Canadian mag RB-5 review = "monitor quality"

[RossVTaylor]

I just saw a review of the RB-5s in a Canadian magazine at my local Border's Books. I think the mag was called Audio Visual Ideas, or something similar. Tucked away in the middle of the mag's speaker guide was a very positive review of the RB-5 speakers. In a nutshell, the mag said they were possibly the perfect speaker for tube amp lovers with smaller rooms. They said the RB-5 was a near-monitor quality speaker that out-performed its price. Performance without a sub was surprisingly good in the bass end, they said (but we already knew that, didn't we!).

Ross

[Audio Flynn]

I have owned my RB5s since August 2000 and have been very pleased. This weekend I replaced my $70 MDF 28 inch tall stands with Sanus Steel SF 24(inch tall) stands. I ordered them direct from Sanus so I could get them with a larger "top plate".

I then purchased two 25 lb. bags of no. 7.5 lead bird shot from Bass Pro Shop. The stands have 2 fillage tubes per stand. It is a bit tedious to fill the stands but worth the trouble.

I used the spikes on the bottom plate in the carpet(concrete slab underneath in the family room) and the included molded neoprene isolators for the top plate. Stereophile's writers like "Blu Tack" for dampening; I will switch that for the molded isolators at another time.

Well....

The bass was tighter and more detailed; more detail all around. Personal theory is the excessive cabinet resonance with the old stands was inhibiting the optimum performace of the RB5s.

It was a little less than a $200 tweak but totally changed the sound in a very positive way. Better than biwiring 2 months ago.