Question about my new Swan Speakers (1 Viewer)

[Matt Obie]

I just received my Swan Speakers and had a quick question.
I bought the 6.1 BC, the 2.1 BC and the C3 BC. I hooked them up and they sound awesome. They blow my old DEF Techs away. I took off the grills and noticed there are little foam blockers in the ports. Are these in there for just shipping or are they for tuning like my SVS Sub? Should I remove them or leave them in?

Thanks, Matt

 

[Sam A]

which sounds better?

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

These are for shipping to keep anything from getting inside the cabinet through the port. You should remove them for use. If you leave them in you'll be seriously limiting the low frequency output and turning the cabinet into a sealed cabinet which is not optimal since the crossovers were designed for the cabinet to be used as it was built, as a ported design.

 

[Ricky c]

What def.techs did these swans blowaway?

 

[Matt Obie]

They were the BP6's. They were Bi-polar so that may be why the swans sound mucher tighter.


Thanks, Matt

 

[Rob Kramer]

They are for tuning (my B&Ws also came with these - as do a lot of others).

With NO plugs, the bass will go lower at a flat freq (F3) but has a quicker dropoff (slope). With the plugs IN, the bass does not go as low at F3, but it also doesnt drop off as fast.

Consider it like a max extension / max output model.

Usually, if the speakers are near a wall (or enclosed space), the plugs are beneficial. Bass may become too boomy (or muddy), and the plugs help smooth it out by cutting the SPL (while keeping the depth). If the speakers have a lot of free space around them, remove the plugs.

Of course, you should try it both ways and see how it works for YOU.

 

[ScottCHI]

my KEFs have them too, and in their case, that is what they're for. and i'd be inclined to agree with you about the swans, too; that they're for tuning. BUT.............

i saw a post by jon lane, from swan, recently that suggested that they're simply there for shipping.

/shrugs

beats me. maybe jon will see this thread and respond.


in the case of my KEFs, the instructions specifically state what the bung is for. and i use 'em, too. with my sub, my setup (xover setting, etc.), and my room, they sound much better plugged. if i had no sub, i probably would not plug them, though.

 

[TonyWright]

I was under the impression that they were for shipping as well. Maybe I should bust mine out again and give them a shot.

Tony

 

[Jon Lane]

They're for shipping.

Cabinets the size of each of the Swan models will be mistuned if the plugs are left in, however, in a system with a subwoofer (don't we all?) you could leave 'em in and use the "new" modified response slope in conjunction with your receiver/processor's electronic highpass to acquire the final crossover function to the sub.

Short version: If you're REAL sure you're taking all of the bass out of the main speaker with an electronic crossover, you can leave the plugs in. Such may result in a smoother overall function.

But the bottom line is that the plugs keep stuff out of the speaker between final manufacture and your home.

 

[Rob Kramer]

Only one way to tell, right?

 

[Jon Lane]

Yes indeed, Rob. I say "may" because the final flat mesh between satellite and subwoofer (a topic that gets too little attention in HT circles, IMHO) may be assisted by a more gradual speaker rollout at a higher frequency...if the user knows how to set up the crossovers.

 

[Matt Obie]

Thanks for all the replies, I am still working on setting up my home theater, so I will try both ways as soon as I get my SVS sub hooked up and calibrated.

Thanks, Matt

 

[john_FE]

Hey I didnt no this about the plugs, I thought they were supposed to be their. My receiver is finally coming tomorrow so I will mess around with it then.