maxg Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Saturday's ACA meeting: (If the pictures load) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilin Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Aren't those the early B&W's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 that's not speaker cable......that's garden hose....[Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Nice little system,B&W older top of the line mains,JM Lab (Focal) center,Theta power amps. To answer the question how woofers work way at the top...only 2-3dB less room gain,and when celling is low this is almost insignificant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Just going by looks, those speakers are ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Max, is this your bathroom system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted March 18, 2007 Author Share Posted March 18, 2007 I had been hoping to post a few more pics but the system seems to be on a go slow and I gave up. This is a very interesting system in many ways - with a large amount of room treatments so address bass boom, midrange bloat etc. issues. Sonically it ranges from the best I have ever heard to actually not acceptable - if that makes any sense....well I think I can explain: These are large speakers. They are set well apart and the drivers are widely spaced vertically. This means that they hold their sonic space pretty much independently of the source. The soundstage does not adjust in size markedly between a full symphony orchestra and a trio. The net result of this is that the reproduction of Large Orchestral works and Opera is second to none in my opinion whilst smaller works appear bloated. Listening to a Jazz Quartet, for example, the double bass comes across too big - and many listening felt that it was boomy. Actually in my opinion that was not boom that one might associate with room issues but simply a function of the over-sizing of the image. Listening to Cavalleria Musticana,on the other hand, was simply magical - EVEN on CD!!!! A yes - CD - a word on this. This system has a Theta Carmen II transport with a Theta Generation VIII DAC and a Theta Generation VIII linestage. It is as good as any CD player I have heard (Should be - transport and DAC were around $25,000). We listened to CD for most of the early part of the evening and it was seriously good, UNTIL we switched to vinyl. This is the first time in a while I have been to a house where similar budgets have been spend on the digitial and analogue front ends. The vinyl absolutely KILLED the CD sonically. I could not believe the difference. If ever there was a perfect demonstation of the superiority of a vinyl rig for music playback this house is it. If this were my system I would sell the digital immediately and get more vinyl. And I dont even like Transrotor TT's!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Thanks for sharing, Max. Those are some serious-looking power amps and cables. Did the system sound really good, or can that be assumed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Max, your message came in just as I was posting mine, so I hadn't read your description of the sound. At any rate, it appears that chap needs to upgrade to Jubilees. Does everyone agree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Aw, if it's nay Klipsch, it's Krap! [6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted March 18, 2007 Author Share Posted March 18, 2007 Yup - all crap system: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Yeah, definitely a crap system. There's no accounting for some people's taste! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Nice system..................out of my league though.!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Max, was that you in the Youtube video I just watched, "Greek Audiophile"? Great video, shows just how nuts we really are. I saw a little of myself in that video. Embarrassing. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 Greg, Guilty, Mark, Good question. Towards the end of the evening at these meetings we turn the music off and discuss the system - music - room etc. Those of us that want to can express out opinions on what we heard and the owner can respond - or not. I pointed out the disparity in vinyl and CD playback quality - despite the investment and he just shrugged his shoulders and said; "what do you expect? - but you have to have both for the music." Certainly cant argue with that now can I - although it would apply less to me due to my musical preferences. It was an observation NO-ONE in the room disagreed with. I put great store by this revelation as I have, to date, always had to accept the possibility that somewhere out there is a digtial system that erally can hold its own with vinyl. This system has convinced me that, whilst it is still not impossible, the probability of such a thing existing has shrunk beyond measure. We are not only dealing with a high $ implementation of a very respected name in the marketplace (Theta) but in a single make solution. Transport / DAC / Pre-amp / Amp - all Theta. We can assume therefore that the component matching issue cannot readily be improved. If all the components are close to state of the art, if they all match and if they have been implemented with no expense spared (cables / stands etc.) and vinyl still whoops its ***......... I am going to take some convincing from now on there is a digital system out there that can really do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Max, was that you in the Youtube video I just watched, "Greek Audiophile"? Great video, shows just how nuts we really are. I saw a little of myself in that video. Embarrassing. Greg You have been to Greece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 I'd like to hear some Acoustic Alchemy guitar playing on that system. I noticed what seems to be Denon receiver down on the bottom shelf and can't quite figure out what that would be for unless he has some surround sound setup.......? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 I'd like to hear some Acoustic Alchemy guitar playing on that system. I noticed what seems to be Denon receiver down on the bottom shelf and can't quite figure out what that would be for unless he has some surround sound setup.......? Pat, I never asked - probably is for some kind of surround sound - there was a centre channel there but I do not remember seeing rear speakers. Certainly he has a very big TV in the middle. Tony's rather long winded review of the system can be found at http://aca.gr/meet07-3.htm for anyone that is interested. Its a weird one!! Be warned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 I liked reading that review. I have always thought about the difference between listening to music as sound vs listening to sound as music. A very thoughtful and intellegent review that perhaps many here will recall as part of their own experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Max: First, I am HOPING you took my earlier komment in komedy. It was intended as such and that is, indeed, a visually stunning rig. I'll have to take your word for the sonic qualities. On the vinyl squashing CD front, I must conclude that either the source material was krap or there is an issue with his playback. As you may know, I am a vinyl/analog lover, but my own experience in location recording has proven to me that it is about the recording method and the engineering whether digital or analog. I have a lot of LP piano recordings, but not one of them is even close to the reality of one of my digital recordings. This has been verified also by objective hornhead ears. I suppose you might respond that perhaps my vinyl rig is not up to snuff... Last night I was listening to a 24/96 downsampling of the 24/192 surround recording I did about 4 years ago of the Asylum Street Spankers band at a club in Austin. No vinyl could have come remotely close to that reality. Applause, which normally sounds like rain or frying bacon on either vinyl or CD was crisp with real percussive quality. I will grant that 90% of CD's released are easily bested by even an average CD, and that even the best 16/44.1 recording will exhibit some limitations of the low sample rate. However, higher digital sample rates can and do yield sound quality equal to or greater to vinyl, and all of them overcome the highly compressed dynamics that are inherent in vinyl. All in all, you pays your dollar and takes your choice of issues except with well engineered digital recordings at the higher sample rates or analog R2R at higher speeds with DBX encoding for a reasonable dynamic range. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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