OA 116 bass driver sound dispersion

[garrulous]

Hi
Does anyone have comment on the proper dispersion of the bass sound from these speakers.
As you know the bass drivers face the floor from the underside of the units. I have tried them on timber, vinyl and carpeted flor covered surfaces. On carpet i have experimented with thick MDF board under them with unconvincing results. Does anyone know please from what surface(hard or soft)Stig originally designed these drivers to reflect their sound??
Thanks
Geoff

[lemmts]

I suppose they were designed for a hard surface. Do you have the original crossovers? After som years Stig Carlson modified them. You can read about it in the last section on this site http://www.carlssonplanet.com/oa116.php. The modification will give better bass. Another problem is that the bassdriver isn't a perfect match to the box.

[garrulous]

Thanks for that.
I note now in the original instruction manual it talks of carpet'the thicker the better' being the preferred floor surface for bass. I tend to disagree on that point, however.
The only upgrades I have done on the units is the replacement of the surrounds to the mid and bass drivers. Are the tweeter replacements mentioned in the upgrade document the same ones that originally surfacedin the OA 2212s?
What Sonabs do you have?
Cheers
Geoff

[teepee1]

Hi,

How did you go resolving the poor bass on your OA-116's?

I have a similar problem, with disapointing bass sound from my OA-116's,
I have never heard a fully reconditioned pair so only have my OA-14's which have excellent bass as a comparison.
The OA-116s have had the bass and midrange surrounds professionally repaired,
the sound is so dissapointing that i'm using my OA14's and have resurrected my Rogers LS7t's.
and the OA116's are relegated to the basement.

Let us know how you went with your OA-116's?

regards
Teepee1

[nazze]

Strange, something is very wrong. OA 116 likes rather heavy furnitured rooms, not to small. Carpets is ok but normally not under the speakers.
Well thats my opinion . Maybe out of phase

[JoelRiehl]

I just finished my own OA116 restoration project. I have installed them in my main system for the time being in place of my Ohm Walsh 2s. I am finding the bass on the Sonabs to be .... "polite" compared to the Ohms, even though the Ohms are rated to 45 Hz on the low end, and the Sonabs all the way down to 25 or so. In fact, the OA116s seem a bit polite compared to the little OD11s I had years ago - or at least my recollection of them. They do a nice job on percussion though. Also, on the advice of another forum member, I swapped out the woofers with 8 ohm [correction - 4 ohm] silver flutes from Madisound, as one of them was broken. This is said to be an acceptable swap[, but I am wondering if the slightly higher impedance from the stock 5.3 ohm drivers equates to some diminishment of the bass]. I'll follow the link on the crossover mod lemmts refers to. I did have my crossovers tested to spec, and they are supposedly working fine.

Unfortunately, I am somewhat restricted as to where I can place them - they are in an alcove situation, and pushed toward the corners. I would expect this to boost bass response if anything. And I have them on a hard floor - not thick carpet as recommended.

p.s. I always loved the OA-14s, and your post reinforces that teepee1.

[nazze]

Ohm Walsh wow
I am sorry to say that the Silverflute is known to be not suitable.
http://www.carlssonkult.se/OA116F.aspx
Yes, 8" woofer and new filter....
Hmmm try a translator app.

[STDI!]

...I swapped out the woofers with 8 ohm silver flutes from Madisound, as one of them was broken. This is said to be an acceptable swap, but I am wondering if the slightly higher impedance from the stock 5.3 ohm drivers equates to some diminishment of the bass. ....

It is recommended to swap the woofers to 4 ohm silver flutes, not 8 ohm.

[JoelRiehl]

My mistake - I ordered and put in the 4 ohm woofers, Silver Flute W17RC38-04 ohm 6-1/2" Wool Cone, not 8 ohm.

They do certain things really well. Percussion is great: crisp and fast, bass on some tracks (jazz) is very natural sounding. But they don't deliver that plump juicy bottom end on things like BB King or certain pop tracks. Once I find some casters for the Sonabs (they are sitting up on blocks like an old Camaro right now), I will experiment more with room placement.

I ran the article through a translator. Thank you for the link - and for the advice on the 8" woofer. Perhaps in future!

[JoelRiehl]

I need to follow up here: Once the Silver Flute woofers broke in - after about a week - they started sounding really good. The bass is plenty full now.