Dauntless's Bibs and Bobs.

[Dauntless]

I've been around for a little while so it's time to post my stuff for viewing.

CDP/Transport Emotiva ERC-3
Dac Schiit Gungnir Multibit + ifi SP/DIF Purifier.
Pre Schiit Freya Balanced Passive/Valve active/remote.
Power Amps Monarchy SM70Pro in balanced mono mode.
Speakers Wilmslow Audio Classique with external X Overs ( Non standard with M Cap caps and Caddock resistors ). Speakers can be used active as well as passive though are passive at the moment.

System is is for long XLR interconnects and short speaker leads.



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[struth]

Some lovely gear there Michael.. twin monarchy,s too.

[nthall]

Nice looking setup. It looks like you have a big room to match those amps. I bet it sounds great.

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

[struth]

Bar the speakers its all American. Dont often see that. Ive had Schiit and Monarchy stuff, and presently have an Emotiva, but not as nice as that.

[Dauntless]

Yes, I've been a fan of US gear for some while. Living up here in the far North I'm 5 hours away from the nearest dealer so all my stuff is bought on line. US companies cater for on line buyers I've found and the prices are good. I have other US stuff like a 470c class D amp from the US company Class D inc. This is a very good product with high power and it drives stronger than the Monarchy's.

[Audio Al]

:eek: What , Its all too tidy and clean , Not enough cables all over the place , More racks needed with stuff on them :lol:

OK yes some nice kit ;)

[Macca]

Great kit selection. Very tidy too. Looks like you have just moved in and not bought any furniture yet ;)

[walpurgis]

Nice to see some Monarchy's in use. Great sounding amps!

[Dauntless]

:eek: What , Its all too tidy and clean , Not enough cables all over the place , More racks needed with stuff on them :lol:

OK yes some nice kit ;)

Until recently I had a 6 shelf rack which was sited next to the TV. I had to use 6metre speaker cables and they looked a mess. I have rearranged to this set up, now with 4 metre XLR interconnects and short speaker cables. Neater and sounds better too.
We have lived in this house for 10 years but as you can see some WAF does apply in this residence! Some hifi kit causes more problems here. For instance interconnect in knicker draws is a hanging offense:eyebrows:

[Barry]

Nice, neat system you have there Michael.

However, since you are already using balanced line interconnects to the power amps, why don't you move each monoblock power amp to be adjacent to the speaker? That way you can reduce the length of the speaker cable to be much less than a metre (maybe as short as 6"). That is what I have done.

[Macca]

as you can see some WAF does apply in this residence! Some hifi kit causes more problems here. For instance interconnect in knicker draws is a hanging offense:eyebrows:

:lol:

[Dauntless]

Nice, neat system you have there Michael.

However, since you are already using balanced line interconnects to the power amps, why don't you move each monoblock power amp to be adjacent to the speaker? That way you can reduce the length of the speaker cable to be much less than a metre (maybe as short as 6"). That is what I have done.

Yes, I did think about that at the time but decided against that approach as I would have had to increase the length of the interconnects. The power amps sitting in the middle of the speakers seems a nice balance to me. There are no children in the house so it works ok for us. I can see the benefit of that approach though.

[Dauntless]

Got some new speakers, Cambridge Audio's Aeromax 6 floorstanders.
The interesting part is the BMR driver which covers a massive 200hz up to 20,000hz and all from a 2'' diameter unit. The other point of interest is the bass units as they only have to cover from 30 to 200hz so more specialized bass units can be used rather than the more usual bass/mid. The speakers are easy to drive with 90db output.
I worried that the 2'' BMR unit wouldn't be up to the job but it doesn't seem to be a problem for the units at all.
The strengths of the speaker show with vocals with very good stereo performance and smooth 'static like repro. No ruff edges:)
The bass is smooth ( at 30+cm's from rear wall ) and in my room I don't seem to need the supplied bungs. Got them set up with one of my A500'S at the moment and they sound nice but I will try them with some of my more expensive class A amps soon. I was listening to some Paul Simon cd's last night. 'Still Crazy After All These Years' is one Cd that used to sound a little bland but last night it sounded much more exciting through the Aeromax's. So overall a good result so far. Pictures to follow.

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[Pharos]

I've just suggested the same thing to my friend with two benchmark amps and some very expensive JBLs, and because the speaker current is so much higher it seems to make sense.

He also found it better to bi-amp as I suggested than to use them in bridged mode.

[Macca]

I've so nearly bought some of these a few times as the BMR interests me - getting one driver to run smoothly over those frequencies in theory solves a lot of problems, you don't need a 3 way speaker with the added complexity - same as some JBL but the compression driver they use is expensive. Got too many speakers already, though.

I'd be interested in hearing a bit more about how they sound once you have put some time in with them.

[jandl100]

Yes, I've been curious for a while about those BMR drivers. Almost bought a pair of the standmounts a while back for my 2nd system but something else came along. Would be very interesting to hear some - but failing that, as Macca says, more comments on the sq would be most welcome!

[Dauntless]

Yes, I've been curious for a while about those BMR drivers. Almost bought a pair of the standmounts a while back for my 2nd system but something else came along. Would be very interesting to hear some - but failing that, as Macca says, more comments on the sq would be most welcome!

Listened to some Classical last night ( Shostakovich, then some Bizet ) The striking thing is the stereo and no part being exaggerated, all playing nice and clear with good dynamics. I will try some other amps with them and let you know.

[Dauntless]

I've so nearly bought some of these a few times as the BMR interests me - getting one driver to run smoothly over those frequencies in theory solves a lot of problems, you don't need a 3 way speaker with the added complexity - same as some JBL but the compression driver they use is expensive. Got too many speakers already, though.

I'd be interested in hearing a bit more about how they sound once you have put some time in with them.

I took the A500 out a few weeks ago and put the Monarchys back in wired as mono's. I'm liking the Aeromax 6's very much with all types of music. The BMR drivers are nice and smooth and give a good perspective to the sound. The dynamics are good and they don't screech during crescendo during classical. I would say that their strengths are in stereo presentation with a solid block between speakers and their ability to work well at low volumes. I find myself listening at lower volumes in general as I don't need to increase the volume to hear the low level detail. They are fitted with bass woofers rather than bass mids and this shows in the bass which is nicely detailed. All in all a very happy buy at a decent price with good WAF. I've got the speakers around 25cm from the rear walls and I don't need the foam bungs supplied with the speakers.