vnzbd Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 After waiting for some Quartets to come available in my neck of the woods for approx 2 years a set finally poped up. I had visions of turning one into a center channel between my Chorus IIs and keeping the second for parts etc. Two days later a second set came up locally and I jumped on those also. I moved the Chorus out of the way and listened to the Qs for two channel, nice results. I decided for some unknown reason to stack the second(inverted) set and just play around. I can say what I heard was quite pleasing. The sound stage is a little higher, imaging is very comparable to the CIIs, and the bass is a little tighter. I have been listening to this config for about two weeks and expect I will for a little while longer. Just having some fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 After waiting for some Quartets to come available in my neck of the woods for approx 2 years a set finally poped up. Mike, Sorry I just can't let mine go. Quartets are sweet. I decided for some unknown reason to stack the second(inverted) set and just play around. I can say what I heard was quite pleasing. The sound stage is a little higher, imaging is very comparable to the CIIs, and the bass is a little tighter. I once had a similar notion and placed my Heresys inverted on top of my Quartets driven by my Marantz 2252B and I also enjoyed the sound I heard. Though I did not play it too loud and for too long due to the 4ohms loads using the A/B speakers. Didn't want to fry my Marantz.[li][6] Just having some fun! Isn't that what this hobby is all about? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vnzbd Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Bill, I can understand you not wanting to let them go. Where my Chorus IIs sound bigger, I am amazed at the full range that comes out of such a small box. No issue with power as each is driven from a seperate channel of the XPA-5. I was sooo close to finally having the ht dialed in...... then I had to have some fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFord Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Seems like that is often how it works when hunting for some item, after you find the first one, you keep finding more. Have some fun and enjoy the stacked pairs, but before you get too attached I would run some sweeps and see what sort of frequency abnormalities you are getting from the interaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vnzbd Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Well it's time to update this thread. I listened for the stacked Qs for several weeks with enjoyment with the height of the sound field and effortless dynamics. I did notice that the L/R imaging was off, everything had a little left bias. I then replaced the stacked Qs with the Chorus IIs again, they never sounded better. Time to stop playing around and just enjoy.....Not so fast! I decided for a nominal investment to refresh one pair of the Qs for an A/B test. I ordered up some caps and Ti tweeters from BC and did the install. While the Qs had some down time I decided to do some internal bracing on them and ended up doing in to all four since the supplies were handy. Well I haven't done and A/B comparison yet but... I have restacked them with the updated ones on top, inverted. the bottoms are ringht side up, but with the tweets and mids disconected, just running the lows. Each speaker is run on a seperate channel of my Emotiva XPA-5. How does it sound? The L/R imaging seems to be spot on or better than the Chorus IIs. Dynamics(very noticible in the lows) are incredible at lower volumes. The C IIs need to be pushed a harder to reach the mid base levels the Qs hit at a much lower db output. Very tactile! Tonights samples were SRV, Simply Red, Joe Banamassa and Puddle of Mudd. Nothing was pushed to the extreme and no need was felt. My concern now is running the bottom Q's woofer only. The current setup is the factory crossover stock with just the mid and tweet removed from the curcuit. Any advise on safty/quality mods are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 20, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 20, 2012 It's official, SSD disease (Stacking Speaker Disease) is really spreading across Southern Florida quickly ! I think I know the source and it's right next to a big lake. [:#] Have fun, the only thing that cost anything so far were the new parts, no reason not to play, especially when it's free. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 It's official, SSD disease (Stacking Speaker Disease) is really spreading across Southern Florida quickly ! I think I know the source and it's right next to a big lake. I blame this guy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 21, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 21, 2012 I blame this guy... That's the culprit, he's a normal looking guy but has secret powers were not sure about. If you want to try to catch him use some Sam Adams for bait along with a little cigar smoke mixed with some female hormones, almost guaranteed success in the right combination. [Y] Just be careful and good luck. [:#] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Back on topic I have noticed over the years that stereo sources seem to be engineered with a slight left channel bias. Of course this won't be true 100% of the time and I am mainly basing my observation on vinyl as the stereo source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRFL Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 It's official, SSD disease (Stacking Speaker Disease) is really spreading across Southern Florida quickly ! I think I know the source and it's right next to a big lake. ; I caught that SSD some few years ago and mum was not impressed with the staked LaScla in my bedroom. Made me sell the 2nd pair. Then at the Studio we tried to stack 3 pair of LaScala but the ceiling was 2 low so we made Pyramids instead so that must be a complication of SSD probably PSSD. If only we had had more we could have made wallpaper.[H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRFL Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Back on topic I have noticed over the years that stereo sources seem to be engineered with a slight left channel bias. Of course this won't be true 100% of the time and I am mainly basing my observation on vinyl as the stereo source. I found this happened when the skating force needed tweeking. I would always check by reversing the stereo to make sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vnzbd Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 While running the stacks full range, I would say that the left bias was very strong. Listening to familar material what normally appear almost centered between the speakers would shift to approx 2/3 to the left. I certainly can't explain why. I am by no means a critical listener but after a few minutes on the couch it was distracting. I did not try them with the tops not inverted, not sure what difference if any it would have made. Last nights listening was Santana and the sound track to the "Thomas Crown Affair". Excellent. Again I am just amazed by the midbass at lower volume levels. My neighbors may come to love me yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 It's official, SSD disease (Stacking Speaker Disease) is really spreading across Southern Florida quickly ! I think I know the source and it's right next to a big lake. ; I caught that SSD some few years ago and mum was not impressed with the staked LaScla in my bedroom. Made me sell the 2nd pair. Then at the Studio we tried to stack 3 pair of LaScala but the ceiling was 2 low so we made Pyramids instead so that must be a complication of SSD probably PSSD. If only we had had more we could have made wallpaper. Stacking..... The basic "mode" is inverted second pair (identical type) if the amp is going to drive both pairs. Enhanced "mode" is non-inverted, but in order to pull it off, you have to have identical amps that allow you to "dial in" the effect you want. In all of my "stacking", I found that stacking horn loaded bass speakers will work, but...... requires a phase change for the upper pair's bass, or a large room. I mean rather large..... What I have been able to figure out is how to stack non-identical speaker pairs. They do, however, need to be similar if not the same manufacturer and type, such as Heritage. In order to make it work you either need an active crossover with a time delay function, or separate (identical topology is fine...) amps. The best combination, as many have "experienced" in visits to the Wall of Voodoo, is K'horns as the "base" system, with Heresy's stacked. Belles stacked with Cornwalls will work also, but you have to have a larger room to get it right. Lotta' things come into play here, and comb filtering is probably the worst issue. That problem is solved in the instance of the K'horns with Heresy's by virtue of the inherent time delay on the K-33 travel path vs the travel path of the direct radiator on the Heresy. Comb filtering can be negated by the positioning of the stacks of identicals that take advantage of reflected sound propagation. That tends to reduce the "null" nodes the further you get away from the speaker sources themselves. "Stacking" in horizontal or vertical arrays has been around forever. Usually commercial venues, but when they do it, they always use seprate amps for the "pairs", and "dial it in" . In short, it takes patience and time to set up the position of the "stack", and tailoring the amps to the configuration desired. But when it's done right, the effects are amazing. You can control apparent depth and width of the sound stage, and "move" the listener closer or further away from the source performing. Just some thoughts from South Florida..... LOL!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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