Larsen speakers - any experience?

[Rayymondo]

I'm always interested in speakers that work closer to the wall, as I have no choice but to place speakers in such a situation. Whilst doing some research I stumbled across these and wondered how they would sound. I might try and have a listen when the shops reopen. Maybe not everyone will be able to live with the looks but I find the quirky designs quite attractive in their own way. Most reviews on the net seem positive, anyone on here heard any?

Larsen Speakers

"Speakers designed to work with your room. Most speakers require you to adapt your lifestyle to get the most out of them. Larsen 4's work well in even some of the most challenging environments"

 

[Nopiano]

I’ve not but would love to, as I always enjoyed Sonab in the late 1970s.  I think there may be some family connection with their designer.  I always got the names confused with the rally driver who I think was Erik or Stig Carlsson!  
https://www.carlssonplanet.com/en/speakers/history-of-the-carlsson-loudpeakers/

 

[Rayymondo]

Yes, I believer John Larsen worked with the designer of the Sonab for a number of years... 

Apparently they have quite a different presentation so would be interesting to see what they do. The entry level 4.2 and 6.2 are reasonably priced but the 8 and 9 get quite pricey ....

Certainly and interesting design ...

 

[savvypaul]

Omni / semi-omni designs can be very satisfying. The presentation is quite different to 'forward firing' though. Might take extended listening to make a judgement.

The best way I can describe the difference is...

Forward firing projects the sound at you - hence the 'sweet spot'. 

Omni / semi omni throws up a wall of sound - so the image appears as if on a screen all along the wall behind the speakers. You can sit in very different positions around the room and hear (almost) exactly the same presentation. A (relatively) small semi-omni speaker can sound quite a lot larger than a traditional speaker of the same size.

Worth a listen.

 

[Rayymondo]

It seems the majority of more conventional forward firing speakers work best when away from the wall, having speakers up close to the wall will prevent them working to their full protentional and have a negative effect on soundstage and imaging. In theory these Larsen ones could be a blessing for many homes where the preferred placement is near the wall and out of the way. Home demo probably the way to go with these ....

 

[tuga]

It seems the majority of more conventional forward firing speakers work best when away from the wall, having speakers up close to the wall will prevent them working to their full protentional and have a negative effect on soundstage and imaging.

Speakers to front-wall proximity (the wall one behing them) is more likely to affect the tonal balance than the soundstage or imaging, unless you're using omnis (f.e. MBL).

I suspect that the effect of speaker to front-wall proximity on soundstage and imaging is more likely to be visual suggestion. It would be interesting to have a go at listening to speakers behind an acoustically transparent curtain and try to imagine how far the speakers are from the wall behind them.

In theory these Larsen ones could be a blessing for many homes where the preferred placement is near the wall and out of the way. Home demo probably the way to go with these ....

Indeed. Most people will probably enjoy the balance and absense of significant room interference below the transition/ frequency but the same can't be said about the presentation...

Try you must.

 

[Rayymondo]

Looks like there's about to be a new updated version of the 4.2 called , yeah you guessed it 4.3. Might try and take a listen when the opportunity arises...

 

[Nifkin]

Omni / semi-omni designs can be very satisfying. The presentation is quite different to 'forward firing' though. Might take extended listening to make a judgement.

The best way I can describe the difference is...

Forward firing projects the sound at you - hence the 'sweet spot'. 

Omni / semi omni throws up a wall of sound - so the image appears as if on a screen all along the wall behind the speakers. You can sit in very different positions around the room and hear (almost) exactly the same presentation. A (relatively) small semi-omni speaker can sound quite a lot larger than a traditional speaker of the same size.

Worth a listen.

What does Omni/semi Omni mean?

 

[savvypaul]

What does Omni/semi Omni mean?

Omnidirectional.

I think of semi-omni when one driver is firing straight forward (usually the tweeter, given that higher frequencies are most directional) and the other driver(s) is firing upwards (and to the side, if multi-driver).

 

[Nopiano]

Apologies for the reminiscences but I think this was the Sonab I recall best, though there was one with a powered bass unit I think.   https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/sonab/oa14.shtml

I heard these in the home of a fellow worker at the Hifi and Record store I worked at every weekend for over a decade.  Steve ran the classical record department in his holidays.  I remember him in particular playing the latest Roxy Music LP at his place and the sound was marvellous.  

He must have had good ears as he went on to co-found a record label, and produced their most successful recordings.  Including this one.  https://www.gimell.com/cdgim639-allegri-miserere

 

[Rayymondo]

I'm familiar with that piece of music , maybe the same recording - I'll check. As it happens I heard it over Easter, possibly on radio 3 but too be honest I can't remember where 

 

[tuga]

What does Omni/semi Omni mean?

Maybe this will help:

As you can see an omni (short for omni-directional speaker) will in theory reproduce all frequencies 360º around itself but in practice the response is more like a torus (or donut-like), which is a good thing because ceiling and floor reflections tend to produce unwanted cancellations in the frequency response at the listening spot (f.e. floor-bounce cancellation).

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Normal box speakers are usually omni-directional up to the lower-bass and become increasingly directional above this frequency:

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The better examples, such as the current Kef range control directivity so that the response remains flat as directivity increases:

Kef Reference 3

Top curve: 45 degrees off-axis response, Middle curve: 60 degrees off-axis response, Bottom curve: 75 degrees off-axis response

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1668:nrc-measurements-kef-reference-3-loudspeakers&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153

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Unfortunately many manufacturers do not seem to give much importance to the quality of off-axis response or directivity characteristics:

Bowers & Wilkins 705 Signature

Top curve: 45 degrees off-axis response, Middle curve: 60 degrees off-axis response, Bottom curve: 75 degrees off-axis response

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2511:nrc-measurements-bowers-wilkins-705-signature-loudspeakers&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153

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Why is off-axis response or directivity important?

Because, particularly with normal to wide directivity speakers, the sound reaching the listener is a combination of both direct sound coming from the speakers and early reflections (in red below) from the side-walls. Because those reflections arrive at listening spot with very little delay they are perceived as a single "event" (this is known as the precedence or Haas effect), and thus with a speaker such as the B&W above the combined direct + reflected response will show a pronounced dip in the upper-midrange centered at around 2kHz.

 

[hiesteem]

I spent sometime with the speaker and the gentleman who was demonstrating them at Bristol a few years ago. It was a good system. Larsen 8's and Gamut integrated amp.

Sadly the room was far to small for the system and the speakers were booming in the bass. I do feel the Larsens have an interesting sound, and set up properly they can give a large and powerful presentation.

I would say, they would be very pleasing in a reasonably good size  room pushed up against the wall, and if like me a lot of listening is off axis.

 

[Chrillo75]

Ive had a number of different speakers, since the early 90´s. The Ears might not be the same anymore, but I still enjoy good sound.

The best speaker Ive heard ( in my price range I might add), so far, I think I would say are the KEF´s R11. They stood out from the back wall quite a bit, and slightly toed in. The room was a old bank. Amazing sound. Ive took my girlfriend to a common listening, in another store this time. And of-course, the experience  was vastly different. I knew the speakers were good, and could sound a lot better. I have to admit I didn´t focus on the electronics, but in my experience, the room, and setup,  have a big impact.

Not long after this - I went to listen to the Larsen 4.2, and I know that was a big step in terms of price, but they didnt have the 6.2s for demo.  I didn´t get the right feeling, they sounded good, but lacked some punch, somewhat thin. After reading online, I went to order the 6.2, with the promise I could return them within 30 days, if not satisfied. 

The 6.2,  sounded very good right out of the box, but not as good as I hoped for.  I have them placed on the long wall (about 6meters total), pushed against the wall. No speaker are directly in a corner, this made it worse, so placed out of corners as much as I could. Then I tested with the distance between them, sat in the "sweet-spot", then moved them closer, and more apart, until I heard the voice/soundstage directly in the middle of them. In my case, i think it became just about 3 meters apart. This really changed the sound, the soundstage and 3D feeling. I could be in any part of the room, and the sound didn´t change, standing or sitting, and it was really a new hifi experience for me. The sound is perfect (for me, and how I listen to music), maybe not as Cristal clear as the R11´s, but for the money, and easy placement, they are damn good. Sounds really good at relatively low to middle volume, so good to have in the background when friends are over, everyone can enjoy it. 

If you are a person who listens more in the sweet-spot only, and have the space to place them,  there are sure others speakers that are clearer, or more hifi authentic , not sure of the word, but sounds more like the R11´s

For info : Using a Atoll amplifer, with Bluesound Streamer, standard cables.

I might add, that I kept them, and don't look for new speakers anymore   (Though I would like to test the 8.2´s)

If possible, test them at home, and spend a few minutes moving them around, they are worth a listen. 

 Just a small part of my Hifi journey - and my apologies for the gramma, English is not my native language.