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Post by boomzilla on Feb 2, 2017 0:55:53 GMT -5
Enjoying the Crown PSA 2 - Not too shabby... But I need to use a cheater plug on the Oppo - ground loop...
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Post by boomzilla on Feb 6, 2017 19:19:38 GMT -5
One of my guests this past weekend opined that only pure silver interconnects and audio cables were worth having and that having superior components did one no good unless connected with superior wires. He also opined that there was a strong positive correlation between speaker price and speaker performance.
I disagree, but not enough to argue the points. His money - his choice. And I'm sure that his system sounds amazing, but I have no particular desire to upgrade anything of mine - at least for the moment.
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Feb 6, 2017 20:51:02 GMT -5
One of my guests this past weekend opined that only pure silver interconnects and audio cables were worth having and that having superior components did one no good unless connected with superior wires. He also opined that there was a strong positive correlation between speaker price and speaker performance. I disagree, but not enough to argue the points. His money - his choice. And I'm sure that his system sounds amazing, but I have no particular desire to upgrade anything of mine - at least for the moment.
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Post by monkumonku on Feb 6, 2017 21:03:56 GMT -5
One of my guests this past weekend opined that only pure silver interconnects and audio cables were worth having and that having superior components did one no good unless connected with superior wires. He also opined that there was a strong positive correlation between speaker price and speaker performance. I disagree, but not enough to argue the points. His money - his choice. And I'm sure that his system sounds amazing, but I have no particular desire to upgrade anything of mine - at least for the moment. Hmm.. methinks thou dost protest/react too much.
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Feb 6, 2017 21:29:10 GMT -5
This evening, the speaker at the Greater Baton Rouge Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers was a physicist from the LSU Superfund research department. His talk was about the physics of environmentally-persistent free radicals (EPFRs). Although the majority of his talk was concerning the physics of the EPFR creation, and mostly above my head, the interesting thing that I learned was that the most common method of hydrocarbon waste destruction (incineration) has a nasty by-product. When ring molecules, such as benzene, for example, are incinerated in the presence of silica or metals, a radical is created. Normally radicals (being polar, i.e. having an electrical charge) decompose within milliseconds or bond with another molecule to achieve stability, but the metal or metal oxide free radical (EPFR) can persist for weeks! Further, the particle sizes are respirable, and do significant damage to lung tissue. So just about every industry with a thermal oxidizer, incinerator, or possibly even a flare, creates EPFRs that we're only now beginning to understand the hazards of. An interesting topic, a brilliant speaker, and useful information. Go AIChE! PS: I also got a round of applause for having my article on chemical process safety published in the January issue of the journal of the AIChe, "Chemical Engineering Progress" magazine. Further, my better half came to the meeting with me and (being more educated and significantly smarter) soaked up the speech with great enjoyment. Boomzilla This all sounds like nerd pillow talk to me!!
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Feb 6, 2017 21:30:27 GMT -5
Hmm.. methinks thou dost protest/react too much. Not upgrade anything?,,,,,,,,,,,oh, now I see the disclaimer,,,,,he,,,,he,,,,,he,,,,,,,,
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Post by boomzilla on Feb 12, 2017 22:15:17 GMT -5
Well... I listened to the KEF LS50s for the first time tonight. No subs - just the Audio Research tube amp & the speakers. On the plus side: Imaging - better than anything else yet heard in my room Articulation - Clear, clear, clear - Picks apart complicated music with ease Bass - With the KT-120 tubes in the amp, very surprising bass amplitude, clarity, and extension Treble - Not only right sounding, but also clear and floating above the rest of the orchestra, just like it sounds at the symphony On the minus side: Efficiency - The Audio Research amp wasn't exactly clipping, but to do volume, it had to be cranked up Bass comes at a price - Anytime the bass got heavy, the midrange started to sound somewhat hooded Location - Where the Tektons and the Axioms were perfectly happy, the KEFs give promise of rewarding some future adjustments So are these KEFs "giant-killers?" Maybe, with subwoofers engaged. That would take a LOT of excursion off of the KEF's cones, and may eliminate that strained & hooded sound completely. In any smaller room, these speakers would outdo ANYTHING else I've heard (except maybe for some Avalon Symbol speakers, now discontinued). So my opinion of the KEF LS-50s is two thumbs up!
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Feb 12, 2017 22:49:18 GMT -5
Well... I listened to the KEF LS50s for the first time tonight. No subs - just the Audio Research tube amp & the speakers. On the plus side: Imaging - better than anything else yet heard in my room Articulation - Clear, clear, clear - Picks apart complicated music with ease Bass - With the KT-120 tubes in the amp, very surprising bass amplitude, clarity, and extension Treble - Not only right sounding, but also clear and floating above the rest of the orchestra, just like it sounds at the symphony On the minus side: Efficiency - The Audio Research amp wasn't exactly clipping, but to do volume, it had to be cranked up Bass comes at a price - Anytime the bass got heavy, the midrange started to sound somewhat hooded Location - Where the Tektons and the Axioms were perfectly happy, the KEFs give promise of rewarding some future adjustments So are these KEFs "giant-killers?" Maybe, with subwoofers engaged. That would take a LOT of excursion off of the KEF's cones, and may eliminate that strained & hooded sound completely. In any smaller room, these speakers would outdo ANYTHING else I've heard (except maybe for some Avalon Symbol speakers, now discontinued). So my opinion of the KEF LS-50s is two thumbs up! I believe I came to the same conclusions, just not as elegant as boomzilla !!! Add an articulate sub and they ARE giant killers! No question about it IMHO! long story shor, a few months ago I sought out advice from boomzilla. His words were to buy them, flat out he stated he would purchase my new KEF LS 50's if I wasn't thrilled with them. I just wanted something for my cave so I could move my much loved Paradigm Studio 100's v5. So I made the purchase knowing I had no risk, in my review time I fell in love! I just couldn't rationally keep the speakers but I COULDNT part with them. Obviously boom got tired of waiting for my decision. Sorry my friend but these are great sounding speakers! They do so much so right! I've mentioned more then once that they do love plenty of power, when supplied they make parting near impossible. Do the dance with them and enjoy. Your heart and ears will be split between which speakers to listen to. What a great problem to have! All that at a price that is so below their sound! At first, looking at a set of monitors at that price point was scary, could they really be worth that kind of coin? YOU BET YOUR SWEET ARS THEY ARE!!! Edit; The KEF LS50's do love my XPR-1's
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Post by vneal on Feb 13, 2017 7:44:32 GMT -5
One of my guests this past weekend opined that only pure silver interconnects and audio cables were worth having and that having superior components did one no good unless connected with superior wires. He also opined that there was a strong positive correlation between speaker price and speaker performance. I disagree, but not enough to argue the points. His money - his choice. And I'm sure that his system sounds amazing, but I have no particular desire to upgrade anything of mine - at least for the moment. the moment will pass
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Post by boomzilla on Feb 13, 2017 8:47:53 GMT -5
LOL - It already has...
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Post by bluemeanies on Feb 13, 2017 8:49:25 GMT -5
Well... I listened to the KEF LS50s for the first time tonight. No subs - just the Audio Research tube amp & the speakers. On the plus side: Imaging - better than anything else yet heard in my room Articulation - Clear, clear, clear - Picks apart complicated music with ease Bass - With the KT-120 tubes in the amp, very surprising bass amplitude, clarity, and extension Treble - Not only right sounding, but also clear and floating above the rest of the orchestra, just like it sounds at the symphony On the minus side: Efficiency - The Audio Research amp wasn't exactly clipping, but to do volume, it had to be cranked up Bass comes at a price - Anytime the bass got heavy, the midrange started to sound somewhat hooded Location - Where the Tektons and the Axioms were perfectly happy, the KEFs give promise of rewarding some future adjustments So are these KEFs "giant-killers?" Maybe, with subwoofers engaged. That would take a LOT of excursion off of the KEF's cones, and may eliminate that strained & hooded sound completely. In any smaller room, these speakers would outdo ANYTHING else I've heard (except maybe for some Avalon Symbol speakers, now discontinued). So my opinion of the KEF LS-50s is two thumbs up! Could not agree with you more Boom. I seen these speakers when they were first introduced at the New York Audio show a few years back. The were powered by a stereo tube amplifier which my brain cells have forgotten the name. However these speakers were in a very large room and they were singing. Very powerful in the bass department. I will say that the bass did lose a little something at lower levels but would not be a deterrent if I were interested in such a moderate size system to match a moderate size room. At the time they were selling for $1500.00 and the entire system b/c of the show could be had for $2500.00. Speakers, tube amplifier with tubes, and stands. The source of music came from a HP laptaop. If I were in the market for small speakers with a lot of kick the KEF LS50's would be a good choice!
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Post by boomzilla on Feb 16, 2017 11:40:31 GMT -5
A question, por favor?
I've currently got my Oppo BDP-105 set to:
Main Speakers (Front L & R) = LARGE Subwoofer = YES Crossover = 250 Hz
The subwoofers' plate amps are set to:
Gain = 80% Phase = 180 degrees Crossover = 50 Hz.
Connections are:
Oppo to power amp = XLR balanced Oppo to subwoofers = mono sub RCA output from Oppo to splitter at the subs - same (mono) signal into both subs
What this does, in fact, isn't what I expected.
With the subs in "auto" mode, they never come on at all. When I force the subs to their "on" position, no sound comes from them.
What I think is happening is this:
The XLR balanced connection to the power amp has twice the voltage (amplitude) as a pair of RCAs would.
Since I'm sending a single RCA to the subs, it has but a quarter of the combined signal of the two XLRs feeding the (full-range) power amp. I'm further reducing that subwoofer amplitude by splitting the signal yet again at the subwoofer inputs. So the two subs are each receiving but an eighth of the voltage going to the power amp. This is why the subs won't awake on signal?
Potential fixes, as I see them are:
1. Use RCA (unbalanced) connectors from the Oppo to the power amp. 2. Use individual (full range) unbalanced connectors from the Oppo's right & left channels to the two subwoofers and let the plate amplifier's low-pass filter do the subwoofer roll-off. 3. Do both of the above.
Am I on the right track here to get the subs back in the mix? The only thing I'm not completely sure of is whether I have enough LONG RCA connectors in the spares box to reach both subs from the Oppo.
In any case, my question is: Am I on the right track in considering relative signal amplitude the root of my problem?
Thanks - Boom
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Feb 16, 2017 12:28:18 GMT -5
Ive found the easiest results with running the sub amp and crossovers to get the sound I want, full range from the pre/pro or in your case the Oppo.
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Post by boomzilla on Feb 16, 2017 13:42:17 GMT -5
OK - Experiment done:
I discarded the mono subwoofer output wire running from the Oppo to the splitter at the Subs. I replaced it with a right and left full-range RCA stereo cable from the Oppo to each sub individually. I also removed the XLR connection from the Oppo to the main amp and instead used RCAs. Now everything sings sweetly!
Conclusion - It WAS the level imbalance that was causing the problem. Now, with the "stereo subs," I can use the auto position on the subs to wake them up, and I can adjust them just fine to match the KEFs.
All good. Thanks, Mr. Nick - I'm doing exactly as you suggest & it's working well.
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Post by Gary Cook on Feb 16, 2017 14:21:15 GMT -5
Can I suggest another test, since you broke the golden rule and changed 2 things at the same time. Put the XLR connections back, there should be very little difference if any between that and the RCA connections.. My guess is that the RCA split for the subs was the issue on its own as it would more than halve their input signal strength.
Cheers Gary
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Post by boomzilla on Feb 16, 2017 17:34:24 GMT -5
I made a further discovery - the single RCA that was feeding the subs was a 75-ohm video cable. I didn't even know I had one... Now I don't - giving it away to the thrift shop.
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Post by boomzilla on Feb 17, 2017 19:12:47 GMT -5
One would think that the KEF LS50s, being point-source radiators and all, would be some of the easiest speakers to place in the listening room. But I'm finding them to be just the opposite. How widely they're spaced makes a HUGE difference in their perceived midrange response (not so much with their imaging, as you'd expect). How far from the rear wall they're placed makes a HUGE difference in their perceived midrange smoothness (not so much with their bass, as you'd expect). How much they're toed in or out makes a HUGE difference (again - in the midrange - not in the imaging as you might expect).
In short, these are some persnickety little puppies!
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Feb 17, 2017 23:27:11 GMT -5
One would think that the KEF LS50s, being point-source radiators and all, would be some of the easiest speakers to place in the listening room. But I'm finding them to be just the opposite. How widely they're spaced makes a HUGE difference in their perceived midrange response (not so much with their imaging, as you'd expect). How far from the rear wall they're placed makes a HUGE difference in their perceived midrange smoothness (not so much with their bass, as you'd expect). How much they're toed in or out makes a HUGE difference (again - in the midrange - not in the imaging as you might expect). In short, these are some persnickety little puppies! The fun has begun!!
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Post by boomzilla on Feb 18, 2017 11:09:35 GMT -5
If it were easy, ANYBODY could do it...
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Feb 18, 2017 12:04:55 GMT -5
Im now running the LS50's in my training room with them about 12" from the wall and a sub is NOT required. Wow! They are true chameleons!
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