single driver speakers

Any have an opinion on these? There are two that caught my eye the Norh 3s and TBI Sound Majestic Diamonds. Limited bass but patrtenered with a sub and Sonic Impact amp both could well sound very good.The Diamonds score on ease of placement nad the Norhs on looks and price.

 

The whole point of a "single driver speaker" is that it has a single driver. If the designer who built the speakers you have in mind couldn't figure out a way to add a second driver, what makes you think you can? [Semi-flamebait, semi-serious question]

Audiophiles should stay away from sub-woofers, because they won't follow the rules for proper integration, and that's why so many of them end up moaning about the results..

 

For once, I agree with Oedipus.

 

Dont get the point of oyur question???I am not a designer of anyhting . I simply ask for opinions because I am set on buying either of the two speakers and the amp. As for the sub, I have aready been warned off them by Jan Plummer of TBI Sound who thinks a passive one to match the Sonic would be better anyway- HE is going to design one.

 

Even people that own single driver speakers say they are not for everyone.

If you haven't heard a similar design (but just like the general design principle) I dont think you should buy either pair.

Speakers are so idiosynchratic, and influence the sound more than any other item. I'd stick with trying things at home and buying those that sound the best to you in your price range. It might not be as exciting, but I think it's the best way.

 

ok will do

 

Good subwoofers dont integrate properly, only if you dont know how to set them up properly... :SLEEP:

 

I recently read some rave reviews about class t amps and one in particuar, the Sonic Impact T , a battery operated amp which sells for about £50 .

I was also on the lookout for a small pair of mini monitors nad after doing a search came across a pair of TBI Majestic Diamonds which it so happend were being sold as a package with a S.I T amp. The great thing about this system is their portabilty as the components are all small and light and although one can connect to a mains using a power supply, battery usage is a real plus.

Now this system is not like any other portable one as the sound is in just another league altogether. This. I believe, is due to the class t amplification which, incidentally, I think, will revolutionise not only AV and HiFi but all other areas where audio is involved such as telephones. This is because class t amps are very efficient and are both light and small (the T amp is no bigger than the palm of ones hand) are cheaper to make and one ends up getting a lot bang for ones buck as they say.

I am not going to claim that they are the equal of high end class A, AB or valve amps but I believe the budget / midfi sector is in for a shakeup as more and more of these type of amps appear on the market.Anyway in the end I didnt buy the T amp prefering instead its slightly bigger brother the Super T .This is the rather more Audiophile version being as its encased in aluminium( instead of plastic) has phono inputs and some improved circuitry( I'm told).At about £120 its well worth the extra.

Like the T its an oddity mind standing 6" high and 2" wide. On the front it has but one volume knob, an on/off button and LED light. On the rear there are two pairs of speaker outputs , one pair of line level phono inputs and the main lead and thats it. Oh there is also an external power supply which complies with our voltage. Anyway this is minimilism taken to its logical conclusion as there is no money wasted on unnecesaries. The amp being so light and small that changing the inputs is a doddle. I have a cd player , iPod and phono stage which I can change over with ease.The only snag is that portability is not the same as the T as one needs a 12 volt battery but ,hey, you cant everything

Now to the speakers. These are single driver devices encased in a box measuring 4"x4"x5" Originally I intended to buy a pair of Nohr 3s but got no respone from my emal so opted for these and I have to say that I am in no way disappointed. I have been listening to them now for several hours and am in no way fatigued - they just sound right. The bass is limited but what there is is accurate with no wooliness and the treble ( an area of concern for I hate bright sounding speakers) is smooth and with little percieved sibilance.

What else can I say? Yeah i know I am crazy going against the advice that I myself would give ie dont buy without listening first especially ANY foreign made products which are not obtainable here through the regular retail route. But hey I took a punt and it paid off so I am well chuffed

Btw a sub is also obtainable .TBI recommend their own passive version coupled with a sub amp . At a total of about grand they will have to wait some time. The Diamonds cost me £300 approx- money well spent in my view.

I wont provide a link as I believe you should do your own search as I did as its part of the fun
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Glad you are enjoying the setup.

Did the very small size of the amp and speakers play a part in your choice (?) - the Diamonds are very small!

When you have had them a while (or now if you have listened long enough already) let us know how the Sonic's 6 watts cope with the Diamonds 87db efficiency.

Depending on your taste in music, I wouldn't be surprised if you never add the sub. I have never found lack of bass to be detrimental to listening in the same way that badly produced bass can be.

Interesting choice. Keep us informed.

Jim

 

thanks for the reply, Yes the size was major factor. I was using a large pair of very old Kef Duettes previously which didnt suit me at all and given the fact the room is small I wanted to change things so the setup no longer dominated. I n short my wife and I have completely overhauled it and the Diamonds are kind of tucked away unobstrusively. There are no obvious cables lying around and with only a cd player, super T and Ipod evident ( as well as G5 Mac and printer) things from a aesthetic point of view are much better . We have reclaimed a reception room which we shall use a lot more from now

 

bTw I wasnt aware that anyone in the UK was familiar with the Diamonds and even the super Ts are a bit of novelty.
I put the same post in AVforums and so far no reaction

 

I run a standard sonic impact t-amp (unmodified) with a pair of Diy loudspeakers with 3" paper cones that look similar to the ones in the TBI Majestic Diamonds (only they are not shielded). The speakers are sealed boxes with ~ 1L internal volume and I also think that they sound great with the T-amp, especially for near-field listening. In fact I connected the speakers up to a rotel amp yesterday and it's amazing how little you miss musically (only the low bass), which means a lots of music can work really well (although some just doesnt't work!!).

The driver I used is the visaton FRS8 and cen be ordered from CPC
http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSearch/partDetail.jsp?SKU=LS01666 or impact audio and cost about £8 each. I'll try to take a picture of them today and post that if anyone is interested.