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So...what constitutes "insane amplification?"


The History Kid

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I have a post somewhere on the forum adding to Eric2A3's experiences with 901 speakers where I was helping a friend with a 901 speaker implementation and the 901 setup sure liked an inordinate amount of power to sound good.  Here is a little amp porn showing the internals of an old BOSE 1801 amplifier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I like big bouncing meters  :)

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Sometimes, you just have to wonder what people could be listening to? Or perhaps, how much wax is in their ears?

How are they be expected to know if they can't or won't measure? For all the times words like "power" and "watts" are thrown around, you'd think everyone actually understood what was going on inside their gear.

 

 

The plain fact is most don't. Like the guys that setup that stage in the photo above, for example. It's a hot mess. If a picture like that turns on a person in some positive way, then they should at least be prepared for a lifetime of struggle when it comes to their own gear.

 

Multimeters, SPL meters, understanding the inverse square law, voltage, how to express relationships in terms of the decibel...etc. These are just the basics, yet few people educate themselves about the very technology they're so willing to dump loads of cash on.

 

So to answer your question in one word: ignorance

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Sometimes, you just have to wonder what people could be listening to? Or perhaps, how much wax is in their ears?

How are they be expected to know if they can't or won't measure? For all the times words like "power" and "watts" are thrown around, you'd think everyone actually understood what was going on inside their gear.

 

 

The plain fact is most don't. Like the guys that setup that stage in the photo above, for example. It's a hot mess. If a picture like that turns on a person in some positive way, then they should at least be prepared for a lifetime of struggle when it comes to their own gear.

 

Multimeters, SPL meters, understanding the inverse square law, voltage, how to express relationships in terms of the decibel...etc. These are just the basics, yet few people educate themselves about the very technology they're so willing to dump loads of cash on.

 

So to answer your question in one word: ignorance

 

The designers of the wall of sound were not ignorant or stupid.  Read up a little bit on what they were trying to do (and mostly succeeded).  The idea did not work out not because of the way it sounded but because of the expense and trouble with traveling with it.  I have heard it actually sounded great except for slight problems with vocal mic feedback (mostly solved in a quite ingenious way).  The same people were actually responsible for some of the best live sound of the day using more traditional methods and any fan that appreciates good live sound owes them a debt of gratitude.  They really cared about providing the best sound, and succeeded back when most did not.  That was before my time but later on the few Dead shows I attended always had probably the best sound I ever heard at a rock concert, and I attended hundreds.

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The XPR-1's are decent for the money:  http://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/amplifier/power-amplifier/emotiva-xpr-1-monoblock-power-amplifier/

 

Bought a pair on ebay for $1800 but had to drive since they were local pickup only!

 

I went from an ATI AT2007 7 channel amp to these.  The difference is clearly audible, but only at peaks in very dynamics songs.  It also seems drums have a tiny bit more punch, but this is hard to say with certainty.  The rest of the time, I would say it sounds the same as it did before.  For me the difference was mainly in transient parts of tracks, no where else do I know for sure I hear a difference. 

 

I already sold my old amp, but I did intend to measure and catch what was going on at these peaks with my digital oscilloscope.  The difference is 100% audible at these peaks though.  Before things sounded harsh just at these peaks, now they sound smooth and natural at all volume levels even for the same peaks.

 

The P-39f's have some nasty impedance swings though (solid line) and phase (dashed line):

Taken from: http://www.stereophile.com/content/klipsch-palladium-p-39f-loudspeaker-measurements#VTlJkBowbRmPIBo2.97

 

609Klipfig1.jpg

I don't think most Klipsch speakers would benefit from the kind of headroom I am using now, but we seriously shouldn't expect a little tube amp or an AVR to put the kind of current out right?  I suspect my RF-83's would have sounded better to, but I don't have them anymore so I can't try.  I could have "gotten by" with the Emotiva XPR-2 amp, but why when the extra headroom was only $200?

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^ The Emotiva gear that I have has done wonders for my configuration, honestly - and based on what I've read in the Emo lounge that tends to be the flavor of most feedback there is that they are generally powerhouses. What I am learning more and more though is that their older modular amplifiers may provide even more intense power than even the XPR line.

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