Peter wrote:

interesting the comment about the S45-2s - I like their top end in comparison. Just shows that speakers are a very individual choice!

Mika,

How much would a Penta mk3 caps overhaul run me?

bayerische wrote:

How much would a Penta mk3 caps overhaul run me?

I did mine in 2008 and I think the parts cost with Intertechnik MKT caps was around 100 euros total - but the source I used then seems to have upped the prices by more than 50% 😉

Those caps are good, basic foil types which will last forever and possibly even sound slightly better than electrolytics. It's possible to spend all you want in all kinds of audiophile caps, but I personally don't believe I'd ever hear the difference to these.

Original style bipolar electrolytics will be much cheaper, but the same job is then ahead in another 15 years 😕

Hi everone,

I went for the Pentas, I had a long listening session at the seller's place (using a Beosystem 7000, just as in my own system) and found them nicer than I expected!

Anyway, at home I realised how sensitive the Pentas are when it comes the placement. When placed at the same positions as my M150s, I get no low bass (no sub bass and no punch) but too much upper bass (or lower mid). There is also something strange happening in the most upper midrange - we-re not talking straight frequency response here :). Ok, let's try to toe them in a bit... That improved the upper bass problem, but I still don't get any lower bass, for example: the sub-bassline that comes in at 5:19 in

Henrik,

If you are trying to coax more bass out of the Pentas, try putting them close to a wall, or a corner. This reduces non-forward radiation and increases reflected energy. The matter of a few inches can change the bass response notably.

Also try putting more distance between you and the speakers. Give those wavelengths room!

Evan,

Thanks for your advice, but I have already experimented with the distance to the walls, and when I move the speakers closer to wall I get too much of the upper bass (maybe 150-250 Hz) and still not much happening below 100 Hz. What I've found so far is that I get a flatter frequency response when I move the speakers from the wall, but I can't place them more than 50-60 cm from the wall since the walls are so close :-)

Your second suggestion is probably a very good one! :-) Unfortunately it's not possible, the distance from back wall to front wall is only 3.5-4.0 meters so there's not much to do, unless I re-arrange the whole room (meaning I could place the speakers along another wall, with a possible max distance of 7 m from me) which I really don't want to do. I'll definitely try it for a limited time though. Thanks for your advice, it's much appreciated!

You're quite welcome Henrik! 🙂

I use a pair of BeoVox Conas to supplement my Lab 5000s. I have been experimenting with them for a while now and the above are my findings.

I really would recomend trying to increase the distance, it makes a huge difference. The further the better really - in terms of bass at least.

Just a thought - by spreading the speakers apart, you would also be moving them even further away from the listening position (directly). Although it may be marginal, every little bit counts! 😂

Please report back after you experiment with your space!

Hi,

I've experimented a bit more today, at present the Pentas are placed >60 cm from the wall, and the bass response is much flatter now - that mid-to-hi bass boost is almost gone, and the lower bass frequencies is better. Unfortunately, this placement is not an option in the long run, since it really messes up the whole room :P ..but yes, this confirms that is is a placement and room acoustics problem

My other main gripe with the Pentas is probably a more difficult problem: I'm not that 100 % satisified with the treble response. They sound a bit.. ...non-open? Especially, "f"-sounds sounds strange - they are a bit muted - but the higher "s"-sounds sound ok. The result is that many recordings (such as Grace Jones (or rather Trevor Horn...) fantastic "Slave to the rhythm", that I'm playing right now) just don't "open up". I knew that the Pentas are supposed to be a bit on the soft side when it comes to treble response, but I wasn't expecting it would be to this effect. Compared to the Pentas, my old M150s sound much more open and spatial. My Pentas are from 1999, so the crossovers should still be ok (...or?). i hope I'll learn to live with this, but so far I haven't really adjusted to this sound.

All in all, I'll keep experimenting with speaker placement but I'm worried about the treble characteristics. But still, also with the current non-optimal speaker placement I prefer them to my M150s, except when it comes to the treble response.

Very interesting to read Henrik.

The pentas are known to sound very relaxed. Im sure your audio master can compensate with a little treble boost. 

Those capacitors should have some life left in them, but I'm not an authority on capacitors. 

Hi again,

Some kind of follow-up: I was at a friend's place yesterday and noticed that his Pentas were quite a bit brighter than mine even though his treble setting was 0 and mine (on my bm7000) is +3. This made me curious, so when I got home I connected one of my pentas to my tv (with flat tone settings) and found that it sounded much brighter than the penta that was still connected to the audio system, so I guess my BM7000 isn't 100% ok.