Oh no, not patience! I spent all my patience already while teaching my kids about delayed gratification.
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In addition to break-in you may find the voicing of the speaker very different and that might take some time to get used to.
If the bookshelf version of this Tannoy speaker series is anything to go by, while the polar response and directivity was very good, the tweeter level is raised by 3-5 dB over neutral.
A speaker with a flatter or more neutral tweeter presentation might sound a little dull in comparison. Again, I would just give it time as our ear/brain system adjusting to whatever we are listening to as sounding “correct” is a lot of it as well. You can “break-in” as much as the speaker does.
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Chris,
This is explains it perfectly and was as I had suspected. I did adjust toe in (more than you’d recommend I’m sure) and it got me the sweeter tweeter effect. As I break in and well as the FR10’s I think I’ll find the groove. For now, it’s improving and I hope to get a little more energy and immediacy as time passes. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
-Tom
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I am back in NYC. The speakers arrived late Monday afternoon and were set up and played for the
next 15 hours before we had to leave for the airport.
My overall impression is that they provide a similar, a bit smaller presentation of the Aspen house sound.
Quite good, not settled in, but how could they be with so few hours. I am pleased and look forward to my
next trip to Florida when they can experience more burn in.
On this trip I had the opportunity to experience the DCS Puccini and U-clock which I now have down in Florida.
The Puccini, a 20 year old DAC is easily as good as the PS Audio DAC II and Direct Stream SACD player.
I first had the Puccini in NYC and loved it. Now it is down in Florida and clearly the F10s convey the extraordinary
clean detail of cds.
Herb
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Herb, you own more aspen speakers than any customer I’m aware of and thank you for the support, feedback and comparisons!
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You are so welcome. I am so impressed with the sonic pleasures produced by these speakers, even more so since the
update to the DAC II. More power to you guys. Both my FR 30s, and FR 10s are powered by the Stellar 1200 amps,
a marriage made in heaven.
Herb Walcoe
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Glad to hear the 10s got to you safely. I know the shipment got a little tight with the scheduling.
Have had the FR10s for two weeks now. Packaging is first class. Although I am not a big fan of the design, they look great in person. The satin finish is superb.
They are certainly exciting and dynamic. I’m still trying to dial them in though. Chris has been extremely prompt and helpful to questions. I am trying to tame the mid bass. TO ME, it just seems to dominate. No matter how I change placement I can’t seem to get it to my liking. And I’m not having much success getting my pair of REL S/3 subs to blend seamlessly. I’m not an Xs and Os guy, so a lot of trial and error. As others have mentioned, more toe in than any other speakers I have had.
My other speakers are Spendor Classic SP100r2. Quite the change in presentation between the two. My last three sets of speakers have all been British (Wharfdale, Spendor, Spendor) and this just may be too different for me. Will burn in and listen more before I put the Spendors back in place to make a final determination. Any comments or suggestions are most welcomed.
How long will the sale be running? I was waiting for the FR5’s but this is tempting.
Fun and interesting report.
British speakers are distinctive and hard to replace if you like their sound.
I am interested in learning how this works out for you.
Keeping an eye here. I too am interested in the FR-10, although it is a bit of a price jump for me. I am curious about the high end on these. I don’t doubt that the bass is great and mids. I like a somewhat brighter speaker, but not B&W bright… My other choice right now is one of the top Goldenear towers.
My first thought, without knowing how the FR10’s are situated in your room, is to try moving them further apart. I have the FR20’s and it did take some work in finding that right spot where they just came alive. I ended up positioning my FR20’s further apart and further out into the room.
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I’ve had very similar impressions and experiences. Packaging is outstanding! Mid bass is too much and I also have a REL sub that doesn’t seem to blend. I did get the energy and excitement tuned in with break in and placement, but I am concerned about mid bass still. Please share your progress - especially if you find the secret combination to mid-bass heaven.
I guess that counts for bottom shelf Tannoys as well… I’ve found it a challenge to get the FR10s where I like them 
Also, I got the Aspen loudspeaker setup guide and CD - but got two CDs, no DSD version. Is that intentional omission?
Well, it’s interesting to hear about the midbass because the aspen speakers have a slightly shelved down (about 2 dB) midbass area to allow for nearer placement to a wall (see reviews like Erins Audio Corner for measurements of this). In the case of the FR10 it’s about a 2 db shelf down below 150 Hz.
They extend low enough that i would try them without a subwoofer initially. Generally, if you hear a subwoofer working (for music) it’s a bit too loud or crossed over too high.
A USB measurement mic like the minidsp umik-1 can be hugely helpful in narrowing in on room mode issues.
Here is also a link to a room mode calculator that can be helpful to idendify where the issues are coming from
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FR30 owner here, no subs. Can’t agree more that the Aspen design does not exaggerate the mid base region. I’ve spent decades trying to tamper down the extra energy that is generated by the room at these frequencies. A mixture of traps, diffusers, isolators, and even an SR Black Box has helped. Speaker placement is crucial, too, obviously. So, as the gear and room got better, so did the mid bass boom. Can’t blame the speaker.
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Chris, Thanks for the input. I’ll try removing the sub from the equation and keep messing with the placement of the speakers. I really appreciate the info - and despite what my comments sound like I have HUGE admiration for the Aspens and just want to get the last 10% dialed in.
Happy to report…
Turning off the Sub while setting up the FR10s helped me better identify the impact of toe in/out and micro adjustments of speaker positions etc. What I found is moving the speakers further apart (inches) helped the midrange balance. Further, pulling speakers out from front wall to from initial 18" to about 24" away and a bit more toe in and i found some magic! I then re-introduced the sub with new volume and crossover adjustments and BANG! we are now in business.
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Referring to Chris B’s suggested USB mic you should also consider downloading REW (Room EQ Wizard) to see your frequency response, reverb time, etc. from your critical listening position. It helped me greatly to fine tune and check the effects of my room treatment as well.
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Thank you for reporting back with your progress tomhail. This is very encouraging! I will give this a try. I so want that BANG.
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