nEar 04 speakers

[fallraen 0]

hey guys i just went down to jaben's today and i decided to audition the nEar 04 speakers by ESI. well... okay i also tested out the Xenos Amp which i am quite interested in and the CK7 of which i really didn't like. but okay

 

so my iAudio U3 broke down as you guys know and using my super old Philips discman... and i had one of my favourite burnt cds. haha then i saw the nEar 04 and 06 speakers on display! haha... i had to test them as i really needed a speaker system to replace my sad (after listening to my wonder ms2 and um1s, the creative speakers just don't meet the cut anymore) 2.1 creative setup.

 

the nEar04 is really small, but surprisingly! the sound that came out of it wasn't what i expected! first impression, small speaker prolly doesn't produce any good sound, no power, low bass. after placing my CD into the CD deck, i was like WAH the nEar 04 is like powerful (for its size)! the sound was clear and crisp really clean, bass wise not as strong as i would like although it still impresses me! its amazingly great to listen to. really good for easy listening i have to admit that the nEar 06 was more powerful and provided a fuller sound, and i think stronger bass too. i found out that, that was because it has 2 amps, one on each speaker. this is not like the nEar 04 that has only 1 amp powering both speakers. now both of them have very similar sound signatures and have left a really good firsts to me.

 

i'm really planning to get the nEar 04 as soon as I can afford them but i'm tempted with the nEar 05s which'll be coming in soon. argh guess i gotta wait till i can test them

 

well i this is just a first take, i will have to go down again to test them maybe another time (and test the 05s too) before i make up my mind, has anyone here tested them out too? comments?

[bakavic 0]

I had less than 5 minutes with the 04 and 06 at Jaben, and like you, I was really suprised at the output of the 04s - it's really like chili padi, small but powerful!

 

I liked the 04's detail, and the bass was quite good for me. It sounded very neutral, not like some speakers which like to overemphasize the bass for that extra "thump" factor. Should bring some vocal as well as rock cds to see how the speakers cope with them.

 

Should take your time to test and find which speakers you like best - don't rush in to buy so fast. Maybe you'll end up liking the 05 more

[fishball79 0]

Heard the near6, was sort of impressed but on hindsight should reaudition. The speakers were placed on top of a large pair of floorstanders. Though not connected, their drivers actually interact with the speakers and might have made them sound bigger than they are. Should put them on the stands or even the table

 

If after that they still sound good then they truly are a good buy.

[yotiao 0]

topics merged, don't need to double post.

[fallraen 0]

sorry didn't see this post earlier lol.

[palestofwhite 0]

Regardless of size, i always feel that monitoring speakers should sound good. Just like my trusty Behringer Truth B2031.

[fallraen 0]

well.... perhaps we all should gather for a m.o. for these speakers. hahahaha. i'd like more bass for my music sometimes, do you think adding the esi sub woofer will help? but if i do that then it wouldn't be "monitoring" or will it be like muddy haha perhaps i could just swtich between speakers......

 

help anyone?

[zer061zer0 0]

well.... perhaps we all should gather for a m.o. for these speakers. hahahaha. i'd like more bass for my music sometimes, do you think adding the esi sub woofer will help? but if i do that then it wouldn't be "monitoring" or will it be like muddy haha perhaps i could just swtich between speakers......

 

help anyone?

 

I always find adding a sub woofer somewhat changes the music. Not as accurate as it should be, not really sure about this any experts to clarify this.

 

[flu_fighter 0]

well.... perhaps we all should gather for a m.o. for these speakers. hahahaha. i'd like more bass for my music sometimes, do you think adding the esi sub woofer will help? but if i do that then it wouldn't be "monitoring" or will it be like muddy haha perhaps i could just swtich between speakers......

 

help anyone?

 

I always find adding a sub woofer somewhat changes the music. Not as accurate as it should be, not really sure about this any experts to clarify this.

 

Not really an expert, but I think subwoofers might drown out some details. Frankly I think you really only need subwoofers for home theatre.

[zer061zer0 0]

well.... perhaps we all should gather for a m.o. for these speakers. hahahaha. i'd like more bass for my music sometimes, do you think adding the esi sub woofer will help? but if i do that then it wouldn't be "monitoring" or will it be like muddy haha perhaps i could just swtich between speakers......

 

help anyone?

 

I always find adding a sub woofer somewhat changes the music. Not as accurate as it should be, not really sure about this any experts to clarify this.

 

Not really an expert, but I think subwoofers might drown out some details. Frankly I think you really only need subwoofers for home theatre.

 

Agreed... If you really like the deep bass, consider floorstanders..

 

[scanfiend 0]

A subwoofer doesn't simply makes "boom, boom, boom"

 

An audio enginner doesn't simply mix the music without adding in bass. Bass adds the needed weight and body and balances out the sound. Without adequate bass, the sound just comes out thin and screechy.

 

Let's face it....the nEar 04, despite producing exceptional sound, just isn't going to be moving enough air in those small enclosures to generate sufficient bass. That's basic physics. The nEar 04 was designed for portability, so some compromises were made. A paired subwoofer (designed for the nEar series) that's properly tuned would fill up the missing sonic info nicely.

 

Different drivers for different frequencies. That's why, generally speaking, dual driver systems sound better than single driver ones. Same principle applies for 2.1 systems with subwoofers. Also why a dual driver UM2 sounds so much better than a single driver UM1

 

I agree, floor standing speaker units are best, but not everyone has the room for them. And did you all see how many driver units they have in some of them?

Edited August 1, 2006 by scanfiend

[zer061zer0 0]

A subwoofer doesn't simply makes "boom, boom, boom"

 

An audio enginner doesn't simply mix the music without adding in bass. Bass adds the needed weight and body and balances out the sound. Without adequate bass, the sound just comes out thin and screechy.

 

Let's face it....the nEar 04, despite producing exceptional sound, just isn't going to be moving enough air in those small enclosures to generate sufficient bass. That's basic physics. The nEar 04 was designed for portability, so some compromises were made. A paired subwoofer (designed for the nEar series) that's properly tuned would fill up the missing sonic info nicely.

 

Different drivers for different frequencies. That's why, generally speaking, dual driver systems sound better than single driver ones. Same principle applies for 2.1 systems with subwoofers. Also why a dual driver UM2 sounds so much better than a single driver UM1

 

I agree, floor standing speaker units are best, but not everyone has the room for them. And did you all see how many driver units they have in some of them?

 

I think the comparison of the earphones to a speakers might not be correct. its 2 different thing i would say. Yes, i belief that the sub woofer must have been tuned but then again. these are monitor which i believe tat are there to project the musie as accurate as possible, then wouldn't a subwoofer which adds additional(artificial) bass to the music distort it to a certain extend. any way its what you really like matter most at the end of the day.

 

I am no expert in this, maybe some experts can clarify...

 

[scanfiend 0]

A proper subwoofer simply plays the lower frequencies that's already within the signal. There should be no "artificial" bass. The frequencies were already IN the music. How well it interacts with the monitors depend on the crossover circuits within the subwoofer, so proper tuning is critical. We're talking about a proper subwoofer here, it's an optional extra. The nEar series of monitors do not need it, but I feel they may benefit with certain genres of music. I sure would like to audition the SW-10K together with the nEar 04 / 05

 

Just as a point of illustration, in order to get deep, throbbing, chest-thumping bass on my nEar 04, I had to play the music LOUD....too loud to be comfortable, especially if I'm only sitting 3-5 feet away I'm guessing that with the SW-10K, I can get the same bass at saner volumes

[aaron-xp 0]

Also why a dual driver UM2 sounds so much better than a single driver UM1 tongue.gif

 

Really subjective, and so is the thing about subwoofers. One man's meat is another man's poison...

[afbug 0]

To get decent bass out of a bookshelf, especially a small one, a subwoofer is essential. Speakers are multiple drivers. Very few feature single driver, in fact, I never seen one except those cheap car speakers. This nEar 04 have 2 drivers. One tweeter and another midrange/woofer. A 4 inch woofer will not shift/move enough air. Anyway, good bass you feel it, not hear it. You'll feel a subwoofer and hear less. And so subwoofer placement is not so critical as you don't hear it. Cheap subs, you hear them. Good ones, you feel them. And subs have different designs too. Some feature twin 10 inch drivers, some have a single 30 inch one. Some are bass reflex, some are sealed, some are ported.

 

In a cinema, you don't hear the woofer. Bass seem to come from almost directions. Rel Acoustics subs are good but probably out of the price range of many.

 

Bass is not JUST bass. There are upper bass, mid bass and low bass. And all the details, layering etc. What the nEar 04 give you is probably upper bass at best. I doubt it can go any lower. I think its more like a sub/sat system.

Edited August 1, 2006 by afbug