My System Today

[Monk]

3 hours ago, Batty said:

Today I am listening to the music on my PC, this is a rare thing for me as up until very recently it was crap to be honest.

I used to have the output from the headphone socket going into my DIY HPA/pre into the ACA and then Vintage Wharfedales.

I now use the USB via the Topping D10. What a difference!

 

One standard drink? 

 

 

[Batty]

Yes it is, just a weak one.

 

I have just had major surgery so have to be careful.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Batty

[joz]

21 hours ago, ChupaChups said:

Some fancy new guests indeed Jo and they do look rather grand in your new palatial settings. Shame about those feet tho...

I have lovely feet

13 hours ago, cheekyboy said:

New palatial settings? It looks like the same room I’ve been in, but unfortunately, not for too many years now @joz. Looks a little different though, but that’s probably because the Illuminators aren’t there.

 

Cheers Keith

Same ol room, just a freshen up with some color. But yep missing the big boys.

yep too many years now!

22 hours ago, Martykt said:

If they're anything like the current model Monoliths you picked up an absolute steal @joz !!

 

How are the fish going in their new tank?

No new tank no more fish.

Makes wonder how good they could sound if you could fix the bass, wonder what others have achieved?

[Martykt]

9 hours ago, gillmaverick said:

Thanks Marc ,

Well at the time of your visit ,  I was not aware that there is tiny switch at the back of  my ATC  power amp which was set to RCA input instead of ballanced.....That's why they sounded a bit restricted  . I found out a couple of days later......

I've accidentally done the same thing on my monoblocks, the only difference is with mine I get no sound at all.... Why doesn't that channel work... ??  

[Martykt]

7 hours ago, Batty said:

Today I am listening to the music on my PC, this is a rare thing for me as up until very recently it was crap to be honest.

I used to have the output from the headphone socket going into my DIY HPA/pre into the ACA and then Vintage Wharfedales.

I now use the USB via the Topping D10. What a difference!

Better being able to listen to tunes than not !!  

Those vintage Wharfedales can actually be pretty good for what they are.

I had some Dovedale 3 when I was younger and they were a lot of fun, the cast chassis 12" woofers really have a kick to them.

[Bisguittin]

You guys have amazing systems. I am in awe! In these lock-up times, I love listening to music (particularly vinyl) on my own pride and joy. It's probably the best combination I've owned. In my view, it works magnificently in embarrassingly limited domestic circumstances. (The front door inside hinge is located 20cm outside my right speaker) Interestingly I've only discovered in the last few days that my partner of several years has a vastly different view of what constitutes "loud music". Although my Sennheiser's have never been my first choice, I have a feeling that they will be indispensable in days to come.

Cheers,    Leon

[Martykt]

24 minutes ago, joz said:

 

No new tank no more fish.

Makes wonder how good they could sound if you could fix the bass, wonder what others have achieved?

Hope they found a good home....

 

Yes that's one of the biggest issues with electrostatics is being able to integrate slow woofers with super fast electrostatic panels.

[Martykt]

8 minutes ago, Bisguittin said:

You guys have amazing systems. I am in awe! In these lock-up times, I love listening to music (particularly vinyl) on my own pride and joy. It's probably the best combination I've owned. In my view, it works magnificently in embarrassingly limited domestic circumstances. (The front door inside hinge is located 20cm outside my right speaker) Interestingly I've only discovered in the last few days that my partner of several years has a vastly different view of what constitutes "loud music". Although my Sennheiser's have never been my first choice, I have a feeling that they will be indispensable in days to come.

Cheers,    Leon

Nice little linear tracker you have there.

What is it?

[Bisguittin]

Goldmund Studietto with a Souther SL3 Linear tonearm and Dynavector 20X2L

[joz]

9 minutes ago, Martykt said:

Hope they found a good home....

 

Yes that's one of the biggest issues with electrostatics is being able to integrate slow woofers with super fast electrostatic panels.

Well I’m finding that they just don’t do loud and the pissy bass driver craps itself when pushed past medium levels.

Now if I could just combine the illuminators bass with the panels it could get interesting.

though I’m sure sure what dB the panels are capable of?

[betty boop]

1 minute ago, joz said:

Well I’m finding that they just don’t do loud and the pissy bass driver craps itself when pushed to even medium levels.

Now if I could just combine the illuminators bass with the panels it could get interesting.

though I’m sure sure what dB the panels are capable of?

just not subwoofers joz  folks i know have these really love them for their vocals ... voices kinda hang in space .... as to woofers thats all they are ... if want sub base will have to cut them appropriately and hook twins or something upto to handle low end  

 

ps no one i know with these things usually listen at high spls 

 

im suprised you didnt go for some JBLs of some sort or interim... would have united twins with making a family reunion  

[Martykt]

5 minutes ago, joz said:

Well I’m finding that they just don’t do loud and the pissy bass driver craps itself when pushed to even medium levels.

Now if I could just combine the illuminators bass with the panels it could get interesting.

though I’m sure sure what dB the panels are capable of?

You have been spoilt for too long Joz !!  

Not many speakers can do bass like the illuminators !!

 

You possibly could try a hybrid monolith/illuminator creation though it would have to be some form of dsp system.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Martykt

[metal beat]

system been sounding nice tonight

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by metal beat

[Batty]

8 hours ago, Martykt said:

Better being able to listen to tunes than not !!  

Those vintage Wharfedales can actually be pretty good for what they are.

I had some Dovedale 3 when I was younger and they were a lot of fun, the cast chassis 12" woofers really have a kick to them.

These are full range 8". No idea which model though. Great sound.

[joz]

9 hours ago, betty boop said:

just not subwoofers joz  folks i know have these really love them for their vocals ... voices kinda hang in space .... as to woofers thats all they are ... if want sub base will have to cut them appropriately and hook twins or something upto to handle low end  

 

ps no one i know with these things usually listen at high spls 

 

im suprised you didnt go for some JBLs of some sort or interim... would have united twins with making a family reunion  

Very true al, the bass crosses nicely with the panels, it’s just not very articulate.

The poor little 12” single bass diver with its tiny port would have nothing on even one of the illuminators 12”s. When I do turn them up It is the bass that gives up the earliest.
@ppsa also suggested it being  a common mod is to the bass and crossover. We shall see!

[joz]

9 hours ago, Martykt said:

You have been spoilt for too long Joz !!  

Not many speakers can do bass like the illuminators !!

 

You possibly could try a hybrid monolith/illuminator creation though it would have to be some form of dsp system.

Very very true.

id always wondered what a big electrostatic middle section would work like with all those subs?

 

 

[Steffen]

12 hours ago, Bisguittin said:

It's probably the best combination I've owned. In my view, it works magnificently in embarrassingly limited domestic circumstances. (The front door inside hinge is located 20cm outside my right speaker) Interestingly I've only discovered in the last few days that my partner of several years has a vastly different view of what constitutes "loud music".

I like your solution to weighing down the speakers. Those helium filled floorstanders can be hard to tame...

 

[Bisguittin]

True !    Significantly increased mass and decoupling from the floor has produced much improved acoustics.

[A J]

Back to basics - but have to say it's sounding pretty good. Have pretty much sold everything and gone back to my trusty Plinius/Line Magnetic/Naksa/ML1 REF system with PLX1000 to spin through a DIY phono. It brings me joy and it's back to listening as a focus. The room limitations didn't really allow me to get the best of some of the gear I've had through here in recent past.

 

[blybo]

On 03/04/2020 at 8:11 AM, joz said:

Some temporary  guests have moved in, still trying to get the best out of them via positioning. They haven’t got the illuminators slam nor is their bass as deep and articulate but they certainly have something . Dreaming of mods that could really really  lift them to epic status.

Oh and they are certainly thirsty when it comes to power.

Thanks to @ppsa who was a complete pleasure to deal with for the purchase.

Darker colour looks great Joe. With the rug it gives a more homely feel and makes the floorboards a real highlight too. The big boy's will look great when they return.

[Ooogh]

On 02/04/2020 at 10:27 PM, Mendes said:

Life seems to have gotten in the way the last month, but it’s always there when you need some comfort.

 

Linda Ronstadt.. Simple Dreams, singing some Warren Zevon tunes....

I always knew Linda covered “Poor, poor, pitiful me” but never “Carmelita”. Listening to Warren singing about heroin and S&M is all very groovy, a little strange from Linda!  Enjoy every sandwich indeed.

[blybo]

my "other" system. Needed a lot of processing so you can see what's going on in there and for once my phone was able to catch the 100mm of polymax bats in each corner and below the screen. Watched Gemini Man in 4k/60fps and diod not like the look of it one bit as an experience, but undoubtedly one of the highest res images I've seen yet on my projector. It did seem to have some HDMI handshake issues where I lost picture a few times, and then it came back and had to manually set up HDR picture gamma each time

 

[betty boop]

1 hour ago, blybo said:

my "other" system. Needed a lot of processing so you can see what's going on in there and for once my phone was able to catch the 100mm of polymax bats in each corner and below the screen. Watched Gemini Man in 4k/60fps and diod not like the look of it one bit as an experience, but undoubtedly one of the highest res images I've seen yet on my projector. It did seem to have some HDMI handshake issues where I lost picture a few times, and then it came back and had to manually set up HDR picture gamma each time

interesting stuff with the treatments ! audibly any gains ? not surprised on gemini man... its pretty dividing in appeal  are you still using the original kordz prs active cable ? as that is not specd to do anything beyond 4k24 surprised got it to work at all  with 4k 60 ! ive for some years been running office works passive cable and it seems to pass 4k/60 no probs with pana/marantz/jvc combo ... without any hitch. if can get away with shorter than 10m ie 30ft then mono price premium certified works and certified to work. and only $56 and free delivery with amazon prime . but unlikely anything bar gemini man to push limits of what you have ... so if happy with as is ... and hated gemini man then id just keep enjoying  

 

[blybo]

14 hours ago, betty boop said:

interesting stuff with the treatments ! audibly any gains ?

I had that when we did the pro calibration. Certainly took the slap echo out of the room though.

14 hours ago, betty boop said:

are you still using the original kordz prs active cable ? as that is not specd to do anything beyond 4k24 surprised got it to work at all  with 4k 60 ! ive for some years been running office works passive cable and it seems to pass 4k/60 no probs with pana/marantz/jvc combo ... without any hitch. if can get away with shorter than 10m ie 30ft then mono price premium certified works and certified to work. and only $56 and free delivery with amazon prime .

Yeah still using the Kordz but I special ordered a 7.5m cable thinking it would help to be a short as possible. I rarely have any issues cable related though and it's so hard to run the cable through the ceiling and through joists (for those playing at home it's ground floor of a double story), I'm in no hurry to upgrade, but would go optical if I was too, so as to future proof things somewhat. Moot point anyway, SWMBO has banned any non essential purchases right now and my business is effectively in hibernation.

[betty boop]

1 minute ago, blybo said:

I had that when we did the pro calibration. Certainly took the slap echo out of the room though.

ah good stuff ! I thought were upto something else  

 

1 minute ago, blybo said:

Yeah still using the Kordz but I special ordered a 7.5m cable thinking it would help to be a short as possible. I rarely have any issues cable related though and it's so hard to run the cable through the ceiling and through joists (for those playing at home it's ground floor of a double story), I'm in no hurry to upgrade, but would go optical if I was too, so as to future proof things somewhat. Moot point anyway, SWMBO has banned any non essential purchases right now and my business is effectively in hibernation.

ah i see ! because be no chance with 10m on that one ! 

 

I can imagine not in any hurry to upgrade. but no cant future proof on hdmi at this stage the ultra high speed cable spec means being certified is mandated. And they come in about 3m length longest I have seen so far  but am sure in time we will have it, though in mean time for anything we need premium certified covers that length easy. but as you said no hurry to change so might as well wait it out.