THOMO

Essentially good build quality but some aspects are quite basic.Like using a stroke sander which are pretty crude and dusty devices .I do wonder how often they sand through the veneer layer which would mean throwing that cabinet out.Also using rotary sanders without dust extraction.The dust in there would be pretty horrible.And somebody needs to buy some rubber mallets!

One of the best midranges ever built .Same as in Gale 401s.

Try listening to Lucinda Williams-Live at Fillmore. As regards subs for them I think a pro type sub using a high sensitivity woofer works best.

The Sys is probably no better or worse than any other passive preamp.Nearly all amplifiers and active speakers are designed to work best with active preamps.The M2s certainly were.

Thanks for the information.I use West Systems epoxy all the time as a glue and filler but never thought to use it as a sealer/undercoat .I tend to use Sherwin Williams 2 pack lacquer as a finish but should give the 2 pack poly a go.Been using water based lacquer more lately which is much nicer to use but looks a bit opaque on darker timber.

Great job.Some pricey drivers there! What finish did you use?Gloss level?

I would be wary of anything that ASR rate.I borrowed one of the Topping D90 DACS [best measuring DAC they ever measured blah blah blah].It sounded pretty crappy compared to some old 1995 DACs I have here.Very dry and flat sounding.That thing in any half decent system would be spoil the sound.Seems to me whatever they are measuring for is pointless.

The MOD 250 is a simplified version of the Naim NAP250 and was designed by Neil McBride who is considered an expert on Naim amplifiers and has offered various upgrades and refurbishments. over many years.

There is also this version with added heatsinks for a few dollars more-

You can buy one of these for even less.They sound very good.80 watts into 8 ohms and happy driving 3 ohms loads [Gale 401s]. Based on the Naim NAP 250 but with Switchmode power supply borrowed off class D amps.A friend bought one and comprehensively measured it and it measured well.Probably the biggest bargain in amps I have come across.It does have a Naim like engaging/musical sort of sound. https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwig_pLw0aSFAxX3qGYCHSMPBxEYABAKGgJzbQ&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2a6wBhCVARIsABPeH1to7PLHL29wH45YjPGD9pKs2KY8eFB8ghfPR5fefPtPhgSf4nS532caAsYzEALw_wcB&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESVuD2-UxLLZp1sIs1XUAT9baCWMRBd5xQg1Fu6bG6CEhfVbVp8gyu5oFF_nYq4H0me-shG-0Xd9snl2TfdLpIsJ43d-oSxsJdqqyrlj39x65c90WhmZrm&sig=AOD64_3oBMCmwOzg3Ty37i3vTpKPaOG81A&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwj9so7w0aSFAxXgb2wGHZWcD8AQ9aACKAB6BAgBEA8&adurl=

Extra Info: Wanting one working 8 ohm KEF T27 tweeter as used in many 1970s and 80s English speakers.This is for Rogers Studio 1 restoration .They have the mesh cover but OK without.CANCEL. Turned out it was the main tweeter blown not the T27.And as luck would have it I had one of those spare.The seller told me it was the T27 but it was the HF1300.

I owned Studio 590s which are similar but bigger and they were easy to drive.My 15 watt valve amp drove them quite easily. Having said that a lot of the AV amps just do not sound very good.I had a Cambridge Audio which sounded decent.It is beyond me why most AV amps sound so bad.Even some of the very expensive ones.My experience is you are usually better off using a stereo amp and forget the centre channel.The Studio 570s are excellent sounding speakers with a big 3D soundstage.They should be more than capable of filling in the centre soundstage if fed by a decent stereo amplifier of around 50 watts.

I can't see any problem with copying older products on which the patent has expired.As long as the build quality is decent and they are electrically safe.I owned Usher R1.5 power amps for years that were a slightly modified copy of a Nelson Pass designed Threshold amplifier.Nelson Pass has commented on them and said they were well within their rights to make copies because the patent had expired.Those familiar with the Threshold product also said the build quality of the Usher was also probably better. High end cable makers leave themselves open to be copied and in a way deserve it because there is almost no correlation between cost and sound quality and the component and manufacturing cost is tiny compared to prices.They are about 95% marketing and B.S. and about exploiting gullible consumers.

if you follow the long running Supratek threads on Audiogon you will know that many people with seriously high end systems use Supratek preamps after having owned other far more expensive and highly regarded preamps.The original thread has had over 26 million views.What is most impressive is that this has happened through hearing them in other people's systems and through word of mouth and with close to zero advertising,promotion or publicity.I believe that success and track record over nearly 30 years speaks for itself.

Sounds like a great show.Well done Marc and team.I could not make it this year but hope to be there next year.With 3 Busselton-Melbourne direct flights a week now there is no excuse not to come I guess.Indeed it should be promoted in the Busselton/Margaret River/Bunbury area.

It turns out I have the Dartzeel NHB 108 copy with the doubled up output transistors.So two pairs per channel rather than the single pair of the original.I think that is Version 3 as described by Hi Fi Exquis. They claim this version does sound better than the single pair.That might be true for less efficient/lower impedance speakers is my guess.I will repeat though that in my experience these amps do not really suit low impedance speakers which dip below 4 ohms.They sound excellent with my Dynaudio C5s however which are 4.6 ohm minimum and pretty low efficiency. The FM 300A copies are probably a better choice for speakers which need more current and higher damping factor. Even though they are less powerful.They also sound excellent.

Those speakers are likely to sound bright with an upward sloping response like that. I would have L pads installed on the tweeters so you can turn them down a bit.

Yeah he had a big power amp with one defective channel so that adds up.

I went to look at a pair of these for sale locally .The voice coil on one was completely cooked,the cone shredded and the tweeter dead too.What a shame!The mind boggles as to what was fed into them to cause that.

What Troels did- https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwimoM7mvMSBAxWIyzgGHa6mDc4QFnoECBAQAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.troelsgravesen.dk%2FJBL_L100.htm&usg=AOvVaw02JG6A3ZL06jDoVrNDT6ol&opi=89978449

You can buy a device which stops earth loop hums -the ifi GND Defender. I have a Chinese amp with a hum and the only way of stopping it was to remove the earth pin on the power lead .Which is potentially dangerous.The ifi thingy fixed it.I was very skeptical it would solve it but it works. https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiSzIG77MGBAxUhCIMDHfSRBuAYABAKGgJzZg&gclid=CjwKCAjwmbqoBhAgEiwACIjzEIOQwVZHLZ9y8r4DbMpl84KVb9zFHH_xBJIXGvtmo9RGzoBBvQ7K8RoCKd4QAvD_BwE&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESbeD2JOeYVVW_aIJXZaUm5Nmqdk5aUTkujOMGCHqevzLRnrWQEOVCC8UtjpvsrTukBTRvMDs1TCkCZYkZehPtdgGUVXQS-sZ3mGsw6OY9vp-4LWbh95iD7Lo62_6nyGe8YILYf2JrOrvuTuDDZjA&sig=AOD64_2xOWa_m0p_4Temhl0F2UVySJDYsQ&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwi83vu67MGBAxWSSWwGHSscAl4Q9aACKAB6BAgHEB0&adurl=

I will be watching at a mates place with some Collingwood supporters.He and I concocted a half time dessert recipe for such occasions-the Colliwobbles - cauliflower in lime jelly. It has a perfect jinx record so far!

Great job but I would consider putting a crossover on the woofer.Even just a first order/inductor at say 500 Hz. I have owned the originals and the woofer breakup/intrusion into the midrange and probably higher was pretty unpleasant.Fine for a party speaker I suppose but listener fatigue sets in pretty quickly.