Marvel

I'll describe the three running systems I have at my house, and why I use them the way they are at the moment. Living room is a pretty cheap Sony receiver with a CDP, turntable and my JBL 4311 speakers. I have my vcr hooked up to it, along with my huge 13" tv. We can turn it on and play. No muss and not much fuss. The speakers are the best part of this system, the Sony works (actually very quiet and clean). The bedroom system is set up so my wife and I can listen to music. Her computer and my computer also reside there. I wasl using a Merlin tube preamp feeding my rebuilt Dynaco ST-70 driving my Heresy IIs. I am using a cheap CDP right now. The sound is very nice. However, I swapped out the Dynaco and put in an Alesis SS power amp. The sound didn't change much at all, but it also means that my wife doesn't have to worry about the Dynaco's heat. It can stay on all day, and the Merlin doesn't get very warm at all. She is comfortable with it. The Dynaco now drives my Alesis nearfield monitors on my computer, with a Biamp brand industrial mixer/pre providing buffering and feeding from the PC. I also have a small Velodyne sub on this (my Brother-in-law) gave it to me). SOunds pretty decent with the PC as a source, but I haven't even had it on in over a week as we usually have the other system on. For me it is more about the enjoyment than all the specs and details. They all sound decent, even good, compared to what most of my friends would have in their homes. So we have balanced convenience and low cost quality for what we have. The Dynaco I've had since the '70s, the Biamp we were tossing out at work, the sub was given to me. The Merlin was a gift, but everything else we bought. It works for me. Would I upgrade a few things if I had the chance? Sure, but we're happy at the moment. Bruce

The 1/4 inch combo connectors allow the use of unbalanced 1/4" as well as balanced. Go get some cheap Radio Shack rca to 1/4" adapters. Then you can use your regular rca cables. 10k unbalanced input impedance and 20k balanced according to their manual.

If you use the 1/4 inch jack (in the combo connector) you can use an unbalanced tip/sleeve connection and run unbalanced. This probably connects the - to ground. They don't explicitly say so, but you can probably do the same on the barrier input strip. Connect your shield to the ground terminal and the plus to your center conductor. You may need to connect the ground to the - (minus) connector as well.

Duke, I didn't even notice the wiring. Good eyes!

I thought that someone mentioned to Jeff that the D-45 is way different than the D-75. The forum software is new, doesn't work very well and the smileys are awful! Mobile, you been sailing much? Bruce

Tomorrow the wife and I head back to Emory to have MRI/Pet/CT scans done. This will let us know if the two rounds of treatment she has gone through are doing any good in this fight against Melanoma. If it hasn't done any good, they will stop the IL-2 infusions. If so, we then look for other forms of treatment. Since this has the best response (at only 16 percent), we hope and pray that it is working. We can't tell, but the scans will reveal far more than we can ever see. Would appreciate your prayers and thoughts as we make the trip. We don't know how soon we'll know the results. It's called scanxiety! Either outcome has its issues, but we want to kick Mel to the curb!! Turnin' down the Merlin and headin' for bed.... Bruce

Michael, Get the manual for this amp: http://www.qscaudio.com/pdfs/usausr.pdf Make sure the connections and settings are all correct. Make sure you are not running in parallel, and try turning off the limiters for both channel 1 and channel 2 (set by the DIP switches). Try setting the gain on the back of the amp to where they point straight up (6 db point). See if this makes a difference. Make sure you don't have it set to bridged mono as well. As a heads up, Sam Ash has the Samson Servo 170 and Servo 260 amps on closeout right now. No fans and a reasonable amount of power (especially for Klipsch speakers). $129 and $149 respectively. The bigger one is 90 wpc into 8 ohms. These are similar to my Alesis RA-100. Bruce

A lot of these ideas will change the impedance of the circuit. I posted a small program some time ago that calculates values for pads, three resistors for each channel. It allows you to choose the reduction in db and the input and output impedance. Isn't this what the stepped attenuators do anyway? Keep the impedance the same but pride the gain adjustment. I think Erik got this at one point. I have matched some things up with this and gotten very good results. I would be happy (as I said before) to calculate the values if anyone wants the info. Bruce

Please speak for yourself. [] Greg Okay-- They ROCK for a smaller speaker. For DR speakers, they are so close to Heresys. Especially since I don't seem to have Heresys with the dentist drill treble that Tom likes to point out [] . They made and make better speakers, but for that size.... they're great. Bruce

It is an older discontinued model. he newer ones would be well worth the price difference. Like the PLX series that Dean has. Or this model for $300: http://www.zzounds.com/item--QSCRMX850 Bruce

I sure wouldn't mind the Sovereigns, or the 4350s. Bruce

I'm not drooling, but I love that green. Bruce

For those doing an ST-70, I would recommend Shannon Parks board. It is constructed a lot better than Joe's. There are pics here: http://diytube.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=773 I wish he made boards for the Mark III and IV. Bruce

Gary, Thanks for the input. It's not like I'm getting any. I may build me something, so I could do it in stages. The Dynaco is holding its own right now. With the Merlin, I am very pleased with the sound I get. Vinyl can only be played in the living room through the Sony and the JBLs. Most of my time is spent in my office off the bedroom, so Barbara and I are listening to the Heresys and CDs a lot. At the volume we listen at, we could probably do with a SET (I am only half joking here), or an EL84 amp. Bruce

Allan, You mentioned in the past that you weren't fond of the MC-40s. Can you give me you reasons? I understand it would be your opinion, but am curious. I just seen a bunch of MC-40s for sale, while the 30s don't show up as often. Or other McIntosh tube models that you think are okay, like the various stereo models. Bruce

I'm still curious about building a center channel speaker that uses a Smith horn, since it has a wide horizontal pattern and is only 3 3/4 inches high. It would probably need a tweeter to go with it though. One of the guys on the Lansing Heritage forum was designing a center that is built like the Paragon. Two woofers on each side and a single Smith in the middle with the curve of the cabinet matching the curve of the Smith. Attached is his drawing, which has the Smith on the bottom of the cab as he was going to mount it over the screen or TV. Timbre matching would be the biggest issue, but it is a very cool concept none the less.. Bruce

Mark, I think your suspicians of "chip amp" fit the bill pretty well. Not just the Tripath amp but ones using the TI chipset as well. Gainclones use a chip, but are still analog (aren't they?). The Leach amp is all analog, but is a DIY project. Bruce

Al, I'm curious why the 2336h drivers drop off so early. I thought they didn't do that until about 15k. Is it just the interaction with your horns? Bruce

Peavey Classic 30. Great little tube guitar amp. Has a bunch of SS in it as well, which can be modded to sound even better. They make stuff that working class stiffs can use, who aren't afraid of having the name Peavey on it. But that isn't the same as a power amp for your stereo. Still, they have improved along with everyone else. Bruce

Too funny Paul! I'm sending that to my son, a music composition major. He loves jokes like that. Bruce

PWK could do it for about $1.00 Only because he would be buying by the hundreds if not thousands.

I am afraid I understand all too well how hard it is. A co-worker (electrician) casts parts out of urethane, to replace parts he can no longer buy. For even the simplest parts he has hinged pieces and slides. I have been trying to work out a driver adapter to go from a one inch driver to the back of a Smith horn. I've finally figured out how I can do it, but it will be multiple pieces I bolt together and not one piece. If I didn't visualize a lot in 3D I would been way crazy by now (hush... no one knows). Bruce

OT-- driving with the windows down WILL cause high freq. hearing loss. I drive a 98 Blazer. I get 21-24 mpg on the highway with the windows up and the A/C on. Bruce

I can't believe Edster would sell those babies. I always thought that was one of the most beautiful rooms as well, and the false corners looked very good there. Is he replacing them with something else or just wanting to say goodbye to them? I forgot to ask Danny. When did you sell the LS? Bruce

You really enlarged a photo of the end of a Bic pen didn't you? I knew it.... Bruce