Auratone skepticism

[wren]

So, I've had a pair of Auratone 5ctv's for about a year now. I had to refoam the speakers (first time I've ever done that so I could've messed it up somehow). And I dunno what's wrong with me, but...I don't like them. At all. I find them totally unhelpful. They sound awful, and whenever I make any spectral changes on them, the changes don't translate well.

I've listened to a bunch of different albums on them and found that a few sound fantastic on them but most don't sound good at all. Both those categories of album sound great elsewhere. Is something wrong with my speakers or am I using them wrong or expecting too much of them?

EDIT:I meant to put this in Gear Talk, sorry. Moderators, please feel free to move it.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Did you like them before you re-foamed? Also, what are you expecting from them?

I've had a few different versions of Auratones and they all sound different. Some sound pretty good, others sound awful but they're all equally useful for what I need them for. I only use them one at a time, in mono and I only use them at the beginning and end of the mix.
The the beginning of the mix I use them while I get the general balance together. I'm not EQing (and I never EQ on Auratones), just pushing up the faders and getting the general levels together. Once that's done I switch to my mains and start panning and EQing.
Once the mix is pretty much done I go back to the mono Auratone and make sure the mix translates. Can I hear the kick? Can I hear the bass? Are the thing that I hard panned loud enough when I switch to mono? Are my reverbs and delay treatments too loud or too quiet. if i have two electric guitars panned L & R can I hear both and distinguish which is which in mono? Etc, etc....
The Auratone never sounds good but I don't expect or want it too. That's not what it's there for. Even though they all sound different they'll still reveal the same mix problems because it's mono and has a limited bandwidth.

All that said, there is chance that refoaming might have buggered them up but you'll only know if you have something to compare them.

[vvv]

I have the single driver 5C Auratones like these:
that I bought offa the evil-Bog based on info from here and Mike Senior's book.

Yes, in comparison to my Tannoy's they sound like a full-range version of a decent AM radio, but that's rather the point: to highlight those all-important mids and allow you to hear problems, and even in comparison to the hi's and the lows.

Your speakers, from what I see here:
have a tweeter and port. I am not familiar with them and mebbe they are supposed to be used differently, but I agree with what ADMac said above.

[wren]

I have the single driver 5C Auratones like these:
that I bought offa the evil-Bog based on info from here and Mike Senior's book.

Yes, in comparison to my Tannoy's they sound like a full-range version of a decent AM radio, but that's rather the point: to highlight those all-important mids and allow you to hear problems, and even in comparison to the hi's and the lows.

Your speakers, from what I see here:
have a tweeter and port. I am not familiar with them and mebbe they are supposed to be used differently, but I agree with what ADMac said above.

I didn't think anyone would even look, so I neglected to mention that I pulled the crossover out and pulled the tweeter out of the equation - the input is just wired straight to the drivers. And the drivers are the same.

I refoamd because the old foam was all cracked and crumbling, but there hasn't been an appreciable difference in sound before or after.

And ADMac, as you've been dubbed, that's basically how I've been using them, I just don't find it that helpful. The fact that a handful of my CDs sound so stunningly good on them is why I was thinking something might be wrong with either the speakers or my approach.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Your speakers, from what I see here:
have a tweeter and port. I am not familiar with them and mebbe they are supposed to be used differently,

A jeez, I didn't realize they were a different design. What's great about the plain old single speaker Auratone is that it doesn't have a crossover and it isn't ported. It sound like shit but it's a fairly reliable and accurate type of shit. I'm not familiar with this model so all bets might be off.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

You beat me to it on my last post.
Interesting. the port and enclosure size will make a difference in the sound but shouldn't render them unusable. Maybe the auratone approach just isn't for you.

If you've still got the crossover an tweeter I'm sure you could resell them for something you'll get more use out of.

[Snarl 12/8]

If they came with an x-over and a tweeter, then the woofer probably isn't designed to reproduce the treble that the single driver ones do and the port is going to skew the sound even bassier. I don't think you can really call your things auratones any more.

[roygbiv]

also, if I recall correctly, in that wonderful Senior book, he says the "magic" of some small speakers like the Auratones and the Yamaha NS10's is their lack of a port (giving them better transient response/time coherency, and no port ringing).

As snarl points out, that advantage could be missing in your speakers, and made worse by the extra hole added when you removed the tweeter.

I know in my case, I use cheap Radio Shack Minimus 7's, and the early ones (with no port) work way better as a cheap monitor than the later versions, which have a port.

[wren]

If they came with an x-over and a tweeter, then the woofer probably isn't designed to reproduce the treble that the single driver ones do and the port is going to skew the sound even bassier. I don't think you can really call your things auratones any more.

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm wondering. I read somewhere that it's the same woofer (we all know you should believe everything you read on the internet, but when I refoamed it I used a "refoam Auratone 5c" kit and it fit perfectly), and I know it's supposed to be AM-radio-sounding, but I'm not sure it's supposed to be this AM-radio-sounding.

And I didn't remove the tweeter, just unwired it, but I never considered that the port(s)/extra hole(s) could be the problem...

[roygbiv]

one thing you could try is plugging the port (with a small rubber stopper or something), and seeing if you like the sound better. Also, there may still be some sound leakage out of the unhooked-up tweeter, but really at this point I'm talking out of my ass, hence the muffled tone you are detecting as you read this.

[dsw]

If you don't like them, get something else

[vvv]

one thing you could try is plugging the port (with a small rubber stopper or something), and seeing if you like the sound better. Also, there may still be some sound leakage out of the unhooked-up tweeter, but really at this point I'm talking out of my ass, hence the muffled tone you are detecting as you read this.

Is it just me or is there about 5 different puns available in response here?

Good idear though; it mebbe won't sound like a 5c but with the port plugged and the crossover/tweeter disconnected you should have something pretty close, conceptuall, i.e. a simple sealed full range driver.

Hmm. Mebbe you wanna pull the tweeter and put a rubber plug in that, eh, hole, also.

[blungo2]

This probably doesn't relate much at all, as i've never heard auratones, but i do have a couple avantones. They can sound pretty magical with the right amp and the right placement. I find that placement relative to your listening position is incredibly important for the avantones, don't know if this applies to the auratones...
The midrange for the avantones can be very cool, no bass and no treble of course, but i think that's the point?

[Snarl 12/8]

Hmm. Mebbe you wanna pull the tweeter and put a rubber plug in that, eh, hole, also.

I think rubber these days is just for the fetishists. You should go with a nice silicone, or glass, if you're feeling fancy.

[fossiltooth]

Your speakers, from what I see here:
have a tweeter and port. I am not familiar with them and mebbe they are supposed to be used differently,

A jeez, I didn't realize they were a different design. What's great about the plain old single speaker Auratone is that it doesn't have a crossover and it isn't ported. It sound like shit but it's a fairly reliable and accurate type of shit. I'm not familiar with this model so all bets might be off.

^^^ Yes, this ^^^

Those are not the auratones you are looking for. The whole point is that the 5C is a small, accurate speaker with no crossover and no port. That's what makes them translate so well.