Speakers S-90 is the dream of any old-fashioned rocker. At the dawn of the Soviet music industry, people by hook or by crook tried to get this miracle of technology. And you could get them only by accumulating a decent amount of money and through friends. Now things are much better with this. You do not have to run with bulging eyes in search of this system. Just go to the online flea market.
Characteristics
You can talk for a long time about how people tried to get the coveted S-90 speakers, how they “drooled” at a party. Despite its popularity, this acoustics has a number of drawbacks that are usually corrected by radio amateurs. Today we are presenting this article to you in order to tell you what the S-90 speakers really are. The characteristics of this technique are not as high as we would like.
S-90 speakers are a classic three-way speaker system. At the bottom of the “box” is a large woofer, and in the upper half - medium and high frequency emitters.
Despite the fact that the characteristics declared power of 90 watts, in practice, the nominal value is only 35 watts. But even this does not stop them from sounding loud enough. Not for nothing that the S-90 speakers were often used at discotheques.
A rated electrical resistance of 4 ohms further increases the output power of the speakers. However, due to the low quality of production (we will discuss this later), this parameter is more likely a drawback.
Frequencies
C-90 speakers reproduce sound in the range of 31.5-20000 Hz. It is obvious that both extreme values do not correspond to modern realities. On the one hand, it is believed that a person is able to perceive sound no more than 20 kHz. In practice, technical calculations are not always true. Therefore, modern acoustic systems try to overestimate high frequencies so that music has several layers.
What about the competitors? Despite the fact that at the moment the speakers we are considering are economical, any manufacturer that creates acoustics prefers to expand the upper frequency range to 30-35 kHz. As for the bass, here you can find both 30 and 25 Hz. But in general, the "Radio Engineering S-90" speakers do pretty well with bass.
Control
For the stable operation of the speaker system that we are considering, an amplifier is required that can deliver power from 50 to 150 watts. On the front panel of the C-90 there are indicators of overload. If they light up, then you need to lower the output power on the amplifier.
In addition, on the front panel there is a regulator for controlling sound pressure at medium and high frequencies from 0 to -6 dB. They have three positions. Located at 0, the signal is fed to the sound source unchanged. In the positions -3 dB and -6 dB, the power decreases by 1.4 and 2 times, respectively.
Minuses
No matter how the people we are discussing are touted, they are far from ideal. If you take the S-90 in the original version, then they will well lose soft rock and tithes. But when it comes to "metal", "jazz" or the modern areas of electronic music, then problems with bass and not only begin, so they need a good amplifier to work.
The melody that S-90 reproduces is mundane, without any frills. Equalizer doesn’t help much. At high volumes, you can feel the out of sync of different frequencies. Bass can be in a hurry, and even mutter. In addition, these speakers can hoarse and flash.
What else can be mentioned about the S-90 speakers? Technical specifications are not all the problems of this equipment. Due to the characteristics of the wooden structure, vibrations appear, and the sound becomes like from a barrel. Dust is easily collected on the grilles and the bass reflex, and the “child protection” distortes the sound quite strongly.
Advantages
Talking about tar, consider a spoon of honey. Despite the popularity of the S-90, people living in the Soviet Union did not have much choice in terms of music systems. Hence the mythical "steepness" of these columns.
- The first thing worth noting is their low cost. Now the cost is around 1000-5000 rubles. In fact, you can get a full-fledged speaker system at the price of ordinary computer “chat mats”.
- High power. Despite the many flaws in the sound at maximum volume, even an average value may be enough to fill the whole room with sound.
- Since the S-90 have many design flaws, they are often subjected to alteration. After such an operation, they acquire a new sound. In general, the finished S-90 will cost you about 6 thousand, although the sound will be at the level of expensive premium speakers.
Reviews
Looking at how many shortcomings and problems are associated with these columns, one would think that people would be unhappy with their acquisitions. But it was not there.
For some reason, all users note soft basses, although in reality this is far from the case. In addition, loud sound and deep notes stand out. And only after a long study of the reviews, it becomes clear that the high-quality sound in these columns appears only after the audio enthusiast has worked on them.
But among the shortcomings indicated bulkiness and too much weight. As well as inconvenient connectors for connection. However, most of the dissatisfaction caused by these shortcomings quickly disappears, it is worth the buyer to look at the price tag. And to use this speaker system as portable speakers is sacrilege. Most just need to create your own home theater and "forget" about them.
Summary
In general, it is strange to look at the high ratings of this speaker system as such, because after the soldering iron has worked on it, it will be completely different equipment. Most likely, this is due to the longing and nostalgia for the Soviet era. There is no other explanation for why a person can admire the obvious failure of technology in our time, when it is not difficult to get a decent speaker system.
We have already found out that the main problem of the S-90 is its unnatural sound. Moreover, it is noticeable not only at low frequencies, but also with the rattle of the guitar at medium. The hollow body, flimsy internal wires, as well as the low quality of the components lead to a sad result.
The only indisputable advantage is the cheapness. So these speakers are good for beginner music lovers.
However, if you are lucky enough to find and buy with your hands the already modified and brought to mind the sound system C-90, then you can sincerely rejoice. In this case, they can serve you for a very long time. These speakers are just as reliable as Soviet tanks.