Very nice Mika, slippery slopes from now on matey, betcha can't wait till you get it set up to spin that 'Mothership' Lp. :cool:
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Very nice Mika, slippery slopes from now on matey, betcha can't wait till you get it set up to spin that 'Mothership' Lp. :cool:
Hmm, perhaps should try that SME V with Techie or should I.. :D
Try the V I think you will like it. Some people on aos don't think it makes the best combo, but for me it sounds great:eyebrows:
+1, being a SME IV user, think you should suck it and see. :)
third time tells the truth?
A month ago etc was asking comments and experiences about using studiomonitors at home, mainly because after living few years without ones started to feel a bit weird. Have owned some other monitor also but my main interest have always been Yamaha NS-100M's and have owned two different pairs.
So after looking what there is to offer from old BBC monitors to new ATC SM50's and even Genelec 1038B's noticed one add at Germany that caught my attention and soon had courier knocking on my door with two bulky packages. And oh boy they were packed! Four layers of cardboard, bubblewrap in between and also one supporting frame in one layer plus then cloth over the speakers and the grilles, naturally. I have bought and sold lot of equipment but this was the best so far..
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8062/8...f4c71d31_c.jpg
So what was inside? The domestic version Yamaha NS-1000 naturally. Near mint Ebony wooded speakers having build quality surplus to none. After brief check that everything was ok after shipping made small modification to the rear panel, changing the odd original posts to decent ones accepting banana plugs or spades etc. Had a Santas little helper present of course..
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8346/8...bbaf6f18_z.jpg
Despite of the tricky load and the placement the Yams sound wonderful with my current kit. Open, detailed, transparent and very fast - even better than anticipated. Very capable speakers compared to many modern and much more expensive designs and these domestic models have even good WAF, much better than my Altecs.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8197/8...b42842d4_c.jpg
Now just need to track down suitable stands for these or even have some customer ones to be made and also think about the cap upgrade or even redo the whole xo. Perhaps the third time tells you the truth :D
Gawd !! they're gorgeous, :smoking: love the grain on the wood, hope they perform as good as they look, any chance of a couple of shots of the drivers?.
wii.
Thanks!
They indeed perform like no other speakers I've heard for a long long time. But I'll take some driver etc. pics later.. ;)
And few more pics..
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8059/8...a8d19cc2_c.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8341/8...7758fb2c_c.jpg
PS: Is it normal that the equipment has occupied approx. 1/3 of our living room in our apartment for family of four. C'mon isn't it.. :D
Not normal...........but correct!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mika K
:respect: Love your 'fit your family round the HiFi ethos', think new shoes and handbag for the wife is due for putting up with it. :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by The Grand Wazoo
Lovely drivers and baffle, enjoy. :cool:
You like the NS's so much you're selling your Altecs? Saw your ad on hifimagasinet.com :)
Regards //Mike
:eek::eek: Really!!... those Yammy's must be something else.
They really are special speakers that I have loved for decades. They offer something that is still rare among modern speakers. It's a pity that many of the people heard the Yams have no clue of their true potential :) This is actually my third pair and as they are minty domestic ones thinking to keep them, if not always the main speakers but at least for that second set.
Altecs are also something special but would need bit bigger room to reach the optimum listening distance etc. However the actual problem is that I do not have any possibilities to store them at the moment, so while Yams are at the spotlight the Altecs are tucked to the rear corners of the living room and taking quite a lot of space. During the last weeks did some search for storage offerings but that will just be too expensive, as do not have any friend that could take those to loan, decided to publish add to finnish and swedish forums. So let's see what the lady luck says this time..:eyebrows:
Altecs are still here waiting some decision. Lately I've been more and more thinking should I just start another enclosure project to result a bit smaller outcome than the Onkens - sacrifice a little bass performance to sill fit these to the house together with my Yams. Perhaps some cornermount or hmm.. ;)
In the meantime a little pic from yesterday evening when was listening some music while Mrs. was at work. Daddys and kids toys fit here nicely.. :D
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8051/8...ddcea33d_c.jpg
Love it!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mika K
The last supper..
..kind of.
Have now few days again listened the Altecs before will transfer them to dry and warm storage space I have rented. The plan is to fill that with Altecs and some bikes with some other stuff (clothes/toys/etc) our family is not needing at the moment. This is mainly because we have put our apartment for sale and Mrs. has implied that having these monsters at the corner of our living room and other stuff lurking from the closets does not actually make it any easier..
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5312/8...cdaca33b_c.jpg
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5114/8...9fba9e67_c.jpg
Anyway, have now listened these without the JB supertweeters and still the sound is something really special and might be that if these will not be sold soon I will just store them until have space to use them again. The Yams work extremely well with the Shindo/RWA amplification and have no rush to change that. Perhaps in the meantime will just continue to develop some heretic design for smaller enclosure for the bass and then study the use of some DSP solution to make it work. I'm going slightly mad.. :D
AN UK inspired
Audio Note UK showrooms and also few systems I have heard at other enthusiasts places have always puzzled me. MOstly because of the recommendation to put the speakers close to room boundaries or even the corners. Have also thought the same when studying a bit for the corner enclosures used with vintage Altec drivers. Long time ago I used Snell J/II speakers and had them pretty close to room boundaries. Now the Yamaha NS-1000's have pretty mild bass department and in theory the corner placement should be possible even have not seen that one used anywhere - bravely go to the places where no man has gone.. ;)
I placed the speakers in front of the GIK Acousticsin broadband corner traps so that the speakers aim diagonally towards the room and distance to the walls is approx. 18cm measured from the speaker back corners. I'm listenig the speakers now off-axis, so that the speakers on-axis cuts approx. 1m and 30cm in front the listening spot. Looks weird! Have try to get some pics of this..
What is the most surprising the speakers actually work well like this even without the fine tuning. The lower bass has bit more power and the response seems to be surprisingly flat without any room modes. Mid and high frequencies are tad milder that with standard placement and overall the sound is not so accurate than before. Actually the sound now reminds me pretty much of the one I heard last time with Audio Note UK system. Despite the piano spreads too wide or the cello seems to be played by 3m giant, the music overall seems pretty effortless and has some nice scale with decent prat.
Some heretic trials you need to abandon immediately but this one seems to have some serious potential. Perhaps have to investigate this a little bit more and after a while try the traditional placement and se what thoughts will come up :D
And here's the pic.. :)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8105/8...e614f2e8_b.jpg
Looks good visually too, but i must say im sceptical to the soundstaging and depth this way?
I tried this with my Snell E/III earlier, but in my room that didn't work.
(Have listened to AN UK stuff i familiar environments though, and that have always worked nice...)
Regards Mike
After some time of listening and making more minor adjustments the speakers are now bit further away from the corners so that the speakers on-axis cuts approx. 70cm in front of the listening position. As suggested by Mike this led to improved soundstaging without compromizing the lower end and prat. Also the center stage is now better without piano spreadding too wide. There are still few room modes to fight thou, so I think that the minor adjustments will continue as before.. :)
ATH-W5000
Last week received new headphones from a friend that proposed to trade them to one of my old vinyl players. Have tried to get into world of headphones earlier with several models from Stax, Sennheiser and Grado but always failed. It's not the sound but more about the feeling that you're somehow restricted when using headphones. So far have only managed to use headphones more at the office or with portable devices. However have not tried closed applications earlier, sohere we go again :)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8225/8...5c01a84b_c.jpg
I guess the next thing to do is to try few alternatives as a headphone amp. Now using only my Macbook pro or iPad and somehow think there's still some potential left to discover..
Today again one of my reviews was published at finnish webjournal Audiovideo.fi and this time the target was Clearaudios beautiful piece Statement Clamp. Unfortunately the review is available only in finnish.. :doh:
http://audiovideo.fi/testi/clearaudi...amppi-testissa
Thats interesting Mika! Can you tell us a few words about your impressions on a clamp costing around €500?
Im sure it does something, but nowhere near it's price! :)
Regards Mike
Yes the review process was interesting. In brief:
The Clearaudio Statements build quality is second to none and technically clamp is based rather on resonance control than only weight. With warper records not so effective than weight with flat base or srew-on clamp. Soundwise compared to my Project Record Puck it seems to dig out a bit more air, resolution and accuracy. Bass is little lighter but better defined. The differency is small but it seems to be present both in short comparisons and in longer usage.
The price is still relatively steep, so decision to get one must be done after trial and consideration. I did not get one, at least not yet as have many other things to improve first.. :)
Thanks for putting your impressions on "paper" Mika! Have tried a few weights/clamps, none as expensive as the ClearAudio though.
I seem to generally prefer low weight clamps, along with your choice of tt mat. The best weight to me is the Thorens thingy, seems to mostly take away distorsion and unwanted effects, without shaping the sound of the TT.
Best regards
//Mike
Big changes coming as last week sold our apartment and looking for new one with suitable space for my system. Don't know yet is it going to be shared living room space as now or dedicated listening room but either way I think have to think carefully what we're doing here. Interesting times have to say but still few issues to cover from the past weeks.. :D
For the love of music?
I guess that's the title for the book that covers the history and legend of McIntosh, perhaps the most famous amplifier maker coming from US. Few weeks ago spotted their MA2275 tube integrated amplifier for sale here in Finland and guess what..
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8257/8...e8e183d8_c.jpg
Have always loved the legendary MC275 power amplifiers sound and this is based on the same topology and design despite having modern preamp section. The amp is huge 35kg beast and the looks are something that most certainly will divide opinions with its bulky presence and luminous power meters. Soundwise it seems to be really good match to my vintage NS-1000 monitors, so I guess it is time to listen and perhaps make some direct comparisons to Shindo-RWA combo bit later.. :)
During this week I also acquired some Solid Tech parts to my possession - three sets of Radius legs with lenghts of 319mm, 234,5mm ja 234,5mm. These were leftovers from one other Helsinki based audio enthusiast, so got them for a fair price. My plan is to design a DIY rack with four shelves that looks good and takes all the gear I have without any issues. So not going to move the DIY Ikea Lack rack to new place anymore. I guess the next step is to decide the dimensions and the wood Iäm going to use for this.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8543/8...e1e32b1d_c.jpg
At last - someone else with a Solid Tech system rack (or at least, will have one)! Wonderful rack system, and I recommend you get the Disc of Silence isolation feet for it.
Beautiful Mika, I always enjoy your pictures :)
Very nice set up Mika, I can't believe that's a Ikea rack you've done a great job with it. That amp is a beauty :stalks::)
Thanks!
It's Ikea alright. It looks good and have been in use for 4-5 years already and it has been under lot of weight lately. Now starting to wonder that need something burlier as my Garrard including the base etc weights 36kgs and the amp is 35kg, so starting to get bit nervous here.. :)
I did made that 'Lack..?' rack from Ikea a few years ago and it worked great. Low mass material too. System looks great, Mika.... as always. :)
Thanks!
Today family is gone gone gone, so had plenty of time to re-check the speaker position with new amp and it really seems that the optimum location for the speakers is bit different than earlier. I guess it is mainly because the McIntosh amp has bit more grunt at the bass and this causes the system balance to change a fait bit..
Now it looks like this at our living room other end.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/8...264b3677_c.jpg
OOOH nice, I bet your system sounds smashing, and great photography too......looking forward to your new rack.
Marty :D
Something i noticed do they not have fited carpets in Scandynavia?
No, at least Finland can be considered as a fitted carpet free zone as far as I'm aware.. :D
Incredible picture, love the lights on the McIntosh. Looks very classy in black & white. Feeling green with envy now.
Any particular reason Mika as it's not that warm over there :eyebrows: O i couldnt live without a thick underlay & carpet, just like stroking a persian cat walking over one :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mika K
Hmm, from my perspective that's bit weird statement as here every house and apartment are constructed properly for winter (base insulation, no direct chimnays, heavy insulated doors and 3-layer windows etc) and have good heating systems. Despite it can be more than -30 degrees outside the inside temperature is usually between +19 and +23 degrees in every house with warm floors including the public locations as schools etc. Naturally.
I already apologize the following but :rolleyes:
I have visited UK few times during winter period and have been always freezing when spending time inside. Also the moisture is a problem and that might lead to all kinds of different situations with bacteria, mold, fungus etc. The fitted carpet does not save anything even with thick underlay when construction basics are not there for the cold times. Also that thingie is such a pain to keep clean that wouldn't hope similar solution even to my worst enemies :D
But we love mould & condensation :lol:
Yes, I bet you do :D
:lolsign:
All I will say in our defence is that new building regulations are far better in terms of cavity and loft insulation, double-glazing and air-tight door and window seals. My house is a new build and it's toasty warm in winter at my preferred 19C, whereas my partner's house, which is only about 13 years old, is noticeably colder and draughtier. Being a woman, she sets her heating at the predictable 24C or so and yet it doesn't feel as warm all around as mine.
Oops
I think we just bought a house :eek: or at least our offer was accepted yesterday, so I guess there's no going back anymore. It's pretty new and more or less perfect for our family. However the only downside is that the listening room is going to be a bit smaller than the one I'm having now.
I was thinking to compensate this issue by planning there proper acoustic treatment starting from scratch, perhaps even using a professional designer for the job if have the budget available. Have few friends that have done it and all have have said it has been their best spent money so far. The room is normal living room with windows etc so, it's not fully symmetrical. Luckily the house is wooden so no concrete walls there to cause problems.
So now all the changes/updates in the actual system are on hold and after a month or two will se how this starts to roll out :)
Congrats Mika! I'm sure you will enjoy your new "habitat"! Lots of freedom to mould the new place into your new home.
Regards Mike
Eeeekk!!... i can sense something special going to happen. :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mika K
Is your Onken Altec's in your grand scheme of things or are you moving to pastures new?,
please chronologically post pics of how the system and the room develops ala bike thread. :cool:
Well something at least but don't know bout that special part :) And thanks for the congrats!
I'm guessing the Altecs are going to clearly be too big to the new room if do not decide to make it fully dedicated one, which try to avoid so planning to go with the Yams for a while now. Of course situation might be different after we actually have moved and see how everything will turn out..
Anyway will take at least some pics when the things start rolling.
Ok.
Now we have been living at the new house few weeks and things are starting to settle and find their places, also the system :) The sound is different than earlier, which is as expected because of the smaller listening room and the missing acoustic treatment etc. Here is the first pic from the new room as it stands at the moment.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5338/9...bdd576ed_c.jpg
Have agreed that one friend with measurement equipment will visit us soon, so that can play little with speaker placement with some hard evidence and also afterwards can start planning what acoustic treatment is needed and where.. :)
That looks like a nice listening chair, Mika. Again, great photography.
Why can't I ever put a room together like that? You should work as a set designer for Ikea. If anyone is in doubt, I mean that entirely as a compliment. I love Ikea and their layouts are an inspiration to millions of people with little vision, such as my humble self.
Also, why can't I conceive and then produce images one tenth as good as yours? That's before I even see the utterly gorgeous McIntosh sat there, pleading with me to sell my soul and buy one of its brethren.
Please tell me you really own an Amstrad tower system and the pic is photoshopped. Otherwise I will remain eternally jealous every time I see your posts! :D
Ahh, hold on! I just spotted the acoustic treatment, there, in the bottom right corner!
I can clearly see a set of miniature bass traps, with a Laphroaig logo??? ;)
If you've emptied them i can appreciate that it sounds different! :lol:
Seriously though, looks really nice, bright and inviting. As usual, exemplary photography!
Regardsv /Mike
Thanks for the comments! The new room is pretty nice and bright/light because of the large windows. The room also opens to the kitchen and hall. The hall is actually the place where my LPs are located and it's behind my back when taking the pic above. I have high hopes to get it working for listening also way better than it does now, and also without the room looking like professional acoustic chamber. Time will tell how I exceed with this.
And oh yes, naturally the miniature bass traps have been adjusted so that part of them are full, some almost full, half full, nearly empty and finally also empty. This way you are able to able achieve better end results I'm sure :D The chair is vintage design by Finnish designer Markku Pakkanen named "Harlekiini". Really good and comfy chair for taller bloke like me but needs some rework after heavy usage as you can see from the pic below..
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5488/9...b8b1b80a_c.jpg