How to design a great rock music speaker - Alan Shaw (Harbeth)

Found these comments while perusing the Harbeth forums. Thought they were interesting coming from the designer himself. Had a chuckle when he mentions the NS-10 speakers that there's currently a thread on.

 

Klipsch Heresys. 'Nuff said.

 

Yea, if you don't mind wearing earplugs while you're listening.

 

Were talking "Rock Music Speaker" right?

 

I dunno. I never had the idea that a rock album(and most are recorded in a *studio*) should sound like a live performance, but to sound as faithful to the *recording* as possible. If my speakers sounded like most rock concerts I attended, out the door they'd go.

 

My JBLs do the trick.

 

Yea, i found it interesting that AS feels that a great rock speaker would not have the same characteristics of say a folk speaker. IE it should play much louder, have more of a colored sound and try to mimic the live performance frequency response more. Hmmm. I find that I like hard rock style music on my AR9's much better than my Klipschorns. The Khorns seem to color the rock style of music too much for my liking. Different strokes I guess.

 

My Klipsch Heresys are great for rock music, but I wish I had a stage to put
them up on and a hall to play them in. Then they would sound about right.

 

But let's remember that Shaw is totally anti-rock is his speaker design philosophy, saying words to the effect that the market for rock speakers is not his company's area of concern, and saying that there are numerous American companies that can supply that type of speaker. Shaw's area of interest is with classical music and acoustic jazz.

 

Well, thank goodness he wasn't considering that all when he designed the Harbeths!

 

I am basically in disagreement with Shaw. I listen to 70% rock music and I find that what I consider good rock speakers work for other sorts of music, but the reverse is not necessarily true. I do not think that accurate tonality is unimportant in rock--there are voices and instrumental melodies, after all.

Like most home listeners, I do not intend to duplicate the ear damaging levels of music played in clubs. On the odd occasion I might like to hit 95 db, but generally "loud" is between 85 and 90 db peaks and "really loud" is 90-95. This measured with the analog Radio Shack SPL meter.

The one thing I agree on wholeheartedly is the suitability of paper cones for rock music. I'd point out that the majority of rock sound is electric guitar, and that is produced by paper coned speakers. I find that electric guitar sounds more right on those than other speakers. I surmise it's because the distortion of the speaker complements and recedes into the distortion of the original instrument. There is a penalty--it sounds a bit hashy compared to plastic, but IME it is more "open."

I also don't think the presence region should have any boost--the recording and mastering engineers have presented the spectral balance they prefer, and I would rather just hear that than the imposition of a speaker. That said, if there are tradeoffs to be made--and there always are, then I prefer having a little bite in the sound to none at all. I ultimately ditched my Spendor S100s because they were a bit dull and heavy sounding. The lowest bass was great, but the mid-bass was sodden and overdone (and they measure that way too).

To me the fundamental problem with many full range audiophile installations is that they fall apart with the repeated thumps and thwacks of the bass guitar and kick drum. What you get too frequently is a limp, oversized, one-note muddle that ruins the sound. I have heard this on many occasions at the various Stereophile shows in New York, and in dealer showrooms. Rock demands tight, precise, tuneful bass--and careful attention to the room modes as well. Overhang, whether from the room or the speaker, makes it sound like the bass and kick are lagging the band. I understand that "fast" bass is a misnomer, and that the action is in the overtones, but these must be properly damped, and their presence must not muddy the lower mids. Personally I have found sealed designs best most consistent in delivering subjectively "fast" bass, although I am currently using one half transmission line (Rega Ela) and one isobarik (arguably just a flavor of sealed). I love old ARs and KLHs and Advents from the 60s and 70s for their bass.

Many speakers designed with classical in mind never have to reproduce a dry bass sound. The bass in a concert hall is warm and reverberant, and even tympani have a halo of reflected sound, unlike a kick drum in a rock recording, which is recorded by a mic IN the drum, sitting on a pillow. So underdamped bass is quite pleasant on classical, and a way to give the impression of weight, but it is death to rock.

Other than that one issue, I don't think "rock" speakers should be any different than other high fidelity speakers. I find the "tune test" (how easily do you follow the tune) is an excellent way to integrate all of the factors of speaker design, and all good speakers (including Harbeths) give a great sense of tunefulness.

 

You're correct. I do sense a bit of dislike for rock music in Alan's comments. One would think that an excellent speaker design would handle all forms of music well.

 

If you want a good rock´n´roll speaker, go for a pair of big Tannoy dualconcentric.

 

Love it!

 

Yes, Harbeths sound great to me on all kinds of music. I hope he never designs a "rock music" speaker.

 

Me too.

 

My big UREI 813As sound very good with rock music -fast, extremely dynamic and plenty of big 15" woofer bass. Perhaps they are a little dry and don't 'soundstage' well, but you can hear differences in recording techniques. On the other hand, they don't sound very good with Baroque/light classical - even though they work with folk music.

 

My JBL's do the trick too.(four S312II,the S-center & the S120PII subwoofer)

 

Now I know that I'll never buy Harbeth.

 

Mr. Shaw clearly stated, "This is just for fun!"
I think if you actually heard rock played on Compact 7, SHL5, or the Monitor 40 you'd probably like it. Having owned Harbeth speakers over the past few years I can say that they sound just fine with rock music.