Bubo
-
Posts
1860 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by Bubo
-
-
Bubo what did you decide on the active crossover.
Are we taling about my Mac system??
If yes, I am still thinking about it. The current surround expermiment has me rethinking 2 ch pre amps and DACs etc.
For example if the Pioneer Elite is THX compliant, why not use one to front end the Mac Amp and ditch the DAC, and Pre amp, and eliminate the need for a separate EQ, Crossover and acustic analizer and compensator?? The Pioneer MCACC does all of the above with only one D-A conversion, is integrated and probably a lower cost, certainly in a used unit.
Phono input would be an open issue.
-
This gathering did seem to open a few senses. I went back to tubes on mains..
About a year ago I ran tubes on all channels except subs. I found it to be an expensive experiment even with economy amps(due to the space they took up and heat they produce I sold and lost about $250, which is not bad although). mains on tubes is what im finding best with subs on solid state, surrounds off whatever your amp or receiver allows. It is all individual taste. There was a 5x about 5watts tube amp on ebay for surround sound claiming to be the first tube amp for surround sound and had a price of about $400 the last I remember...I didn't consider it much...I did run 6&7.1 using 2 yaqin 10L's for front 3 then knight 724's on rear back and surrounds. It was nice just awkward space and heat...and I found unnecessary
My plasma puts out enough heat as it is. I can't imagine 7 channels of tube amplification on top of that. I'd have to buy a separate air conditioner for my living room alone.
Or move the Chicago, tropical by comparisson to Minnisota......
-
Startech relay rack with wheels.
You can get them everywhere, Amazon has them for approx $140 delivered.
I use the APC G5 Power filter and Sequencer in the middle. It is better than almost anything at any price, it protects against undervoltage which is the real killer as opposed to overvoltage. Lots of good features and dirt cheap. I know APC from Telco, Industral and Military I was very happy to see them make some small stuff for out hobby.
I use 15 inch vented shelves which fit almost anything, watch the weight ratings, for the Mac Amp I had to buy a special shelf for the 90 lb load. Again everyone sells standard shelves, I did very well with Centeral Office surplus, aka new old stock shelves on the auction site. I purchased enough for two racks, since the deal was good and I wanted a match if I started a second rack, which it appears is about to happen. Also watch the direction of the lips on the shelves, I like both bent up slightly to avoid accidents. If I were in a quake zone, I would attach the top of the rack to wall attached bracket, these are also standard products.
I left a little more than a one inch gap between systems for cooling, magnetic and electrical fields and easier to clean with a duster or air compressor. Also easier to take the gear out the front or rear when needeed. Power cords are routed on one side and cables on the rear and other side.
Total cost rack, shelves and power unit was approx $500.
Good luck and enjoy.
This is my current surround experiment which will require a second rack if I move forward on it.
-
-
The get together got me thinking about surround with outboard amps, I had purchased some for this purpose;
but never got around to it. This is the second phase, systems test. I tested the units individually over the last few weeks.Derick started me thinking about an outboard amp and Brandon sold me the first one of these fine Yamahas.
I think I'll start a new thread in the surround area.
thats how i ran the adcoms you saw at my house
I'm waiting for the all tube surround experiment, using something like the MCACC function on the Pioneer to equalize for the room and the amp performance. I'm really begining to wonder if 3 very inexpensive 2-5 watt tube amps would do the job in this scenario.
-
I'll bet that will sound excellent. You're going to need a bigger component rack.
Don McClain will have to find a new home, if I keep moving forward on this.
The last phase will be deciding if I keep the venerable Mac gear, it does sound so good with vinyl, that which it was designed for.
-
Thought I'd try 3 Yamaha MX-800s front ended by my existing Pioneer Elite VSX 21 TXH Receiver, which already sounds great.
Phase 1, Unit test to ensure Yamahas work individually, used a bench top stereos for a week each. Done
Phase 2:
*Systems test phase, started yesterday
*Using the B3s, C3, S3s, and RW 12 D Reference woofer.
First listens are existing Pioneer MCACC room equalizations settings.
Listened to some complex modern music using the THX Settings that derive 5.1 from a 2.0 Stereo Source CD.
This Delerium tune (from the Karma LP) is a always a good stress test for any system, the new set-up delivered it in 5.1 with surprising clarity, accuracy and surround effect. Sounds great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAMeXjeswWg&index=1&list=PLC5DF58B378E55371
Phase 3, Bi Amp the C3, the Pioneer supports this via the B Speaker outputs, I still have some reading and head scratching to do on this one.
Phase 4, recalibrate MCACC using Yamaha Amps.
Phase 5, may try LaScalas as front LR, and a Heresy 1 for the center and leave the S3s as the rears, no where to put the Heresys behind me, too large for the shelves. Yes I need a bigger room.
Before
After
-
The get together got me thinking about surround with outboard amps, I had purchased some for this purpose;
but never got around to it. This is the second phase, systems test. I tested the units individually over the last few weeks.Derick started me thinking about an outboard amp and Brandon sold me the first one of these fine Yamahas.
I think I'll start a new thread in the surround area.
-
2
-
-
Botti, yes!
-
I've been running the Pioneers Elites for at least 5 years.
The auto set up feature, MCACC is nice, but takes some getting accustomed to.
Pretty sure their is a manual option to reset the defaults. I would find it and memorize the location.
The manual is C at best, but with lots of patience you can decipher what you need.
After running the auto set up a few times, I made a few minor tweeks with the manual speaker set up. Notably making the center channel a bit lounder since this is where the dialog comes from, I typically don't listen at theater volume.
The quality of the amps and pre pre amps in the Elite gear is quite good.
Having said that, I will be going outboard and bi-amping the center channel at some point. Better than leaving the amps on the shelf doing nothing and they are not worth selling and too expensive to replace with newer possibly inferior ones. I'll be using three Yamaha MX 800s.
This should yield all Class A at most volumes and insane amounts of overhead that I am unlikely to use. But better than collecting dust.
Don't be afraid of the manual set up menus, they are friendly once you get the hang of them.
On the small v large, I went large with the C-3 and B-3.
Typically I keep the sub below the setting the auto set up wanted, occasionaly crank it back for a movie.
My two cents......
-
I am not a woodworker, but do what I must.
Given your question, I would not practice on a pair of LaScala cabinits.
I would call some local cabinit makers, and see how much they want to stop by the house and cut the cabinits in your garage, and make the top boxes for you. They may want to do the trimming at their shop, in which case either you take them in a U haul van or have them picked up. The top boxes will be at their shop, time to think about stock v aftermarket horm possilities like Crites, or others. You could
A. oversize the top boxes to accomadate a differnt horn and a different tweeter like the Beyma baboon but that so many like. Or
B. same size top box with larger horn, and a small box with the Beyma tweeter on top, floating as it were.
They may like it if you supply the materials like birch so they don't have to screw around with it, cash is always appreciated. If you know the horns you want, I would supply them to the cabinit maker so the holes etc fit the first time.
I built a dog house once, it looked like a coffin with a pie hole.
-
-
hi guys I'm new to the page and would love to get some more info on some klipsch las scalas i just got can anyone give me more info on them? i live in california and just got my pair of scales for $900 i was wondering if i need to run a tube or solid state amp? on the back of speakers it has LS BIR LAC #17 GRILL .. SERIEL NUMBER IS -101295066 101295065.. CAN ANYONE PLEASE GIVE MY INFO ON THESE THANKS......
-
Since getting more than a couple of people at a time into my LR would be problematic, I am posting a pic of my systems.
-
1
-
-
moray,I think it was in late 85 heresy switched from the K77 to the K79. you might want to consider switching from your k77 to the Crites CT125, http://www.critesspeakers.com/klipsch_tweeters.html Best regards Moray James.
Greetings, you like the 125s better, better sound??
I installed the CT125 into my Heresy and yes I liked them very much. Much smoother and more extended you need to remember that we are talking totally harmonics here no fundamentals. I also changed out the stock phenolic mid diaphragm and went directly to the titanium diaphragm and that is a big improvement. Best regards Moray James.
Moray,
As always a pleasure to hear your thoughts and experiences.
I find the tweeters on my Heresys and LaScalas a bit squeeky to be honest. Some of it is source to be sure, some possibly wear, some possibly engineeering v cost trade offs in the original design etc... or the level of tech at the time of manufacture.
Fot it's 25th birthday, I drove my McIntosh gear to the factory for a complete going over, which they did.
For a 35th birthday present, I think I will give my Heresy's a going over followed by the LaScalas. I think both may use the same tweeters. The horn drivers and woofers and crossovers are different to be sure.
I think I will do one pair of Heresy's and compare them to my other pair given the approaching long Winter. "Winter is Comming"
At 35, I feel that the original components have delivered full value, so changing some parts out is in order. I have new crossovers that will be going in too, yes I probably should have just resolder the caps, but this was before I had invested for the ongoing rebuilds of 30 components that will be ongoing projects as time and courage allow.......Mostly re-cappping working products and changing the relays and other easy and time consuming stuff.
While it is still warm outside, the Toyota may get some new wires and plugs, at 82K miles, they have done their job...........
-
I think it was in late 85 heresy switched from the K77 to the K79. you might want to consider switching from your k77 to the Crites CT125, http://www.critesspeakers.com/klipsch_tweeters.html Best regards Moray James.
moray,
Greetings, you like the 125s better, better sound??
-
Quanitzation error and loudness wars argue against CDs for quality.
Older versions of CDs are actually more accurate.
As to vinyl vs CD take the music where you can find it.
$100 carts are fine, anlong with a quality turn table, vintage can be had for less than $100 plus a trip to the shop for a tune-up.
My vintage Mac and Yamaha gear have great phono sections, the Emotiva stand alone gets good reviews too for $200.
I have some spectacular sounding CDs, and plenty of not so great ones, Loudness wars had destroyed some great recording sessions.
There is also a lot of great old vinyl out there, I average around 60 cents an LP and I'm not even sure if they are still in print aka on CDs.
As to streaming, someday......
-
I've had a stock pair for 30 years that sound good to me.
Probably time to recap the cross overs.
As to doing a bunch of mods, I would probably just build from scratch which would be cheaper and yield better results.
As stated above, room treatments, and placement are important as is the source material GIGO.
-
In decending order, the best sound quality is:
DTS Master audio at 24 x 96
Vinyl records, if they are good recordings GIGO
CDs with an external DAC or a decent DVD player with RCA out, the DSP tech has really come down in price.
After the above, less bits is less quality. And keep a mind to which DAC you are using, the 50 cent DAC in a phone is probably not as good as the one in a quality $35 DVD player, which is not as good as the one in a solid mid range $300-500 DAC etc.....
More bits equals better quality, ceteris paribus.
NO matter how expensive the gear, it can not fix a bad recording or over rated performer....
-
Yamaha makes products that have lots of effects that can be used with 6 or 7 speakers to reproduce various concert halls.
IMHO the main thing to think about in a typical, I wish I had a bigger and better space for my stereo, room is damping and minimizing reflective surfaces.
Book shelves with books, stuffed furniture, carpets or area rugs, heavy curtains for the windows. There is nothing quite as good as open doors and windows from my experience.
Spaces with good corners, two of them seem to work well.
My 2 cents......
-
How would the Denon DCD-3520 compare to a McIntosh MCD-7008? I ask because that's what I'm considering buying. I have a very high opinion of both Denon and McIntosh as manufacturers. That said, I've owned both Denon & Mac amplifiers but not CD players.
Has any Klipsch Forum member heard both the Denon and the McIntosh and could offer an opinion?
Thanks, Andy
Andy,
Moving parts are the first thing to die.
DSPs, like all micro processors, improve dramatically evey few years.
If you like popping the CDs into the player, get an inexpensive DVD player with digital outputs, Sony has one for $35. Buy a DAC that you like, Emotiva has some good price performance options. The tech on DACs is rendering the differences between them so subtle for the mid range models, reports are that it is hard if not impossible to tell them apart. MAC also has a digital pre-amp worth a look for $$$.
Then run you DAC analog outputs to your amplification system. If your DAC accepts multiple inputs aka digital pre-amp, you can also run a PC and other devices into it.
I usually have a few hundred CDs that are new that I listen to on the DVD player until I rip them to the NAS hard disk for playback from any device in the house. The CDs go into bins as a backup. I'll start ripping my vinyl when the temps drop a little bit more.
Hope this helps.....
-
1
-
-
It was a pleasure meeting everyone, and listening to the gear and music.
Special thanks to our Host and his family for having us and rolling out the red carpet.
If not for the economy of living area in my home design, I would gladly host one of these.
Perhaps speakers in the windows, burgers on the grill, kegs in the yard, co-eds dancing on the tables and cars and lots of police...... the good old days......... In Naperville, business is so slow, we would probably get the SWAT team......wonder what the boys party to.....
Seth, again thanks to you and your very nice family.
-
3
-
-
I would love to demo some Klipsch speakers, especially with tube amps. I've never heard any of the Heritage line, the only Klipsch speaker I've heard is a pair of P38s, and they're powered by a 8 year old Yamaha AVR, so they're not pushed at all.
I am a total newb about audio, and some of what I've read on here seems to be in a foreign language. I am very interested in learning though.
If it's okay, maybe I'll make the drive a couple hours north and check out some of your sound systems. I'll try n to to bore you pros with a lot of silly questions!
The Heritage speakers definitely have a different sound, since it's the one I've been listeing to for more than 30 years, it's the one I prefer. May be just a matter of expectations.
The EL 34s designed for audio are supposed to have their own signature, I will be interested to listen to the amp.
Female singer with a piano or orchestra is best for me when evaluating systems. Ronstadt Skylark is a good tune, though not the only one for the purpose.
Noemie Wolfs (Hooverphonic) early moring Promo tour in the Netherlands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Bs09twUmg&list=PLgugWBANrQyU39SWyIM6sCIJWo-A3GBlD&index=6
-
Naperville, I'm following.
Good to see fellow enthusiasts on occasion.
-
3
-
Upgrading Home Theater with Reference or Heritage Line
in Home Theater
Posted · Edited by Bubo
I have sampled lots of different systems, IMHO the Heritage line is the standard to measure the other consumer speakers by.
I have done no sampling of the Pro line other than theaters, so I won't comment on the gear and haven't done a spec out.
Strongly recommend using the THX setting of 80Hz for the surrounds and sending the rest to the subs, this is how the movies are made, and probably a lot of the TV content too. The LaScalas have tremendous clarity and punching power, yes they bottom out around 60Hz, but below 80 is going to the subs....
A Heresy for a center speaker is better than almost any center speaker on the market, for my current home experiment I will be using LaScalas for the Fronts and a Heresy 1 for the Center with 3 outboard Yamaha MX-800 Amps. Using my Synergies, the results are WOW on the music videos. I expect the Heritage products to be noticeably better. I don't have room for Heresys as the rears, or I would put them up in a second.
I will most likely be building a second rack in the near future, and may move the TV to a wall mount so the Heresy can fit under it without sticking out into my tiny room.
Given the application, I would use solid State with it's tremendous power reserves in the Caps.
My Pioneer Elite Receiver MCACC auto equalizes for the speakers and the room and cancels standing waves (If I understand it correctly).
Side by side, the RF7s can't punch with the LaScalas, not even close. The RF7s are fine sounding speakers.
Stock LaScalas with something like the MCACC equalization should deliver stunning results, a Heresy in the Center and surrounds would rock. I like the TV at eye level, and the same for the Horns on the LaScalas, so the center has to be shorter.
My two cents.....