 minutes being an iconic opening demo for my ht system... While the roaring of the cars would put a grin on your face with the TL250 the Emotiva's left something to be desired. I mean I heard a lot more detail with the spraying of sand particulates, bouncing off the wheel well, with the tires burning, engine roaring... you heard it all yet something was missing.





Maybe I'm being hypercritical here and the TL250's had a "bose" effect of sheer loudness no midrange... I'm now wondering how much better I would have been with say the ELACs or for with none audiophile qualities the Polk RTiA9s (which I could have bought for 400 a pair) or JBL 305 or 590s... Anyways I'll try to warm up to them a little more.... I won't make the final verdict until the center channel arrives and I upgrade my amplifier....





Hopefully I haven't shot myself in the foot. Does anyone else have similar feelings towards these speakers? I'm I going crazy here?

I've already paid so much in duties getting these speakers here.... 

[creimes]

One thing to note is not one speaker is the right fit for everyone, and when changing speakers I find it does take time to get used to the change in how they can or will sound compared to what we have been used to for the extended time of owning the previous speakers. For example the first time I ran Dirac on my once owned XMC-1 I found the detail in the sound to be outstanding but that is because it did exactly what it was supposed to and that being flattening the frequencies which in turn did take some getting used to but I fell in love with what I could now hear in the music and movies in which I never noticed previous to Dirac, while I really enjoyed it the next person may not or never get used to the change.

Cheers,
Chad

[jlafrenz]

If you are willing to spend a little time with setup and tinkering you may be able to dial them in to your liking. Using a software like REW can give you some insights in to what you are hearing and help you pick the best crossover for your subwoofer.

A simple test that I would do is connect the old speakers back up. Put in a movie that you know has the sound and impact that you are looking for. Leave the volume at that level on your amp or AVR. Now play a pink noise tone (ideally a 20Hz-20kHZ). Use an SPL meter and note what level it is playing at. Now connect the Emotiva B1's back up and run the pink noise tone again. Adjust the volume so that it is playing at the same level as the previous speakers. Leave the amp set on that level and put the movie back in. Do you get the sound you are looking for?

I do the above test so that each set of speakers is playing at the same level and it is a fair comparison. If one speaker is playing louder than the other, it can have a perceived "better" sound. I am curious if your previous speakers were actually playing louder and making them sound "better"

The next thing to do would be to make sure that your subwoofer is in phase with your speakers, but I would do one thing at a time so you can systematically set up the system and see what changes make improvements or lack there of.

[okazar]

Well guys I'm back! Thanks for the posts everyone. I took in some recommendations and since the last post quite a few things have changed.

Whereas I own the B1s the C1s have been added, the Sony receiver has been upgraded to a Marantz NR1508, and my subwoofer has been replaced by 2 DIY sealed 12" JLW3v3 woofers powered by a Behringer Inuke NU1000DSP fan modded to lower db.

I'll try to post some pics when I'm on my desktop...

So after some time with the emotivas and improving every hardware I possibly can, I've finally adjusted to them and still stand true to my initial opinion about them. Long story short I feel the series lack colour and personality. I believe the sound coming from them are too sterile - perhaps what audiophiles crave, I couldn't say. I'm pretty much stuck with them which I don't mind too much but the feeling that I could've done better will always loom as an afterthought. With a kid coming my way I don't think I'll ever be able to upgrade so it is what it is and I have to make the best of it. What surprises me is that I feel alone on this one lol

[garbulky]

Gotta say I'm surprised! I guess different people are looking for different things. I've heard the airmotiv 4 which is similar. I really enjoyed the AM4. I think it's just different preferences. However most audiophiles I know don't really care for a "boring" speaker. When I listen, I look for a speaker that has a musical character and a sound I can get seriously immersed in. When I listen to it, it sounds like music. Different great speakers I've heard have their own character - even if overall they sound neutral. But if it isn't grabbing me and keeping me interested in the sound, I have to pass. Who wants to listen to boring?! So good on you for recognizing this one doesn't work. Go on to something that will make you happy Happy listening!

[creimes]

Oct 24, 2018 23:37:53 GMT -5 okazar said:

Well guys I'm back! Thanks for the posts everyone. I took in some recommendations and since the last post quite a few things have changed.

Whereas I own the B1s the C1s have been added, the Sony receiver has been upgraded to a Marantz NR1508, and my subwoofer has been replaced by 2 DIY sealed 12" JLW3v3 woofers powered by a Behringer Inuke NU1000DSP fan modded to lower db.

I'll try to post some pics when I'm on my desktop...

So after some time with the emotivas and improving every hardware I possibly can, I've finally adjusted to them and still stand true to my initial opinion about them. Long story short I feel the series lack colour and personality. I believe the sound coming from them are too sterile - perhaps what audiophiles crave, I couldn't say. I'm pretty much stuck with them which I don't mind too much but the feeling that I could've done better will always loom as an afterthought. With a kid coming my way I don't think I'll ever be able to upgrade so it is what it is and I have to make the best of it. What surprises me is that I feel alone on this one lol

I once owned a Marantz AV7702 and of all the receiver's and processors I have owned it was the least detailed and lackluster one of them all, music had no life or character to it, I recently purchased some Airmotiv 6s speakers and spent some time setting them up in my room, I have them connected to a Sherbourn PT7020 processor and was using a Mac mini as a source running Tidal music streaming and could not stop listening it sounded so good, the clarity and imaging had me wanting more and more. Would be nice to see how you have them setup in your room, and are you using them in a surround setup.

The speaker being what produces the sound is very important of course but it can be limited by what the source is and what is powering the speaker, a good and reasonably thing to try would be something like a Little EGO DAC and a Mini-x A-100 amp and go strictly two channel, but as I mentioned setup for a speaker is key as well, bringing the 6s on Sanus stands out into my room away from any walls made them sound 150% better than tucked in behind my screen, placement is key as are room acoustics.

Make sure to post some pics


Chad

[novisnick]

Oct 24, 2018 23:37:53 GMT -5 okazar said:

Well guys I'm back! Thanks for the posts everyone. I took in some recommendations and since the last post quite a few things have changed.

Whereas I own the B1s the C1s have been added, the Sony receiver has been upgraded to a Marantz NR1508, and my subwoofer has been replaced by 2 DIY sealed 12" JLW3v3 woofers powered by a Behringer Inuke NU1000DSP fan modded to lower db.

I'll try to post some pics when I'm on my desktop...

So after some time with the emotivas and improving every hardware I possibly can, I've finally adjusted to them and still stand true to my initial opinion about them. Long story short I feel the series lack colour and personality. I believe the sound coming from them are too sterile - perhaps what audiophiles crave, I couldn't say. I'm pretty much stuck with them which I don't mind too much but the feeling that I could've done better will always loom as an afterthought. With a kid coming my way I don't think I'll ever be able to upgrade so it is what it is and I have to make the best of it. What surprises me is that I feel alone on this one lol

I’m not sure that you’ve asked for much help considering you only have a couple of posts. The speakers will only bring what they’re given. The problem most likely lies with the AVR and not the speakers. You claim that you’ve made your choice and can’t change any of the gear so at this point I feel you should studthe science of acoustics. There is much you can do about the sound of your system without new gear or spending a ton of money.

Good luck, we’re all here to help.

[socketman]

I will give you my short and not real sweet version. Dont buy speakers , drop in a room with constraints and limitations, tell them this is where you live and you better sound good. There is nothing ideal about your room , the position of the speakers or the seating positions. You have the 3 C's , compromise compromise compromise. If the WAF will let you move some things around, get some wall hangings or make some, cant blame the speakers .

[rbk123]

Have not heard the B1's, but you are driving them with a low end receiver. Is there someone you know with a good pre-amp/amp combo that would bring them over for a listening session? Ignoring the room, the pre is 2nd most important to the speakers and Marantz aren't known for musical pre's on their low end.

If you heard them with a good preamp/amp combo and still found them lacking, I would say it's time to move on to something else.

[okazar]

Thanks for the constructive criticism guys. I thought the NR1508s were a 1up from my old SONY STRDN1020 and I bought it as a FLM from BB for 199 CDN. 

Well before I speak any more here are some pics... 





Well for if I were to upgrade the system in the future which way should I go?

Someone also recommended I use the Behringer to power the B1s to hear them sing.