Author Topic: Rich's G2G March 13  (Read 17874 times)

Offline mdconnelly

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #15 on: March 13, 2010, 09:00:42 AM »
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.

Offline richidoo

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #16 on: March 13, 2010, 10:45:38 AM »
We will miss you Mike.

No acoustic panels this time. But the system is sounding very good.

Offline Carlman

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #17 on: March 13, 2010, 12:08:06 PM »
Wish I could make it.. y'all have fun!
I really enjoy listening to music.

Offline richidoo

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #18 on: March 14, 2010, 04:32:40 AM »
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

Offline bmr3hc

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #19 on: March 14, 2010, 05:55:30 AM »
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
"If music be the food of love, play on."  Shakespeare

Offline tmazz

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #20 on: March 14, 2010, 06:00:59 AM »
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!
Remember, it's all about the music........

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Bigfish8

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #21 on: March 14, 2010, 06:09:18 AM »
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  

Offline richidoo

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #22 on: March 14, 2010, 07:29:03 AM »
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.

Offline Carlman

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #23 on: March 14, 2010, 07:33:15 AM »
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
I really enjoy listening to music.

Offline richidoo

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #24 on: March 14, 2010, 08:15:16 AM »
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.

Offline stereofool

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #25 on: March 14, 2010, 09:06:57 AM »
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.
Steve
Have you ever noticed.... Anyone going slower than you is an idiot...and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

Offline hometheaterdoc

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #26 on: March 16, 2010, 05:24:34 AM »
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...

Shane Sangster
Used to be Night & Day Audio.......

Offline richidoo

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #27 on: March 18, 2010, 12:59:54 PM »
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.


Offline hometheaterdoc

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #28 on: March 18, 2010, 01:43:22 PM »
what should those of use who ate most of Vera's brownies do? :)
Shane Sangster
Used to be Night & Day Audio.......

Offline richidoo

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Re: Rich's G2G March 13
« Reply #29 on: March 18, 2010, 01:51:57 PM »
I think that's my kids too.  :oops:

haha
« Last Edit: March 18, 2010, 08:32:53 PM by richidoo »