gagelle

Do moving coil cartridges produce better sound reproduction than magnetic cartridges? I've read that they require a transformer; that you can't just plug a turntable with a MCC into your RCA preamp jacks unless your preamp is equipped to accomodate MCC. The whole thing sounds expensive. Is any improvement in sound quality worth the money? I know "sound quality" is partly subjective. I was just trying to get some opinions. I am specifically looking at some of the high end Denon turntables.

I'm looking for a turntable and don't want to spend thousands. My son has a Hall 5.1 and it sounds beautiful with the Goldring cartridge. They have a special edition of the 5.1 with a better Goldring and beefier construction. It's a few hundred more. I also like the Rega P3 with the Elys 2 cartridge. It goes for about the same amount as the Hall 5.1 SE. I researched the Elys, and it received stellar reviews. Plus the tonearm on the Rega is supposed to be excellent. The thing I don't like on my son's Hall 5.1 is that the wires which attach to the cartridge are very thin and look like they could easily break during a cartridge change. My other choice is to go vintage. I found a company that just restores and sells Dual turntables. The question is whether I want an old turntable, even restored. I've read that there have been major improvements, especially in tone arm construction, over the years. I used to have A Dual and loved it, but that was in the 70s. I have to really think this over but any of your ideas and opinions would be deeply appreciated.

I just listened to the remastered "Fragile" album (Japanese SHM pressing) through my Emotiva Amp and Cornwall 3 speakers. I was simply blown away by this beautiful production. In most of the remastered CDs, the extra tracks are usually mediocre. Not on this album. Their version of Simon and Garfunkel's "America" is exquisite, with every note slowly rendered to extract its beautiful essence. The second extra track is an outtake of "Roundabout" with some mistakes, but what wonderful mistakes! and experimental harmonies, that in my opinion, sound better than the original. This album probably could not fit on a single LP with the extra tracts, but it leads me to wonder if there was a vinyl version ever made. It's perhaps a neglected, but not forgotten rock masterpiece.

Great deal! Have you done work on them? The reason I ask is that I've read several posts on the forum about the sound becomming unbalanced on older klipsch speakers, producing a shrill irritating midrange. There is one person who claims they were made that way due to cost cutting--that the whole crossover setup is defective. He makes a kit to correct this problem. I forget his name but you may be familiar with some of his posts. There have been many discussions over this issue. I was going to upgrade my Fortes with some of Crites products but I only use them in the rear of my surround system. You may know all of this stuff but thought I'd mention it.

For those who love the Sansui sound as I do, I dug up some interesting information last night. Some of you may already know this, but Sansui continued to make high quality integrated amps up until 1999 and at the time produced an anniversity edition of a powerful tube amp that was made many years ago. It was supposedly a duplicate of the original. The amps that were made beginning in the 80s had a more natural high end and less boomy bass that some thought superior to the equipment made in the 70s. Then a group of engineers resigned from Sansui and started collaborating on new tube amplifier designs. They retained the "Sansui" name and are selling transformers and working on improving the sound quality of their tube amps. Their web site is: http://tinyurl.com/3jjx2sn [Open in new window]

Hi Wuchak, Jus curious: did you buy the Chorus 1s new?

Emotiva makes a very nice analog preamp for a very reasonable price.You also get thirty days to try it. If you don't like it, just return it--no questions asked: http://www.emotiva.com/usp1.shtm

Something interesting I came across is that in the rush toward mass marketing, over the last ten years or so, manufacturers have been using cheap elactrolytic capacitors in a race to increase profit margins. In some cases, these capacitors are faulty from the factory. (See Wilipedia article on "electrolytic capacitor plague." There has lately also been a serious problem with bootleg transistors, some from reliable companies.

I did the same thing. I bought an Emotiva 3 channel Amp for my front speakers and it has made a tremendous difference in sound quality.

Very interesting Don. This is something I did not know.

I thought I understood power ratings until recently. Years ago when I obsessively read "High Fidelity" magazine, the rule was to look for something that was rated RMS with both channels driven. There were many units on the market that did not really have high fidelity sound. They not only had inflated power ratings but other important measurements were not listed. The great thing about most Klipsch speakers is that they're very efficient. This is a tremendous advantage as one does not have to spend a fortune for a high powered amplifier. I'm into vintage Sansui receivers. It seems like the crowd is mainly focused on high powered models and they consequently have been bid up to very high prices. But there are many low powered models, that in many cases, have a sweeter sound than the monster power units. And with Klipsch speakers they can produce enough volume to damage ones hearing. The lesson I've learned recently is that there is a wide variation in the quality of sound produced by particular amplifiers. I was supprised when I purchased my first home theater receiver which had fairly high power ratings. The sound quality, however, was terrible, even when driving only two speakers. I've since read many complaints about this issue. The units process video, have HDMI ports all over the place, upconvert, connect to the internet and much more. The trouble is that they sound like a transistor radio when played through high quality speakers. Bring in the sub woofer because the amp was made to power tiny speakers with no low end. The home theater trip has been an education for me. It seems like you need big bucks for big sound. I've slowly moved back to two channel. And I was lucky enough to discover Klipsch speakers. Who knows, one day I may go to tubes.

Thanks very much. Your help came at exactly the right time. My left channel went out completely and now I get sound from both speakers only with the mono switch on. When I received the unit, I thought there might be something wrong because the left channel wasn't working, but when I played with the balance switch it came on. I feel like I was ripped off because the seller said she just had it looked over by a technician and it was working perfectly. But on the other hand, it's old and anything can happen. I'll send an email to Bristol tonight. Thanks again, Seth

I have a Sansui 881 receiver that seems to work well but I want the unit recapped and tested for any parts that may need replacement. Can anyone recommend a good technician or repair shop? I'm in the central valley of CA. I found many shops on the web and of course, every one claims to be fantastic. I can't do the work myself as I never even soldered anything and have no familiarity with circuit boards. I don't mind spending the money for an overhaul because the unit sounds fantastic and it would probably cost me much more to find a new unit with similar sound charactistics. (I'm thinking that the receiver is old and caps aren't made to last forever.) I would rather do the work now and have something I like for another 20 years. Some may think I'm crazy, but I've heard many different brands and for some reason, I just love the Sansui sound. Thanks in advance for any help.

Thanks all. Best, Seth

Is there a way to have something appear in every post at the bottom of the page? For example, many have a list of their equipment on every post. Thanks for any help.

http://tinyurl.com/3qnfhoz [Open in new window]

I found the problem. A speaker wire was moving inside one of my banana plugs. When I tried to open the plug, it fell apart in my hands. I'm getting rid of all my banana plugs.

I just put together a New Emotiva CD player (ERC-2) into a Sansui 881 playing through KLF30s. This is the best sound I've ever heard and I don't even have my speakers in corners because I have no room. You don't need a Sub with these speakers. I can't even turn the volume past 1/4 without going deaf. The ERC-2 is the best CD player I've ever heard--has a built in high quality DAC. I know I"m going to have to get the receiver recapped because it's so old. I just have to find a reputable Sansui technician. The great thing is you don't need an expensive high powered Sansui because Klipsch are so efficient. Long live Klipsch and channel audio!

I never knew these existed until today--all kinds of awards and Mcintosh prices. Well, they're way more than I could afford.

I have a Harman Kardon AVR 3600 with an Emotiva XPA-3 powering my 3 front speakers. The other day my son turned all the units on at the same time and he heard a loud popping noise coming from my 3 front speakers. When I turn the setup on, I usually power up the Emotiva last and have never had that problem. I contacted Emotiva and they told me to leave the speakers connected and turn the XPA-3 on with the RCA plugs disconnected--that would isolate the problem if the XPA-3 were defective. I did this and all I heard was a low sound, as if something were being turned on. I'm assuming the Emotiva is not the problem. I have all my equipment connected with banana plugs. I was thinking that it would be better to rewire without the banana plugs because if something comes loose or moves around inside the plug, you can't see it. I also remember that the other day my son accidently pulled on one of the speaker wires. Does anyone think I'm going in the right direction with this? I re-seated all the wires and plugs. Everything seems fine now. I have 2 Cornwall 3s in front with an Academy in the center. My Harman Kardon is powering 2 Fortes in the rear. Thanks in advance for any help.

I recently found out that the"DB" (Dolby Sansui) are extremely difficult to repair if the Dolby circuit goes out. From what I've read, it can't be bypassed. It has to be repaired. That's a big "Stay Away" sign for me.

SX-1250s are hard to find in good condition. I've seen restored units sell for close to $1,000 at reputable shops. I agree. It's a monster.

Just take a look at how high some of the older Klipsch speakers are bid up on Ebay. I think this is more suggestive than the people who say they dislike Klipsch speakers. I've been through many different speakers myself. Some were very good. But I didn't know anything about Klipsch until I bought the Epic CF3s, almost by accident, about 15 years ago. Joining this forum was also an education. The average audio store is sells home theater equipment with marginal audio characteristics. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to find a double album of Glenn Gould piano music, from the 60s. It was brand new; never opened. I paid almost nothing for it. I put the Liszt transcription for piano of Beethoven's 5th Symphony on my son's turntable and my eyes filled with tears. I felt like the piano was in the room.

Anyone familiar with these? I stumbled upon the brand last night. Their entry models are inexpensive and supposedly high quality. I found a web site that sells them directly but I don't think they're authorized.

Thanks Wuzzer. There's a place in town that cuts glass to order. I tried towels but the cats liked that as a comfortable place to sleep! What's better for a cat than an indoor tree with comportable padding? The other day, I found that some of the stain had come off on a white towel that I used as a cover. It was just a small amount of stain but perhaps the heat from the cat's body made the stain liquify to some extent? Just a theory. Glass seems the beat way to go.