Which Polks?
March 30, 2004
Dear Wes,
I'm about to purchase a new speaker, and I'm choosing
between the Polk LSi25 and RTi12. I do own a set of Polk's RT2000s. I would
really appreciate it if you could help make my decision a bit easier.
Roberto
The LSi25 and the RTi12 are
different price points -- I would have thought the LSi15 and the RTi12
would have been more equivalent. If the price difference isn't an issue, then I would
definitely buy the '25s. They have fantastic bass that integrates into the rest of the
sonic spectrum very nicely. Plus, the '25's ring-radiator tweeter is some kind of
sweeeeet-sounding driver. It's the equal of any tweeter available -- even the ones in the
most expensive speakers I've heard.
And, since that tweeter is employed in the LSi15
as well, I'd probably choose it over the similarly priced RTi12, too.
But those choices are based on my sonic preferences and
the music I listen to. You mileage may vary -- and you should take some of your favorite
discs to your local Polk dealer and make sure which sounds better to you playing your
tunes.
Should he buy monoblocks?
March 25, 2004
Hi Wes,
I was wondering if you have any experience with the VTL
lines apart from the TT-25. I'm upgrading my system to include the Dynaudio C4s (from my
Vandersteen 1Cs). I've auditioned the Rogue 120s, Conrad-Johnson's MV-55, and VTL ST-150.
I'm trying to arrange a VTL/C4 audition. I like the VTL sound -- it's the best among the
other amps I've listened to. I'd like your opinion on whether going monoblock as opposed
to stereo makes more sense. VTL makes the ST-250 and the ST-185 (but they're not available
in Singapore) and the MB-450 monoblocks. I was thinking of going to the MB-450 Signatures
as opposed to my original idea of getting the ST-150 stereo amp. Do you think that's
overkill -- or is it a good long-term solution to the endless urge to upgrade?
Your thoughts and wisdom are needed here!
Lincoln
Wisdom, eh? You do me great honor -- but don't let the
Posey fool ya'.
But when it comes to the relentless urge to upgrade or
change gear, I do know whereof I speak -- to some extent.
If you're upgrading from Vandy 1Cs to Dynaudio C4s, you're
going to spend a lot of time marveling at stuff on your favorite discs that you've never
heard before. That's satisfying and entertaining, but eventually you'll probably start to
wonder if you could get the charge out of another upgrade. And so on.
Thus are obsessions born.
But I digress. The question was whether or not I have
experienced the VTL monoblocks (and whether monoblocks make a big difference). Yes, I have
spent long periods with both the MB-450 Signatures and the MB-750 References -- and I
enjoyed every minute of it.
The VTL monoblocks were extremely reliable and tubes lasted
a long time. In addition, the triode/pentode switching allowed me to "pretend"
I'd upgraded to a new component every time I began to wonder if I needed more power (or
more finesse and less power).
When you buy monoblocks, you do spend a lot more money than
when you buy a stereo amplifier, but you also gain setup flexibility (you can use very
short speaker cables) and, of course, increased channel separation. If the price
differential doesn't pose an insurmountable problem, there's no real reason not to opt for
monoblocks.
It won't guarantee that you'll never want to upgrade, but
it will make a big difference in sound quality.
And the C4s are loudspeakers that are capable of revealing
everything that happens in front of them, so you don't have to worry about whether or not
you will hear that difference.
Kitchen audio
March 23, 2004
Wes,
I am looking for a CD/AM-FM stereo
component that can be mounted underneath a kitchen cabinet and have the ability to drive
in-ceiling speakers. I have looked at Sony, but
theirs is self-contained and has no provision for connecting external speakers.
Scott
I think the problem is the
short-sightedness of the people who manufacture "under cabinet" radios -- they
can't imagine anyone getting that serious about kitchen sound, so they just put a
transistor radio in a "stylish" chassis.
I use a Linn Classik to drive the
Mirage Incognita HDT-WM1 in-walls in my kitchen. It's not quite an "under
cabinet" design, but it does combine CD, AM/FM radio, and amplification in a single,
compact, high-performance unit. Of course, it also costs $1500.
You could put a CD player
and receive in your pantry and mount a remote relay anywhere you want it -- that might
help dust and grease off the gear as well.
Another solution is to buy a
conventional hi-fi component (or components) and use a bracket to turn it into an under
cabinet unit. There's a sturdy one at Lee Valley Tools' website designed for use with
microwave ovens.
Or perhaps these suggestions will
inspire some creative thinking on your part -- a fix that meets your needs precisely.
Which subwoofer to add?
March 19, 2004
Hi Wes,
I'm struggling with my decision to buy a
pair of Paradigm Studio 40 v.3 as my main speakers. I would like to add a subwoofer to
them. My old stereo amplifier only has speaker level outputs; therefore I need to buy sub
that has speaker-level inputs.
I was considering SVS PC+ or the Hsu
VTF-3. I read in SVS's manual that I could feed the sub either one of the two amp outputs
-- it does not matter whether I use the left or right.
If I feed sub from only one amp output,
how is this going affect the other channel?
I guess that by adding sub serially we
are adding more impedance into the one channel. Therefore the other channel must be
affected. Is this true?
What is your opinion about adding SVS PS+
20-39 to the Paradigm Studio 40 v.3s -- or maybe HSU-VTF3 would be the better choice?
Greg
I suppose that feeding just one
speaker output to the sub's input could alter the impedance, but the bigger problem would
be that you'd only be getting the low-pass filtration on one channel that way -- which I
think would case a more audible imbalance.
Feed the speaker-level output of both
channels to the speaker level inputs of the sub and then connect the speakers to the sub's
output terminals.
I haven't heard the SVS myself,
although the company's website is intriguing, but the Hsu is very good -- as my colleague
Jeff Van Dyne observed in his review.
Lynnfield, the Persuasions, and an upgrade strategy
March 16, 2004
Dear Wes,
Greetings from France. As a humble audiophile, I have a few
queries for you. First of all, are you the person who wrote the liner notes for the last
Persuasions CD? I know them from the Internet. I tried to introduce them to friends and
relatives, but they seem to prefer the a capella group The King's Singers. I truly prefer
the Persuasions.
Back to hi-fi. I have owned for a decade a pair of BA
Lynnfield 4001 speakers, (designed by British designer Phil Jones, now of Soliloquy). A
French hi-fi magazine had them as their reference. The only problem I have encountered has
been, as a British reviewer said, "They are pigs to drive." Recently, I bought a
Parasound 2205 amp and C2 controller, and I find the sound satisfying. My question: Do you
think these speakers still hold their own against the latest competitors?
My digital source is a Sony DVP-S9000ES and, even if it
sounds great, there are still problems with audio CDs, namely with female voicesssss.
Would that be a converter problem?
My cables are from Wire World and my audio rack is
Solidsteel from Italy.
Thanks for your comments and your well-documented site.
J.C. Macquin
Yes, I wrote the liner notes for A Capella Dreams
[Chesky 251]. While I like The King's Singers, the 'Suasions really move me, so I'm with
you on this one.
As for your Lynnfields, you've already told me that you're
satisfied, so who am I to second-guess you? I haven't heard the 4001s in a while, but I
trust Phil Jones' designs to sound good. Could you find a speaker you like better?
Probably, but don't go making changes just to make changes -- always have an upgrade
strategy.
Actually, that's probably the answer to your other
question, too. Your problem is sibilance on female vocals, so your upgrade strategy should
be to solve that problem. That's a specific change, so it's one you're more likely to
achieve, rather than a less-focused goal such as "better sound."
Maybe you'll need to trade speakers -- although I'd start
by looking at the speaker cables and interconnects. See if changing cables makes a
difference. If it doesn't -- or if it doesn't make enough of a difference to tempt you --
look at using a CD-only player for compact-disc playback.
Anyway, try concentrating on making small, clearly defined
improvements and you'll keep making progress and continue enjoying your music.
Rock on.
Musical Fidelity cables?
March 11, 2004
Hi Wes,
I read an article in which you mention Musical Fidelity's
Nu-Vista speaker cables and interconnects. Do you have any idea where I can buy them?
Malcolm
As far as I know, Musical Fidelity is no longer making
cables, although there may still be some available on the used market -- and it's not as
though cables have any moving parts to wear out.
Speaker height
March 9, 2004
Hello Wes,
I bought a pair of Mission M51 speakers, which I really
like. For the past month, I've placed them on a pair of one-meter-high bar stools. That
makes them pretty unstable, so I'm on a quest for a pair of stands. The problem is that
these speakers have the tweeters below the woofers and I suppose that placing them on
regular stands (60cm) would make them too low. Mission recommends about the same height of
the stand. From my listening position my ears will be around 20cm above the tweeter. I
know that many people recommend that your ears should be an the same level. Is that going
to be a big problem? I tried to stand 20cm above the speakers' current position and I
didn't seem to lose anything, but I'd like another opinion.
Teo
Normally, you'd be right in assuming that the tweeters
should be more or less at ear level. The precise height, of course, would depend upon how
high you sit and the height of the chair. However, the M51's crossover is designed so that
the tweeter focuses its sound upwards. Sure enough, they'll sound best about 20cm below
ear-level -- although that's dependent on how far away you're sitting.
And, of course, if you must site them above ear level, just
flip 'em over.
Transport thoughts
March 5, 2004
Dear Wes,
I think it's really cool that you do this, and I enjoyed
reading your recaps of the CES show. By the way, do you know the difference between a
musician and a savings bond? The saving bond eventually matures and earns money.
I am planning on buying a DAC to complement my setup: a
Musical Fidelity A308 integrated, Rega Planet CD player, and Omni Audio SA10.3 speakers
(to be replaced after I upgrade the source). I listened to the MF Trivista 21 and was
extremely impressed. Antony Michaelson claims any transport will work with the MF DAC, but
that's simply not true.
San Francisco Stereo was nice enough to let me do an
in-home demo of the DAC, and switching between my Sony DVP-NC685V and the Planet was the
difference between two dimensions and three. It was interesting that the Sony, a favorite
low-budget transport on the forums, gave almost as much detail, but the soundstage was a
pancake flattened between my speakers. By all accounts the Rega is an excellent transport,
but the trial made me wonder about the contribution of the transport.
The field is saturated with $500 players claiming to sound
like $1000 players. A glance at Audio Advisor uncovers the Cambridge Audio Azur series,
the CEC 3300, the Music Hall CD-25, and the Philips DVD-963SA. All cost around $500,
reviewers love them, and all advertise their transport abilities. But how do these
supposed giant-killers compare as transports? I suspect the upgraded DACs and op amps in
good budget players contribute more to the sound than the transport mechanism. This is
partly because at the next price level, players like the Rega and Arcam CD73 seem to have
invested more in the power supply and transport, while the signal path is similar to that
of $500 players, and partly because DIY modifications of inexpensive players to improve
transport capabilities (with reportedly great success) tend to focus on the power supply
and chassis damping.
Finally, even CD-ROM drives, like the NEC multispin,
supposedly make good transports because of solid build quality, not signal-path tweaks.
All the pretty reviews measure abilities as standalone players, but all that aside, is
there a budget component that makes a fantastic transport? Did I get lucky with the Rega?
How would the Arcam compare to the Rega, or any other budget player?
Jake
You're absolutely right, despite the fact that it seems
to make very little sense, different transports can sound quite different even when
connected to the same DAC. I remember how shocked I was when I discovered that by hooking
a Kenwood personal CD player with digital out to a highly regarded top-end DAC back in
1986 -- after all, digits is digits, right?
Obviously, it's not quite as simple as that. I really hate
it when the cosmos turns out to be more complicated than my explanations for it, don't
you?
However, I haven't tested all that many affordable CD
players as digital transports, so I can't give you any reliable advice as to which work
best. Well, maybe I can -- my suspicion mirrors yours that heftier, better filtered power
supplies; chassis damping; and, yes, disc damping certainly can't hurt and probably
improve the signal quality. And no, I can't explain it -- that's just my two cents worth.
So yes, I think you did get "lucky" with the
Rega. On the other hand, one of my favorite definitions of the high-end mentality is that
superior sound quality is the result of paying attention to all of those details that
mainstream manufacturers insist couldn't possibly make any difference.
Dayton sub
March 3, 2004
Hi Wes,
I read the review you did on the Dayton
Loudspeaker Co. 10" Titanic Vance Subwoofer Kit. It sounds like it is well worth
the money. I am trying to build a surround-sound system. What is the room-size
recommendation for the 10" woofer? Also, I was wondering why you glued the foam in
place. I read another article in which no one mentioned gluing the foam. Was this because
it would not stay in place? I am considering buying the subwoofer.
Stephen
It's a bit difficult to give a hard-and-fast rule for
matching a subwoofer to room size, since other factors, such as the main loudspeakers
used, the loudness levels you're seeking, and your listening position relative to the
subwoofer also come into play.
That said, I'd use a single Dayton sub in a moderate-sized
room, say 15' x 12' x 8', especially if you listen at a volume where you can carry on a
conversation. If you need to shout over your music or if you have a larger room, you may
need a sub with a larger driver -- or maybe even a pair of the Dayton Titanics.
As to gluing the foam, you're asking me to remember
something I did nearly three years ago -- and I can barely find the house keys I put down
when I returned from my morning constitutional. To the best of my recollection, that was a
step included in the kit's instructions, but it's entirely possible I added that step as a
means of adding additional damping to the cabinet. Either way, I'm sure the step isn't
essential -- although I'm equally sure it couldn't hurt.
BTW, the model I reviewed has been upgraded to the Mk III.
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