Speedysteve has been urging me to try some digital gear in my all analogue system and last night he brought round a lap top loaded with flac files and a DPA DAC (Enlightenment?).
We initially sat down to listen to the system with some familiar vinyl on the Cran Rock. Steve hasnt heard ithe system since before Scalford when he and Martin W helped me to get it ready for the show.
One thing I learnt at the show was that my IK Audio touring subs sounded much punchier upright rather than on their sides i.e., maximising their floor loading aginst maximising mouth area.
Hence on returning home I managed to squeeze them in alongside each other as opposed to atop each other. The other advantage of this arrangement was that it lessened reflections from the tractrix and ribbon that were positioned to the rear and each side of the uppermost sub - this meant the soundwaves from the tractrix horns and the ribbons would bounce off the sides of the subwoofer's cabinet. (The tractrix and ribbon have to be back there to time align them.) SQ was much improved IMO.
Also, after the session, I dropped the Big bass conical down a bit on its rest to allow more clearance for the tractrix - ie from my sitting position I can see a gap between them, meaning less reflection from the top edge of the conical.
Steve remarked that i'd managed to cure most of the hum probs which beset this system in the early days. True.
We then tried the laptop - pretty good actually. Well, very good. So good I cant see why anyone entering hifi at this stage of its evolution would start with vinyl - you would start with a lap top - so convenient. Steve did mention that the quality of flac files varies (and naturally I got to audition the best that he has) but thats the same with vinyl.
Pursuing the theme of reflections and spacing in multiway horn systems we then discussed some mods I proposed to the Podiumsteps I use as stands. This would involve the front upright poles being removed and set back in line with the mouths of the 2 tractrix waveguides.
Part of my research into this problem involved loking at various solutions to the particularly difficult problem of supporting horns in such a way that they dont interfer with each other and the stand itself whilst retaining vertical alignment from the front and time alignment viewed from the side (to keep the magnets in line). I looked at Romy's 'Macondo' support systems on the Goodsoundclub site which was interesting and he reminded me that all pipework and other such 'impedimenta' in front of the horns should be minimised/eliminated.
Implimenting these mods is the next step. Look out for this work on the Magna Audio site.
Jack
We initially sat down to listen to the system with some familiar vinyl on the Cran Rock. Steve hasnt heard ithe system since before Scalford when he and Martin W helped me to get it ready for the show.
One thing I learnt at the show was that my IK Audio touring subs sounded much punchier upright rather than on their sides i.e., maximising their floor loading aginst maximising mouth area.
Hence on returning home I managed to squeeze them in alongside each other as opposed to atop each other. The other advantage of this arrangement was that it lessened reflections from the tractrix and ribbon that were positioned to the rear and each side of the uppermost sub - this meant the soundwaves from the tractrix horns and the ribbons would bounce off the sides of the subwoofer's cabinet. (The tractrix and ribbon have to be back there to time align them.) SQ was much improved IMO.
Also, after the session, I dropped the Big bass conical down a bit on its rest to allow more clearance for the tractrix - ie from my sitting position I can see a gap between them, meaning less reflection from the top edge of the conical.
Steve remarked that i'd managed to cure most of the hum probs which beset this system in the early days. True.
We then tried the laptop - pretty good actually. Well, very good. So good I cant see why anyone entering hifi at this stage of its evolution would start with vinyl - you would start with a lap top - so convenient. Steve did mention that the quality of flac files varies (and naturally I got to audition the best that he has) but thats the same with vinyl.
Pursuing the theme of reflections and spacing in multiway horn systems we then discussed some mods I proposed to the Podiumsteps I use as stands. This would involve the front upright poles being removed and set back in line with the mouths of the 2 tractrix waveguides.
Part of my research into this problem involved loking at various solutions to the particularly difficult problem of supporting horns in such a way that they dont interfer with each other and the stand itself whilst retaining vertical alignment from the front and time alignment viewed from the side (to keep the magnets in line). I looked at Romy's 'Macondo' support systems on the Goodsoundclub site which was interesting and he reminded me that all pipework and other such 'impedimenta' in front of the horns should be minimised/eliminated.
Implimenting these mods is the next step. Look out for this work on the Magna Audio site.
Jack
