Deang

Be careful Max What someone else likes may not be what you like This whole thing is very subjective ------------------ deanG

It really comes down to listening tastes. I was actually listening tonight and thinking how well that Bryston preamp matched to the Amp1. ------------------ deanG

The maple is gorgeous. I had previously been using a set of RC7's and finally decided to do something I swore I would never do - own a set of towers with dual woofers covering lots of midrange. For the most part I prefer planars or monitors with mid/woofers no larger than 8". I made this decision after an afternoon audition where the RF7's left me smiling and feet tapping. It was hard for me to let go of my predjudices, but I could not argue with what I was hearing. The RF7's have a very quick sound for a tower design. They do not have that bloated, fat, woody sound you sometimes hear with even the best towers. The bass goes deep, sounds powerful, and yet remains surprisingly tight for a ported design. This they do without sounding like a box. Very impressive. With the two 10's and the slightly higher crossover (as compared to the other Reference models), I thought I would surely lose some detail in the lower midrange. I listened to some very familiar material and I could not tell any difference (in the midrange) from what I had been hearing with the RC7's. I know there is probably a difference but it must be miniscule. The mids are just as smooth as a baby's bottom and the RF7's manage to maintain this smoothness even as the bass is vibrating the floors and walls. I tried to smear the mids by juicing the SPL, but my 40 watt Anthem tubie couldn't do it. If there is objectionable IM distortion - I don't hear it. The treble is of course wonderful. The RF7's throw a nice image. The depth of the image caught me off guard and is fairly impressive for a $2200 set of speakers. I didn't notice the depth of the image during the audition - I can't really account for that. It's very noticable in my listening room however. The most dynamic speaker in the Reference Series line is actually the RB5, and when I traded mine in on the RC7's - I realized I had lost some of that when I got the RC7's home. I did however get the detail of the new driver/horn. It was an acceptable trade off. The RF7's come very close to the dynamics of the RB5. I was very happy to get some of that back. Very good slam/attack across the board. The RF7's are no Cornwall, Khorn, or LaScala - but then, they don't purport to be. They are part of a new breed and based on my listening experience - are perfectly capable of standing on their own ------------------ deanG This message has been edited by deang on 02-08-2002 at 02:06 PM

Kenratboy, your new friend is a moron - make sure he doesn't quit taking his medication ------------------ deanG

he likes it but not as much as his Moondogs I bet ------------------ deanG

That Monarchy is still on my very short list. I will ultimately have to decide between it and that DIY kit we just talked about - I can't have them both. I will probably keep the Bryston and buy the kit. I think it's time I actually learned something ------------------ deanG

I will sleep on it. I have just enough money left to do this. I will need to find an old clock radio first I don't know about going to the inmates for help - they love to crucify people. This message has been edited by deang on 02-07-2002 at 04:29 PM

...speaking generally can at times be very misleading. Let's take the following statement: "Tubes sound better than SS" Yesterday I found out that this isn't always true. Being perfectly happy with what I had, I decided to 'upgrade'. Since I'm doing almost as much time with the DVD player (movies) as I am with CD's - I decided I wanted to get a little more slam and transient attack back into my system. I purchased both a Bryston 3B-ST amp and BP-20 preamp off of AudiogoN. The original plan was to roll the tubes in my Anthem Pre1L and mate it with the 3B-ST. When the BP-20 showed up on AudiogoN I more or less bought it out of curiosity, and figured it would be easy enough to sell off if I didn't like it. The Bryston preamp showed up today, and I spent my lunch break swapping out the Anthem with the Bryston. I fired everything up and let the Amp1 warm up for about 20 minutes or so before I started a CD. So what we have at this point is a SS preamp mated to a middle of the road tube amp running stock Russian EL34's, a pair of Sieman 12au7's, and a stock Chinese 12ax7. Now the way folk talk in general, (and I am actually exluding the likes of Mobile, Colin, and many others on this board who I am sure know better) - you would think that even a middle of the road tubed preamp would sound better than any or most SS units. However, that's not what I found. In a way, I wanted the Bryston to sound bright and grainy so I could justify going to the next level - what I found was a smooth, effortless, open, and natural sounding treble. The bass was obviously tighter and there was less 'glare' at the higher SPL's. The unit is obviously a better sounding unit than the Anthem Pre1L. It probably doesn't sound better than the superior tubed offerings - but it certainly sounds better than the Anthem. I guess I can't be sure a retube wouldn't have pushed the Anthem over the top - but the Bryston does very, very good with the Amp1. The 3B-ST should be showing up within the next week and I really have no idea what to expect. I have heard there is a special synergy between the BP-20 and 3B-ST and that is what I am hoping for. Whatever the outcome - I'll be back either to whine or shout praise. later, Dean This message has been edited by deang on 02-07-2002 at 04:18 PM

Wish I knew how to read a schematic - it would be fun to do something like this. Looks like a lot of amp for the money - probably sounds sweet. Don't know what to think about those Lowthers. Seems like there would be gobs of IM distortion. ------------------ deanG

...have 24 bit/96 khz oversampling i mean - cd's always playback at 44.1 so why the 96 khz spec? ------------------ deanG

If I were doing multichannel I would definitely split up my amps. Get a 2 channel for the mains and a three or 5 channel (if doing 7 total) for the rest of it. I don't know what to think when a 5 channel amp weighs as much as most decent 2 channel amp. Also, do not buy new. Use www.audiogoN.com - slightly used gear can be had for less than 1/2 the money and allows you to really stretch your money. I could not afford Anthem or Bryston new - but I managed to get both shopping at AudiogoN. ------------------ deanG

Gentlemen prefer blondes... Mine are coming in maple ------------------ deanG

But wait!! Change out your amp Get a tube amp Get new tubes Get a tube preamp Get new tubes Change your cables Get a turntable Get room treatments Get thicker furniture Get thicker carpet Get new speakers ------------------ deanG

Am I the only poster on this board that prefers two ways? ------------------ deanG

Mobile It is odd that you would center your whole post around the point of less being more and at the same time say for a few hundred more I could have had a 4B-ST. The 3B-ST is 120 watts, which I am sure you will agree is more than enough. Actually, 4B-ST's are going for roughly $1500 - which is actually $500 more than I spent (or was willing to spend). It would have actually been a waste for me to spend an extra $500 for power I really don't need. Now that I got that out of the way - I can tell you without any doubt that if you knew my music tastes and my listening habits - the last thing in the world you would recommend to me would be 25 wpc I'm no expert - but it seems to me that even an RF7 could benefit by being driven by an amplifier that has plenty of reserve power. ------------------ deanG This message has been edited by deang on 01-30-2002 at 08:58 PM

Sorry, I just can't deal with the Monarchy's asthetics. It's also kind of wimpy at 25 wpc. Colin's post got me digging and I found it impossible to find a bad word about the Bryston 3B-ST. Then God help me I started thinking about Ears. So...I just bought a 3B-ST at AudiogoN for $1000 even. I'll mate her with my Anthem tube preamp and see what happens. ------------------ deanG

actually...i wouldn't consider the ksw series necessarily 'musical' - i see them more as decent HT subs. The ksw's rumble just fine - it's tight, articulated sound that they lack. You might want to start saving for a RSW10, 12, or 15 ------------------ deanG

1) Is it worth upgrading to the RF-7s from the Quartets? Yes, most definitely 2) Should I maybe go for an RSW-12? yes, most definitely 3) Are the Quintets inadequate for surround speakers? They would do for now 4) Should I go to a KSC-C1 center channel? No, you want all the speakers to be timbre matched. You will want the RC7 for the center channel. Whether it is worth upgrading is totally up to you. No one here can place value on that for you. Most of us here are continually upgrading. It's a disease. ------------------ deanG

As usual Colin you come through with a really great post. Aren't we supposed to buy amps buy the pound - or is that a bunch of B.S. The 3bst only weighs 22 lbs. By contrast the B&K 2140, which has roughly the same wattage - weighs 8 lbs. more. Sure wish I knew more about amps. I guess you get what you pay for ------------------ deanG

I'm going to pick one up for $1000 or a little more my choices are as follows: Adcom 5802 Aragon 8008ST NAD S200 any opinions? other choices ? tubes just don't get it for HT ------------------ deanG This message has been edited by deang on 01-29-2002 at 07:55 PM

I wouldn't worry about Ears - he's pretty resilient ------------------ deanG

read the C.M.M.D. White Paper here: http://www.infinityspeakers.com/home_audio/technology.asp ------------------ deanG

oosting - talk about 'stretching' When I first got my RB5's one of the woofers had what you describe fresh out of the box. It was obviously something that happened at the factory during assembly. Maybe it was someone like Ears flipping their interconnects around The metal is cut/punched out and considering the thickness of the material to begin with, I find your 'stretching' explanation hard to accept. The tool probably goes through the material like butter. When I had my RB5's I drove them to ridiculous levels and the drivers never looked like they were ready to jump out of the cabinet - which is about what would have to happen to cause a cone to buckle. As a matter of fact - I doubt it could happen at all. Imagine trying to apply your assumptions to the RSW15. Ears - as far as the veneer goes: veneer thickness is pretty much standardized and like any piece of furniture utilizing it - if you hit it with something sharp, it will go into the MDF. Sub $500 mass market speakers use vinyl exclusively. ------------------ deanG

Good post - I didn't know that. I wonder where the ceramic bit comes in at. It would be nice if there was more data on the drivers. Maybe the folks at Monitor Audio can shed some light on it. "Due to the metal cones' ultra -rigid nature, there is less cone flex and breakup occurring compared to conventional cone materials. The metal cones reproduce sound with near ideal pistonic motion, resulting in unsurpassed detail and transparency." Or better yet - BobG - where in the hell are ya when we need ya. ------------------ deanG This message has been edited by deang on 01-26-2002 at 02:33 PM

you got that right ------------------ deanG