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View Full Version : Bought some speakers for my loft system ...



The Vinyl Adventure
22-05-2011, 13:25
... just won them on ebay ...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320699646816&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1156

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqR,!g4E2ejvE08kBNz48Js7Zg~~_12.JPG

£185 was a little more than i was happy to pay but they come with Chris Wazzo's seal of approval and that's good enough for me

fingers crossed they should sound pretty nifty with the valves!

Spur07
22-05-2011, 13:51
nice one hamish, i've seen those knocking around before.

does the wife know yet?

prestonchipfryer
22-05-2011, 13:55
Well done Hamish, they look cool. How big is your loft, if you don't mind me asking?!

Regards

John

The Vinyl Adventure
22-05-2011, 14:18
It was indeed sanctioned by Hannah Paul :)

Probably not big enough for open baffle speakers John ... but im gonna give it ago ... ive never heard any before so am quite intrigued ... if they dont work, i shouldnt loose to much on them i dont think ...
If they do work then it will be a sign that going down the open baffle route outlined by the other John and his silver iris jobs might be doable ...
its a bit of an experiment really

hifi_dave
22-05-2011, 14:38
They were OK, open, pacey and communicative. They and their stable-mates, the OB1 and OB2 were a diificult sell because of the open design not being to everyone's taste and of course the size.

Can't really go wrong at that price though.

vinylspinner
22-05-2011, 15:57
Well done Hamish,

What you need now are 2 nice granite or slate plinths for the speakers, I just happen to know a man who can supply them!!!

regards

Nigel

The Vinyl Adventure
22-05-2011, 16:05
One step at a time metey ... I still need a pre amp yet! ;)

I still have the granite plinths from the living room ...
Is there some reason behind you thinking I might need such a thing?

vinylspinner
22-05-2011, 16:23
wooden floors and joists!!!

The Vinyl Adventure
22-05-2011, 16:51
Ah I see ... I'll see how I get on ... I do know someone locally who runs the office of a granite furniture place http://www.hnd-uk.com/
What's your connection then ... Thought you were windus

Spectral Morn
22-05-2011, 16:57
Nice one Hamish :)


Regards D S D L

aquapiranha
22-05-2011, 17:10
Lovely Hamish, let us know what you think.

The Vinyl Adventure
22-05-2011, 17:24
Shall do .. Although the chap selling has been awfully quiet

I've read all about Chris's and asked him about them on more than one occasion as well as having a saved search on eBay for ages ... So I'm pretty chuffed ... If not a little worried the chap is going to renege ...
He didn't answer a query on a bin and hasn't answered on a collection time yet ... Fingers crossed for me people!

John
22-05-2011, 17:43
I hope they work out well
They probarly have a nice open soundstage They will need about 3 feet from the walls
I know nothing about the speakers but looking at the proce it looks like a good deal

Macca
22-05-2011, 17:54
They look interesting...and in good nick:)

The Vinyl Adventure
22-05-2011, 19:02
Cheers chaps ... Yeah, I thought they looked well looked after ...
Good news is he has been in contact and is just on his hols til weds ... :)

I'll bare that in mind John ... I'm going to have to do some serious thinking about speaker position up there I think ... Ah well, it's slowly turning into my personal play room ... Which is nice!

goraman
22-05-2011, 19:16
They look very well made.
Good deal!

vinylspinner
22-05-2011, 19:26
Hi Hamish,

New venture, watch this space as they say!

Nigel

The Grand Wazoo
23-05-2011, 16:42
Well done, Hamish - that's a really good price. You've profited from the fact that these are almost unheard of.
I mentioned that there are some things you can do to make them really sing.

Firstly, they were designed to be used with solid core cable. You'll see that the drive units are wired with what looks like the black & red cores of twin & earth mains cable. That's because that's what it is & if you use the same stuff from your amp, then that seems to work best.

Next, the soundstage really comes together if you spend some time positioning them really carefully. As John says, they need to be away from the back wall. The bass boxes are reflex loaded & the port is quite low. This, along with the fact that you're getting all the mid-range & treble stuff firing backwards as well, means they need to be in the open.
They really need a much more pronounced toe-in than any other speakers I've ever come across. Each tweeter axis should cross about two feet in front of your nose when you're in your listening position. When you do this, you'll find that the image & soundstage suddenly snap into crystal clear & sharp focus & you'll find that the soundstage suddenly acquires huge and lifelike depth - to the point where you'll think that you could step into it & walk around each of the performers.

Bi-& tri-amping work wonders and they also respond very well to multiple runs of wiring (& it's cheap if you're using solid core stuff).

If you can find a way to add mass to the bottom then that also works incredibly well. This remains the most cost effective upgrade I've ever made to any hi-fi system I've owned. I got some steel plates cut & screwed them to the bases.

One last thing is that depending on the room they can respond really well to being tilted back slightly.

Good luck with them - I know you're going to just love these speakers!

The Vinyl Adventure
23-05-2011, 21:15
The plan is obviously to run them off a single amp (the TD beast) but multiple runs of cable is doable!
Was gonna try them with the NVA stuff to start with which is 7 runs of solid core in it's self I believe ... Might that work before i can get my ass to homebase?

That's funny what you say about them firing across a point in front of you, as that's seems to work for the Adams too! ... The Adams instruction book says to aim them directly at you and that's how I have them but firing across in front of me has it's merits in terms of depth of stage

Positioning is going to require them being perhaps a loupe closer to the wall than perfect ... But I guess I can move them around to listen like I do the adams ...

I'll look into adding mass!

Cheers for the pointers matey .. Your gonna find me coming back for more help I think ;)

Jonboy
23-05-2011, 21:50
I had a pair of sd's here for a while fitted with ribbon tweeters i picked up for a mate a couple of years ago, nice sounding and as Chris said they were designed to be tri-amped, the only downside was the build quility they were a bit diy, i had to resolder a few joints on the cross overs and the grills kept fallind off, check the foams surrounds are ok.

Alex_UK
24-05-2011, 21:14
Nice one Hamish, good luck with them. Great fun trying all this old kit, and at any time you can probably make your money back if you're not entirely happy. Or just do like I do and have a house full of hifi! ;)

The Vinyl Adventure
24-05-2011, 21:43
Cheers buddy! :)

Yoga
24-05-2011, 22:11
Hope you get on with them dude! :¬)