Nubert nuPro A-300 & Teufel Stereo M im Klangvergleich
Nubert nuPro A-300 & Teufel Stereo M im Klangvergleich
2018-04-22
Hello and welcome!
after the rushed and spontaneous unboxing together with my son last time,
I really would like to offer you a controlled sound comparison between the Nubert nuPro A-300 and the Teufel Stereo M
I know these 2 are not really comparable as they follow 2 different concepts
Teufel rather offers here a multiroom wifi-speaker system
but on a high level as it is a 3-way system
here with an own coax-driver, so tweeter and mid-driver in one
plus an own woofer
while Nubert rather refers to them as studio monitors with hifi-qualities
but pricewise we are more or less equal, around 1000€
regarding connectivity Nubert of course is a step ahead
they even offer a USB-interface so that you can directly connect through your PC with 96khz/24bits
additionally they offer optical in, SPDIF
what else? yeah, a normal auxiliary input.
Teufel only offers auxiliary, the rest works over the network
there is a streamer built in, additionally they are recogonized as DLNA renderer in a network
so if someone has a music server you can stream to them directly
nevertheless this shouldn't be a full review
I want to concentrate on sound alone with this video
last time the sound wasn't presented well, also thanks to the sub-par placement
but this time I want to approach it differently
the sound should really be as realistic as possible for you
therefore you are listening through a binaural artifical head
yeah, I experimented a lot with this, tried out various materials
I think in the meantime I own 5 or 6 different microphones
styrofoam was not that great, it is a bit too hollow regarding sound
also plastic or PVC didn't give me that kind of sound that I am after
here I have a vintage artificial head from Sennheiser dated back in the 70s
the MKZ 2002
with the original included microphones which I also own it doesn't work at all
first of all they are hissy as hell, maybe in the 70s this was normal
here I attached my own microphones, but it is still not perfect
but I stuck to one particular head made out of silicone
in reality it is a head for practicing make-up arts, but with microphones attached it sounds quite decent
I still equalize it as usual, I try to get e the sound of the speakers one-to-on through the headphones
I use the Sennheiser HD600
but with a Superlux HD681 and my own equalizing which I offered back then
have a look into one of my earlier videos
you should also get a quite realistic sound impression
or with any other headphone which should be of course equalized equally
like for example those from Sonarworks
anyway let's listen to them
you have to listen with headphones, this is the most important requirement for binaural recordings
over speakers, or even over studio monitors it doesn't work that well
therefore you need headphones in any case
so put your headphones up and let's get started!
I will start with the Nubert to demonstrate you the sound settings first
the volume is set to such a level that we should reach about 85-90dB at listening position
this also corresponds to a usual standardized listening level in a recording studio
first track is from Soulpersona and Princess Freesia, so let's have a listen
on the SPL-meter you can see...
we are about 85-90db maximum
but I will turn down volume a little, so that you can hear me better
and as sound adjustments you have bass control
with up to 12dB
you can really boost nicely
of of course also reduce it
and there is no real treble control
rather some mid/high control which works as a kind of tilt
this way the sound should stay in balance
which doesn't work that well according to me
If I want more treble for example...
the mids become boosted too much at the same time
the same if I want to reduce the presence region which in my opinion is already a bit too dominant...
this affects too much upper treble
here you cannot do much with the internal controls
so I will increase the volume again to as it was before
it was at 43 I think
of course also the Teufel Stereo M offer additional tone conrols
for this purpose you need the Raumfeld app
I want to demontrate you this with the same track as before
I will turn down volume again
and here is treble, mids and bass separately
although also here by controlling treble too much mids are affacted at the same time
like this it becomes muddy of course
my finger doesn't really want to
here mids
what's the trouble?
and bass...
but unfortunately also here with bass control the entire upper bass part is boosted as well
which of course isn't that great
I will turn up volume again
so, and to really give you the perfect one-on-one sound comparison
I will set up both speakers exactly the same and record them one after the other
this way you should really hear the finest differences in imaging
I selected some track out of different genres
and I wan't talk much, you should simply listen to some music and listen to the details and so on.
afterwards there will be a resume
so let's start again with the Nuberts
as conclusion I thought we should also listen to them at higher levels
therefore you are farther away now, outside the room
but my recording gain is constant whole the time
that's simply important to offer you the most realistic sound and also loudness impression
at close range the recording would distort
I will start with the Nubert, right now volume is at 50 out of 80 maximum
but I won't turn them to maximum, because from some certain level like 65
a compressor, some kind of multi band compressor starts to come into action
and the sound is not that good anymore
mids are pushed way too much, but let's start
so this is 50 now
and I turn volume up slowly
60
65
doesn't sound that good anymore
so I will try to make them even louder a bit
70
so until 60, 62 it is ok
but above that it is not good anymore
yeah, it is not easy to really find a real winner here
I personally maybe even prefer the Teufel slightly
of course both play on a very high level
but the Teufel have some advantage thanks to that coax-driver here
they have a more precise imaging, act more like a point source
while the woofer of course plays separately
and is not balanced that well
the transition from bass to mids is not that great
there is simply too much upper bass in the 200hz region
neither you can really tone down it well
they take advantage of a completely free placement like here
I wouldn't place them closer to a wall
or simply reduce bass out from the app
but then the sound may become even too thin
both play way below 30hz, which is impressive regarding that size
although loudness wise the Nuberts have an advantage
but you could hear from some particular level they start to struggle
the limiter starts to kick in aggressively
the sound gets deformed, it doesn't sound normal anymore
and overall the presence region is too boosted for my own taste
in the area of 5, 6, 7khz there is a bit too much
I haven't measured them yet, but I can hear that
linear sounds a little bit different
and you cannot really handle it well
because with the built in settings there is only this tilt
the overall sound becomes either darker or brighter
but a selective boost of upper treble while towning down this presence area is not possible
except maybe with some external EQs
unfortunately the Teufel really have few connections
a LAN port and cinch for auxiliary input
here you have way more options like optical, coax, USB and so on
I can get in with anything possible
of course Teufel have the advantage of a built in streamer
I can start streaming immediately, can configure them for a multiroom system
this here is rather really a normal active speaker system
anyhow, just on sound alone both play great
for me personally I believe the Teufel are a bit better, although still not perfect
just because of this transition between bass and mids
which is not entirely successful
what else is to say?
I will of course try to prepare more detailed videos for both
I am not sure yet if I will keep one of them
I had high expectations for the Nuberts
they are.... how shall I say?
in English I would have said "harsh"
too... I don't know
there is some sizzle there, which annoys me personally
I don't like it that much, I prefer it rather neutral or even with some slight dip in the presence region
like for example the Audio Pro here have it
they also sound smooth, we have heard them against the Neumann KH80
which really play completely linear
and the Audio Pro were not that much worse
with these the sound literally forces on you
and you have not many options to configure it somehow
I hope you had fun with this video, I hope it could give you a better impression about the sound
in contrast to last time, placing them above each other was not that great
a friend of mine immediately criticised me that I change the baffle completely when I place them like that
they were also placed at different heights
now I hope it was really controlled enough
to be able to draw conclusions about their sound
last time it was not that good
please tell me your opinion, which one you prefer
designwise I definitely prefer the Nuberts, also the workmanship gives a little bit more expensive impression
they are not bad the Teufel but also regarding looks
I don't like them that much like these here for example, also with this display here I find this quite cute
of course it would be interesting to know how the A-500 sound, the A-700 would be overkill for me
but the A-500, if they might sound a bit smoother
they simply sound too direct for me
I tried everything, different placement
but the sound is so present, that it can become annoying especially at high levels as we could here
yeah, I think that was it!
I hope you like my artifical head, it is called 'LANA'
eh,... Light Acoustic... eh...
no, just kidding
but I will of course continue to experiment further
also try to develop my recording method successively
equalize etc, it is really a very lengthy venture
to get perfect results
and I also started to experiment with this wedge and some own microphones
and all of them sound different
it is really not easy to find that one, where I personally would say: "yes, that's it"
with this one I can really be satisfied 100%
I am not that far yet
because of that it takes a bit of time
it is always a compromise, let's put it like that
yeah, again many thanks for watching
I hope you had fun, I hope you like it
and see you in the next video, bye bye!
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