Srajan, what an in-depth review on the Vox5. I read it twice already because it's so packed with information. I really appreciate how you explain who would not like its bass presentation. It reminded me of the old saying that you can lead a horse to water but not make him drink. I'm also thinking that if Martin wanted to sell more, he perhaps has to make a version with a more conventional bass system like he does for the smaller monitor you show next to the floorstander. That has a port and woofers on the side. Wouldn't that satisfy those listeners who want to feel the bass pressure in their chest? To be honest, I haven't heard this RiPol/dipole bass thing you talk about so am only speculating and imagining what it might sound like. In any case, I enjoyed learning about a different kind of loudspeaker. Thank you very much, Ryan
At it happens, Dawid and I discussed this very point today before taping our 3rd podcast. My suggestion to shoppers wanting a more conventional bass experience is simple. Combine Martin's Vox3a—that's the name of the rear-ported monitor you refer to—with a classic box sub. Then run an external adjustable xover for a mirror-imaged hi/lo-pass and set that high enough to create your more pressurized experience. My usual upstairs setup already runs such a crossover with a box sub from Zu, albeit at 40Hz to avoid my lateral room mode. If I wanted more bloom which I personally despise but horses for courses, I'd simply move the filter hinge up to 80Hz or beyond. Et voilà, now the sound|kaos aesthetic remains across the mid/high bands but hands over to conventional omni/pressure bass below. No need to reinvent the Vox5 and dumb it down in the process. As is, the Vox3 allows for 'hybrid' experiments already. If you run that monitor wide open so full range, it's good somewhat past 40Hz on its own. Bolting on a sub without undue overlap will have the sub's internal low-pass at ±40Hz to just cover the bottom octave. For listeners into a more pressurized experience, that band could be too narrow. They may want to broaden it across at least two octaves if not more. Hence my suggestion for an external crossover so one may move up the Vox3 high pass for more sub coverage until the in-room pressure response is to one's taste. Now any box sub will do, be it a REL or Velodyne, KEF or SVS. Srajan
