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ned

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Posts posted by ned

    Center channel report

    in 2-Channel Home Audio

    Posted

    I added a Heresy III to a pair of Klipshorns. Here is a report after a few days. 

     

    The Khorns are in good corners on a 25' wall. The room is essentially 15' deep although about half opens another 15 feet into the kitchen. My listening room is living room, dining room and an extension of the kitchen. There was a sweet spot for the horns where music sounds as good as I've ever heard. I've spent many hours sitting there. Unfortunately, most of the time I listen to music while working at the dining table, cooking, washing dishes or sitting on the sofa. Nearly all of my listening was too close to one speaker or the other, or too close to the long wall between them. 

     

    I added a Heresy III (It will eventually get built into a cabinet and so I don't want the port on the IV). Cory is a gentleman. I am glad I reached out to him. 

     

    It sounds great! I have it well below the Khorns in volume and so they remain the dominant voice of my system. Off axis listening is much improved in terms of musical content and balance. The sweet spot is now a big oval. On axis (or in the sweet spot) the Heresy is audible and it sounds great. It is super quick. On tracks where the kick drum and bass are in the center the Heresy highlights the percussive quality of the bass and sharpens the impact of the kick. It is not that the Khorns are slow, but the bass is a bit laid back. The Heresy seems a bit more eager. I have it down 5db or so and it doesn't intrude much on the Khorns. Mono recordings also sound great.  The Heresy nicely fills a gap in my room and makes music enjoyable nearly anywhere in the space. Sitting too close to one Khorn is now more than tolerable. I feel very fortunate. It also has good WAF (she's surprised at how small it is!) but she also thinks I am in the land of diminishing returns. 

     

    The technical bits: I run a mono amp from one of the mono sub channels on the preamp - a Parasound P6 (very positively reviewed by me in the SS section) with the low pass filter defeated. There is a volume knob for the "sub" on the face of the preamp and I keep nudging it down. The P6 is connected to a Parasound A23 with balanced interconnects and so the signal is hot. There are input pots on the amp and I've had to seriously attenuate the input to match or slightly exceed in input to the mono driving the Heresy. Judging by the sensitivity of the speakers, I suspect that if I replaced the balanced interconnects with RCA cables (lowering the input level to the amp), the amps would match up better. I made a summing box per Dope from Hope but am not using it here. For critical listening  I can take the Heresy out of system with one button if I want.

     

    You can see the Heresy in the lower right corner 12' from the left Khorn. 

     

    Thanks for reading. 

    IMG_3560.JPG

    Need a bluetooth device for streaming

    in 2-Channel Home Audio

    Posted

    I use:

     

    Sold by: Auteck
     
    I see it is longer available, but they have a successor product. I paid $38. I bet the same chip is in everything at this price point. There are quite a few on Amazon and elsewhere.
     
    It has optical out and has a USB cable so you can plug it into the wall. Be sure to go with Bluetooth 5.0. I am going optical into my DAC and all seems fine. 
     
    Seems to work fine while I save for a BlueSound unit. 
     
     
     
     

    Best sub for Heresy III?

    in 2-Channel Home Audio

    Posted

    A pair of Klipschorns.  PWK was no fool.

     

    Sprung for a brand spanking new pair of Heresy III to use as a center (just one in the center, the other will find a good use). 25" between the corner horns was a bit too far for general listening.

     

    Just got it "installed" but the sound has filled the room. Thanks go to Cory for a very friendly transaction.

     

     

    IMG_4707.JPG

    • Haha 1

    Preamp Recommendations for my QuickSilver / Cornwalls

    in 2-Channel Home Audio

    Posted

    Yes, wishing you a complete and speedy recovery.

     

    One more preamp that you might consider unless you want tubes is the Parasound p6. Lots of inputs, built in DAC with USB and two opticals and MC/MM phono. Remote. Tape out. 

     

    I have the matching amp and so can't speak to the quick silver (which look great by the way) match up soundwise. Impedance will be fine. 

     

    I think the P6 sounds great. Just one more possibility. I wrote a mini review over in the SS section. 

     

    Ned

    • Like 1

    Parasound P6 and A23+ into Khorns

    in Solid State

    Posted

    11 hours ago, Hasty said:

    I wonder if the P6/A23+ combo is a better sounding setup than simply buying the Halo Hint 6 integrated amp?   I think the A23+ is rated at 160 watts vs 180 watts on the Hint 6.  Personally, I'd guess that the separates would sound better and the slightly lower wattage might work better with a high sensitivity speaker.  This is pure speculation though.  Id love to hear anyone's opinion that's listened to both. 

    According to the Parasound site, the Hint is also 160 watts. Seems like plenty of overhead to me. I would guess that the separates and the integrated are essentially equivalent in terms of sound. I bought the P6 first to run through a small collection of amps that I have - I wanted the phono stage, the DAC and the optical inputs. The P6 made such a substantial difference on its own that I decided to pop for the matching amp. I am happy with how it all worked out. Listening to the Blues Breakers LP right now. Life is good.

    • Like 2

    Parasound P6 and A23+ into Khorns

    in Solid State

    Posted

    I can't hear any identifiable change as the volume goes up. There is certainly a sweet spot around 70dbs where everything sounds great.  Notably, the Parasounds and Khorms sound clear and precise at low volumes too. I made one attempt at hearing just how loud i go without distortion and did not find the point of maximum volume. I abandoned the test because it became uncomfortable. Louder than concert level. I don't think the signal was breaking up, but who knows. Undoubtedly I try again some night when my judgement is impaired.  

    • Like 1
    • Haha 2

    Parasound P6 and A23+ into Khorns

    in Solid State

    Posted

    Same price for the integrated or separates. I think having different power supplies for the low current and the high current parts is neat. Also, there is more capacitor capacity in the separates. More flexibility of application as well. And they look good.

     

    Have not heard the integrated. 

    • Like 1

    Parasound P6 and A23+ into Khorns

    in Solid State

    Posted

    9 hours ago, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

     

    I'm sure some people think it's BS but one thing that Parasound claims to do well is minimizing the upper order harmonics in the harmonic distortion, or however you say that.  Basically your 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th order harmonics are supposedly extremely fatiguing if you have any of it at all.  They claim to go out of their way to minimize this so it's more pleasant.  A lot of people with horns have said that their Parasound gear seems like it sounds warmer than other amps, more tube-like, less shrilly and fatiguing.  It's probably due to this aspect.  

    Thanks Outfitter - the combo is definitely not fatiguing. I am happy listening at a pretty good volume indefinitely. I am not sure about warmth, just seems very clean and true to the source. Sounds complete at low volumes too which is great when people insist on chatting or eating meals. Last night I listened through many of the RVG Kenny Burrell offerings on iTunes and small combo jazz was really vivid. Where he plays with Jimmy Smith - guitar and organ - was great. There was great distinction in the register that those two voices share. 

     

    Super fun.  

    • Like 1

    Parasound P6 and A23+ into Khorns

    in Solid State

    Posted

    Hi Tarheel,

     

    I bought the P6 first and rolled some amps by it. I thought I was buying a front end for the ST-70 but the old iron didn't seem like it was keeping up with the P6. Hard to explain but it seemed to be missing snap - quickness. The $100 Teac chip amp sounded pretty good. It has low mid control but it is pretty bright through a mid horn. Also, on a song like Can You Hear Me Knocking - Sticky Fingers - when there is a big dynamic change (and is there ever!), it doesn't have the umph. That's at drinking volume. I wanted more.

     

    Then I got the P23+ because it had a big transformer and a big bank of capacitors. I figured that that what the digital amp and the Dyna were missing. They're probably missing much more but that's all I know. My world changed.

     

    I hope you like the pre as I do. it alone made a big difference in sound and enjoyment.  As I said on a different thread, I heard the acoustic guitar on Link Wray's Rumble. Turns out it plays through the whole song on the P6 and a budget amp.

     

    ned

    • Like 2

    Parasound P6 and A23+ into Khorns

    in Solid State

    Posted

    16 minutes ago, Tarheel said:

    Thanks for the review.  I was looking at a used P5 but reading a couple of reviews makes me think I should bite the bullet and get the P6.  My tubed Quicksilver pre is getting long in the tooth though it still works fine.

    Are you using a moving coil cartridge?

    No.  MM.  I have a variety of grado carts and seem to prefer the gold with an 8mz stylus over the platinum right now. 

    • Thanks 1

    Parasound P6 and A23+ into Khorns

    in Solid State

    Posted

    Hi everyone,

     

    Thought a quick impression of my new system might be of interest. Over the last couple of weeks I've integrated a new P6 and an A23+ into my system. 

     

    It was an instant upgrade to my phono stage, my DAC, my CD player and my horns. I am impressed. I now have a big sound stage with remarkable imaging. Voices and instruments have space around them and clarity I have not heard before. There is an airiness that is present at all volumes from a whisper to more than too loud. The sound is really remarkable. Records that I previously thought of being noticeably compressed (Eddie Harris Exodus, VJ; Bowie Low, RCA; Modern Lovers, Bezerkly) are now spread out, untangled, and not overwhelmed by the low mid range. The distinction of various sounds is very musical and still adds up to a whole The KHorns (big room, good corners) always produced a balanced range of frequencies, but the new clarity makes them really fun. 

     

    Over the years, I stepped up through RF3s, Cornwalls and 15 years ago got the horns. My electronics have lagged a bit. My philosophy was a great cartridge and great speakers would make for a great system. I've run massive Fisher monos (200s, the last of the 50a series) from the Fisher 400 stereo pre, Marantz 7t into AudioSource or Teac A-l700P, and Adcom 555II into an unrestored ST-70) andI thought everything sounded good. It all really did sound good and there were enjoyable differences between each iteration.  I'll get the Fishers serviced and put them back into service this winter. It will be interesting to see what the difference is. 

     

    Everything sounds better and more musical today. I did a late night blast of James Brown's "How Long" (Prisoner of Love, King)  and despite the radical dynamic range, the equipment took me on a perfect ride. Mr. Brown never sounded better. If you know the recording, you know that it would be a place to find sag, distortion and sibilance, and I heard none. Julie London (Julie, mono Liberty) sounded like she was 4 feet in front of me and her small combo just behind her. Imaging in mono? I was delighted to find it. One of the best recorded pieces of vinyl in my library of ~4k albums. 

     

    I love that the DAC is fed by USB (my Mac), Opitical (Tascam Pro is now just a transport via optical) and that the pre and amp are connected with balanced interconnects). The only RCA connection is coming from my Technics SP-15. How cool is that? Aesthetically, I am very pleased. 

     

    My only complaint is that the source knob is small and a little fiddly for my taste (the buttons on the remote are fine, but I wander over to the pre) and that the lights indicated what source is selected are indented and not visible when I am standing at my system. I need to bend down to see what source is selected. It could be worse and I count 4 clicks between phono and usb and that works fine now that I am used to it. The momentary muting while the source changes is really nice. There are lots of nice details like that - bypasible tone controls, a trigger between the pre and the amp (one button on and off), two different volume memories and perfect black silence at idle that I really like. I think these products are really well designed for using, looking at, and for listening. 

     

    I am sorry that I cannot compare them to anything more familiar to this group, I haven't bought or listened to new gear for a long time. I don't have any cause to now. I am really satisfied with the sound in my home. 

     

    The A23+ runs class A up to 3 watts or so (according to Parasound) and I don't think I exceed that by much too often. The amp feels only slightly warm to the touch after hours of listening at festive levels. 

     

    The signature of my sound remains the horns but they are certainly benefitting from good clean articulate signal. 

     

    Thanks for reading,

     

    Ned

     

     

     

     

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

    balanced interconnects....

    in Solid State

    Posted

    Phil Jackson at Parasound included the following in an email:

     

    The +6dB gain is a result of the implementation of balanced circuitry given the hot/neutral/ground connections of the balanced cable.  There is no issue with the gain of either the preamp or the amp with respect to using the balanced cables.   With your sensitive corner horns you will want to use the gain control pots on the rear panel of the A23+ to turn DOWN the output of the amp so the volume control of the P 6 is smooth and consistent.   I would anticipate that, give you are using sensitive speakers, you will be doing most of your listening in Class A as the transition point is at the 2-3 watt mark.   :

     

    Thank you babadono for your interest in research. At this point, I see creating a common ground between the pre and the amp as being the real benefit of the interconnects. 

     

    N

     

     

     

    balanced interconnects....

    in Solid State

    Posted

    On 8/7/2019 at 12:14 PM, mboxler said:

    The manual for your Parasound A23+ seems to contradict itself.  The balanced input section mentions the 6 dB increase, yet the specifications page implies a 0 dB increase.

     

    Total gain  29 dB

     

    Input sensitivity for 28.28 Vout

        Unbalanced 1 V

        Balanced      1 V  per leg

     

    This implies that once the non-inverted and inverted legs are subtracted from each other, the resulting single-ended voltage is then cut in half.

     

    Confusing.

        

    Well that is confusing. There seems to be a general consensus - including the good people at Parasound by email, around the 6db number. I'll reply on what I hear when the needle hits the groove. 

     

    N

     

     

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