June 29, 2000
Subject: Subsonic woofers
Apart from the very extreme of sub woofers,
price and size respectively (Krell MAS and the Wilson X-S), what would you recommend in
subs that will fill only the lowest octave from 15Hz to 30Hz with SPLs of about 110dB at
20Hz? Most of the subwoofers are just woofers and tend to interfere in the bass and
mid-bass region having crossover low-pass points at 40Hz.
I am considering the following and would
greatly appreciate your advice.
- Rel Studio
- B&W AS4000
- Velodyne HGS18
- The new Revel B15s
- The new Paradigm Seismic15s
(The last two have 3" excursion 15"
drivers.)
Any other considerations?
Many thanks for your sound advise and best
regards.
Peter Hodgkin
Dear Peter:
It’s true that there are a lot of
woofers out there simply calling themselves subwoofers, but there are also a lot
of serious subs on the market, including the ones you’ve mentioned. Your list is a
great starting place, but I’m also aware that PSB’s Paul Barton and Thiel’s
Jim Thiel are working on very serious subs that should be available soon, if not already
on the market. Just remember that room interaction and control flexibility are every bit
as important as extension in making sure that you get good bass in your room.
ATB...Wes
June 29, 2000
Subject: Listening chairs and acoustics
I am planning to get a new listening chair,
something comfortable for some of my longer sessions. At the moment the Ekornes Stressless
Prince is at the top of my list, with the Ekornes Siesta second. Both are very
comfortable, but if you has other suggestions guide me to their link.
My main question regards room acoustics. The
Prince is a recliner with a headrest; the Siesta comes in a low back version and does not
recline. Knowing how it is not good to have a wall reflection located closely behind the
listening position (I don't), would having the leather headrest of Prince directly behind
my head cause acoustic problems? The Prince is the more comfortable of the two and would
be my preference, but I also don't want to harm the main reason for getting it, which is
listening. I was just looking for someone with solid experience with audio to guide me in
this decision and hope you might be that someone. Oh yeah, here is Ekornes site: http://www.ekornes.com/index2.htm.
Thanks,
Chris Adams
Dear Chris:
The bad news is, yeah, the headrest
will definitely affect the sound. If you want to see how, just hold a pillow behind your
head as you listen. Not too subtle, eh?
On the other hand, that Siesta --
especially with the hassock -- doesn’t look like it would be torture to sit in. As a
matter of fact, I’m looking for some new listening chair myself and I’m going to
put it on my short list.
ATB...Wes
June 27, 2000
Subject: Cable help
I live in Ireland and am desperately looking
for some help from you, if you would be kind enough to give me some of your time.
Unfortunately, the selection in Ireland is very limited so I have to base my purchases on
informative reviews. In the past I had always enjoyed reading your reviews in
Stereophile. I also felt that your requirements from a high-end audio system were
similar to mine in the sense that we would both prioritize similar aspects.
With this in mind, I am looking to tap into
your experience with cables...yes, that dreaded word. My current system is CAT Signature
Mk. III preamp, Audio Research Classic 60 power amp, Sonus Faber Electa Amator II
speakers, Roksan Xerses/SMEV/Vd-H MC/One-super/Transparent Ref. Phono Cable analog source,
and Theta Data Basic/Audio Synthesis DAX digital source. Cables are Vd-H The First
interconnects and Vd-H SCS12 speaker cables.
I need to place my speakers away from the
other components and have the options of using long interconnects or speakers cables. I
have been considering Transparent Ultra interconnects, but I remember in your review of
the Reference cables in Stereophile you mentioned that they did not work very
well with Sonus Faber speakers...too rich and dark perhaps?
I am hearing a lot about Nordost Quattro Fil,
but can only afford it in short lengths which means combining it with a speaker cable that
works well in long lengths...any thoughts? The other cables I am considering are XLO Sig.
interconnects used with my current speaker cables. This is potentially the cheapest
option.
I know I have given you a lot of info and it
will take you some time to respond but your help would be extremely welcome and could
prevent me from making a big mistake.
I look forward to your response.
Regards,
Dr. Ashish Varma
Dear Dr. Varma:
I would recommend that you go with
long interconnects and short speaker cables, which may limit your cable choices due to
budgetary constraints.
This is when belonging to an
"audio club" or "society" really pays off -- the wider your group of
audio buddies, the wider your selection of demo material.
Second best, perhaps, is to avail
yourself of the services of one of the mail-order cable specialists such as The Cable
Company (www.fatwyre.com), which carry wide ranges
of wires and keep databases of good cable matches. Unfortunately, you probably won’t
be able to do a home trial this way -- customs regulations make this impossible -- but The
Cable Company's cable experience may prove helpful.
I’m not dodging the question,
BTW, I just haven’t heard the XLO sigs. Personally, I think the fact that they
aren’t described as having "warm" or "rich" sound probably means
they are reasonably neutral and transparent.
ATB...Wes
June 25, 2000
Subject: Tube amp limitations
Good evening Wes.
If I were to run a speaker with a 3.2-ohm
minimus off the 8-ohm taps of a tube amp, how would I be able to tell whether I was
stressing the amp or not without waking up to a blown mess one day? The 8-ohm taps have a
higher damping factor.
Jim Taylor
Dear Jim:
I decided to pass your question on to
an expert, Lew Johnson of Conrad-Johnson. Here’s what he had to say:
"Aside from somewhat shortening
the life of your output tubes, the impedance mismatch indicated shouldn't unduly stress
your tube amplifier."
"That being said, I would still
recommend that you use 4-ohm impedance taps if your amplifier is equipped with them. I
would expect improved control and weight to the sound, in large part due to the fact that
the 4-ohm connection actually has the higher damping factor."
ATB...Wes
|
