Lots of detail, great imaging, not much bass?

Since I just got into a couple of pairs of Minuets, I have to give a plug for the Silverlines. They have good bass, but they don't go low. Just for reference, when I run a sub for music that would benefit from it, I run my sub crossed over at 55hz, although I have been running the Minuets without the sub for the most part.

The funny thing about the Minuets is that you can spend time with placement, setting them up to sound their best; but I've also found that I've been really hard pressed to make them sound bad. They sound good no matter where I put them. Mine are sitting on shelves in an entertainment center.

I've had Paradigm Studio 10s and 20s and in my room, the Minuets sound much better. They put out a nice sound stage and have yet to hear them get edgy. I know that this is said a lot in reference to small speakers, but these really do sound a lot bigger than they really are.

For your budget, you can get a pair of Minuet Supreme Pluses brand new. You might also want to consider the ERA D4 and D5.

Oh, I forgot to mention System Audio 505s. Another tiny pair of speakers, similar in size to the Minuets. I ultimately traded those for a pair of Minuets because they were a bit picky about placement. Well, maybe not picky, since I can't consider a speaker not wanting to be on a shelf picky; but they didn't like being in an entertainment center.

If you can find some 505s used, they go for about $400.

B_limo,

I'm assuming that we're talking about an apartment environment. Right? What speakers do you have now? Is size a consideration?

I don't know about the LS50s. It seems that many of the reviews and owner comments revolve around the amount of bass that the LS50s produce, which is something that the OP is trying to avoid.

I recommended the Minuets because they are small, and thus, are limited by their size in the bass department. I do, however, have to qualify this by saying that although the Minuets are small, they are not, in the least, bass shy. No, they do not go low, but they do produce what they can with pretty good authority.

Maybe your answer would be to get a pre amp with tone controls so that you can dial down the bass. Or perhaps you could check out some of NHT's offerings. Unless I'm mistaken, they offer a couple of smaller models that are of the sealed variety, although the models that I've tried didn't even come close to the quality of the music coming from the Minuets.

If you're looking at minuets, there are three models floating around. The latest are the Minuet Supreme Plus. The models before that were the Minuet Supreme and the then there is the first model, the plain old Minuet.

They are all ~9" tall and 5" wide. The original came wrapped in a vinyl veneer. The Supreme has a wood veneer. The original and Supreme are ~7" deep. The Plus added almost another 2" to the depth, making them go a bit deeper.

There were a couple of other adjustments. Listening to them side by side, you can tell minute differences.

I sent you a message.

Larry makes an interesting point. If you have speakers that you like, why not just add a crossover. I was just looking into the model offered by Hsu.

I'm guessing that maybe the 50hz high pass module would do it.

Lowrider, I'm not talking about a passive inline crossover. This is just something that someone else brushed upon in another thread and the use of an active crossover was brought up.

Given B_limo's situation, it just seemed that adding an active cross over to the his system might allow him to side step getting rid of his speakers in favor of something that doesn't go as low.

Of course, we're just talking here and most of what I'm saying is just speculation, but whether a crossover will limit the flexibility of his system will depend on the roll off of the crossover.

If he goes with something with a steep roll off, like 24db per octave, it seems to me that high passing his speakers at 50 or 60hz would get him what he wants for his particular problem.

Believe me, I'm no expert on the subject, but it also seems to me that a steep crossover would not limit anything, but would possibly be a solution to his rather unique situation.

This thread just got of parallels something that I was discussing about my own system.

lowrider,

In a late night daze, I ordered a pair of Fmods, made by Harrison Labs. I got them in a couple of weeks ago and they've been sitting in my truck ever since. With all of the talk of crossovers and such, I guess I thought I'd give them a try. Since getting them, though, I've decided that my little Minuets sound really good run full range, so here the Fmods sit, still in their package.

The ones that I have are the 70hz high pass model with a 12db per octave roll off on the low side. If you want to give them a try, I'll send them to you for the whopping price of the shipping. They were only $30 or so new and not worth my time trying to sell them.

If your setup can accommodate them, they just go inline between the pre and amp (or I supposed you can use them through a tape loup). Cutting the lows going to your amp might just be the ticket for you. And cheaply.