AudioNervosa
Group Therapy => NC Triangulation => Topic started by: richidoo on February 15, 2010, 02:19:22 PM
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Guys, come on over for some sounds, food and laughs. 4pm until whenever Sol leaves ;)
On tap will be:
Gemme Audio Katana speakers
Feastrex / Planet-10 Maiko2 speakers
Samet i60 amplifier
Samet i15 amplifier
Samet c25 current source amp
Manley Labs Neo Classic 300B SEPP tube amps
Burson Audio Buffer 160
Technics SL-Q2 with AT MLx150 and Vista Phono Preamp
Twisted Pear Buffalo32 DAC
Various new acoustic treatments
plus
Show and Tell - bring whatever you'd like to share. Let's discuss it in this thread.
I would like to request someone bring an all-tube preamp maybe Audio Research or Mapletree?
Of course "The Purple Wires" are always welcome at Chateau Richidoo
I can't wait to see everybody again.
Thanks
Rich
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Rich,
I'm IN :drool:!!!
I can bring the REF3, if you would like. Let me know if you'd like anything else.
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Woo hoo! Unless my wife has something planned for me... I should be able to make it. No school that weekend anyways... which is a plus.
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Awesome, we have a party! Thanks guys!
That's a tough decision about the Ref3. I'll have to think about it. ;) :drool: Thanks Steve!!
Can someone bring some balanced IC cables so we can use vt100 with Ref3 - "ARgasm."
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Rich, I'm pretty sure I can make it so count me in and I can bring a pair of JPS SC3 balanced ICs (if Shane doesn't beat me to it ;-)
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Hi, Rich!
We still on for Saturday??
I will bring the REF3, and assorted JPS cables.
I can also bring the Raysonic...if you think it may be of use.
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Yes, We're still on. The new speakers are sounding great, I'm really happy with them. Good match with Sol's amp.
But since my NAS died I have been listening only to Pandora 128kbps. I absolutely love the music, so no biggie, but it will be nice to spin some real disks and get a little low distortion tube love flowing. My NAS should be fixed by then.
Shane will you please bring the Moscode 402AU (if you're coming?) Thanks
Carl please laser in my speakers! tHANKS!
Raysonic - yes! Thanks Steve
"Magenta" XLRs - yes! Thanks Mike
Can't wait to see you guys, it's been a while.
A couple pairs of single ended majentas would be nice too for connecting sources and single ended amps (moscode?) I just have 2 pair of jps ultras.
People bring CDs since Raysonic will be the main source. My Buffalo DAC will also be available with our usual test tracks. I will be spinning some vinyl too. RobS cleaned a few of my records.
Thanks guys!
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Rich,
I am always on the lookout for new and good source material. You god my interest when you mentioned "our usual test tracks". Do you think you could provide a list of them for those of us who live too far away to make it to your G2G and hear them in person?
Tom
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I'll try my best to be there, Rich. The time vortex that is the better half has consumed most of my spare time lately. I'm still recovering from last weekend where the entire weekend was completely planned and full of stuff. She was sick there and the idea of lying around now that she was up and at'em was not an option. Plus, if this weather keeps holding, I need to get started on the disaster left over from all my land moving/weeping drain installs, etc. if my landscaping guy is free... but right now I'm 99% sure I can make it.
I'll bring the Moscode, Butler, and Belles amps. I'll bring some RCA SC3 too if you wish?
Ken, if you are going to be there, we can swap amps at that point so you can take any of them home to demo in your system.
Chris, if you are going to be there, can you bring along the long SC3 ICs you are borrowing and we'll meet there?
Henry, if your amp is back and you're going to be there, you can get me the amp you're borrowing at that point rather than making a trip all the way out to me.
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2 or 3 pairs purple RCAs is enough, thanks Shane. Looking forward to hearing the Moscode and Butler too.
I think we need 2 pairs of balanced purples to play the Raysonic all balanced. Steve, can you bring a pair to add to Mike's?
If anyone brings audio appliances, please bring a power cord too. I have 2 Black Sand Silver Reference Mk 5s. So 2 more power cords should be enough for anything.
I will try to add balanced outputs to my Buffalo DAC, I'm curious if there will be a big difference.
Tom, sure I'll burn a CD for ya.
Shane, "I hope you can make it" (but secretly I know that, like me, unless you are having your kneecaps replaced you won't miss an audio meet. It wouldn't be the same without you. )
P.S. Landscaper guys are never free ;)
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Rich, I'm still hoping to be there and I'll bring my XLR SC3 ICs. I'll bring along this UberBUSS power conditioner as well. It's pretty darn impressive and I'd love to hear what it will do in another system. I've also got a PS Audio Juicebar II packed with Alan Maher's crystals that I'll bring along to see what we hear as well.
But... I won't know for sure if I can make it until Friday... got some family "challenges" to work thru... :-k
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Sounds like fun stuff to play with. Thanks. I hope everything works out perfectly.
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Rich:
Unless wifey has other plans I want to and hope to make it. I can bring along a couple of Black Sands MKV's if needed. It sounds like it might be one of those meets with more gear than time!
What are your thoughts about food? Let us know if you want us to bring dishes or contribute to something you prepare or order in?
Thanks,
Ken
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I'll bring plenty of assorted JPS cables, along with the other goodies :thumb:.
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Good question Ken. I'll think about that tomorrow. Glad you can make it. Actually I thought it was a light load on the gear this time... 8 amps :shock:, 2 speakers but only one source this time, wow! The power goodies will be fun too. A new AVA amplifier may come, from Jared (Greensboro?) who came to my G2G last fall.
Thanks Steve. We got nothing happening on Sunday, so you are welcome to stay over if you want.
My acoustic panels are under construction, finally. It's Julie's weekend tomorrow so I don't know how much I'll get done, but it's in process. Hallelujah! I got some new energy pills. ;) not crystal meth.
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Unfortunately, family is trumping audio this evening for me so I won't be able to make it. I have no doubt a good time will be had by all. Enjoy and I'll catch you all next time.
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We will miss you Mike.
No acoustic panels this time. But the system is sounding very good.
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Wish I could make it.. y'all have fun!
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Thanks to everyone for coming over. I really enjoyed it.
A sharpness in the treble of the speakers was pointed out to me, we experimented to try to figure the cause, likely the rising impedance of the woofer, or breakup from too much power too high frequency. I thought the crossover freq was 5.3kHz, but it is actually crossed at 7.2kHz, 1st order. Today Sol and I will experiment a bit to figure it out. At low volumes it's not a problem which leads me to believe it's cone breakup, not impedance which would still be audible at any volume. With high resolution music files it was still there but less annoying. Coincident crosses similar driver at 4kHz, 1st order without zobel so maybe I'll try moving the freq down.
The combination of Shane's high res files through BuffaloDAC and i60 was phenomenal in the Katana's ceramic drivers. The smoothness and detail of high res is just awesome.
The moscode and butler 2250 amps also joined in, both sounded great. The moscode was very smooth and "musical." I craved more bite with the RCA tubes (never my favs), and Shane brought more tubes but we didn't have time to do that, but overall it sounded very inviting. The butler had more bite (midrange texture), and also smoother treble than I remember from previous audition. Nice amp. Surprisingly to me, Sol's 60watter had the best bass control and more detail than any of the other amps. Final configuration was the Ref3 > i60. We had a great laugh when Steve said, all you need is a ref3 front end in the amp.
We started off with tubes. Raysonic 168 > ARC Ref3 > Manley 300B. No bass. We never did figure out why. Switching to ARC VT-100mk3 made good bass so we stuck with that. The treble forwardness was evident in the beginning as people were talking nearby so the volume was higher. Thanks for pointing it out to me guys. I never listen that loud, but I would like too.
My room really needs midrange absorbtion. I don't really hear it sitting on the couch, but standing up behind the couch it is very apparent. Next time, for sure.
Rich
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Wish I could have been there to hear all the new stuff. Had made other commitments. I was hoping to hear the Raysonic player with the new speaker set-up. I know you guys had too much fun!!!
Steve, where did you get your Raysonic player from? Please private message me.
Henry
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My room really needs midrange absorbtion. I don't really hear it sitting on the couch, but standing up behind the couch it is very apparent. Next time, for sure.
...... Like my ol' Grandma Rosannadanna used to say, it's always somethying.......
Glad the weather held out of you guys. If you had held a meeting up here yesterday people would have been arriving in rowboats!
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Rich:
Thank you and Julie for hosting another great and fun G2G last night. I hope we did not over stay our welcome!
The Katana Speakers are incredibly beautiful, possibly the nicest looking speakers I have ever seen. I think everyone in the group, when we first walked into the room, commented about the constrast of the Katana'a versus the Usher's that previously recided in the room. The Usher's were pretty and extremely large versus the georgeous, smallist Katana's. I bet Julie is much happier with the Katana's.
I thought the Katana's threw a very large soundstage with incredible detail to the music. I also think they are designed with an intention for one or two people to listen, not big groups. I say this because to me they sounded their best when we played the music at around 80 to 85 db (guessing). Rich's room is open to the kitchen and we had to push the volume at times due to our socializing in the kitchen area.
Steve brought the Audio Research Ref 3 Preamp. This is a preamp that performs and looks fantastic. Sol's I-60 Amp is a killer and I look forward to hearing the soon to be finished product. Shane brought the Moscode 402AU and Butler 2250 amps. I thought they both performed well and I don't think we critically listened back and forth long enough to pick a favorite. Rich was playing the 300B's when we arrived and we later switched to Steve's AR VT100MK3. Really, there was a lot of gear swapping and a great learning experience.
Thanks Again Rich for a great evening.
Ken
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Everyone who came also brought gear. Thanks a lot guys for hauling your stash and disrupting your systems at home. There wasn't one piece that fell below par. Everything was interesting and had its own take spin on excellence.
It was a thrill to have the Ref 3 in my house. It really does make magic to whatever it is connected. "Bewitching," from the TAS review. And perfect synergy with the AR amp, as expected, with both using same signal tubes. All of the SS amps also responded very well to it.
I really loved the sound of Ken's Mapletree 2A with Tongue Sol 6sn7s. A nice improvement in clarity and control over the previous 6sn7s and great synergy with the Manley 300Bs. Last time we heard this combo on the Ushers it was a rich and heady "death by chocolate," now it is a delicate chocolate souffle, very refined. I would like to spend more time hearing that combination. I took a few pics, gotta upload.
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A sharpness in the treble of the speakers was pointed out to me, we experimented to try to figure the cause, likely the rising impedance of the woofer, or breakup from too much power too high frequency. I thought the crossover freq was 5.3kHz, but it is actually crossed at 7.2kHz, 1st order.
What's this? Shane came over and said the tweeters were too hot for his taste? How unusual! :-P
Sounds like yall did a slew of swapping and had some fun learning. We had a friend over that played guitar for us for a while, I had no idea he was so good. But we had a musical evening also and I thought about the fun you all were having at the G2G.
I'll probably host in April sometime. I'm thinking it'll be more of a social event and maybe even invite the better half... or something. we'll see...
-C
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Sounds like you had a fun evening Carl. Looking forward to your April jam.
As for the speaker issue, Shane was not the first to mention it, Steve first heard it in early listening to tubes, and I blamed it on amps. Later after a couple gear swaps not rectifying it, everyone agreed there was something weird happening. But Shane was the first to pinpoint the cause, in his own inimitable way... which naturally I egotistically resisted, but later was grateful for the guys pointing it out to me. Sol's amp controls the woofer so well that it really didn't become noticeable to me until we started swapping in other amps and turning up the volume. Later in the evening with Sols amp we all listened at a moderate volume, similar to how I listen normally and we all agreed it was damn good if kept under the threshold. It will not be hard to fix, there are several good options.
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Rich (and Julie)!
As always, thanks for your wonderful hospitality :thumb:!
Yes, there was an area in the upper range (of the Katana's) that was not pleasant to my ears, and this was certainly exacerabated by higher volumes. However, at a moderate level and with most associated equipment, they sounded very nice. There was a wonderful wide soundstage, with good depth, as well. Generally nice tonality, excellent definition and good dynamics.
Sol, your I60 is sounding better all of the time, and absent other 'stuff' for comparison, I could see being very happy with this simple intregrated amp...thus doing away with a room full of individual components. Well done!
It was even better to spend some time with friends, in the pursuit of a past-time that we all love.
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Rich,
I'm a little late with my thanks. but I did want to express it. I think this was my favorite get together at your place so far, if for no other reason than it was a bit more "intimate" and relaxed compared to past get togethers. We still swapped around a ton of gear, but we took the time to talk through everything moreso than I remember in previous meetings. I really enjoyed the company and getting to chat with friends. So thanks so much for hosting. It was really great to see everyone. I wish a couple more could have made it. But as it stands, it was great fun and I had a blast.
Sol, Your I60 is completely unrecognizable from its earlier incarnations (in a very very very good way). You've come so far with it. Whenever you finally do move forward with this as a product, folks are going to be amazed at the performance for the dollar. congrats on sticking with it and achieving what you have so far...
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Pizza rebates coming. You guys who paid 10 should only be 5. My kids ate half of the whole order. I'm not good with math on the spot. Sorry.
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what should those of use who ate most of Vera's brownies do? :)
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I think that's my kids too. :oops:
haha
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Pizza rebates coming. You guys who paid 10 should only be 5. My kids ate half of the whole order. I'm not good with math on the spot. Sorry.
Rich:
BS! You did all the work and put together a heck of a fun G2G! I am happy with the $10.00 contribution!!
Ken
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Pizza rebates coming. You guys who paid 10 should only be 5. My kids ate half of the whole order. I'm not good with math on the spot. Sorry.
Not necessary...you've been far too generous as a host MANY times :thumb:.
Hmmmmm...maybe if you 'over-charge' each time...you will eventually be able to afford some more of those 'colored' cables....hmmmmm :rofl: :twisted:!!!
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OK. My kids thank you. ;)
Where's our next g2g? Did I hear Carlman offer for April? Indian food? :rofl:
Hey Steve, I finally found the color. Not purple, not fuscia, not magenta, it's Tyrian Purple. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrian_purple) (http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Y48vpmhzaZhMwM:http://www.colourlovers.com/wallPaper/800x600/c/67023C/COLOURlovers.com-Tyrian_Purple.png)
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A fine color! That would look mighty fine instead of the rather persistant blue of my speakers. If I'm not mistaken, only Roman emperors had the right to use it? And for your msinformation, it was invented not far from here in a town called Lector, which for centuries guarded the secret of Lector Blue (to which you add magenta and voila! Tyrolian Purple. In fact the blue came from insects (poor buggers were boiled by the millions) and everybody and their uncle wanted the secret and it wasn't until the 17th cent I think that it was finally revealed. Jee I never get to a rave. What a life. I don't know what th Tyrols have to do with it.
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I think the purple comes from snail shells.
You sure do have some history there.
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You could be right but I thought they mixed blue and red. History indeed. My tiny hamlet is over a thousand years old. Unfortunately there is no documentation before the French revolution and not much after either. The first photos were'nt taken until after the first wwar. If nothing else, I was the first audi neurotic! There are now two! Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Seriously off topic. I guess I just have to rave by myself :(
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thanks for uncovering the real color. I will now begin calling it the correct color. Good work, Rich!!! :thumb:
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According to the wiki, they "fermented" the snails to get the color. Yum! Only carbs ferment, meat just rots. Dogs who eat those kind of (fresh) snails would have purple stain on their jowls. The finest quality of dye is judged by how close it looks to coagulated blood. Yum! But it is very pretty.
Now I feel safe saying "the purple wires..."
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Good, let the purple wires sing. :lol:
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Rotting snails, coagulating blood - this is starting to go the way of the ear wax thread..... :rofl:
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A small price to demonstrate worthiness of The Purple Wires. :D
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All hail The Purple Wires :beer: :drool: :beer:
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We had a rats nest of them at the G2g, thanks to Steve, Shane and Ken.
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We had a rats nest of them at the G2g, thanks to Steve, Shane and Ken.
They were so beautiful - both to look at and to hear! :thumb: