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Has anyone tried double CLS

I had posed this question before because I had two pair of CLS11Z speakers in a Home theatre set up that I wanted to find a way to stack.I had just been feeling a loss of music after I sold my stacked pair of esl 57, and was curious about stacking the CLS. Would the bass improve as much as it did when the Quads were stacked?The similarity between the two speakers was that each speaker was bass shy and that attempts at sub-woofing never really were sucessful even after trying the Depth.So after seeing coverage of the RMAF and of the Kimber/Soundlab set up I decided that if they could double up the Soundlabs side by side,why couldn't the CLS be run that way?I was also bolstered by the fact that when my friend Tony went from three to four panels per side the sound from his Acoustats really improved.It is a shame that Martin Logan gave up on the CLS and went the hybrid route,because all they needed to do was increase the panel size.If Mr Saunders can get his hands on a couple of pair of CLS and wires them to a good amp in series he will hear that a lot of problems with the original CLS disappear.Maybe it will even change his priorities,so that great uncompromised sound and not floor space rules.
lacee

Showing 4 responses by gregadd

gregadd
574 posts
 
Well! Let us start then by saying the original Quad was stacked not for bass extension but to increase thier limited output which remains Quads Achilles heel.
Then vertical stacking of the Quads made sense. Theoretically you doubled the output. Moreover since the Quad beamed vertically by stacking them you created a line array of sort.
Neither of these is necessary with the CLS. Just ask my neighbors if the CLS has sufficient output.

While intuitvley you may think that having two speakers instead of one that say are 3db at 60 hz may improve your bass response. In fact you will just have 2 speakers that are 3db down at 60 hz.
gregadd
574 posts
 
There is a difference between frequency response, dynamiccs loudness and volume. Frequency reponse will not be corrected by increasing loudness and or volume.

Many speakers bump up the bass to mask thier lack of low frequency extension. While your existing bass may get louder so does everytihng else. You get more volume but the same frequency curve.

gregadd
574 posts
 
"...it does not have the instrumental weight and timbre of a good dynamic speaker."

I have not heard a lot of the contenders but at this point the only speaker I would trade for cls is the von schwiekert vr 9se. At $70k it is not likley in this lifetime. I have neither the means nor the inclination.
With the right amplification the CLS has considerable weight and authority. It is even more so when those panels are relieved of thier duties at around 100hz. The panels however will eventually "bottom out".
Truth be told I have achieved about 80% of the CLS potential. I have said before the CLS will benefit form the best components availble today.
Lacee I am not so sure I am in agreement with you. To get louder sound you need more amplifcation which you are not getting running them in series. Neils claims about cancellation are valid. If you position them to avoid cancellation then you run into phase problems. Having two pair of CLS in my room is an extremley attractive proposition for me. Just not sure it makes sense.
gregadd
574 posts
 
...and you have the last word!
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