I've developed an OCD habit now of putting the grills on after each listening session, and then pulling them off again for listening, because I'm worried about that expensive tweeter and fantasize that the cloth + grill frame actually provides a modicum of protection.
At least more than no grill, right?
I always leave the grills on mine 24/7 for the same reason as you. I have two cats and 3 clumsy children and so rather than taking them on and off (or forgetting which would the day they get damaged) I just leave them in place.
Losing 2% of the performance is worth the peace of mind for me.
We have 3 cats and a clumsy housekeeper.
I've lost..I dunno...3 cartridges, probably, to the dreaded turntable dusting.
I'm going to post something that may sound like addle-brained reefer madness:
These speakers need about 3-5 minutes to warm up if they've been cold for a while.
In theory, I suppose all speakers have a time period to get to intended operating temperature, but it's more noticeable with the Heritage Specials than any other speaker I've owned.
Maybe it's because of the big fat 75 mm voice coil on the woofer?
I thought I was crazy, but it's actually mentioned in the user manual, although I don't think it's specific to the Heritage Special.
"a couple of minutes before every listening session will be helpful to “warm up” the loudspeakers."
I just got my pair today.
Have it hooked up with the Benchmark AHB2 and DAC3.
I think you are right about the "warm-up". Because right out of the box, music sounded slow and the higher frequencies were reaching my ear sooner than the rest of the audio band.
Bass is very, very interesting with this speaker. I can see this as a polarizing attribute. It reminds me a lot like a sealed speaker, has the tightness, speed, detail with the trade-off that you don't get so much of the body that would lend to pressurizing the space the listener is in. You can clearly hear the strings and different notes, which was a lot harder on the SP40 as it was a bit indistinct and a bit too mid-bassy for my tastes.
If 200 hours makes them transform into something that sounds much better, do you really care if its the speakers or your ears?
I wouldn't.
Disagree, at least sonically. The class D amps will sound better at higher volumes than the Benchmark, and they will sound 100% the same at any level lower than that. That makes the Class D amps better sonically, imo.
Those numbers puzzle me across several speakers, that 8mm is very large for a two way speaker, but I've seen discrepancies where identical drivers in smaller boxes get more displacement then bigger boxes. I assume they are measuring distortion going above some limit to determine it.But a *big* difference in the woofer displacement numbers between the two.
SAM'ed HS: 3.4 mm
SAM'ed C20: 8 mm
I guess this is just highlighting that the Contour 20 is part of the outside magnet / long-excursion family and the Heritage special is in the inside magnet / less-excursion design?
Because the port is behind, perhaps?Bass is very, very interesting with this speaker. I can see this as a polarizing attribute. It reminds me a lot like a sealed speaker, has the tightness, speed, detail with the trade-off that you don't get so much of the body that would lend to pressurizing the space the listener is in. You can clearly hear the strings and different notes, which was a lot harder on the SP40 as it was a bit indistinct and a bit too mid-bassy for my tastes.