Electronics! Falling into the geek rabbit hole.

[tgapp]

dang BB, those Bang & Olufson cabs are beautiful! I love the angled risers on 'em. how tight is the stereo imaging - eg, how big of a "sweet spot" do they have? do you use them just for 2channel audio or as part of your TV setup?

i'm a big klipsch nerd myself, so my two setups are a pair of Heresy's and a pair of La Scala's. I recently rebuilt the crossover networks on my La Scala's, which was fun but not nearly as involved of a project as what you're tackling. i do love that i can knock picture frames off the wall with a measly 3 watts per channel, though!

[basinbeater]

Sweet spot isn't huge, you do kind of need to be on the sofa in front of them, but anywhere on that sofa, the speakers kind of disappear. You don't hear the speakers per se, more the room just fills with sound, and you can sort of pick out where the instruments are voices are coming from on the soundstage. Really nice. Imaging goes away as you move from the sofa, but thats to be expected. Because they really produce big sound, even over in the kitchen or dining room, it sounds like you have live music going on in the next room. Bass response suffers a little bit as you move from optimal position, but sort of comes back as you really move away. Something is loose in the grandfather clock in the corner, and it rattles with lots of bass.
We use them 2 channel only, but they do provide sound for the tv as well. The dsp on the Sony let's you switch to a different preset (can store 10 user defined) and dynamics are adjustable to make watching TV or movies loud or quiet very enjoyable. Explosions go BOOM!
I've cycled through a few different speakers including a couple of higher end ($2k+ ok mid end PSB, infinity kappas 7. Kappas were nice) towers and high quality 2 ways (Canton, Polk) to see if I was missing out on anything with the b and o, and these have just blown everything else out of the water. The three way (with phase link driver, so 4 drivers per cabinet) result in 0 slop or muddiness at any frequency. These were b and o pull out all the stops top of the line speakers in the early 80s. Seas drivers throughout. Little bit of a power sponge, but the honey badger amp has taken care of that. No lack of power now. I don't have the original stands, but was able to find measurements, so I built the stands to put them in the right factory position.

sent from Utah.

[basinbeater]

Tgapp, post pics of your setup.

sent from Utah.

[riser4]

Oh, I think you need all that bass.

[tgapp]

Sweet spot isn't huge, you do kind of need to be on the sofa in front of them, but anywhere on that sofa, the speakers kind of disappear. You don't hear the speakers per se, more the room just fills with sound, and you can sort of pick out where the instruments are voices are coming from on the soundstage. Really nice. Imaging goes away as you move from the sofa, but thats to be expected. Because they really produce big sound, even over in the kitchen or dining room, it sounds like you have live music going on in the next room. Bass response suffers a little bit as you move from optimal position, but sort of comes back as you really move away. Something is loose in the grandfather clock in the corner, and it rattles with lots of bass.
We use them 2 channel only, but they do provide sound for the tv as well. The dsp on the Sony let's you switch to a different preset (can store 10 user defined) and dynamics are adjustable to make watching TV or movies loud or quiet very enjoyable. Explosions go BOOM!
I've cycled through a few different speakers including a couple of higher end ($2k+ ok mid end PSB, infinity kappas 7. Kappas were nice) towers and high quality 2 ways (Canton, Polk) to see if I was missing out on anything with the b and o, and these have just blown everything else out of the water. The three way (with phase link driver, so 4 drivers per cabinet) result in 0 slop or muddiness at any frequency. These were b and o pull out all the stops top of the line speakers in the early 80s. Seas drivers throughout. Little bit of a power sponge, but the honey badger amp has taken care of that. No lack of power now. I don't have the original stands, but was able to find measurements, so I built the stands to put them in the right factory position.

sent from Utah.

dude those stands are awesome! well done man, you're clearly operating on a much different level than i am. and the cabs are beautiful. is a phase link driver basically a 3 way CX network driving 4 drivers? or is one of those drivers a passive bass radiator?

for me, i'm just a sucker for klipsch horns. miles davis comes alive in a way that i haven't found elsewhere. sure, they lack presence in their lows, and they also beam hard (very narrow listening range), but they're also super economical. both of my amps are single-ended triode setups, and they drive them very well (don't let galibier numero uno see this thread though!!)



downstairs - klipsch la scalas with updated CX's and new tweeters - gonna do cabs sometime in the next few years, but they don't rattle so i haven't fucked with them. these guys are powered by an APPJ KT-77 amp (running gold lions), an SMSL DAC, and a ProJect Debut Carbon TT with matching phono stage.



upstairs are gen2 heresy's powered by a miniwatt (6N1 based) SET amp with a hifimediy sabre DAC.

the whole house is zoned and linked with chromecast audios, including my desk "hifi" system (edifier speakers) - so we can have a 'sonos-lite' experience when entertaining. who are we kidding, we never entertain.

[basinbeater]

The Klipsch are nice, I've had a chance to listen to a real nice set of heresy's, there's a reason they go for big bucks.

The phase link is a little complicated, but basically it is a three way system, but where the tweeter and mid crossover, the response drops totally, no overlap, something to do with when you do the mid tweet xover, if you cross them over to get complete frequency coverage, the xover values result in a phase shift for the tweeters. So they end up out of phase. This results in either a bump or drop in response around the xover point. So they build the crossover with values that keep the tweeters in phase, but result in a gap in frequency response. So a separate bandpassed driver fills that gap and allows all drivers to operate in phase. So the 4" driver recieves a narrow bandpass filter and just plays a very narrow range, in phase, and the result is all 4 drivers, and the entire frequency range is kept in phase. This link does a better job explaining it. Lots of crazy math involved.

https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/...0two%20drivers.

sent from Utah.

[refried]

When I found my Khorns they ended my search for speakers, I was using DQ-20's with a Velodyne HGS-18 and was very happy with them but the Khorns sound better I think. The Dahlquists aren't going anywhere though, I moved them to the HT system because I felt bad seeing them unused. I have a set of B&O S-75's I'm using as garage speakers (or a set of Pioneer 12" woofers with EV horns), and a set of S-45-2's in the bedroom that I set on top of AR-5's in custom cabinets and they stayed, they sound pretty nice.
AR-5 nightstands

sealed up since new

[tgapp]

^^ those AR-5s look nice!!

and if i had the room shape for k-horns i would totally love to try a pair. unfortunately, very few truly rectangular rooms in this house. but i feel the same way about my scala's - went thru 5-10 different speaker sets before landing on them, and as soon as i hooked them up to a good amp i thought - "this is home".

[basinbeater]

Those cabinets are cool!

sent from Utah.

[tgapp]

The Klipsch are nice, I've had a chance to listen to a real nice set of heresy's, there's a reason they go for big bucks.

The phase link is a little complicated, but basically it is a three way system, but where the tweeter and mid crossover, the response drops totally, no overlap, something to do with when you do the mid tweet xover, if you cross them over to get complete frequency coverage, the xover values result in a phase shift for the tweeters. So they end up out of phase. This results in either a bump or drop in response around the xover point. So they build the crossover with values that keep the tweeters in phase, but result in a gap in frequency response. So a separate bandpassed driver fills that gap and allows all drivers to operate in phase. So the 4" driver recieves a narrow bandpass filter and just plays a very narrow range, in phase, and the result is all 4 drivers, and the entire frequency range is kept in phase. This link does a better job explaining it. Lots of crazy math involved.

https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/...0two%20drivers.

sent from Utah.

huh, thanks for the education BB. sounds cool.

also if any UT mags ever wanted to listen to records n drink whiskey n shit i'm always game. but maybe not when there's a goddamn plague. maybe after the plague ends.

looked up the honey badger amp, looks killer - 150wpc is enough to do serious damage to our masonry though. i've wanted to do a 300b kit for a while now, but i'm a little dumb and a lot clumsy.

[basinbeater]

Mine should be maxin out around 180wpc. [emoji16]

Stereo geeks unite. When the covids is over, I'm down to get around and listen to some fancy systems and killer tunes.

Next project is a gb150 amp.

sent from Utah.

[refried]

I've been happy with 160wpc from my Sansui G-8700DB for 40 years, I've thought about selling it a few times, glad I didn't

[basinbeater]

Denon short stack. Nice, but not as nice as the homebrew honey badger. Did some a b testing with the Denon preamp vs the Sony digital preamp feeding the honey badger, and I'm going to stick with the Sony. Big fan of the Sony ta e1000esd. I have two of them, and as long as you send it a digital signal, it is fantastic. If any SLC locals want a big power matched set, this Denon will make a nice addition to the living room. Looks cool to boot. Kind of like the evil robot Maximilian in the black hole.

sent from Utah.

[tgapp]

Denon short stack. Nice, but not as nice as the homebrew honey badger. Did some a b testing with the Denon preamp vs the Sony digital preamp feeding the honey badger, and I'm going to stick with the Sony. Big fan of the Sony ta e1000esd. I have two of them, and as long as you send it a digital signal, it is fantastic. If any SLC locals want a big power matched set, this Denon will make a nice addition to the living room. Looks cool to boot. Kind of like the evil robot Maximilian in the black hole.

sent from Utah.

I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.

[basinbeater]

So Viva has exceptional taste in women as we all know, but his fine taste extends to stereo equipment as well. He sent over a nakamichi sr3a for a quick tune up. The nakamichi Sr receivers are fantastic units. Very nice build quality, and exceptional sound quality thanks to a Nelson pass designed stasis amplifier. I hooked it up, and it played out both channels, but didn't sound great, like I know it should, and one channel was cutting in and out. I popped her open to see what was going on. I gave all the knobs and switches a thorough bath of deoxit and worked them all in and out and side to side like 100 times. I checked the bias, and it had drifted. It was down in the low teens for both channels, and ought to be 20mv on each side. A little deoxit on the pot, some workin back and forth, and then blew it out with some compressed air. Checked for dry solder joints, and found a couple on the ac power board that feeds the power switch. Reflowed the whole board. Let it dry for a bit, and fired it back up. Checked bias adjustment, and got them both set to 22mv. Then I hit all the scratches and scuffs with a black paint marker to make them disappear. Looks a ok. It's been playing for about an hour now, not too hot, and the leftover salmon sounds great. These are great units. Did I mention? The nakamichi receivers are the shit.
I'll let it play the rest of the evening, and if all ends well, it's headed back to ya Viva. I want to make sure your tunes sound good as you do your research for the Friday padded room thread.


sent from Utah.

[Viva]

^^^I approve the above post. My plan for this receiver is to use it in Le Garage, hooked up to some vintage ADS 690s. Will probably use the CAL Ikon in this system, too.

What the hell's a "spark killer"?

[basinbeater]

Supposed to prevent arcing at relay contacts, thus preventing the relay contacts from burning and developing carbon on the contacts and losing their ability to conduct.

Should be a nice little garage system.

sent from Utah.

[tgapp]

a nice garage system?? that's a nicer unit that 95% of the people i know who have audio in their home! fucking hell, viva truly is a man of "broad" tastes.

well done, BB, this is seriously some impressive shit

[basinbeater]

No doubt. I can't say it enough, those old Nakamichi Sr receivers (and the ta ones from what I understand) are seriously good shit. If you like stereos, and come across an older Nakamichi stasis unit... Grab it.

sent from Utah.

[EWG]

No doubt. I can't say it enough, those old Nakamichi Sr receivers (and the ta ones from what I understand) are seriously good shit. If you like stereos, and come across an older Nakamichi stasis unit... Grab it.

sent from Utah.

Is there any Nak component we don’t like? I still have two of the cassette players. Bombproof and beautiful sound.

[basinbeater]

I think once they got into the car stuff that the slide downhill was underway. But yeah, their tape players are regarded as some of the best of all time. I've never had one, but then the only tapes I have are a bunch old scratchy Phish shows. I had a CD player that was very nice for a while, but I was worried it would break, and some key pieces are unobtainium.
Always have my eyes out for nakamichi amps, but others have their eyes out as well. I missed a couple of pa7 amps a while back for $400. Someone beat me to them, kept one, and put the other up for $800, and it sold immediately.

sent from Utah.

[basinbeater]

Well, the current honey badger diy amp sounds so much better than any of the commercial offerings I have owned, that I am going to butcher my big Denon poa2200. The HB is just more dynamic, more detailed, superior. So I yanked the amp board and heat sinks out, and will be replacing the amp boards with honey badger boards. Did some drilling and tapping last night, and will do some more again tonight. Not my favorite part of the process, but I seem to be getting better at it. The Denon has a great power supply where after the transformer, it is essentially an entirely separate power supply for each channel. 40,000uf of filter capacitance for each channel, just what the HB calls for. This one should be a beast with +-72v rails. Should have tons of power for 6 to 8 ohm speakers.
The boy did a bunch of the soldering on this set of boards. I'm excited for this one... Calling it the D-Badger.

sent from Utah.

[riser4]

Ripping a Denon apart to make it better is next level.

[basinbeater]

Coming together. One side is alive and functional. Hope to have the other side installed tonight. By the way, drilling and tapping holes on this thing was no where near as much fun as drilling and tapping holes in college. 28 of em. So similar counts at least.... Hehe.


sent from Utah.

[Viva]

By the way, drilling and tapping holes on this thing was no where near as much fun as drilling and tapping holes in college.

Oh Hell yeah! I did my share of "drilling and tapping" in college; good times indeed!

Looking forward to seeing how this build turns out.