What audio system do you have, or plan on getting?

Started by Bonehelm, May 24, 2007, 08:52:55 AM

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Harry

Quote from: Feanor on May 18, 2009, 03:58:40 AM
Fabulous!  No doubt about that.

Your link to your equipment is not working, at least I see nothing!

Fëanor

#501
Quote from: Harry on May 18, 2009, 04:20:33 AM
Your link to your equipment is not working, at least I see nothing!

Neither do I!

Thanks for pointing this out.  It's worked before so I'll have to look for the problem.  Meanwhile, if you're interested, here's my setup ...

(See my link in my signature)

Valentino

My gear. Click on picture to enlarge.
We audiophiles don't really like music, but we sure love the sound it makes;
Audio-Technica | Bokrand | Thorens | Cambridge Audio | Logitech | Yamaha | Topping | MiniDSP | Hypex | ICEpower | Mundorf | SEAS | Beyma

Fëanor

#503
Quote from: Valentino on May 18, 2009, 05:06:21 AM
My gear. Click on picture to enlarge.

Very interesting system.  I was surprised to see the non-computer inputs to the Squeezebox: I'd never thought of that.  :D

[EDIT] Oh, I see: not a Squeezbox but the Transporter.  Now it makes more sense to me.  Still an interesting system though.  You have no aversion to things digital: good for you.  :)

Coopmv

Quote from: Feanor on May 18, 2009, 04:33:40 AM
Neither do I!

Thanks for pointing this out.  It's worked before so I'll have to look for the problem.  Meanwhile, if you're interested, here's my setup ...



Nice Visio layout?

Fëanor

Quote from: Coopmv on May 18, 2009, 06:30:22 PM
Nice Visio layout?

Yes, done in Visio.  BTW, my signature link is back in operation.

Daverz

#506
I was finding the NHT Xds rather hard sounding, so I got my big old Dunlavy SC-IIIs out of the back room.  



I've never had a "proper" amp for them.  Dunlavy suggests > 100 Watts;  I've been using a 60W Bryston B-60.  So I found a Bryston 3B-SST dealer demo on Audiogon:



150W into 8 Ohms, with balanced as well as single-ended connections.  I'm hoping it mates well with my BAT pre.  It was "priced to sell" because of a nick on the chassis, but who is going to see it down at the bottom of the rack.  (I was originally leaning toward the Parasound A23, but I read complaints about reliability.)

The Dunlavys are still a tight fit in my condo since they each need to be 10' (3 m) or more from the listener, and I have limited floorspace in my living room.  These don't go below 50Hz despite their size, and I still have an in-room frequency dip from 80-125 Hz to try to work out.  I'm not sure what I'd replace them with if I did.  Vandersteens, maybe.

Coopmv

Quote from: Daverz on May 29, 2009, 12:30:21 PM
I was finding the NHT Xds rather hard sounding, so I got my big old Dunlavy SC-IIIs out of the back room.  



I've never had a "proper" amp for them.  Dunlavy suggests > 100 Watts;  I've been using a 60W Bryston B-60.  So I found a Bryston 3B-SST dealer demo on Audiogon:



150W into 8 Ohms, with balanced as well as single-ended connections.  I'm hoping it mates well with my BAT pre.  It was "priced to sell" because of a nick on the chassis, but who is going to see it down at the bottom of the rack.  (I was originally leaning toward the Parasound A23, but I read complaints about reliability.)

The Dunlavys are still a tight fit in my condo since they each need to be 10' (3 m) or more from the listener, and I have limited floorspace in my living room.  These don't go below 50Hz despite their size, and I still have an in-room frequency dip from 80-125 Hz to try to work out.  I'm not sure what I'd replace them with if I did.  Vandersteens, maybe.

Dunlavy is no longer in business?

Daverz

Quote from: Coopmv on May 29, 2009, 05:46:34 PM
Dunlavy is no longer in business?

John Dunlavy, who died in 2007, retired and sold the business in 2001 to someone who apparently had no idea how to run it.   The company closed in 2002. 

Doing some more sound pressure measurements with the SC-IIIs in my room, I'm actually doing OK between 80-200 Hz, but I have a big resonance at 63Hz on the right, and bass falls off under 80 Hz on the left, probably because the ceiling slopes from 11' to 19'.  I'm thinking of getting a Behringer 2496 digital crossover to cut off everything under 80Hz and send it to my NHT subwoofer, but getting the phases right may be tricky.


http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/DCX2496.aspx

Valentino

 :)
I use one of those as crossover and EQ for my subs.
Have you considered a Helmholz resonator or two? Bass resonance-gobbling stuff, such devices.
We audiophiles don't really like music, but we sure love the sound it makes;
Audio-Technica | Bokrand | Thorens | Cambridge Audio | Logitech | Yamaha | Topping | MiniDSP | Hypex | ICEpower | Mundorf | SEAS | Beyma

Daverz

#510
Quote from: Valentino on May 29, 2009, 10:07:23 PM
:)
I use one of those as crossover and EQ for my subs.
Have you considered a Helmholz resonator or two? Bass resonance-gobbling stuff, such devices.

I have a couple of Echobuster quarter rounds, but I haven't tried one behind the right speaker (there isn't really a corner, where'd you typically put one of these, in that area).  



Would a Hemholtz resonator work in the 63Hz range?  (Well, I guess you make them the right size if you make them yourself.)

Coopmv

Any serious upgrades are now on hold until my stock portfolios have staged a more permanent rebound.  For now, only new CD purchases, which are just incremental expenses.

Bogey

Quote from: Feanor on May 16, 2009, 06:21:51 PM
Are you thinking of buying the Bose 301's new?  Or are they pre-owned?

No doubt you are aware that the audiophile consensus is that Bose stuff is over-priced junk.  But don't let that stop you if you like them though.  ;D

Buying new in the Bose 301 price range, Paradigm Atom or PSB Alpha B1 would be considered far better choices.

Quote from: Coopmv on May 16, 2009, 06:43:05 PM
When I was an uninitiated college undergrad, I used to think highly of Bose after I heard a demo of its flagship 901 at some NY Hi-Fi show.  Bose is just a tremendous marketing machine.  While I would not call its speakers junk, they are at best a line of overpriced mid-fi speakers ...

Quote from: Coopmv on May 17, 2009, 04:42:07 AM
And just about any of these names will provide higher quality sound than the Bose 301's ...

Quote from: Herman on May 17, 2009, 05:37:25 AM
don't do Bose.

Well, I went against the grain here for the first tme ever on this board and picked up a pair of Bose 301's:



Now, before you tie me to a horse, wing its backside with your Colt revolver and have it drag me through a cacti riddled desert, I need to let you know that I only paid $60 (no shipping) for them.  I thought it was worth the risk at this price.  An older gentleman had them and were a gift from his son. He ended up buying a complete surround sound system from Circuit City before they went under and had no use for them.  He said he and a friend set them up once for his daughter's wedding reception and that was the only time they had ever been used.  They sound good and compliment my Wharfedales that extra umph I was missing.  I have to say though, that I agree that they are not worth the asking price of $350.  But for $60........
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Daverz

Quote from: Feanor on May 17, 2009, 07:24:56 PM


I saw this post on 6922s on rec.audio.high-end.  Of course, it's "just some guy on the internet", so who knows how accurate it is:

Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end
From: Sonnova <sonn...@audiosanatorium.com>
Date: 2 May 2009 00:02:00 GMT
Subject: Re: Online Tube Providers

[quoted text snipped]

I had 4 of the 6 Electro-Harmonix 6922 (6DJ8/ECC88) tubes that I re-tubed my
trusty Audio Research SP-11MkII with go bad (gassy, noisy) over a period of
less than a year. I would NOT recommend Electro-Harmonix tubes to ANYONE.
However I have good luck with JJ/Tesla* brand from Tube Depot, who seem to be
very reliable and honest.

* If your preamp uses 6922/6DJ8/ECC88 tubes, its best NOT to buy NOS for this
tube type. The reason is because the 6DJ8 was designed originally as an RF
tube for FM front-ends. For that reason, any 6DJ8 made before about 1985 will
have no internal mechanical supports to damp-out microphonics. Because this
tube was an RF-only dual-triode, the type of internal element support needed
for hi-mu triodes for audio was deemed unnecessary in an RF application.
Compare, for instance, the mechanical structure of a NOS 6DJ8 with a 12AX7
and a modern 6DJ8 from Sovtek, Svetlana, Tesla, etc. and note the structural
differences. The new tube will resemble a 12AX7 more than it will resemble an
older 6DJ8. A NOS 6DJ8 will ring in an audio application, and a newly
manufactured tube will not.


My BAT 3iX also uses 6922s, and comes stock with some Russian jobbies.  It might be nice to have a little more depth and midrange bloom than these seem to provide.  The midrange is good but doesn't take your breath away the way that the Sylvania chrome dome 6SN7s in the Rogue Magnum 99 could (though I eventually moved on from the Rogue for other reasons).

Fëanor

#514
Quote from: Daverz on May 30, 2009, 03:08:28 PM
I saw this post on 6922s on rec.audio.high-end.  Of course, it's "just some guy on the internet", so who knows how accurate it is:
...
My BAT 3iX also uses 6922s, and comes stock with some Russian jobbies.  It might be nice to have a little more depth and midrange bloom than these seem to provide.  The midrange is good but doesn't take your breath away the way that the Sylvania chrome dome 6SN7s in the Rogue Magnum 99 could (though I eventually moved on from the Rogue for other reasons).

Thanks for those comments and your own.  The 6DJ8 are not exactly the same specfication as the 6922, so I'm not sure the relevance of his comments.  Anyway, lots of people use old 6922 tubes with no microphonic problems and you can always resort to tube stablizers..  Also I believe that the Electro Harmonics tubes are well regarded amoung current production tubes.  But opinions abound.

In any case the above pictured Amperex 6922 'PQ' have been the best performers of the six or seven different tubes I have tried.  BTW, I bought my tubes used for about US$80 the pair; they are very quite, show no sign of microphonics, and have worked reliably for a couple of years.  True NOS (new old stock) tubes are rare and about 4x that price.

The are about a bazillion different 6922 & variant models that are around.  This Joe's Tube Lore post at Audio Asylum is one of the best and most entertaining discussions I've seen.  You'll note that he thinks very well of the Amperex model in question, but isn't all that enthusiastic about the revered Siemens CCa.

By the way, I have a pair of what I believe to be later production, (but hopefully not counterfeit), Amperex 6922/E88CC tubes, below, these are pretty good but not nearly as good as the older, straight 6922's.


Daverz

Quote from: Feanor on May 30, 2009, 04:50:11 PM
Thanks for those comments and your own.  The 6DJ8 are not exactly the same specfication as the 6922, so I'm not sure the relevance of his comments.  Also I believe that the Electro Harmonics tubes are well regarded amount current production tubes.

Ah, thanks, I wasn't really picking up on the distinction.

Valentino

Quote from: Daverz on May 30, 2009, 08:58:25 AM
Would a Hemholtz resonator work in the 63Hz range?  (Well, I guess you make them the right size if you make them yourself.)
That's the lovely thing with a Helmholz. It works at it's tuning frequency. It's bass reflex without a driver.
http://www.audioholics.com/education/acoustics-principles/helmholtz-resonant-absorber
We audiophiles don't really like music, but we sure love the sound it makes;
Audio-Technica | Bokrand | Thorens | Cambridge Audio | Logitech | Yamaha | Topping | MiniDSP | Hypex | ICEpower | Mundorf | SEAS | Beyma

Bogey

There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

drogulus

#518
Quote from: Bogey on June 23, 2009, 08:12:44 AM
This on "perfect sound" may be of interest to some on this thread:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,13170.0.html

    The book might be interesting. Here's the audio file from NPR:

    [mp3=200,20,0,center]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/11/2/1559968/20090622_totn_03.mp3[/mp3]
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:123.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/123.0
      
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:109.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/115.0

Coopmv

Quote from: erato on July 05, 2009, 02:49:51 AM
IKEA Billy works reasonably well in my (admittedly not very tidy) music room.



Oops, I've moved this to the right thread...

There is no chance a set up like this will work in my house due to the amount of furniture my wife and I have.  You have a CJ amp just like mine.  Is it the MF2500A?