New Listening Room

[gninnam]

Thanks guys. Looking forward to changing these but other projects are the queue first - will cover these later.

Another change was the pre amp - used to use a Myryad Z40 which worked very well but fancied a change.
Always used Michell turntable and lusted after the pre amps but couldn't afford etc... one came up on a HiFi forum which had also be tweaked by Tom Evans to his Vibe 1.5 level.

It was an Argo HR but now changed - the changes include that I am aware of but not limited to:
Single volume pot
Replaced all RCA connectors with solid copper ones
Not sure whether the circuit board is replaced or just tweaked - hopefully someone more knowledgeable will know
It lost the tape input but gained a headphone socket which also sounds very good!

Also it came with the a Tom Evans PSU so performs very well indeed.





Cheers

[Pigmy Pony]

Wow. Something I like about electrostatics is that they're an uncompromising statement. No hiding them, and no rare wood or designer sculpture to placate other members of the household.

I haven't heard of this model before. How did you come across them?

I agree with that Pete, they do look cool imo. It's just a shame they have to be so BIG and so W I D E (obviously no getting round that). I would have to move house or build a dedicated room.

A lottery win would sort that. Doesn't have to be Euro Millions, I'm not greedy. Just enough to build a big enough room so speaker size doesn't matter

Andy, do they work well close to the front wall? Whenever I'd heard electrostatics or panel speakers (Magneplanar and recently Fonica Flag M), they all had a fair bit of space behind them.

[gninnam]

They are about 2 foot from the wall and to my ears sound very good - yet to experiment with further placement changes yet so will report back when I have but could probably only come out a further 40 cm or so.
I still have my speakers behind so will get those moved soon to see how that affects the sound.

[Macca]

So true about their imposing nature!
The plan is to change the appearance as the wood finish is just varnish and a lot of areas it has started to flake off so I will strip the varnish off and then darken the frames.

I am on several other forums and on one of them, one of the members was having a 'cull' of his HiFi gear and offered these speakers to the first person who showed interest which happens to me.
I went to his house to check them out and have a listen and thought they sounded really good so would have them.

Hired a van as to big for my car and the rest is history.
Really loving the sound quality (looks are OK) and plan to keep them for some time.

If you match the finish to your fireplace surround that might work?

[Pigmy Pony]

If you match the finish to your fireplace surround that might work?

If you grew your hair a bit you could pass for Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen

[Tim]

That's a gorgeous Technics Andy

[Barry]

I agree with that Pete, they do look cool imo. It's just a shame they have to be so BIG and so W I D E (obviously no getting round that). I would have to move house or build a dedicated room.

Andy, do they work well close to the front wall? Whenever I'd heard electrostatics or panel speakers (Magneplanar and recently Fonica Flag M), they all had a fair bit of space behind them.

Lovely system you have there Andy. Well done! I love both the Technics deck and the SME arm and would put them together if they were mine.

Apropos the speakers, most if not all, planar speakers have a dipole polar sound distribution. That is, almost as much sound is radiated from the rear of the speaker as from the front. Therefore the speakers ideally need to be placed about a metre away from any hard surface behind them in order to prevent problems with reflection. If the rear wall has some sound absorbing material on it then you might be able to get away with a smaller distance.

To answer Steve's question: all planar speakers need to be reasonably large so as to move a sufficient volume of air. Planar speakers have a limit on the amount their diaphragms can move. For electrostatic speakers, the charged diaphragm is located between a pair of perforated driving electrodes spaced only a few mm apart. Thus the amount of fore/aft movement is very small, so the area has to be made large to compensate. Electrostatic speakers are thus either wide or tall, and in some cases both.

[gninnam]

If you match the finish to your fireplace surround that might work?

Could do but will see

[gninnam]

That's a gorgeous Technics Andy

Cheers Tim - for me it is one of the best SP10's I have seen

[gninnam]

Lovely system you have there Andy. Well done! I love both the Technics deck and the SME arm and would put them together if they were mine.

Apropos the speakers, most if not all, planar speakers have a dipole polar sound distribution. That is, almost as much sound is radiated from the rear of the speaker as from the front. Therefore the speakers ideally need to be placed about a metre away from any hard surface behind them in order to prevent problems with reflection. If the rear wall has some sound absorbing material on it then you might be able to get away with a smaller distance.

To answer Steve's question: all planar speakers need to be reasonably large so as to move a sufficient volume of air. Planar speakers have a limit on the amount their diaphragms can move. For electrostatic speakers, the charged diaphragm is located between a pair of perforated driving electrodes spaced only a few mm apart. Thus the amount of fore/aft movement is very small, so the area has to be made large to compensate. Electrostatic speakers are thus either wide or tall, and in some cases both.

Thanks Barry - The SME V used to be on the SP10 and it was good, but the AT1010 just works better for my ears (not eyes) for the SQ.

Yep, I am aware of how they work regarding the rear radiation.
At the moment, where they are positioned and from my listening chair, they do sound very good but I know they can be improved upon.
First will be to remove the speakers from behind and judge what has changed - baby steps and all that