|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 2, 2017 11:02:10 GMT -5
Last night I plugged in my yard-sale, solid-state Sherwood stereo receiver. It took about an hour to warm up (maybe more), and I had to seriously reposition the speakers (closer to the wall behind them to compensate for the Sherwood's wimpy bass). But with a good recording, the Sherwood gave quite a pleasant sound! Not as much control as Emotiva gear, obviously, but what the Sherwood lacked in bass control was made up for by exceptional midrange and treble transparency. It took some " garbulky-style speaker dancing" to find the sweet spot for the speakers, but once I got them in the right place, the sound smoothed out a bit. I also found that a plus-one-click on the Sherwood's bass tone control added some authority. So am I getting world-class sound from a yard-sale receiver? No, I'm not. BUT - for the $$ spent, I can hardly believe how good the rig is sounding. What fun!
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Jan 2, 2017 11:18:50 GMT -5
Last night I plugged in my yard-sale, solid-state Sherwood stereo receiver. It took about an hour to warm up (maybe more), and I had to seriously reposition the speakers (closer to the wall behind them to compensate for the Sherwood's wimpy bass). But with a good recording, the Sherwood gave quite a pleasant sound! Not as much control as Emotiva gear, obviously, but what the Sherwood lacked in bass control was made up for by exceptional midrange and treble transparency. It took some " garbulky-style speaker dancing" to find the sweet spot for the speakers, but once I got them in the right place, the sound smoothed out a bit. I also found that a plus-one-click on the Sherwood's bass tone control added some authority. So am I getting world-class sound from a yard-sale receiver? No, I'm not. BUT - for the $$ spent, I can hardly believe how good the rig is sounding. What fun! That Sherwood is quite good imo!
|
|
|
Post by Axis on Jan 2, 2017 11:20:38 GMT -5
Last night I plugged in my yard-sale, solid-state Sherwood stereo receiver. It took about an hour to warm up (maybe more), and I had to seriously reposition the speakers (closer to the wall behind them to compensate for the Sherwood's wimpy bass). But with a good recording, the Sherwood gave quite a pleasant sound! Not as much control as Emotiva gear, obviously, but what the Sherwood lacked in bass control was made up for by exceptional midrange and treble transparency. It took some " garbulky-style speaker dancing" to find the sweet spot for the speakers, but once I got them in the right place, the sound smoothed out a bit. I also found that a plus-one-click on the Sherwood's bass tone control added some authority. So am I getting world-class sound from a yard-sale receiver? No, I'm not. BUT - for the $$ spent, I can hardly believe how good the rig is sounding. What fun! Boom, you can take comfort in knowing that the Fun will never stop for you. Your lucky Boom. I know. There are many out there that do not have fun in life and here we are. Nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be proud of.
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 2, 2017 15:16:03 GMT -5
I'm easily entertained, it's true. A good movie for me would be watching Elizabeth Hurley skip rope in the nude...
|
|
novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230
|
Post by novisnick on Jan 2, 2017 18:44:40 GMT -5
Boom, i'd watch that movie with you!!
Having fun and enjoying the gear we have is what its about to me. Some AVR's will surprise you if you rid yourself of the stigma and give some time and effort into setting all of your gear up properly. Besides dancing the speakers most folks spend Zero to Very little time getting to know their gear! IE; reading and understanding the complete manual. Not just parts of it. I can honesly say that it took me a full year to get all that my Yamaha 3020 had under the hood. Just incredible!!
Always learning and rarely surprised how much more we can get out of our gear by just experimenting.
|
|
|
Post by knucklehead on Jan 2, 2017 20:55:05 GMT -5
Boom, i'd watch that movie with you!! Having fun and enjoying the gear we have is what its about to me. Some AVR's will surprise you if you rid yourself of the stigma and give some time and effort into setting all of your gear up properly. Besides dancing the speakers most folks spend Zero to Very little time getting to know their gear! IE; reading and understanding the complete manual. Not just parts of it. I can honesly say that it took me a full year to get all that my Yamaha 3020 had under the hood. Just incredible!! Always learning and rarely surprised how much more we can get out of our gear by just experimenting. Very true. I'm more than a little surprised by the Denon 4520. This thing sounds great and does everything I want it to do. Which is why I gave up on having an XSP-1 - or any two channel preamp or integrated. Been there done that. The 4520 is less complex to set up and it just works. I tried time and again to get the zone II balance right. Now I don't need to mess with it. I think I'll put the Yamaha CX-A5000 in the bedroom with the Outlaw amp for a while just to get familiar with it before replacing the Denon. It's nice to have two very good options. I think I'll keep both. Anyone looking for a decent AVR? Got a Yamaha RX-V773 I might as well sell. Like most Yamaha AVR's it just works!
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 2, 2017 21:17:25 GMT -5
And this evening, I put the subs back into the mix - <90 Hz going to the subs from the Oppo - above going to the modest Sherwood receiver. And...
Wife was stunned enough to come & sit with me for about two hours of solid listening (something she RARELY does). In fact, unless she thinks that the system is sounding exceptional, she doesn't bother to listen with me at all.
This config makes the most of the Sherwood's strengths (transparent sounding midrange & treble + surprising imaging) while hiding its weaknesses by letting the subs handle the heavy lifting in the bass regions. An absolutely LOVELY evening - listening to a wide, wide variety of music. Now the Sherwood is not as rich sounding as the VTA ST-120 tube amp, but there's more apparent detail. In other words, the classic tubes vs. solid state sounds - BUT the Sherwood is actually GOOD solid-state sound (providing you can overlook or bypass its bass).
GREAT fun!
Boom
And the Sherwood has convinced me that I'll (sooner or later) HAVE to try another solid state power amp. If Emotiva comes out with some XPA-1, Gen. 3 amps, then those will be my choice. No? Then I'll wait for the XPA-2, Gen. 3 with the double-wide balanced blades (or else buy two chassis with a double wide per chassis - sort of a DIY mono block). The only other SS power amps I'd really consider would be Odyssey or McIntosh - And I probably can't afford either...
If any'a youse guys has heard the Odyssey or SS Mac power amps vs. the Emotivas, I'd be interested in hearing your opinions...
Mac gear I've owned previously:
MC240 (tube) MC2205 (ss & glassy sounding) MC352 (ss & maybe the best amp I've ever owned) C41 preamp (ss & very good sounding) C220 (tube & nice sound but not as detailed as the C41)
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 4, 2017 19:51:33 GMT -5
novisnick - Some help please? I can't get 3D to work at all. The disc is definitely 3D The Oppo is set to 3D video output (3D = "auto") The Samsung has three 3D video settings - 2D to 3D conversion / Two icons stacked vertically / Two icons stacked horizontally No matter which setting I choose, the picture on the screen is blurred with no 3D effect at all I'm pushing the buttons on both glasses as the Blu-Ray is loaded and again at intervals during the playback - no difference... Any ideas? Thanks - Boom
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 4, 2017 19:58:11 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Jan 4, 2017 20:05:04 GMT -5
novisnick - Some help please? I can't get 3D to work at all. The disc is definitely 3D The Oppo is set to 3D video output (3D = "auto") The Samsung has three 3D video settings - 2D to 3D conversion / Two icons stacked vertically / Two icons stacked horizontally No matter which setting I choose, the picture on the screen is blurred with no 3D effect at all I'm pushing the buttons on both glasses as the Blu-Ray is loaded and again at intervals during the playback - no difference... Any ideas? Thanks - Boom The samsung giving you those three 3d video settings indicate that the disc you are using is not a 3d blu ray. It only gives those options for you when it is a 2d disc. if it is 3d, then you will not get any of those three video settings. Those settings are for 2d. A lot of 3d blu ray cases have a 2d version of it. You may have selected the wrong disc or the 3d disc wasn't included. It has to say 3d blu ray ON THE DISC ITSELF. Also....if the screen is BLURRED....then your 3d glasses may have run out of juice or not pairing with your tv. Try the second pair. Though it is possible you did the two icons stacked vertically/horizontally option which can give you that weird picture which is not a fault of the 3d glasses. (those two options are not for 3d glasses).
|
|
novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230
|
Post by novisnick on Jan 4, 2017 20:20:21 GMT -5
Boom, what gar says is true to the best of my knowledge. But the glasses may need a battery. When you turn them on an image of the glasses should appear in the bottom left side of your tv and report the battery power remaining as a %
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 4, 2017 20:20:45 GMT -5
Hi garbulky - The Samsung TV doesn't give me any "options." It's only if I force the Samsung menu open & go to its 3D tab that I see those options. Also, either the player or the TV pops up a dialogue box on the bottom left of the screen informing me that the program IS in 3D, and that if I want to switch to 2D, I need to push that button on the remote (I don't). I'm also sure that the picture IS being presented in 3D because without the glasses, the screen shows parallax blur. I think that the glasses batteries are OK because when I push the synch button on the glasses, it blinks red and then green. I also have two pairs of glasses, and neither of them shows a 3D image (in other words, the screen still shows parallax blur even with the glasses on). And now that I think of it, the fact that the screen DOES show parallax blur indicates that the disc, the player, and the screen ARE doing what they should. This leaves only the glasses as a potential culprit. I'll get out the VOM & test the battery voltages. Is this thinking sound? Thanks - Boom
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Jan 4, 2017 20:24:47 GMT -5
I think if the glasses are paired but the screen shows a parralax blur it means you selected one of the 2d to 3d options. Either the horizontal or vertical and it's converting it in to that what you are seeing. Even if the 3d glasses are turned on and paired it will still show you the blur due to it not being compatible. I would also double check to make sure the disc says blu ray 3d on the cover.
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 4, 2017 21:11:53 GMT -5
The disc says 3D blue ray on the disc itself. I don't think the glasses are paired. Previously, when I paired a pair of glasses, a temporary dialogue box appeared saying that the glasses were paired, and the percentage of battery life left. I didn't get that tonight.
I also checked the batteries with the VOM. They're supposed to be 3V. One tested 2.8V - I threw that one away. The other two measured 3.05V and 3.12V. I'm assuming that those are (at least marginally) OK?
|
|
|
Post by garbulky on Jan 4, 2017 21:27:56 GMT -5
Yeah those are fine. The glasses will work or they won't when the battery goes out. I doubt there will be an in between. 2.8V should be fine. I think in thatcase it's a pairing thing. However, I would turn everything off and turn it on with the tv turned on first - > Oppo -> glasses.
|
|
novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230
|
Post by novisnick on Jan 5, 2017 0:37:17 GMT -5
The set of glasses I sent you were brand new. You did take the tape off all four sides Im sure. They are mechanical/active. The match to that pair needed another battery. Make sure its in properly. I know this sounds very basic and you may even be above average in IQ but it never hurts to ask the basics. Most of us go to the worst case scenario when it's usually the simples!
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 5, 2017 8:39:43 GMT -5
I pulled all the batteries & checked them, as I said - I tried the two strongest again. The 3.05 wouldn't pair. The 3.12V paired but showed a residual battery life in the 20% range. I did watch a movie last night with that battery, and it worked fine, but I think it's time to replace batteries. So the bottom line was - The disc was fine - the Oppo was fine - the Samsung TV was fine - but the glasses had weak batteries. Even the unused batteries that were with the glasses Nick sent me were bad due to age.
And there's a comment to be made about that - Coin batteries (of any style) have a shelf life but slightly longer than their use life. In other words, old batteries may not be any good. Therefore, buy coin batteries from a source that does high turnover or the "new" batteries that you get may be just as bad as the "old" batteries that you took out. So when buying a "card" of coin batteries, look closely at the "good until" date. It matters.
|
|
|
Post by tweed on Jan 5, 2017 10:30:04 GMT -5
Very much enjoyed your review of the VTA ST-120 Boom.
Especially liked the bit of tube/transistor history.
It has been without a doubt the best and most significant change to my system in years!
In fact, it made me rethink what I really like from my system. Thus, I am back to the future and old school 2 channel these days and loving it.
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 5, 2017 10:57:47 GMT -5
Thank you kindly, tweed. There may (or may not) be three or four other reviews in the hopper - Emotiva BASX TP-100 preamplifier Audio Research VT-80 tube power amplifier Schiit Gungnir Multibit DAC jRiver Media Center software
|
|
|
Post by Boomzilla on Jan 7, 2017 20:07:59 GMT -5
Going to see "Hidden Figures" tomorrow with friends - It's supposed to be very, very good!
|
|