UREI Speaker discussions

[rusty jefferson]

I'm pretty sure the baffle is 1.5" thick and the rest is 3/4" or 1" MDF on the UREIs. The E-145 has that thick frame that is counter sunk into the baffle 1 layer of the MDF. The subs are 1" MDF following the Greg Timbers plan in the library.

I think your description of the bass as dry is a good one. That's what I meant when I said no overhang. Snappy transients and quick start/stop of the drivers. I had several drummers and bass players here who thought the bass articulation was excellent. I think a lot of listeners probably prefer more bass bloom, but that's just a listening preference. The fill is super easy to remove if you want to experiment but you can probably change/adjust the mid-bass more effectively (if you want change) by rotating the cabinets to put the helper woofers closer to the side walls.

I'll see if I can find the folks I bought the wool from (in Canada I know) but you probably won't gain anything in the 811s as the single E-145 isn't playing much bass in that size cabinet. You're going to want subwoofers under them for sure and could probably tighten the subs up by adding wool depending on what type you use.

As always, the room will likely have more influence on the bass response than does port tuning and positioning. I had a good room for bass response that helped a lot. I have an engineer friend who always says after a failed audio experiment like trying out a great speaker in a bad room, "Once again, beautiful theory butts up against ugly old reality".

JBL was going to find a way to sell studios control room monitors and there's no better way than buying the competition (UREI) and offering that product as well as a slightly different sound with a very different look. :-D

[DerekTheGreat]

I love the snappy transients and such I get from these UREI's. I never knew what I was missing until I found it, now I couldn't live without it. I don't know what else I could compare them to, but everything I've heard before these leaves more to be desired. I told the guy I bought the 811C's off of that I have XPL200's, he just about lost it, "I want 'em!" In my mind those have become a consumer speaker, great for home theater. But they do not do for me what the 813C's + B460's do.

I'll have subs under the 811C's, M&K MX-350THX's. They employ dual drivers, one pushes while the other pulls. Was a new concept for me, but they blew the JBL E250's they replaced right out of the water. Going to use my receiver's crossover feature to run them up to 120hz or maybe even 140hz based on their roll off. I hope they sound OK playing up that high. I know I don't care for the 2245H's bass above 100hz, don't know much about M&K though... Also, the room down there isn't as ideal as the room the 813C's are setup in. I have the XO on the BX63A set to 90 or 85hz with the 813C's. I haven't mic'd the room or anything, but I feel as if I'm not missing anything. However, it's probably bass heavy in there. I like feeling that kick in my chest.

[DerekTheGreat]

I finally got the 811C's downstairs. Things were heavy, ended up pulling the drivers to make lifting easier. Also swapped the drivers from them to my 813C's as the foam lips were much nicer. The cabinets of all three were stuffed with sound deadening material, was pleasantly surprised to see that.

Trouble is, I'm getting a hum from them even when my receiver is off. (Marantz SR7005 circa 2011). It didn't do that with the XPL200's. Of course, it goes away when you hit mute. Hum is also present anytime the receiver is on. Never had this issue with any other speaker connected to the receiver, what gives?

[hjames]

I finally got the 811C's downstairs. Things were heavy, ended up pulling the drivers to make lifting easier. Also swapped the drivers from them to my 813C's as the foam lips were much nicer. The cabinets of all three were stuffed with sound deadening material, was pleasantly surprised to see that.

Trouble is, I'm getting a hum from them even when my receiver is off. (Marantz SR7005 circa 2011). It didn't do that with the XPL200's. Of course, it goes away when you hit mute. Hum is also present anytime the receiver is on. Never had this issue with any other speaker connected to the receiver, what gives?

If you unplug the receiver, do you still get a hum? If not, you have a faulty power switch in the receiver, at a minimum.

[Mike Caldwell]

A lot of new'ish home theater equipment never really shuts all the way off, there is always a standby power circuit active waiting on a remote control power on command or even the push of the power button. What does happen when the receiver is unplugged? What else is connected to the receiver? Maybe try disconnecting those inputs?

[rusty jefferson]

Depending on how loud it is, it may have been there but you didn't notice it. Aren't the 811s about 100db efficient?

[DerekTheGreat]

If you unplug the receiver, do you still get a hum? If not, you have a faulty power switch in the receiver, at a minimum.

A lot of new'ish home theater equipment never really shuts all the way off, there is always a standby power circuit active waiting on a remote control power on command or even the push of the power button. What does happen when the receiver is unplugged? What else is connected to the receiver? Maybe try disconnecting those inputs?

The hum goes away when unplugged. Sounds like that typical 60hz ground loop deal. That makes sense, the standby feature. There is really only one thing connected to it at all times, an Xbox One Series X. There is another input, a component connection. That is used any time something temporary is to be hooked up, like a PS2. The only output from the receiver is an HDMI cable running to the TV. Now that I'm thinking about it though, there is a coax cable that is hanging out in case I want to run the VCR or other old school video game systems or things which output with a yellow RCA cable. Those things need a booster, which is what uses that coax cable. (otherwise my TV screen will flicker intermittently) Would open-ended cables cause hum?

Depending on how loud it is, it may have been there but you didn't notice it. Aren't the 811s about 100db efficient?

Just about, 97dB. That is a possibility, but I feel my ears are super sensitive, that I'd have noticed it before. However, I've also been fooled before as well... The hum gets a bit worse when the receiver is turned on, you can hear it slightly from the listening position, it's a bit annoying if there's no audio coming from the thing. When the receiver is off, you have to put your ears right at the horns in order to hear it. With all the trouble I went through to get my system upstairs quiet, I was amazed that I never had noise from the Marantz, given it just connects to the wall with a 1940's two prong plug... At least one prong is wide so you can't mix it up? The lights down there are on a dimmer, I'll see if that has anything to do with the issue.

Thank you for the input, everyone. It helps. Hate that hum...

EDIT: The subwoofers are the type that are on at all times, they never enter standby mode, would that matter?

[Mike Caldwell]

With the receiver plugged in try disconnecting the input sources connected to the receiver one at a time.

[1audiohack]

Hey Derek;

Just a thought, a one end unterminated conductor can act like an antenna. Especially when connected to and audio input like your unused game cable.

Happy hunting.
Barry.

[eso]

Derek,

As mentioned, the vents are tuned even though they don't use port tubes...

I don't believe that is the case.

My understanding is that the Urei monitor cabinets area designed as Aperiodic vents. The cabinets are over stuffed and the vents are primarily sized to silently bleed and equalize air pressure. In the attached page from Urei's 1977 catalog notice the bullet point regarding the 11.5 cu. ft. enclosure.

Remember these were designed to be soffit mounted so the low end got a lot of support from the extended baffle area of the soffits.

Really, reflex ports amplify a resonant frequency and amount to a controlled group delay distortion.

eso

[thierry]

Nicely done. One of these days I'd like to attempt a refoam job. Until recently, I did not know they made a coaxial 2214H! Your horns & their foam look perfect, were they redone?Very cool set up indeed. Thierry, how do you like that 6500 amplifier?

I was running out of space in my control room, and like the sound of the 809, maybe even more than the 813 A B or C... And finding 815s in France...hahaha... practically impossible! as below 200 hertz on the 809 there is not much hanging around... I started with the idea of building an 18 box, with the specifications of not exceeding the size of the 809, question of space while retaining the UREI design. Well, building the box was easy... afterward to tune it.... weeks and weeks of work impossible to calculate with a computer program because it says it's impossible ! you have to do it by ear and by saw... I like the result! the DN360 is just here because I listen all the time on the UREI at low/medium volume, it serves as loudness for me, for two years I have been doing my mixes on these speakers, and I must say that the result suits me, obviously the 6500 does a lot of the work, it just has noisy fans (and I've changed the thermistors 3 or 4 times). To finish in fact I also have 813b which I recently sold without regrets! UREI forever!

[Mr. Widget]

Nice! Which 18 are you using?

Any close up pictures of the Urei and you sub?


Widget

[thierry]

Nice! Which 18 are you using?Any close up pictures of the Urei and you sub?Widget

Yes sure ! I use a basic celestion 18 and a passive hi pass filter 240hertz, and a picture of me of course...AND !!! if i would have more space here, i will try this...(see last pict) I know where I can have a pair of 813B for a "good" price, and the 18 sub below will be perfect under ! maybe the ultimate Urei !

[RMC]

RE building an 18 box, with the specifications of not exceeding the size of the 809, question of space

Fitting an 18" in a 65 liter (2.3 cu. ft.) box is rather optimistic, even more so if one is expecting proper sound.

However, with a 12" it is possible with acceptable efficiency and about 40-45 hz bass. So that would extend LF coverage notably, plus driver chosen could possibly provide similar sensitivity to the 809.

Richard

[thierry]

RE building an 18 box, with the specifications of not exceeding the size of the 809, question of space Fitting an 18" in a 65 liter (2.3 cu. ft.) box is rather optimistic, even more so if one is expecting proper sound.However, with a 12" it is possible with acceptable efficiency and about 40-45 hz bass. So that would extend LF coverage notably, plus driver chosen could possibly provide similar sensitivity to the 809.Richard

Yes sorry I explained myself badly... The 2 sub are bigger than a 809! look at the photos! t in fact I have 112 liters in the box....