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Bob_reynolds's Responses in Tech talk	Posts
Budget Strategies forTightening up Bass? Two comments... Below 300 Hz or so the room is a major factor in what we hear. Since you are using a tube amp, what's the impedance interaction between the amp and your speakers. . .	39
Favorite reviewer? I second Robert E. Greene. Unfortunately, he doesn't review enough to justify a subscription to The Absolute Sound. I find his web site very educational. JA is the only reason I . . .	36
Source or speaker My experience has been that digital sources have only minor differences. Solid state electronics (assuming adequate power) practically no differences. Speakers and their . . .	34
Help a new guy get started I'd consider the JBL LSR2300 series active speakers plus their monitor controller, MSC1. http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/General/ProductFamily.aspx?FId=73&MId=5 Find pricing here. . .	29
My Analogy Must Be Wrong In response to the obvious "trust your own ears"... Yes, of course, in an ideal world listen to every product being manufactured with every possible permutation of . . .	29
How do you tell how dirty your power is? Krell_man is on the right track. If your system sounds obviously better after midnight (2 am) on a weekday, power is likely an issue	26
The difference between impedance and resistance Hi Al, Can you shed some theoretical light on the 2 * Pi constant in the equations for Xc and Xl? Also, can you explain the physics as to why voltage and current are out of phase. . .	25
Help. My system is shouting at me I've owned two Cambridge players in my office system (D500SE and the 340C) and I think they have more of a "bright" sound relative to something like a Rega Planet. I'm . . .	25
GIRL NEWBIE Save the money on the receiver and consider active speakers. Take a look at any of the Blue Sky 2.1 systems. http://www.abluesky.com/asp/default.asp	24
Balanced vs. unbalanced And at the other end (e.g., my Krell) it has to go through the reverse process to recombine the signal. That's the differential input that gives balanced lines their inherent. . .	22
The Room You might find the three part article by Dr. Floyd Toole of interest: http://www.harman.com/about_harman/technology_leadership.aspx Click on the White Papers link	22
Surge protection, no filtering, no regen please... Zero Surge SurgeX I use a single SurgeX SA1810 to power my entire system. I used to have a pair of Bryston 7B SST monoblock amps in that system and I never noticed any change. . .	20
Amplifier Output Transformers and Output Impedance Hi Al. At audio frequencies, if an 8 ohm source impedance is connected to an 8 ohm load, one-half of the power generated by the output stage of the amp would be dissipated across. . .	19
Small Room. Go for it or forget about it? In a small room,first-order crossovers are a necessity.You will not have the distance to allow the sound to re-assemble. Please explain this statement in great detail. Thanks	19
How to level match when comparing components? I use a 1kHz sine wave and measure the voltage at the speaker binding posts (because it's usually easy to do) using a digital voltage meter. It is said that level matching to 0.1dB. . .	18
Which attenuators do I want to use? Rather than guess at how much attenuation you might need, you might consider (if you can still find one) an NHT PVC Pro . It's balanced (Jensen transformers) so place it between . . .	17
System Gain, Volume, and component matching? Hi Jordan, I believe the formula for dB is 20 * log(Vo/Vi), so I think instead of 400V you get 40V max out of the Rowland, which is still not likely. I'm guessing that the Rowland. . .	17
I'd love some help/opinions As Shadorne suggested earlier, active speakers will get you many benefits over common passive speakers. Plus, total system cost can be lower. Take a look at some of the NHT pro . . .	16
recommended reading For a dose of reality... http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Reality-Bruce-Rozenblit/dp/0966961102/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1833767-6245454?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178147614&sr=8-1 The price . . .	15
cheap high quality power strip I second the Hammond power strips. They're designed for critical care situations. You'll not find one better made	14
Down grading with better /= sound Yep. Swapped out Bryston 7B SST monoblocks and M&K 2.1 reference speaker system for JBL LSR4300 2.1 active speaker system -- fewer boxes, much less money and better sound	13
Humming sub. Do a web search on ground loops. There's quite a bit of helpful information. There are safety concerns with running a component with its ground defeated. Look into line level . . .	13
Surge Suppressor or Not? Brick Wall, SurgeX and Torus Power all license technology from ZeroSurge. I use SurgeX SA1810 in both of my systems. I've powered Bryston 600/900 watt 7B SST monoblocks through. . .	12
BALANCED VS UNBALANCED You should get some insight from this: http://www.rane.com/note110.html	12
active X-over It looks like your external crossover is doing bass management, so as Kal said you have to keep the passive crossovers in the main speakers. And, to parrot Kal again, since you . . .	12
Help me choose a power conditioner, please The SurgeX devices claim to do some filtering. http://www.surgex.com/ In fact, they are the only manufacturer I've run across that admits that filters are a function of their . . .	12
power line conditioners... You might find the last several Bryston newsletters of interest. http://bryston.com/newsletters/vol10is2.html as well as info on the Torus web site: http://www.toruspower.com. . .	11
What direction do I take for an upgrade? There's no reason to get more than one subwoofer. Nothing wrong with the "better" Paradigm subs except cost. I'd seriously consider one of the Hsu Research subs instead	11
Directional fuse and integrated IEC outlet Doesn't AC (alternating current) flow in one direction for 1/2 cycle and then in the other direction for 1/2 cycle? So no matter what direction you install the fuse, isn't it going. . .	10
advice re: hum and passive distribution bars. It sounds like a typical ground potential difference to me. It's possible that the ground wire is not making good connection in one or more of the outlets. You can remove each . . .	10
Spade connectors from Romex to outlet? It sounds like you need a different outlet. Many have an opening in the back of them where you insert the wire and then screw down a clamp to secure it (not the spring clip type). . . .	10
Surge protectors without noise rejection You might consider Zero Surge or SurgeX . Torus Power is another option, but quite pricey due to the isolation transformer. Note that the non-MOV surge suppressors are . . .	8
power conditioning vs. power regeneration? Al, The question I've had about power regenerators is how to they filter the AC that drives the internal power amp? Doesn't the internal oscillator modulate the output from the . . .	8
Power Conditioning: Exactpower vs. Rotel vs. other If you have a real concern for surge protection, I think a good (only?) choice is ZeroSurge and their licensees: SurgeX, Torus, Brickwall. I use a SurgeX SA1810 in both my . . .	8
Is unity gain a real HT bypass? In general if the preamp isn't transparent, then its unity gain setting won't be either. Does anyone know if this is a true ht bypass that avoids the preamp's processing . . .	8
Channel Imbalance - HELP It is not uncommon for there to be an imbalance of a couple of dB due to furniture placement in the listening room. I'd guess that may aren't aware of it because they've never done. . .	8
Testing for Dummies? I'm also interested in what happens when I swap one piece of equipment for another. There's some relatively recent software available (for FREE!) from an audio testing software. . .	8
separate system for just music? Pick the amp to match your speakers, then pick up a Benchmark DAC1 Pre (or HDR if remote is needed). http://www.benchmarkmedia.com	7
Headphone/Headphone Amps, NEED HELP I, too, like the HD600s. The Benchmark DAC1 is said to be an excellent headphone amp. You'd connect the digital out of your Marantz player into the DAC1. DAC1	7
Balanced Not really and Ground Hum You should probably spend a little time reading some of the literature over at the Jensen Transformer site: http://www.jensen-transformers.com/apps_wp.html	7
external power supplies I think an external power supply for a preamp is like balanced connections in that if you can have it for a reasonable sum of money, then why not? I know of no negatives. This . . .	7
Hum Noise from Plug or Wire Area ? ? I encourage you to search the web on the safety of cheater plugs as a solution for ground loops. They are fine for trouble shooting the problem. A safe solution is a line level . . .	7
Best whole house surge protection? To my knowledge, the only ones that really work are from ZeroSurge. http://www.zerosurge.com/ Brick Wall, SurgeX and Torus Power have licensed the technology from ZeroSurge. I . . .	6
Adding a 2nd Power Condition vs. a Newer/Larger 1 I second Al's advice. These outlet strips are well made: Hammond and won't break the bank. I have used a couple of the 1584 "H" Series units	6
Educational materials I second Dr. Toole's book. You can read some of his papers on the Harman web site: http://www.harman.com/about_harman/technology_leadership.aspx . Click on White Papers. You . . .	6
Shure A15AS XLR attenuators.. anyone tried them? You might consider the NHT PVC Pro passive volume control with Jensen transformers	6
how to get rid of hum What happens to the hum when the entire system is plugged into the same outlet	6
Need subwoofer recommendation The Hsu rep gave you good advice. However, in order to take advantage of it your integrated amp must have both preamp out and main amp in jacks. Assuming it does, then the Hsu high. . .	6
Best Bang for Buck - Time to Upgrade No question.... Vandy 2Wq subwoofer with high pass filters. Unless you have some serious problems, power is way way down the list. Speakers and the room are the biggest . . .	6
Will cable & internet pollute our power? Broadband over power lines has not taken off as was expected several years ago. However, you can setup your own broadband network using your home electrical wiring today. See this . . .	5
Question about an external crossover Yes, not a problem at all. As Drew_eckhardt said the answer is Jensen input transformers. Here's the product: PI-2XR Simply set it on top of the crossover and use short . . .	5
How to figure output from efficiency in db ? For power, dB = 10 * log(P1 / P2). Thus, the familiar 3dB requires a doubling in power comes from: dB = 10 * log(2 * P / P) = 10 * log(2) = 10 * 0.30103 ~ 3dB And how. . .	4
impedance matching--could you dumb it down 4 me? The general rule of thumb is that the input impedance of the amp should be at least 10X the output impedance (worst case) of the preamp. You're trying to minimize the voltage drop. . .	4
Off topic: Water ionization I don't have any experience with such a device, but I recall them being hyped 10-15 years ago. The problem I always had with the logic is that the human body is designed to operate. . .	3
Help with Ohms and Bi-Amping... The other thing to consider is that the nominal impedance of your speakers is probably not the same as the nominal impedance of either the High or the Low. So one channel could be . . .	3
Duh-Forgetting Hifi Basics 101-crossovers But if using identical amps and hooking one amp to tweeter posts and one to bass posts (or tri-amping) and removing jumper why is it that one needs x-over to to limit full range . . .	3
$250 Belkin, or $1200.... Since you have a sizeable investment in your system, I suggest you take a look at the Torus Power products. http://www.toruspower.com/ If you just want to protect your . . .	3
subwoofer connection If your sub takes Left & Right line level inputs and you want to run your speakers full range, then you could run preamp outs to the sub and your amp. If your preamp doesn't have a. . .	2
Cross-over upgrade over subwoofer's? A friend has ML SL3s driven by Parasound JC-1s and a ML Depth. He was using the high-pass filter (70Hz) in the sub and was happy with it. The negative was that he could not use . . .	2
Why are there two prong and three prong Plugs Concerning your ground loop, I suggest you peruse the Jensen Transformer web site. http://www.jensen-transformers.com/ Line level isolation transformers safely break the ground . . .	2
Miller & Kreisel LFE-4 Bass Controller - help.. I've owned both the LFE-4 and BMC Mini, but they have been sold. You might drop Barry http://www.soundoctor.com/about.htm an email. When he was with M&K, he was very giving of . . .	1
How to compare two mp3 audio? You'll have to provide more detail about what you're trying to do. Any programming language that makes "bit-fiddling" somewhat easy would probably be preferable -- C, C. . .	1