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Post by brubacca on Dec 5, 2019 7:31:32 GMT -5
I'll be very interested in your thoughts on the Project with Moonstone cartridge.
Roon Rock- You can attach it either way. Might be interesting to review the difference in sound between USB and Ethernet.
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Post by Gary Cook on Dec 5, 2019 22:45:58 GMT -5
garbulky and I may get to review this! The Pro-Ject X2 turntable with Sumiko Moonstone MM cartridge. Also interested in your thoughts. I've had Sumiko cartridges for 20+ years, I really like their sound signature, inoffensive and accurate to my tastes. Cheers Gary
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Post by boomzilla on Dec 27, 2019 13:12:54 GMT -5
Well, I finally decided to pull the trigger on a pair of S15 Emotiva subs, and wouldn't you know - they're sold out. My bad. He who hesitates is lost.
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Post by boomzilla on Jan 4, 2020 13:06:51 GMT -5
The "pro audio" world typically uses Speakon connectors for loudspeakers. The connectors offer a far, far better crimp system for the bare speaker wires than do any of the current spades, bananas, or 5-way binding posts. The connectors also securely lock into place and can't be accidentally dislodged. Yet the "consumer" speaker sector studiously avoids Speakon wiring. Any idea why?
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DYohn
Emo VIPs
Posts: 18,342
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Post by DYohn on Jan 4, 2020 14:03:57 GMT -5
The "pro audio" world typically uses Speakon connectors for loudspeakers. The connectors offer a far, far better crimp system for the bare speaker wires than do any of the current spades, bananas, or 5-way binding posts. The connectors also securely lock into place and can't be accidentally dislodged. Yet the "consumer" speaker sector studiously avoids Speakon wiring. Any idea why? They are expensive and more difficult to install compared to binding posts for a manufacturer.
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Post by boomzilla on Jan 4, 2020 22:10:08 GMT -5
Home Theater lessons learned lately -
1. ANY compression applied by an AVR on movie soundtracks is a very bad thing. Sucks the life right out of the soundtrack.
2. For soundtracks with dialect, lingo, or accents, having a physical center channel is a necessity. "Phantom center" from 2.0 or 2.1 playback is sufficient for some movies, but profoundly inadequate for others.
3. At least dual subwoofers (or more) works really well for movies (even if the "point-one-channel" signal is monophonic).
4. I can balance 5 speakers by ear and do just as well as the room correction software (in my current case, YPAO), but letting the AVR do it automatically is a whole lot easier and quicker.
5. "Virtual surround" from an extra pair of front speakers is just wishful thinking for most movies. If you want true surround, you need true surround speaker placement.
6. Paul W. Klipsch claimed (based on experiments done by AT&T) that a three-front-speaker array was the minimum necessary to fool the ear into thinking that a recorded event is actually live. He may have been right...
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Post by adaboy on Jan 4, 2020 23:59:56 GMT -5
Home Theater lessons learned lately - 1. ANY compression applied by an AVR on movie soundtracks is a very bad thing. Sucks the life right out of the soundtrack. 2. For soundtracks with dialect, lingo, or accents, having a physical center channel is a necessity. "Phantom center" from 2.0 or 2.1 playback is sufficient for some movies, but profoundly inadequate for others. 3. At least dual subwoofers (or more) works really well for movies (even if the "point-one-channel" signal is monophonic). 4. I can balance 5 speakers by ear and do just as well as the room correction software (in my current case, YPAO), but letting the AVR do it automatically is a whole lot easier and quicker. 5. "Virtual surround" from an extra pair of front speakers is just wishful thinking for most movies. If you want true surround, you need true surround speaker placement. 6. Paul W. Klipsch claimed (based on experiments done by AT&T) that a three-front-speaker array was the minimum necessary to fool the ear into thinking that a recorded event is actually live. He may have been right... Good wrap up boom! Phantom center isn't ideal.
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Post by geeqner on Jan 5, 2020 0:23:29 GMT -5
On #6 - I believe that I have read somewhere that the Original intent of the Heresy Speaker was designed to be a more compact (compact is relative here) to the Klipschorns. It seems like the venerable Mr. PWK really DID believe in using a “physical” Center Channel.
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Post by boomzilla on Jan 5, 2020 2:31:03 GMT -5
On #6 - I believe that I have read somewhere that the Original intent of the Heresy Speaker was designed to be a more compact (compact is relative here) to the Klipschorns. It seems like the venerable Mr. PWK really DID believe in using a “physical” Center Channel. Indeed - he even designed (and published in his "Dope From Hope" papers) a dividing network for either line-level or speaker-level signals that would synthesize a center channel from existing R/L information.
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Post by mfeust on Jan 5, 2020 10:56:22 GMT -5
Home Theater lessons learned lately - 1. ANY compression applied by an AVR on movie soundtracks is a very bad thing. Sucks the life right out of the soundtrack. 2. For soundtracks with dialect, lingo, or accents, having a physical center channel is a necessity. "Phantom center" from 2.0 or 2.1 playback is sufficient for some movies, but profoundly inadequate for others. 3. At least dual subwoofers (or more) works really well for movies (even if the "point-one-channel" signal is monophonic). 4. I can balance 5 speakers by ear and do just as well as the room correction software (in my current case, YPAO), but letting the AVR do it automatically is a whole lot easier and quicker. 5. "Virtual surround" from an extra pair of front speakers is just wishful thinking for most movies. If you want true surround, you need true surround speaker placement. 6. Paul W. Klipsch claimed (based on experiments done by AT&T) that a three-front-speaker array was the minimum necessary to fool the ear into thinking that a recorded event is actually live. He may have been right... Good wrap up boom! Phantom center isn't ideal. As to #2. Sorry Boom but I can not disagree with you more on this one. For many years I had the Big Dawgs powering Bigfoot(some will get this reference most will not) and still had to occasionally adjust the trim on Bigfoot. But for the last 10 years-ish I have been running a 2.2ch system using a Phantom center channel. It has been hands down the best center channel I have ever heard with no need to adjust anything to hear or understand the dialog in movies and TV. Now there are some caveats. 1. You must be able to sit in or near the sweet spot for dialog to be centered. 2. You must have quality L&R speakers. 3. you MUST have the L&R speaker setup properly in your room. This of course is just MY experience and I would never say that this is an absolute for everyone else. Mark PS. This has been MY experience with MY system in MY 3 different rooms now.
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Post by drtrey3 on Jan 5, 2020 11:28:56 GMT -5
What a nice disagreement.
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Post by boomzilla on Jan 6, 2020 4:08:33 GMT -5
...But for the last 10 years-ish I have been running a 2.2ch system using a Phantom center channel. It has been hands down the best center channel I have ever heard with no need to adjust anything to hear or understand the dialog in movies and TV... For many (most?) soundtracks I'd agree that a phantom center is quite all right. But some of the newest discs have soundtracks that don't mix down to two-channel so well. For those, I found that the phantom center was insufficient (with my rig and in my room). YMMV
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Post by dsonyay on Jan 7, 2020 6:55:36 GMT -5
garbulky and I may get to review this! The Pro-Ject X2 turntable with Sumiko Moonstone MM cartridge. Not sure if the review has started, but I've got got quite a few of the Blue Note Tone Poet remasters. Lots of of excellent Jazz. Also have the debut Dire Straits OG pressing and other good classic rock 70s albums.. if you're interested in borrowing, let me know.
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Post by mfeust on Jan 7, 2020 10:26:30 GMT -5
...But for the last 10 years-ish I have been running a 2.2ch system using a Phantom center channel. It has been hands down the best center channel I have ever heard with no need to adjust anything to hear or understand the dialog in movies and TV... For many (most?) soundtracks I'd agree that a phantom center is quite all right. But some of the newest discs have soundtracks that don't mix down to two-channel so well. For those, I found that the phantom center was insufficient (with my rig and in my room). YMMV Boom, over the last 5 years or so probably around 4 or 5 time there has been a passage in a film of a 1 to 5 word phase that has been totally incomprehensible. Even after many rewinds and listening very carefully we may or may not understand. Since it is only that one passage in the film it is my belief that this is intentional. Weather Producer, Director, or Actor is doing this I have no idea and no idea as a reason. But I do believe it is intentional. Mark
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Post by boomzilla on Jan 7, 2020 10:33:40 GMT -5
Not sure if the review has started, but I've got got quite a few of the Blue Note Tone Poet remasters. Lots of of excellent Jazz. Also have the debut Dire Straits OG pressing and other good classic rock 70s albums.. if you're interested in borrowing, let me know. What a kind offer, David! Yes, thanks, as soon as the table arrives, I'll be in touch.
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Post by boomzilla on Jan 7, 2020 10:45:22 GMT -5
Boom, over the last 5 years or so probably around 4 or 5 time there has been a passage in a film of a 1 to 5 word phase that has been totally incomprehensible. Even after many rewinds and listening very carefully we may or may not understand. Since it is only that one passage in the film it is my belief that this is intentional. Weather Producer, Director, or Actor is doing this I have no idea and no idea as a reason. But I do believe it is intentional. Mark Hi Mark - Nope. What I'm talking about isn't just a phrase within a film, it's dialogue from entire films. When there is a Dolby Digital or DTS soundtrack, the mix down in my Oppo UDP-205 from multi-channel to stereo manages to drop the dialogue back into the mix. Sometimes this is just a drop in level relative to the remainder of the sound, and other times, it sounds as if the dialogue is recessed in distance back into the soundstage. My Yamaha AVR presents these soundtracks in 5.1, and so I don't get any problems there. But if I'm trying to listen to a movie in stereo through my "music system" both Dolby Digital and DTS throw the Oppo for a loop. The "stereo system" (for movie soundtracks) consists of the following: Oppo UDP-205 disc player in stereo mix down mode via XLR to Audio-gd HE-1 stereo preamp Dahlquist DQ-LP1 crossover (2) subwoofers (2) Emotiva PA-1 power amplifiers Either Klipsch RP-600M speakers or Emotiva T-2 speakers The AVR system for movie soundtracks consists of the the following: Oppo UDP-205 disc player via HDMI to Yamaha Aventage RX-A750 AVR direct to (2) subwoofers Either Klipsch RP-600M speakers or Emotiva T2 speakers For non Dolby Digital or DTS soundtracks, either configuration works fine. But when those codecs are in use, configuration 2 (with the AVR) is definitely superior Boom
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Post by dsonyay on Jan 8, 2020 10:30:31 GMT -5
Not sure if the review has started, but I've got got quite a few of the Blue Note Tone Poet remasters. Lots of of excellent Jazz. Also have the debut Dire Straits OG pressing and other good classic rock 70s albums.. if you're interested in borrowing, let me know. What a kind offer, David! Yes, thanks, as soon as the table arrives, I'll be in touch. I'll send you a link to my collection
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Jan 8, 2020 10:58:04 GMT -5
HT without a dedicated center channel is just stereo! 😃 Honestly, HT requires at least a 5.1 speaker configuration! Let’s not fool ourselves. Geezzzz I’m spunky this morning! But please, STOP me when I’m lying.
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Post by boomzilla on Jan 8, 2020 16:28:36 GMT -5
Going tonight to hear saxophonist Mark Zaleski's tribute to Dave Brubeck! Hoping it will be fun...
AND - It was absolutely AWESOME! Mr. Zaleski brought down the house with his versions of a lot of Brubeck music. This concert was sponsored by the Baton Rouge Arts Council, and tickets cost only $25 each! Amazing.
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Post by boomzilla on Jan 22, 2020 8:17:14 GMT -5
I find it interesting over time that somehow my system keeps reverting to a "mostly Emotiva gear" experience. Somehow the value of Emotiva's "sound quality for the price" ratio just isn't avoidable. Although I frequently have other brands of equipment that are FAR more expensive in the system for review, my "keepers" end up being, again and again, the Emotiva gear. At the moment, my stereo listening system consists of:
Oppo UDP-205 used as disc player and Roon-Ready destination with DAC Audio-gd HE-1 preamplifier Dahlquist DQ-LP1 or NHT X1 subwoofer crossovers Emotiva PA-1 power amplifiers Emotiva T-2 or Klipsch RP600M speakers Emotiva Airmotiv S15 subwoofers
So three out of six major functions are Emotiva! Things I'd like for Emotiva to offer (that I'd buy instantly) include:
Roon-Ready streamer with Ethernet input and fully-balanced stereo outputs Fully-balanced stereo subwoofer crossover (input to output for the high-pass section) Wireless subwoofer transmitter/receiver that could operate in stereo mode (the current one is mono only)
Boomzilla
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