bijaker1

Thank you CECAA850! I did exactly what you said and the drivers are all within about +/-1dB of each other at different frequencies and volumes. Totally fixed the problem. I think I may just upgrade the crossovers anyways.

Hello everyone. I just got back not too long ago from a long summer away from home and I took my Cornwall II's out of storage. After a few weeks of light listening I noticed all of the highs coming from only one of the speakers. For example, the "smack" of the kick drum always seems to be coming from the left speaker. The speakers don't image as well as I remembered, so I took out my SPL meter and compared the speakers at different frequencies. It seems that the right tweeter (and to a lesser extent squawker) are quieter than the left channel. The right tweeter is 5-10dB quieter than the left one. The woofers though seem to be at the same volume. Did 3 months in hot storage ruin these guys? Could it be the crossovers? Or the tweeter? I swapped channels on the amp, cables, and channels from the source to the amp, with no change in which speaker was quieter, so I'm sure it is the speakers. What do you guys think? - Bijaker1

Ok great, I may just go and listen to both. I would like to get the Fortes but am hesitant. What do you guys think of $375 for the Forte Is without grills? I talked to Bob Crites and ordering new grills would amount to about $100 after shipping.

All the decorations only have WOW factor when NOT watching a movie. Who hangs out in a theater room when they aren't watching a movie?

Hello All, I think it's time to upgrade. I have a chance to buy either a pair of RF3 II's for $225 (good condition) or a pair of Forte I's missing grills for $375. I will have a chance to audition both but I want your opinion before I do so. What do you guys think? I have a pair of KG 5.2s for reference. Thanks!

Thanks Maynard []. Email Sent, let me know if you don't get it. If anyone else has input on the design I would very much appreciate it []

Hello Everyone, I plan on buying an HRT Music Streamer II DAC to feed 2 Marantz MA500 monoblocks. In order to keep volume control in the analog domain without buying a preamp, I plan on making a passive volume control from scratch. The max output voltage of the DAC is 2.25V and the output impedance reportedly 200Ohm. The monoblocks have 30kOhm input impedance with a sensitivity of 1V. For this reason the volume control is designed to drop the DACs voltage to 1V from 2.25V at 0 attenuation. Attached is a picture of the circuit so far. I do though have a question: what is more important, presenting a high input impedance to the DAC (by the volume control) or presenting a low output impedance to the amps? I can increase the size (max resistance) of the left/right pots (right now at 5kOhm max) and increase the input impedance or decrease the size of the pots to decrease output impedance. Thanks for all the help! EDIT: The label "Amp_Left" should read "Left_Input" meaning the left input to the amp, modeled by the 30kOhm resistor.

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That's great as I don't want to have to spend another $135+. I am currently using onboard audio: ALC662 with Windows 7 OS (that's why I want to add the DAC). I think I may have jumped on the mono blocks too early. I bought them today (before reading 1504-5's post) after demoing them at the owner's house. They sounded good at moderate volume on a pair of low-quality Sony speakers. When I got home and hooked them up to my KGs they sounded noticeably (although not horribly) worse than my Yamaha at low volumes. As soon as I turned it up the amps lost all sound and started making a clicking noise. I looked online and the source of the click is from the protection circuitry cutting off power to the amp. This kept happening at around the same volume (about 76-80dBA so not too loud at all! My Yamaha can make the KG's put out 97dBA!). Was I tricked? The owner did not play them any louder than 75dB (in retrospect I was stupid not to ask him to). What should I do? Attempt a repair (from what I saw it is most likely bad caps that need to be replaced)? Attempt a return? PS I checked the DC offset and it seems to be in range: 10mV on both amps.

Sorry for that, I guess I have to figure out how to make links clickable. Here is the URL for the link: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=573&name=Case-Fans I've bought lots of 120mm fans for my PCs as well as some smaller ones. Go with one that is both rated at a low SPL (around 20dB or less is very good) and has reviews saying it is quiet as manufactures aren't the most honest when it comes to fan SPL. Any 12V power supply with 500mA or more will work. Because you will be adding a fan to your AVR which does not have dedicated fan 12V supplies you should get a 12V adapter (like this one: http://www.12vadapters.com/adapter/power-supply/12v/1-amp-1a.html) and cut the end connector off so you can strip the wires and solder them to your PC fan wires. I wouldn't buy a 12V adapter because they are very easy to come by. I have several in the garage leftover from appliances that broke/were replaced. This may be overkill but I found an instructable that describes what I imagine you want to do: http://www.instructables.com/id/Mod-your-stereo-amp-with-PC-fans/?ALLSTEPS

NewEgg.com has a great selection of PC fans, that's where I buy mine. You can search by size, and noise level (which may be very important for an AVR) by clicking on "Advanced Search" on the left. Here's a link to their fans: Newegg Fan Link.

I could not find any old Yams (M or MX series) in my price range, but I will keep my eyes peeled for them.

I was planning on getting one of these: HRT Music Streamer II (Link) Which has an output rated at 2.25V RMS. The input sensitivity of the Marantz Monoblocks is 1V. Does this mean that a preamp is needed to reduce the output signal of the Music Streamer to match the 1V of the amps?

I think I may just go with that setup. I'm speaking to both of the sellers now. Thanks for the help guys. I do have another question though; would I even need the Marantz 2226B as a preamp if I'm going to be using a DAC connect to my computer? Can't I just connect the DAC to the Marantz monoblocks?

Thanks guys for all the help! I've been looking on ebay/craigslist and found a few. While I did not find any 2270s or 2265s, I did find a 2226B on CL for $135 (no shipping as I would pick it up). Another interesting find was a pair of Marantz MA500U Monoblock amps for $100 each also on CL. What do you guys think? Do you think these will sound better than the Yamaha I currently have?