You can’t defy the laws of physics

[CapMan]

I just finished redecorating our house. The lounge serves as both a TV/movie room and for my music listening. It’s smallish and I run a 5.1 surround system which is perfectly adequate for as-hoc streaming films.

In a bid to make the rear surrounds disappear and please my very patient wife I bought some Monitor Audio Radius 45 satellites to replace the Neat Iotas I’ve been using. I convinced myself these tiny cubes with a rear firing tweeter (yes - you heard right) would be good enough for rear surround duties.

I now feel like an idiot as these things are simply useless - nothing useful below 180Hz and very beamy - I feel like a fool for even putting them up!

The Neat Iotas are back now and give a much better effect as rears. Even my wife commented from the kitchen (sarcasm alert).

I’ve managed to sell the radius 45s on eBay, but what a waste money. You’d be better off buying a Sonos play 1 which is less money and not much bigger.

Any way - lesson learned, you can’t defy physics - not even in the interest of aesthetics.

The Iotas are pretty handy as rears - they mount landscape not portrait and have fixing threads on the back. I got them many years ago when prices were sane, but £1000 for a pair these days is beyond barmy.

 

[fpitas]

It's too bad they didn't work out for you. But I'm sure a lot of people think they're just spiffy. Which to me is a little disturbing. C'est la vie.

 

[Astoneroad]

Any defiance against physics is a losing proposition... unless you've got an uneducated band of Youtube minions who agree that without a flat earth... there would be no hi fi... Education may be the silver bullet... but rapacious ignorance breeds faster than light speed... further defying the laws of physics... of course. It's just easier to believe... than to do the math.

 

[fpitas]

Perhaps uneducated. Although it seems that a lot of people just aren't very picky. About food, wine, sound, whatever.

 

[CapMan]

Perhaps uneducated. Although it seems that a lot of people just aren't very picky. About food, wine, sound, whatever.

I knew I was in trouble when my neighbour (who buys with his eyes not ears) said - “they look cool”!!

I wonder if it was Bose who ‘educated’ a whole bunch of people to think that tiny cubes + subwoofer was an alternative lifestyle approach to music reproduction .

 

[TonyJZX]

oof these are pricey for what is 3" driver cubes

the whole concept of these irks me... 120-20 and a rear firing tweeter in what is a seal case?

i see mirrors of this how the market seems to accept 4" bookshelfs and really, i cant see the appeal.. unless its with a sub

 

[Digby]

but can you defy she who decides what is acceptable interior design (hi-fi equipment included) and live to tell the tale? I have a feeling it might be easier to defy physics.

 

[fpitas]

Wife Acceptance Factor is often very important.

 

[CapMan]

oof these are pricey for what is 3" driver cubes

the whole concept of these irks me... 120-20 and a rear firing tweeter in what is a seal case?

i see mirrors of this how the market seems to accept 4" bookshelfs and really, i cant see the appeal.. unless its with a sub

Didn’t even manage 120HZ as quoted.

Rear tweeter because it just wouldn’t fit the front with the 10cm form factor !

They feel well made and solid, and they look pretty - but that’s about the end of the positives.

 

[CapMan]

Perhaps uneducated. Although it seems that a lot of people just aren't very picky. About food, wine, sound, whatever.

These were the audio equivalent of alcohol free Zinfandel !

 

[Digby]

Have you considered white Neumann KH80s? Not cheap, but quite appealing to the eye, which might give you some sway.

 

[Astoneroad]

WAF & physics are both forces of nature.... defiance has consequences. However, there are options to WAF... reclusion without compromise is vastly under rated. Any subsequent bad decisions then have no external scapegoat. Physics doesn't let us off the hook though... since entropy emerges even in totally closed and isolated systems.... lol. Good thing there is Ebay and other sites to jettison the artifacts of our flawed choices.

 

[delta76]

Any defiance against physics is a losing proposition... unless you've got an uneducated band of Youtube minions who agree that without a flat earth... there would be no hi fi... Education may be the silver bullet... but rapacious ignorance breeds faster than light speed... further defying the laws of physics... of course. It's just easier to believe... than to do the math.

than to think - ftfy

 

[Astoneroad]

than to think - ftfy

Metaphorically interchangeable.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Didn’t even manage 120HZ as quoted.

Rear tweeter because it just wouldn’t fit the front with the 10cm form factor !

They feel well made and solid, and they look pretty - but that’s about the end of the positives.

LOL I sure hope they succeeded the task of manufacturing a miniscule wooden square cube without it feeling flimsy!

 

[JSmith]

Any way - lesson learned, you can’t defy physics - not even in the interest of aesthetics.

JSmith

 

[mhardy6647]

speaking of the laws of physics -- I wonder why the adorable little cubes were beamy?

 

[CapMan]

speaking of the laws of physics -- I wonder why the adorable little cubes were beamy?

It was really off putting for rear surrounds - no sense of envelopment at all.

 

[CapMan]

Have you considered white Neumann KH80s? Not cheap, but quite appealing to the eye, which might give you some sway.

If I didn’t have the Neat Iotas to put back up I’d think about the 80s for sure. Great suggestion.

 

[Greenman]

I use wharfdale Diamond 9s as rear and side surround in a 7.1 system, available for cheap from richer sounds(UK) , they aren’t going to produce much below 100Hz but the sub is set to handle that and to me they do everything I would expect side and back speakers to. The 45s do look a bit too small perhaps but I certainly don’t think full range is a prerequisite for sides/backs.