AsciLab F6B Bookshelf Speaker Review

[JayGould]

I wouldn't be able to listen to nearly any bookshelf speakers without a subwoofer, so if bass is important to you neither speakers will satisfy you, as the bass is just limited by the speaker size (my subjective opinion).

Got it. Yes I would prefer a sub too but I will be using these in an apartment and I can't have a sub there due to neighbors. Maybe I'll stick to my Adam D3Vs then.

 

[J0my]

Got it. Yes I would prefer a sub too but I will be using these in an apartment and I can't have a sub there due to neighbors. Maybe I'll stick to my Adam D3Vs then.

It may not seem worth it, but you can still get a sub, and just adjust the tuning to where it is a tolerable level, should still be better than the speakers ability (don't quote me on it though).

 

[AlexanderM]

These are on my list.

 

[Mort]

F6B has an extra inch woofer for better bass and an proven neutral response. It'll be a little narrower in terms of directionality which might make the soundstage a little smaller but also more precise. Yes I consider it a smart upgrade over the T5V.

 

[BookshelfBob]

The C6B did not sound impressive until I added a sub for anything with bass.

Went from middling to one of the best set ups i've ever heard. You can't spend this kind of money on speakers and expect anythying else. I knew this but it was stark without the sub. There are tricks to make the bookmark speakers boomier, but it doesn't work on the whole bass response only really deep sounds seem to work on the tricks

 

[Purité Audio]

AsciLab do recommend adding a sub-woofer for ‘full-range’.
Keith

 

[Labjr]

Is there a particular sub-woofer that works best with these speakers?

 

[Purité Audio]

An AsciLab design!
Keih

 

[RPG]

The C6B did not sound impressive until I added a sub for anything with bass.

Went from middling to one of the best set ups i've ever heard. You can't spend this kind of money on speakers and expect anythying else. I knew this but it was stark without the sub. There are tricks to make the bookmark speakers boomier, but it doesn't work on the whole bass response only really deep sounds seem to work on the tricks

Agreed. From my previous set up, I had two SVS PC2000 Pro subs located in opposing corners'ish of my room. After the usual teeth-gnashing hours of getting the subs integrated with the C6B's, new room measurements done, EQ's implemented, etc., the result is absolutely superb. Superior in every way to the F208's I had (and they were good!).

 

[BookshelfBob]

Is there a particular sub-woofer that works best with these speakers?

No, what you should choose depends on the functionality you need.

If all processing/DP is done before it gets to the sub, consensus seems to be you can go quite cheap. A lot of the cost is in the processing. All that matters it the bass response, and can you sync the two subs.

Speedwoofer would have been my choice on dollar per dollar value. I bought a used Revel instead but looking at the charts that was not the right move. I did it for aesthetics and flexibility later. There were some other "pure subwoofer" brands that are eluding me. You'll find info on that everywhere

 

[PoorAudioGuy]

Which one should I go for, this or Kali IN-8 V2?

 

[BookshelfBob]

Which one should I go for, this or Kali IN-8 V2?

If not including price

According to the measurements. The F6B will win

Kali's are active though, these are passive. Depends on what gear you already own if budget is a factor

 

[PoorAudioGuy]

Prices are quite close in Europe. Kali obviously wouldn't need an amp and has deeper bass and is front ported but looks worse and as you mentioned doesn't measure as good.

 

[EJ3]

If not including price

According to the measurements. The F6B will win

Kali's are active though, these are passive. Depends on what gear you already own if budget is a factor

I prefer passive: one of the considerations (a BIG one for me) is that I already own 9 (six NAD 2200's, two 2100's and one Proton D 1200 [all are bridgeable]) very good measuring and higher powered amps. (800 watts a channel into 2 ohms linear 10HZ-40KHz) is not an issue, should I ever need to do it:

Wow, we have one kilowatt of power coming out of this amp in short duration!

Response now (in green) as it should be, ruler flat to below 10 Hz, and well extending past the 40 kHz limit of this measurement.

And good enough for me signal to noise ratio:

And should one go into catastrophic failure (It happened once [since 1984] when a telephone pole transformer {on the pole next to my house at the time}) blew and one of my 2 amps (the Right channel one) that were idling at the time flashed big enough to cast a shadow that could be seen from another room 50 ft. away. Even though they were on 1500 watt USPS(s) at the time.
It was mainly the speaker relay and a few other bits that blew. The USPS that it was connected to was history. The odd thing was that the left side of the system (also on the same circuit) but on it's own USPS: nothing happened to it.
It was later determined by the power companies electrician that at least 45 amps had come down that circuit (yes, the home circuit breaker had tripped).
But I have my gear gone through every 10-15 years, technological updates may be done (as long as they do not affect the original circuit design), maybe newer (better??) caps and other electronic parts may (rarely) get replaced if they are out of spec.
I also have custom (built by me) pair subs that each run on a bridged to mono PROTON D 1200 4 Ohm circuit.
But I am not against ACTIVE speakers, just have yet come up with a use case justifying them for any system that I have.