Does this philosophy make sense?

[echosystm]

Hi,

Perhaps some of you have heard of a company called "Blue Sky". Basically, they make 2.1 monitoring systems with sealed satellites. Their web site has a number of pages outlining why they do this and why they believe the typical 2 way bass reflex speaker isn't ideal. See the links below.

http://abluesky.com/asp/news/newspage.asp?id=75
http://abluesky.com/asp/catalogue/ca...asp?linkid=144

I would like to ask the experts on this forum - is their philosophy valid and, if so, why isn't every studio monitor company doing this? I find this part a little bit hard to believe, but their sales jargon makes sense to a layman like me.

I'm in the market for a new set of monitors and I am considering going down this track. However, the EXO and MediaDesk packages have very small satellites that only go down to 150hz and 110hz respectively. Thus, the subwoofer is crossing over a little bit high for my liking. AFAIK, subwoofers should cross over around 80-90hz, right? At what point do low frequencies truly become undirectional?

Cheers,
Jared

[Glowbug]

I'm definitely a fan of the sealed speakers I've heard - particularly the Audio Note ANs.

Not to say that a ported monitor sounds bad, though

[planet10]

As far as it goes it is a valid philosophy. They leave out a lot thou.

Separating low bass from the satelittes has very real advantages, but to overcome room resonance you really need at least 2 woofers, running in mono. (Toole, Geddes)

Their choice of butterworth Q for sealed is restrictive... it depends. Certainly it is usually easier to get a sealed box to integrate with woofers below. The optimum Q for the woofer is dependent on your room gain (which is related to how solid your room is). I tend towards Q of 0.5-0.58.

I've have never really been a fan of typical BR, but sometimes a sealed box can sound constrained/constipated. That led me to lower pressure boxes. TLs, aperiodic boxes, variations on vented that shy away from the failings of a typical BR (ie Fonkens, MBVRs).

Speaker design is all about picking the compromises that work for you and the context of how they are being used. And being diyers we have much more room to roam.

One thing i can say... this philosophy helps these guy stand out from a succession of me too boxes.

dave