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Chane A1.5 Review (Bookshelf Speaker)

Chromatischism

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It is a complex thing. I measure the tweeter with the mic about 1 cm away from it. This could cause reflections/comb filtering that would be highly dependent on the shape and configuration of the tweeter. I am open for feedback on how to improve this.
I have only done this with dome tweeters, but it should work for planars. With the UMIK-1 on a standard boom, I put the mic much closer. Probably 1/10th of that. That gives pretty high resolution. Does it capture everything the tweeter has to say? I have no idea but it looked smooth to me. A bonus is that with such a close distance, you can (or must) reduce the measurement level which also reduces other potential interference.

(never do this so close with a woofer folks – they will collide)
 
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jhaider

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Never heard these described as bright, let alone hyper bright.

Have you read people calling out the treble specifically? If so, you have heard these so described.

Elevating the treble when using an “exotic” tweeter is a common cheap trick to get people to mentally mistranslate brightness for amazing treble, which obviously must be from the unique magic tweeter that is so much better than common devices and only found in their special speaker.
 

Chromatischism

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Have you read people calling out the treble specifically? If so, you have heard these so described.

Elevating the treble when using an “exotic” tweeter is a common cheap trick to get people to mentally mistranslate brightness for amazing treble, which obviously must be from the unique magic tweeter that is so much better than common devices and only found in their special speaker.
Emotiva was guilty in the Airmotiv 5S and 6S powered speakers. They toned them down considerably for the passive line.
 

DuncanTodd

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Have you read people calling out the treble specifically? If so, you have heard these so described.

Elevating the treble when using an “exotic” tweeter is a common cheap trick to get people to mentally mistranslate brightness for amazing treble, which obviously must be from the unique magic tweeter that is so much better than common devices and only found in their special speaker.
I can't remember if someone called the tweeter specifically. All I know is I've never seen it described as bright before. Lots of people buy these and not all of them are novice users. If it was hyper bright, someone would have said that already. Obviously, I've not seen every single user review.
 
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amirm

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I can't remember if someone called the tweeter specifically. All I know is I've never seen it described as bright before.
I just did a search and first hit on them was this:

1630047336940.png


So now you have seen at least one such report. :)

Let's remember that measurements show a broad shelving up of the highs. Combined with my sensitivity to too much brightness, you naturally got that feedback from me.
 

DuncanTodd

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I just did a search and first hit on them was this:

View attachment 149804

So now you have seen at least one such report. :)

Let's remember that measurements show a broad shelving up of the highs. Combined with my sensitivity to too much brightness, you naturally got that feedback from me.
Touche :)
My statement is based on a general impression from seeing many feedbacks on AVS and other places. If I do a quick search, I can also find feedback on Revel F228Be being too bright to someone's taste, but obviously that wasn't backed with measurements, just subjective impression:
https://www.audioaficionado.org/showpost.php?p=963150&postcount=30
 

More Dynamics Please

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Someone somewhere has called just about every speaker ever made "overly bright." For example JBL Studio 5 series speakers have been called overly bright by some. Yet @amirm who is sensitive to overly bright speakers had this to say in his listening test of the Studio 530:
I started my listening tests with just the single EQ for my room mode where I place the speakers and sit. Here, the sound was one of the least bright or offensive of any speaker I have tested. There is not a "bright" bone in the body of the JBL 530. That also makes it less exciting to listen to.
 

bennybbbx

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the bass mid woofer look excellent. there is not much diffrence in mid distortion between 96 db and 86 db the adam have much more diffrence depend on level https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...adam-a5x-review-powered-studio-monitor.22860/
@amirm In the headphone tests you measure distortion at 3 volume levels. can you please do this on speaker too. measure at 76 db, 86 db, 96 db ?

for stereo width and ITD precision it seem important that the speakers have less diffrence in distorton depend on level. because on stereo each speaker play other signal on stereo so when the speaker distortion depend alot on movement the speaker need do, then it play stereo unprecise. ear can hear diffrence of 20 microseconds in phase in midrange.

EDIT: on music the content of freq over 2 khz is not so much. so when a tweeter can play 76 db with less distortion on music bass and mid need play at more than 90 db

EDIT 2: it use a new technoligy for mid woofer https://forum.chanemusiccinema.com/forum/chane-music-cinema/chane-a-series/184-about-the-technology
 
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Promit

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Let's remember that measurements show a broad shelving up of the highs. Combined with my sensitivity to too much brightness, you naturally got that feedback from me.
I want to press on this a bit - you reviewed my Adam T5V which had a very clear intentional treble shelf. But you were quite effusive in that review, after tossing a quick single filter EQ on there. Both speakers are sorta similar at a glance, planar/AMT tweeters running elevated. What makes the Adam good and the Chane bad? Is it the Chane's ragged FR, the directivity issues, the difference in the overall in-room slope?

I'm hoping to better understand how these individual characteristics add up to a speaker that passes muster or doesn't.
 

Vladimir Filevski

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Both speakers are sorta similar at a glance, planar/AMT tweeters running elevated. What makes the Adam good and the Chane bad?
Elephant in the room is distortion of Chane A1.5 - horrifically high between 2 and 5 kHz, even at relatively low 86 dB SPL.
Adam T5V has very low distortion at the same 86 dB SPL.
 

MZKM

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I took a look at this company's website and spent a few minutes trying, unsuccessfully, to see where they're located and where these are manufactured. No luck but maybe I'm missing something right in front of my nose. To me personally, that is a red flag as far as a manufacturer's trustworthiness is concerned. There's a section that describes the company's history and claimed accomplishments without ever getting around to telling me who the principals are. For a internet direct seller, that's another red flag as far as I'm concerned. No thank you.

Updating this from the Better Business Bureau website: (not a BBB accredited business but that is not unusual for a small business)

Business Details

Location of This Business
123 W Nye Ln STE 129, Carson City, NV 89706-0838

BBB File Opened: 5/3/2013Business Incorporated: 8/23/2013Type of Entity: Limited Liability Company (LLC)


Business Management
  • Mr. Jonathan (Jon) Lane, Managing Member

Contact Information
  • Principal
  • Mr. Jonathan (Jon) Lane, Managing Member
  • Customer Contact
  • Mr. Jonathan (Jon) Lane, Managing Member
Instagram says Tampa.
 

MZKM

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I want to press on this a bit - you reviewed my Adam T5V which had a very clear intentional treble shelf. But you were quite effusive in that review, after tossing a quick single filter EQ on there. Both speakers are sorta similar at a glance, planar/AMT tweeters running elevated. What makes the Adam good and the Chane bad? Is it the Chane's ragged FR, the directivity issues, the difference in the overall in-room slope?

I'm hoping to better understand how these individual characteristics add up to a speaker that passes muster or doesn't.
The Chane has much wider dispersion, just look how much more flat even the Sound Power is from 400Hz-4kHz. That will contribute to brightness.
 

sarumbear

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I find it funny that various posters are treating this company as suspect because one of their speakers was measured to have too much high frequency output, an acoustical error. It’s not like they have done a financial error, cheated buyers out of pocket or failed to deliver and you are chasing them. What would it change if they are based in NY or Tampa?
 
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amirm

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I want to press on this a bit - you reviewed my Adam T5V which had a very clear intentional treble shelf. But you were quite effusive in that review, after tossing a quick single filter EQ on there.
I gave good review to this one post EQ.
 

Wseaton

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Elevating the treble when using an “exotic” tweeter is a common cheap trick to get people to mentally mistranslate brightness for amazing treble, which obviously must be from the unique magic tweeter that is so much better than common devices and only found in their special speaker.

B&W called. Wants their current marketing strategy back :)

The marketing guys are saying bright treble helps sales because of all of us aging hi fi buyers. To me it just sounds bad. I'm not a huge fan of ribbon twtters, mainly because its so difficult to get a ribbon tweeter to 'gel' sonically with a typical cone based midrange. When a ribbon tweeter is not balanced properly it only makes the problem worse.

Frankly I've not ever heard a two way ribbon tweeter design sound great. Emotiva included,
 

Dennis Murphy

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B&W called. Wants their current marketing strategy back :)

The marketing guys are saying bright treble helps sales because of all of us aging hi fi buyers. To me it just sounds bad. I'm not a huge fan of ribbon twtters, mainly because its so difficult to get a ribbon tweeter to 'gel' sonically with a typical cone based midrange. When a ribbon tweeter is not balanced properly it only makes the problem worse.

Frankly I've not ever heard a two way ribbon tweeter design sound great. Emotiva included,

Well, you might want to check out my mod of the Emotiva, and I've never had any problem mating the BG 3.0 tweeter with a 6" woofer. Of course, planars aren't true ribbons with super narrow elements. I've had a lot more trouble getting a completely successful blend using the RAAL 10mm ribbons in a 2-way.
 

bennybbbx

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there are bruelandkjair.targetcurve trained.targetcurve and some more out
this file .targetcurve found on some pages and reduce high freq. Hifi speakers often reduce 200-400 hz and boost high freq. can see on 1.5 too. so target curves help. math audio room eq can load such target curves. math room eq can use for free in foobar2000 player. if you have no measure microphone you can use it too, it do no room correction but do hearing curve correction to hear the influence from diffrent target curves.

the brain do frequency correction, so after some minutes hear it sound not dull when target curve reduce high not too much.
see screenshots. the trained target curve sound too dull for me only when hear loud(over 85 db) sound ok. it also depend on how loud you hear.
for ear protection when hear loud it is always good when use the target curve that have a reduce in high but sound on songs and volume you hear not dull.

when click on bright in room eq it is linear. neutral use this high freq reduce
neutral switch.jpg


when click on load preset and switch from load format SNR to targetcurve you can load the files. i have only this
bruel Kjair.jpg


trained.jpg


if somebody know where more target curves can download, let know
 
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Erici

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there are bruelandkjair.targetcurve trained.targetcurve and some more out
this file .targetcurve found on some pages and reduce high freq. Hifi speakers often reduce 200-400 hz and boost high freq. can see on 1.5 too. so target curves help. math audio room eq can load such target curves. math room eq can use for free in foobar2000 player. if you have no measure microphone you can use it too, it do no room correction but do hearing curve correction to hear the influence from diffrent target curves.

the brain do frequency correction, so after some minutes hear it sound not dull when target curve reduce high not too much.
see screenshots. the trained target curve sound too dull for me only when hear loud(over 85 db) sound ok. it also depend on how loud you hear.
for ear protection when hear loud it is always good when use the target curve that have a reduce in high but sound on songs and volume you hear not dull.

when click on bright in room eq it is linear. neutral use this high freq reduce
View attachment 150214

when click on load preset and switch from load format SNR to targetcurve you can load the files. i have only this
View attachment 150213

View attachment 150212

if somebody know where more target curves can download, let know

There is a post on target curve files right here on ASR:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ker-target-responses-in-csv-txt-format.16401/
 

MarkyM

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FYI...I just did a quick THD test on one of my Chane A1.5 tweeters and am getting about 0.7% THD at 2kHz, 86dB SPL @1m:

A1.5_2kHz_86dB.png


This is just a "quick & dirty" measurement with my UMIK-1 microphone that I use for Dirac Live.

I have had the A1.5's for about a year and a half and have found them somewhat open but certainly not overly bright before calibration, and quite smooth sounding after Dirac Live calibration. This is a near-field desktop system so doesn't have to play very loud:

Chanes.jpg



--Mark--
 
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