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maxg

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Everything posted by maxg

  1. Spent Sunday at a friends moving his forte's around the living room trying to get the best sound out of them. The room is an L shaped nightmare with some really truely bizzare accoustic effects. Finally we managed to locate them at the short wall at the top of the L and get excellent dynamics in the sweet spot with reaonsable sound extending down the length of the room. Now all he has to do is move one radiator, put up a few paintings, fit the carpet, put some tiles on the ceiling, get new curtains (thick heavy ones) and move the 2 seater settee somewhere else. Well at least his wife is happy with the new speaker positions - they are out of her way). By the by I actually go the chance for the first time to listen to these speakers. WOW!! If you ever want a speaker to play good ole rock and roll, or anything with guitar these things love it! Dire Straits Private investigations probably never sounded better (and I had thought it sounded good on the Heresy's). One sad thing for me however, they make a real mess of classical music. Listening to Vivaldi I was hard pushed to identify the violins and then the only thought that sprung to mind was "Who tuned that instrument?" Just didnt capture the thing at all so it looks like I am stuck with the Heresy's a while longer. Unless of course I can talk that neighbour of mine into off-loading those Belles.......
  2. No budget indication leaves us all somewhat in the dark. Still, I love the fact that no 2 people have recommended the same product (surprise, surprise). The best bang for the buck amp is the one you have listened to and like - everything else is someone else's opinion and not your own. Unfortunately there is no easy way to do this - get on yer bike and go listen to as many as it takes for you to make a comfortable choice. When you have selected an accuphase amp let me know (just kidding). Good luck
  3. The great tube vs SS debate. Each declares the other to be inferior. Each has pros and cons. For me it is a question of the music I listen to. If its rock you are playing than nothing can beat a propoerly set up Solid state unit (IMHO), if, on the other hand, its Jazz then tubes are the platform with the magic you want. Most other types of music lie somewhere in the middleground (possibly excepting new music types which I cannot comment on as I do not own any). My first good amp was a Solid state unit, Accuphase E211. Not heard anything that will reproduce Dire Straits better (for example). The bass line is faster and SS amps generally love electric guitars. Jazz was played well, but somehow lacked the emotion behind the play. Enter 1 pair of tube monoblocks (locally produced). Jazz like I have never heard it before, better than I dreamed was possible. In conclusion - I now own both and would recommend to anyone with eclectic listening tastes to investigate doing likewise. The investment may have been large enough to hurt but the pain was worth it. I could no more part with either my tubes or my Solid state amp than with my ears. My adivce would be as follows: If you are in the market for new amps take a selection of your favorite music down to your local suppliers and listen (unless you can arrange for systems to be delivered). Write down your observations for later review. Enjoy the process. Most importantly try to relax whilst listening - let the music flow through you and try not to let your pre-judgements interfere with your assessment of the music. when you have finished the analysis re-read your notes and make your selections based on those. This is what I did (to an extent) and it is what lead me to conclude that I needed both solutions. Good luck
  4. The Dance - Fleetwood Mac. Sailing to Philadelphia - Mark Knopfler. Wonderful relaxing stuff for a sunday evening but with a surprising amount of Bass....
  5. Fortunately as a European, I can help here. 1. Your DVD player can come over to play your american DVD's, but you will need a power converter as France runs 230 V AC as opposed to the American 115 Volt system. 2. Yes, all your recordings are in NTSC format and the French standard is SECAM. You will probably want to get a multi-standard TV (most Sony's available in Europe are Pal / Secam and NTSC). 3. If you play any NTSC source on a Pal/Secam TV you will find the image plays in Black and White. This can also happen if the TV only supports the older NTSC standards. 4. Depending on your DVD player you can almost always get it converted to a multi-region player (1 -6, or at least 1 and 2). I would advice you to do this as there is some tightening up of DVD distribution at the moment. (FYI the main reason for this is that DVD region 1 movies often come out before the movie has hit the cinemas in Europe. This has caused a decrease in Cinema audiences in Europe and the film industry is trying to protect itself. A case of doing anything rather than treating Europeans as first classs citizens like Americans (by launching globally at the same time)). 5. French TV is going to drive you insane. Everything is dubbed (unlike Greek which uses subtitles - thank god). If you watch a lot of TV you will probably want a satelitte dish to get english speaking progams (CNN, BBC, MSNBC, Fox, ESPN etc. etc.) These transmit in both PALplus and NTSC. You will then discover why Europe uses PAL as opposed to NTSC (Never the Same Colour twice) - it is a far better standard. Any other questions?
  6. "And the 63 to 500hz area mentioned above smooths out when the main speakers are away from the walls as much as possible" Have heard this many times and can understand it in a Bass Reflex speaker, but in a sealed unit like the Heresy it is beyond me to understand why that should make a difference. FYI - my speakers are about 18 inches from the rear wall. This is a recent fairly up to date picture of the system for reference (ignore the zoom in on the amps - they were new at the time).
  7. Apologies Ear, Misunderstood what you were implying. Remembered the line "I still maintain that a great power amp will do the trick and solve the RF-7 shortcomings you heard" and concentrated on that. THe Rotel I was refering to was a 1080 2*200 wpc power amp which bettered the performance I was getting from an old Yamaha (595?) receiver, but, was so substantially less than the Accuphase that I paid for that within a couple of months of getting the Rotel. Fully agree that 100 wpc should be enough for any Klipsch speaker - if only all watts were created equal!!
  8. As I have a DVD player but not a surround sound system I am interested in what people think are the best Stereo soundtracks out there. My personal favorite is Fleetwood Mac's - The Dance. Interestingly this DVD has the 5.1 track on one side of the disk and the stereo track on the other side. Coincidence? Aside from that most of the DVD's have stereo tracks that play worse than the coresponding CD. The most noticable is an Elton John DVD which is dreadful in comparison to the DDD CD double album I have, although the Shania Twain DVD runs it a close second. Other's Experiences?
  9. Interesting observations to be sure. I have noticed a hole in my sound before without ever testing it out (no spl meter - just ears). Its not just that the figures roll off - your figures are all over the place. I think mine must be less dramatically off than that (room and cables probably mask some of what you are experiencing). Must get me an spl and have a play. Who knows - I may even get a sub thereafter...
  10. Must be a guardian angel protecting me somewhere cos I always miss these alleged flame wars. This is the politest BB I have ever been on and I for one intend to stick around. In fact at some point in the recent passed I quietly slipped from newbie to member without even noticing. Any of you guys ever visit AR? If you think its rough here I would avoid it - blood everywhere!!! in the meantime I'll be a postin' whenever I can contribute something.
  11. Hmmmm. Read through most of this thread. Not wholey convinced that a more powerful amp necessarily puts out more bass than one rated at a lower power. My own experience is that a 90 Watt Accuphase "blew the doors" off a 200 Watt Rotel in the bass department but that was with Heresy 2's and their bass is a sod to drive properly IMHO. Then again my 45 Watt tubes are, if anything more bassy (is that a word?) than the Accuphase but not as fast. As for a speaker with 8 inch woofers (the RF3) having more impact than 10 inch woofers - why not? Working on the basis that a smaller woofer is faster than a bigger woofer that speed could easily translate into more impact, expecially when the speaker is not a sealed unit, or not sufficiently far enough into the room. I have always been a fan of the RF3, a much under-rated speaker IMHO (again - so keen to qualify). Several friends have them and they certainly rock. I actually prefer their sound over the KLF 30's but I wont tell you that as it might upset some people..... All a matter of personal taste afterall.
  12. Sounddog, What??? I nearly understood what you re doing but, well, cancel that, I have no idea. Are you re-recording sources onto CD. A friend of mine has a super sony CD recorder that digitizes analgue inputs and the results seem to be an improvement over the original in many cases. Is that what you are doing? Are you doing this on a computer? How does it all link together? Please explain - assume I am a moron - it will be safer! TIA
  13. If you want to buy online try the link below, although I buy most of my stuff locally as it is no more expensive and the vagueries of the Greek post make online shopping a somewhat hit and miss experience. www.elusivedisc.com
  14. As I said in my previous posting I have a number of XRCD's and yes they are the closest thing to vinyl I have found. There are very few classical XRCD's around. This is an almost entirely Jazz medium. That suites me as I like Jazz - for those of you that dont however....itws useless. I also buy Naxos recordings for Classical. They are very inexpensive and the quality is not bad - but nothing like the quality of XRCD. Once you hear XRCD this hobby starts to get real expensive again....
  15. Ahh...the english sound, I remember it well. The question is - have you actually heard these speakers? If not you may be in for something of a shock. English sound is as different from Klipsch sound as it is possible to get (IMHO). THis is a laid back sound - designed for you to relax in front of the stereo as the music plays unobtrusively in the background. All of the "Live" performance aspects you get from Klipsch are missing unless you pump massive amounts of power in (do you have the amp for this?). I am not sure for this specific model but usually Wharfdale operate at something like 84db/watt. Your 3.1s are 94 db (from memory). That is a huge drop in loudness for the same number of watts. Now in all honesty this comparison is done with a Klipsch bias. I used to love the English sound - I grew up with it. The converse argument would be that the English sound is a beautiful melodic sound as opposed to the in-your-face attack of Klipsch. You pays your money and you takes your choice, but listen to em first!
  16. Of all the new audio technologies HDCD would get my vote as most likely to suceed. My current cd player (which is not HDCD) plays them fine and they probably go sound better than standard CDs. No, they are not as good as XRCDs - but these have been around since the dawn of time and still have a very limited market (I have about 12 of the 400+ CDs I own). The simple fact is that they are fully compatible with existing CD players, cost no more to produce and can often be bought without the purchaser realizing they are something different. This actually happened to me. I bought "Sailing to Philadelphia" without realizing it was HDCD till later. SACD and DVDa may indeed be better (not a huge fan of surround sound for music - give me a proper stereo sound stage anyday), but where is the demand? Not here!
  17. Hmmm - mounting Heresy's on their side - wow - what a wild idea - will have to try it out - although I dont really have the space for it...ah well - another problem to be solved. As for a matching sub to the Heresy's the KSW 12 is the one most people would recommend. Right now I dont have any sub and am also looking for a suitable unit. I am planning to audition both Klipsch units (the new ones if they are available) and a Velodyne that has been recommended by a friend (cant remember the model - but it is a 15" unit). Will let you know what I decide (whenever I get round to this).
  18. You have correctly identified the sole weakness of the Heresy's in comparison to newer speakers - bass. In all other respects Heresy's are more than a match for anything I have yet come across, except larger models in the Heritage range. I would include all of the newer Klipsch models in this. Whilst many of them are indeed impressive they cannot ultimately provide the staging, clarity and air of the Heresy's (IMHO). Further, I am a huge fan of sealed unit woofers. Whilst their bass response is limited it has a tightness to it that makes all bass-reflex systems sound like breaking wind. Stay with what you have.
  19. I do not understand this SACD compatibility thing as it applies to pre-amps. From what I remember SACD's range is much larger than the old CD (which topped out at 20 KHz). The thing is that my speakers, amps, pre-amps and so on are ALL limited to 20 KHz. Will I need to change them all? Could I end up damaging any of the above components with an SACD player (or a DVD/a player for that matter)? Is there an additional limiter I can place on the system to shield the above components? So many questions....
  20. What with one thing and another there has been precious little music listening in my life for a considerable period of time. First there was the holidays (making do with a CD Walkman and a JVC boombox) then the return, the new job, the newly pregnant wife (mood swings from Florence Nightingale to a Boa Constrictor with a bad attitute and a headache) and, of course the horrors of New York. All in all this has left me bereft of the Heresy's and the tubes for weeks. The only listening I have managed to squeeze in has been on my new Stax headphones for short late night sessions. At first the sound seemed flat and lifeless to me, say 2 dimensional but not as a result of staging more as if instruments were being played with too little passion on behalf of the musician. Over the weeks I was less and less aware of this feeling, to the point that last night I was listening to one CD after another in rapture. Questions arose therefore in my mind, how has this happened? Am I merely getting used to the sound? Is the amp running in? Did my Heresy's ever sound as good as this? Today the wife went out for the afternoon. Time to test the Heresy's once again, maybe a side by side analysis or some such thing. Tubes on and left for a full hour to warm up properly whilst I did a few chores and finished off a project for work. Finaly ready. XRCD (Three Blind Mice recording) of Saxaphone Colossus Sonny Rollins (VICJ-60158) on the Marantz, bottom in leather clad recliner, one ice cold beer, one cigar, sit back, play. Drums, snares a pedal drum and then the Sax cutting in. Stop the CD. Get up. Wack up the volume. Sit. Play. Same again, but this time live, oh so live. I close my eyes. I am no longer in my living room but in a smoke filed sleapeasy whilst the Sax sways the drummer gyrates and the double bass plucks its atmospheric lilt though my soul. There are only 5 tracks on this album, each soaring to new heights of musicianship, gently I am reminded of the sound that has eluded me these past weeks, no, not reminded of, reintroduced to. This is the shattering, stiring total body experience that slipped as easily out of my consiousness as it slide in over the welcome mat when I first set the system up. How quickly we forget the nuances of truely great sound. There is no need for a side by side comparison, the difference is total. One plays great recordings, the other provides transport to the original venue with the live players. Now don't get me wrong. These Stax are remarkable speakers in their own right, possibly among the best in the world of headphones (ear speakers in their own language). They tantalise the ear, create full sound-stages, envelope the listener in the recording and never become tiring, but, they are still headphones. What does that mean? It means that aside from the obvious complete lack of an SPL they totally concentrate the music on the ear. In contrast, listening to the Heresy's, here, in my living room (I have to keep reminding myself I am still here) is anything but a purely aural experience. This is that double bass strumming its way through me so that I feel, more than hear, it, suspended invisibly in space a few feet in front of me, raised slightly on the stage to the right of the centre. All the while that Sax slices through the air, emminating from slightly left of centre and wrapping itself around the entire ensemble, regularly tossing the lead back to the centrally placed, angled piano, so that the pianists fingers can run with it back and forth over the keys only to pass it back once again. Have the Stax improved or "run-in"? Maybe yes, maybe no. Somehow its academic now, the pianist is playing, the Sax soars and I should go to concentrate on their efforts, after all, I dont want to upset them. Klipsch - as live as it gets.
  21. The best sound I have ever heard coming out of a pair of KHorns connected to a solid state amp is from an Accuphase E407. We also tried the smaller and cheaper E211 which I would rate as the second best. There is something about the combination of Accuphase and Klipsch that really works beautifully. I use the E211 to drive my Heresy's but when I grow up (lol - I am only 36) they will be replaced with Horns. The stuff that dreams are made of.
  22. Before you go about upgrading your Denon I would try connecting via analogue (RCA) connections. Almost invariably these provide a softer warmer sound than digital connections whatever digital cables you use. Other than that the 2 best amps I have heard with any klipsch speaker are the Accuphase models (starting from the E211 integrated model) and, of course, tube amps. Judging by your comments tubes are the more likely to suit your needs - even the cheaper push/pull models. Time to start listening to a few options methinks... Enjoy the quest
  23. So I take it that the Stax should be regarded as a good gift, even if there are other headphones out there that some regard as better. Certainly for me the price was right!!
  24. Not really like a girl with big hair - more like a girl with a big pair - something I just never get tired of....
  25. A friend who felt he owed me a favour, recently got me a pair of headphones (sorry - ear speakers) as a present. These are Stax headphones that come with their own amp (Stax model SR-80 pro with SRM-Xs amp). Frankly they are the purest sound source I have ever heard - just incredible, neutral sound that will play anything and everything. I would recommend them to anyone except for the price tag - I believe they are exceptionally expensive but I really dont want to look. At some point I will try to put together a comparison of their sound against my Heresy's driven by both the Accuphase amp and the tubes. First impression and a one line summary would be - zero flavouring, which means that if you are like me and a horn fan Jazz will sound a bit flat. Will put together that analysis for anyone who is interested sometime soon.
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