Steve's hi-fi adventures.

[Steever]

I’ve been giving more thought to the cross overs for my e83 main speakers. I was going to go external boxes for them but  if I’m having extra boxes around the hifi, they’ll be Cyrus ones .

 

Tonight I measured up the space at the very bottom of the enclosure and the existing woofer board. These speakers, like my previous NHT’s, have two physically separate networks in each enclosure.

 

I reckon I can keep this inside the enclosure AND fo full Mundorf caps all hardwired given the measurements below.

 

[Steever]

One of the things I enjoyed about my NHT Classic 4 speakers was their prodigious bass response. It genuinely pressurized the room and you could really feel it. It gave me “smile bass”. 
 

While my new Missions are better in every other respect, they only claim a -3dB limit of 44Hz (-6 to 39Hz). 
 

Because of this and despite my desire for a clean looking room, I became resigned to once again owning a subwoofer. 
 

I set my sights on B&W’s PV1 or PV1D. In fact, I was shopping for two of them.

 

Why that sub? Dual opposed drivers in a sealed enclosure. And despite the dual 8s in each sub, I figured some clever DSP and two subs would be adequate in filling a 5m x 9m space with quality bass. 
 

Plus, they also came in three colours (PV1) with dark metallic grey and silver my picks. 
 

Frustratingly however, these are not sold used very often and when they do come up, they’re all pearl white/chrome. Plus, used/demo pricing fluctuates wildly from 2 for $1000 to $1800 for one.
 

Anyway, I started looking at alternatives and found another dual opposed, sealed sub. This Audio Pro Ace Bass 3 has dual 10” drivers which means it’ll hopefully give me the response and impact I want but in a single enclosure off to the side. 
 

Bonuses I find when opening: the drivers have some very nicely anodized alloy cones and the external finish is metallic grey (matches my Mission speakers) instead of the advertised satin black. Also, the DSP display on top matches the displays on my Cyrus gear. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Cyrus DAC XP+ has two pairs of full range outputs. I won’t be running this sub via LFE. I’ll be using the ASP processor in the sub to tune the sub in with the mains. Under normal circumstances I would lose performance when it comes to movies however, through some clever trickery in the HTBP between my two Cyrus preamps and presets in the sub, I should be able to balance things across movies and music quite nicely I hope. 
 

I’m also glad I didn’t list my 4m Nordost Blue Heaven interconnects for sale like I intended. They’re perfect for here. 
 

 

 

In some ways, it was a gamble going for this “ears-unheard” but I do have experience with the brand from when I was in the trade when living in NZ. I remember being very impressed with Audio Pro’s floor standing towers, especially their bass and room filling capabilities. 

 

So, it’s sitting in place now awaiting the imminent arrival of some Cyrus bits coming back today from modifications. 
 

Wish me luck. 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by Winno

[Steever]

Well, the sub is amazing. It sounds so deep and it stops and goes on a dime.

 

But (dammit), it doesn’t like my Nordost interconnects (it hums) and it required too much input signal to boot it into action from standby or even to stay active.
 

With the help of a very talented audio technician acquaintance, I ran a couple of 100 Ohm resistors parallel to two tiny surface mount 1k ones on the sensor circuit to reduce the impedance. I had to remove and refit a couple of caps blocking access. A couple of extremely annoying lifted pads meant I needed to run a short wire jumper for continuity. Normally I leave no trace but cheap boards assembled by robots And designed for complete replacement sometimes don’t lend themselves well to manual work and repair. 

 

Anyway, my Monster M850 sub cable swapped in took care of the hum and my handy work guided by someone who knows much more than I do has the sub triggering on and staying on with anything over -65dB. 
 

happy days

[Steever]

This all arrived for my Mission speakers this morning

 

 

My Nordost cable for internal wiring also arrived from the UK a couple of days ago too. I guess I better get started on this now...
 

I’m also trialing my Canton CD10II speakers and configured the Cyrus AMV for 7.0 surround and liking it quite a bit so far. The rear speaker placement is not ideal but I do get very convincing imaging and panning around and behind.

 

 

It’s not much compared to what many here run but it’s tremendously involving for sure. 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Winno

[Steever]

Sunday was not spent snoozing...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s just say they sound better than before but have a bit of running in to do yet. 

[Steever]

At the same time as going through the project above, I’ve also been working on my next music system going into my new car. 
 

It’s in my signature at the foot of this post and is a 3 way fully active system using an active crossover network and DSP for phase and time alignment. 

 

This is what I’m using to get digital audio from my iPhone and iPad mini converted from USB to optical to feed into my DSP preamp. 
 

 

These are the 3” full range pods I’m in the process of fabbing for my front pillars. 

 

 

and this is how things will be laid out in the boot floor space. 
 

These systems can absolutely rival the performance of many a high end home audio system. It’s not easy but, it is doable. 
 

[Steever]

For the last week and a bit, the main speakers have been given a diet of 7 News, Home and Away, and front effects with Netflix crime series. 
 

Today was the first day I put on some music and wound things up a little. 
 

A concerning glare in the upper mids has disappeared. The bass has also become more prominent and deeper so I’m right pleased with how things have gone. 
 

I also added three Nordost Pulsar Points under my e8C centre. I think I also really like what these did. 
 

The e83s and my sub will also have them fitted once my M6/M8 adaptor studs arrive. 

Edited September 2, 2020 by Winno

[Steever]

I’m going to try some more isolation for a while seeing as it’s a thing right now...

My electronics have been on Sorbothane for a while already. 

 

 

For coupling of speakers though I like what the Pulsar Points did for my sub and centre. A couple of sets of ISO Acoustics Gaia III came up for sale here so I thought I’d have a go at isolation on the mains for a while. 
 

I’ll try them and maybe switch in my spare PPs to see which I prefer. 

Edited September 25, 2020 by Winno

[Steever]

Oh, I’ve also taken a punt on a set of older 20th anniversary Mission 750LE speakers from a Gumtree seller. 
 

They claimed they were mint but one of the tweeters sometimes stopped working. 
 

They duly arrived in double boxing and are indeed mint. One of the terminals on the rear was loose so that got a tighten up. No issues noted with the tweeters. 
 

In fact, these actually sound very nice indeed and performance belies their size. Their balance is a little on the lusher and mellow side (compared to my newer model Mission Elegante) and takes me back to when I owned a set of 753s. 
 

Not a bad return for $220 total outlay (including stands). 
 

They’re on some lovely Norstone stands and are driven by my Wadia 151 Powerdac Mini from my garage system using all Nordost cables. 
 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, they were pulled apart to have their crossovers traced and another order has been placed with Soundlabs Group for some Mundorf caps and MOX resistors. Internal cabling again, will be Nordost Flatline Gold and all connections hardwired and silver soldered. 

Edited October 3, 2020 by Winno

[Steever]

Apart from making my speakers wobbly when nudged gently, these Gaia III footers do interesting things.

I noticed two things immediately:

1. Bass is not as beefy and powerful but, it is now tighter and better defined/detailed. Some minor tweaking at my sub (sitting on three Nordost Pulsar Points) saw some thump and fun return.

2. Staging seems more free of the speakers and I'm getting closer to the stunning 3D relief effect I used to get with my Dragon ESLs. This is what really stands out to be honest.

 

Overall, I like what these do.

Plus, I think they actually look quite nice under the speakers.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by Winno

[Steever]

Next project. 
 

[Steever]

I went to fit all the new bits to my lovely little 750LE’s last night only to realize I’d ordered a second pair of 4.7 Ohm resistors instead of a pair of 4.7uF caps. Annoyed!

 

Went to order some Mundorf Evo Oils to find out they’re on back-order. Annoyed more!!

 

Last time I waited for a back-order to be filled (when rebuilding my main speakers recently), I waited for three months. 
 

Forget that!

So I ordered the Supreme Evo Oil caps at triple the price. Better be worth it. 
 

I did manage to get the new cable in though. The speakers use only a 15mm thick filet of foam for internal damping. I’ve put in some synthetic fill to see how that goes. If it slows things down or makes things sound too thick, I’ll swap back to the foam. 
 

I preferred some Celestion SL6’s with no fill. They livened up nicely. 
 

Edited October 1, 2020 by Winno

[MrBurns84]

On 30/09/2020 at 10:15 AM, Winno said:

Next project. 
 

I do like the sound of those Mundorf evo oils... great little cap for not much coin.  Good choice.

[Steever]

4 IsoAcoustics Iso-puck mini’s below my 9kg Mission e8C centre speaker. 
 

 

Improvements to everything. Substantially so. 
Underneath is a very heavy concrete/fibreglass topped timber low line entertainment unit. 
 

Compared to the Nordost Pulsar Points, close but, sweeter and more natural sounding voices and a stage pushed further away from the listening position. 
 

I'm still waiting on the Gaia’s for the sub and I’ve ordered more Mini’s to use between my Norstone stands and small Mission 750LE’s upstairs. 
 

Rainbow tasted and cool-aid drunk. 

Edited October 5, 2020 by Winno

[russell66]

2 hours ago, Winno said:

4 IsoAcoustics Iso-puck mini’s below my 9kg Mission e8C centre speaker. 
 

 

Improvements to everything. Substantially so. 
Underneath is a very heavy concrete/fibreglass topped timber low line entertainment unit. 
 

Compared to the Nordost Pulsar Points, close but, sweeter and more natural sounding voices and a stage pushed further away from the listening position. 
 

I'm still waiting on the Gaia’s for the sub and I’ve ordered more Mini’s to use between my Norstone stands and small Mission 750LE’s upstairs. 
 

Rainbow tasted and cool-aid drunk. 

Thats a good idea, i don't have anything under my centre speaker. I won't have room for a platform but i can get some feet under it, so i'll give it a go later.

[Steever]

So I’m really liking these IsoAcoustics products under my speakers. 
 

My third set of Gaia III’s arrived today and were duly fitted to my sub. 
 

My sub is an Audio Pro Ace Bass 3 with dual opposing alloy cone 10” drivers. The plate amp is of decent quality (as advised by a tech I had do some modification to the input sensor circuit) and the enclosure is a sealed 24kg affair. 
 

I’d had it sitting directly on the floor and have been impressed at its performance. Three Nordost Pulsar Points improved definition and punch somewhat. 
 

Adding the Gaia III’s however has been an absolute revelation. Dual opposed designs don’t inherently impart much vibration into supporting structures but it can still be felt and heard. My floor is pretty typical timber boards over particleboard panels on a timber frame. 
 

 

What I’m hearing now is deeper, much more defined and accurate. There’s a real “texture” to the bass now that I simply wasn’t getting previously. 
 

If you ever get the chance to try some of these, do it. 

[Steever]

New vs old. 

 

 

A couple hundred dollars worth of Mundorf caps, some nice mox resistors and Nordost cable inside some used speakers I got for about the same. I am very confident the end result, once run in, will easily compete with speakers costing much, much more than retail on these. 

 

The Wadia DAC/integrated I had on these Missions previously is also going to a new home and I have something new coming this weekend. 

[Steever]

I picked these two little Cyrus Audio boxes up today;

 

 

on the left is an XPA 50w/ch power amp and on the right, a Quattro CDP/FM tuner/preamp. 
 

 

we have a little break-out space upstairs where these play now. The Cyrus bits sit on one of my WAD isolation platforms and play into my Mission 750LE’s fresh from a complete crossover rebuild.

 

on that note, let me just say that the Mundorf Supreme Evo Oil caps on the tweeters in these speakers are absolutely sublime - sweet and transparent and full of detail all at the same time. I’m almost tempted to add some to my recently rebuilt floor standers downstairs...

 

Also interesting was the seller I got the Cyrus from. He had Eggleston Audio Works speakers driven by PS Audio and Geisler electronics. Didn’t get a chance to listen to it though. 

Edited October 11, 2020 by Winno

[dcathro]

Wow! You certainly like your Missions!

 

I had a Mission/Cyrus system in the 1991 when I was living in Cambridge, England. I had the 767s with active bass, a Cyrus 2 and a couple of PSXs. I wonder what the 767s would have sounded like if I had rewired them and recapped.

 

I sold the 767s in 95 to someone is Sydney.

 

 

 

[Steever]

1 hour ago, dcathro said:

Wow! You certainly like your Missions!

 

I had a Mission/Cyrus system in the 1991 when I was living in Cambridge, England. I had the 767s with active bass, a Cyrus 2 and a couple of PSXs. I wonder what the 767s would have sounded like if I had rewired them and recapped.

 

I sold the 767s in 95 to someone is Sydney.

 

 

 

Yeah, I guess I do.
I’ve owned speakers far superior to these. But part of this is nostalgia (my father was the Mission/Cyrus agent in Victoria in the 80’s and early 90’s) and part of it is they sell for relatively little now but respond to upgrades really well. 
 

I remember the 767’s and lusted after them at the time. I do the same now for the Pilastro

[dcathro]

Did your father bring any 767s into Australia?

[Steever]

15 hours ago, dcathro said:

Did your father bring any 767s into Australia?

Sadly, no.

 

[Steever]

My ETI RCA plugs arrived today from Soundlabs Group.

 

And...just like that I have some new “Nordost” RCA cables for the second system. 

 

 

sure, they’re not as nice as the Red Dawn LS I use downstairs on the main system but, they still sound glorious and DIY is fun. 

Edited October 16, 2020 by Winno

[2Brix]

Well done @Winno  those Mission 750LE look lovely...a stone cold bargain for $220...including stands!!!

 

 

[Steever]

9 hours ago, 2Brix said:

Well done @Winno  those Mission 750LE look lovely...a stone cold bargain for $220...including stands!!!

 

 

Thanks.

They're actually a very nice little speaker all things considered. I keep wondering how the grain would pop if I had them piano lacquered.