Cold-Fi

[roll_with_it]

Jeeez its cold up in my loft!! Got me thinking, could it affect the life of my hi-fi?? When I go up there to listen I have the heater on, the door open etc, and it soon warms up, but most of the time (in the winter) its bloody freezing!!

Any thoughts on how it could affect the hifi? - I know that its meant to perform best when warmed up, but I havent noticed it sounding any different from cold..

And its bloody warm in the summer!! Cant win:?

 

[icehockeyboy]

If its of any help, Hifi Confidential, the column in HFN has recently experimented with freezing amps to get the best out of them....................Didnt mention baking them though!

 

[TIU]

Hi Greg,.

The cold shouldn't affect the equipment but things generally perform better warmed up. Condensation would be my biggest concern.

If you sell the R33's later, wouldn't the 806V's be a side grade rather than an upgrade, price-wise at least? :lwink:

 

[Cable Monkey]

Being cold isn't an issue but transienting between cold and warm relatively quickly could result in issues like condensation and sudden expansion of junctions between warm and cool. If their are any reliability issues the above combinations will find them out. However if the system sounds ok, the conditions you describe will most probably not create any new issues.

 

[roll_with_it]

Thanks for your replies, yeah, never thought of condensation:shock:cant be good!

I've actually thought of covering the CD/amp with something when not in use, some sort of thick material... Ah ok!! A blanket!!:lmao:How sads that?!?!?! Putting your hifi to bed:raoflmfao:

Hi TIU, with the 806V I think i'd have a slightly more open sound, and maybe better detail, but to be honest yeah I think it would be more of s sidegrade...

Yesterday I ran then in at a fairly loud level all day while I was at work - last night I sat down and had a good listen. They've definately opened up. The midrange and bass is just unbelievable for their size, you'd think you were listening to massive floorstanders! Very dynamic as well. The only thing I could possibly say against the Revolvers is the tweeters arent as good as the Focals, but not by a long way. The top end lacks the extra sparkle of the Focals, but as I said the bass is better.

To be honest its not really worth changing - it would cost me more money for an equally good speaker. Plus with the Revolver theres the option of biamping later...

Should have the Kudos stands tomorrow as well..

 

[boseman]

roll_with_it wrote:

I've actually thought of covering the CD/amp with something when not in use, some sort of thick material... Ah ok!! A blanket!!:lmao:How sads that?!?!?! Putting your hifi to bed:raoflmfao:

:shock:How long before you start reading bedtime stories to your kit?

Heat is theproblem here andmy kit is positioned so that the AC is constantly cooling it off, so I hope the coldair doesn't have a bad effect when the kit is off.

 

[roll_with_it]

boseman wrote:

:shock:How long before you start reading bedtime stories to your kit?

hehe, ya never know if I talk tothem long enough they might even reward me with better sound!!

 

[The Hifi Gallery]

The cold will affect the speaker drivers and cartridge cantilevers more than anything else, speakers may take a while to come on song.

 

[TIU]

What speaker cable you using on the Revolvers? Don't bi-wire them is my advice.

There are a few things to criticise with the R33's and with the Focal 806V's. They are £500 budget to mid range standmounts and both perform very well for the money. You will pay more for the Focals so that seems like an upgrade if they cost you twice as much, but they are not twice as good.

Yes you will get a more open sound but the trade off is they don't go as low as the Revolvers (on paper anyway), so while the HF is there you may miss the extra bass welly the R33's offer. The Focal's will sound quite a bit brighter and are too bright for some people. Then again if that's what you like, the Focals will suit you better. A difficult decision really.

Any good at knitting? We get a lot of condensation on our loo cystern in the cold weather. Someone told my wife to knit a cover for it!

 

[subtle]

The manual for my amp suggests leaving the amp for at leat an hour at room temperature before using if it's been very cold to avoid the condensation problem. Is it not possible to leave some heating on in your loft even at a low level just to keep the chill out of the air?

 

[roll_with_it]

im using DNM Reson cable at the moment (single), and it seems really good. I may try biwiring some time if I get bored, but doubt it.

Im just stciking with Revolvers for now, I just cant justify spending extra on something 'different' sounding right now. Im content with the sound I have now. Its probably the biggest improvement i've ever made in my system, changing to these speakers, so its tempting to stick with them. They should tighten up even further when I get my Kudos stands (hopefully today)