Quad and Sub

[richidoo]

I had a great visit with AN member bmr3hc today. He has a new set of Quad 2805s, Music Reference RM9, AMR DAC, Wadia transport, REL 8" sub, GIK treatments, JPS cables, and a huge CD collection.

We fiddled and messed with the sub in a bunch of different locations, changed the settings. Finally ended up exactly the same as he had it set up, but just turned way down, from 12 oclock all the way down to a couple clicks above zero. The room is small and it didn't take much to flesh out the very bottom. Quads go pretty low, so crossover knob was all the way down at 30. Henry was amazed how it changed just by turning down the sub. He had already done a good job setting crossover and phase, and positioning it acoustically.

The Quads never cease to amaze me. With a great tube amp they are very special. It's always a privilege to hear them setup well, with good electronics. Thanks for the invite Henry!

[bmr3hc]

Rich,

It was indeed a revelation on how you were able to quickly determine what needed to be done. I have been enjoying the set-up for the most part but knew it wasn't quite right in the lower region with the Rel T-5 sub with bass heavy music.
Once we agreed what was wrong with the sound in the lower region, it was your expertise that felt we needed to turn the sub volume and crossover all the way down, then incrementally move up the dial. I had the crossover almost right but I had the volume level just beyond 12o'clock. Once the placement was right and you turned the volume all the way down then up a couple of clicks, it got so much better, I was blown away. The Rel T-5 8' downward firing sub blended seamlessly with the quads.
I was considering buying a larger Rel sub. I realized I did not needed a larger. The Quads are very musical and with the Rel T-5 proper set-up,  the vocals and soundstage just much better than before.
Now I could just kick myself for waiting so long to have you over.
Many thanks and much appreciation for all your help.



Ps I am watching the NBA playoff game, but will record it so I can listen more to the music before I fall asleep.

[Carlman]

It is great to hear you have an enjoyable system together and that Rich could come over and help you tune it a bit more.  Great times!   Thanks for sharing... would love to hear more about what you're noticing, Henry.. or what specifically you enjoy.  (an old song that sounds new, or the quality of an instrument... etc.)

-C

[bmr3hc]

Carl

For me the Quads are special, especially with the midrange, which I have always valued most over the lower region. I used to own Maggies, which was part of the best sound system I have owned. The Maggies require a very good powerful amp and space behind and on the side walls. I do not have that kind of space for the Maggies anymore. The side walls have minimal effect on the Quads.
The Quads can go low enough but do not provide the weight and body of the good dynamic speakers. .
With the Rel T5 properly set up it blends very well and can keep up with the Quad speed which is very important to me. Also, I can play the Quad louder and still maintain the coherency. I can now hear more detail, more transparency and a wider soundstage. This after Rich can over and we turned the volume down on the subwoofer.
Rich likes his music a bit more on the higher volume side than I normally listen. At higher volume you can clearly hear the subwoofer interfering with the rest of the music. It was not nearly as noticeable with lower volume, especially with bass heavy music.
Keb-Mo is sounding much better in every aspect now.
Yes, I have been puling out some of my old favorites and enjoying them much more than before such as Stanley Clarke and  FourPlay and Amanda McBroom.
Again many thanks to Rich for getting me to the proper set-up and Shane for the AMR tube Dac/Preamp.