comparisons

Posted by: dsiroky

comparisons - 02/19/07 01:34 AM

So are there any reviews yet? and are these actually shipping?

I'm in the market for new speakers to replace my JBL northridge E100's. The JBL's were ok, they had good bass with the dual 10" drivers, but the midrange was muddy compared to my yamaha NS777's or my yamaha HS80 studio monitors. I have my yamaha ns777's paired with an LFM-1 and it's a terrific combo.

So I was thinking of getting the paradigm 20's, which are similarly priced - but went in to listen to them and thought they had great detail, but lacked a bit in the bass department.

Now I've heard about these new bookshelf speakers and since I love the LFM-1 I wonder if they might be a better way to go.

The only thing is I worry about lack of bass and wonder whether they'll need a subwoofer, or perhaps I should wait for the full size version to come out.
Posted by: gonk

Re: comparisons - 02/19/07 07:57 AM

No reviews - they haven't started shipping, so nobody's heard them yet.

As for the question about needing a sub, here's what is mentioned at the beginning of the FAQ :

Quote:
Q: Does The Outlaw Bookshelf Loudspeaker require a powered subwoofer?

A: That is an interesting question. The loudspeakers have a -3dB down point of 52Hz. We spent many hours listening to a wide variety of music and they never sounded "thin" or lacking in satisfying bass. In fact, one of our listeners actually thought we had a subwoofer in the system. However, we want to remind everyone that in most cases, the use of the phrase "full range speaker" is a misnomer. We can think of only a handful of speakers that really reach down to 20Hz and all of them are quite large. Therefore, while the low frequency information from The Outlaw Bookshelf Loudspeaker is quite surprising, it does not preclude the need for a powered subwoofer, such as our own LFM models, in home theater systems where dedicated LFE information often extends to the low 20Hz range.
The Studio 20's frequency response is 54Hz to 22kHz (±2 dB), so the two speakers should have a similar bottom end. For music, the 50Hz neighborhood could be an OK bottom end in many cases, but some material could come away seeming weak in the low end - and movies certainly would, since LFE tracks are going to emphasize the area where the speaker is tapering off. That's going to be true of any bookshelf speaker: ~50Hz is actually pretty respectable for a little speaker like this.

At this point, unfortunately, it's too soon to say anything definitive: nobody's heard them yet. There is Outlaw's 30-day trial period, of course, if you decide to demo them at home...
Posted by: dsiroky

Re: comparisons - 02/19/07 03:08 PM

I won't be watching any movies on these - it's purely for music.

I stopped by a local store and demoed the studio 20's with the music I like to listen too (mainly pop music), and I must say I found the base lacking a bit. When we switched to the studio 60's it sounded significantly better.

I expect if both these bottom out at around 50/52hz then I'm either going to need to pair them with a sub, or look for a larger speaker.

I wonder what sub you would pair these with? I would think the LFM-1 would be overkill.
Posted by: psyprof1

Re: comparisons - 02/19/07 04:18 PM

You think pairing one Outlaw product with another would be overkill? I doubt it.
Posted by: dsiroky

Re: comparisons - 02/19/07 06:41 PM

The LFM-1 physically is very large - probably 4x the size of one of just one of the bookshelf speakers - if I'm reading the dimensions right.

don't get me wrong - I love my LFM-1 for watching home movies,

Assuming you just want these for music - is adding a sub with a huge 12" driver too much?
Posted by: gonk

Re: comparisons - 02/19/07 07:36 PM

There's always the LFM-2...
Posted by: tonygeno

Re: comparisons - 02/19/07 08:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by dsiroky:
The LFM-1 physically is very large - probably 4x the size of one of just one of the bookshelf speakers - if I'm reading the dimensions right.

don't get me wrong - I love my LFM-1 for watching home movies,

Assuming you just want these for music - is adding a sub with a huge 12" driver too much?
No.
Posted by: AARONMADLER

Re: comparisons - 02/19/07 08:34 PM

You could always use your sub (LFM-1 +) as a coffee table and then you would be killing two birds with one stone.
Posted by: psyprof1

Re: comparisons - 02/20/07 12:57 AM

I don't understand "just for music" as opposed, I guess, to movie LFE's. For a lot of us "music" includes pipe organs, many of which are capable of musical notes - not noise! - a LOT lower in pitch than you'll find in movie sound tracks. Listen to the second movement of Saint-Saens's Third (Organ) Symphony - there are some soft organ pedal notes there that are below 20 cycles, at least in some recordings. Another place is in the "Saturn" part of Holst's The Planets. Maybe the LFM-1 can get that low - I don't know.
Does any music outside classical get down that far? Maybe someone else can tell us.
Anyway for that kind of music LFM1-size subwoofers woulod certainly not be "too much"; rather, anything smaller wouldn't be enough.