mulveling

WOW dude, stunning!! Congrats, and NICE choice - if I had the funds I'd definitely go to the 15" Tannoys. Thanks for posting those pics. I need to post update pics of my setup, though now they'll be hopelessly outclassed by what lies above Thanks Peter, though as you can see I've just been severely 1-upped in this thread Got some new tubes in the Eico HF-87 (NOS Sylvania tall bottle green label 6sn7gtb in place of the short bottle orange labels, Electro-Harmonix el34 in place of the Teslovaks), with more on the way (Siemens el34). Sounds like it really needed that... I might like to preserve the Heathkit W5 tubes for special stuff, music only - those pink base GE 7581 outputs don't seem particularly cheap or plentiful ($125 per tube unmatched on one site?). Would use the Eico for more daily movies/music stuff. So I guess I'll swap cables as long as it doesn't seem to put too much wear/tear on the binding posts.

You should get your ears on one of the nicer/larger Dual-Concentric units - 10" and up. That's been their bread & butter since the late 1940's

Thanks Yep, I'm not sure what the deal was with the Linbrooks. I know the room sucked, but there was just NOTHING about them I liked - sounded like mud. I ran right back to the Taylo monitors, which I still think were very very nice. I can heartily recommend the DC3 (or short of that, the DC1) for your application.

I really really loved the Tannoy Eyris DC3, which are small, fairly light & skinny floor-standers. They go for $1000-1300 on agon. Gives a good bit of the magic of the upper series, for a lot less money. Tube-friendly 89db @ 8 ohms load. I preferred the Tyler Acoustics Taylo Reference monitors (w/ Revelator tweet) over the DC3 when I moved to a different apartment, but the acoustics in that place were terrible. The DC3 sounded better in a decent room. The Tyler Linbrook Signature monitors just sounded completely whack and were ugly as hell (due to size & proportions). The DC3s in a good room were the most enjoyable speaker setup I'd had, until I got the TD10s into a good room. BTW, I was driving the DC3 with a PS Audio HCA-2 and there was nothing to complain about there. The preamp was a Sugden Headmaster, which absolutely could have been improved upon for not much money. I've also briefly heard the little Sensys DC monitors, and they sounded very nice for the money & size. The larger Eyris DC1 monitors should be VERY nice and they only sacrifice 1db sensitivity and a few Hz on the low-end, to the towers. I think ~$700-800 used is a good price on those...

I copied Gordon's pics over to an album of mine here - though I'll have to take some updated system pics soon. Amps hooked up to Tannoy Glenair 10s at Audio Atlanta: BEFORE Rebuild: AFTER Rebuild: Gordon uses quality, but not boutique-priced parts. He says he tries to choose parts that best maintain the voicing of the amp's original parts. The yellow caps in the "after" pics are Illinois Caps. After replacing the old caps, a LARGE improvement came from replacing the 12AU7 gain & driver tubes with all 12BH7A (all small signal tubes are vintage RCA). Gordon says the 12AU7 driver (what drives the 7581A outputs) had a particularly difficult time handling the required voltage swings. A 12BH7A or a 6CG7 is a MUCH better choice, and after listening tests it was determined to go with the 12BH7 (the 6CG7 does require a slight circuit mod). The output tubes are GE 7581A (American KT766 equivalent) with pink/flesh-colored bases (apparently older than the black-base variant), and they are VERY nice

Wow dude - that's some serious gear, nice choices! Color me jealous Nice pickup for whomever snags your TD12, too!

A restoration and upgrade on a pair of Heathkit W5-M tube amps - can't wait to give 'em a good workout: AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums - View Single Post - Paging mulveling... your W5s are running! I like how the gold paint matches the hardware on the Kensingtons somewhat nicely God, I am a vintage-iron whore. Time to cull the herd again (well, at least it's a somewhat different herd this time).

The Tannoy "ST100"s came in today. Good stuff, and bad stuff: The Bad: * These are clearly NOT ST100s, they're ST200s that have been re-badged by Tannoy - complete with new ST100 serial # stickers slapped over the old stickers! * These look like these may have been "factory refreshed" or B-stock ST200s since there are some minor cosmetic defects - still looks good overall though, so I'll keep 'em. * One of the 4 thumbscrews (used to select crossover & sensitivity settings, so pretty important) was poorly machined and cannot be used. * The banana adapters included for connecting 2 sets of cables to the same main speaker terminals - they work, but do not instill great confidence in the quality of connection formed. The Good: * I wanted the Prestige ST200 anyways, since it's a more optimized match for my Prestige speakers. I only bought (what I though was) the universal "ST100" because they were on sale. These cost less than typical for even used ST200s, so I'm satisfied with the purchase even though they (Tannoy/Stoneaudio) might not have been 100% forthcoming in their description. * The Kensingtons also use the same thumbscrews for their grills & treble settings, so I was able to snag one from a grill to use in place of the defective one. I'll still call Stoneaudio up an ask for a replacement. I put together a crappy set of cables to use in the meantime until I get much nicer cables Will try to put them through their paces tonight or tomorrow...

Many, many thanks for the birthday wishes, y'all I am quite nice and toasty right now, thanks to some Don Julio tequila

ya'll are sooooo cute!! and...it's NOT "hacking" if he just left the window open??? (like when i left my google IM open, and he told all my girlfriends we were going to Vegas to get married?? yea!!) drop the needle, Poodles!! ((((PURK)))) i don't know how to get in "touch" with you, boo?!! (and i can't post on here anymore 'cuz i'm gonna get in sooo much trouble!!)

Ah, that sucks! Sorry man Not sure if I should mention I live on the same town block as one of the few Tannoy Prestige dealers in the US Though, with the UK pound being so weak lately - it's not a bad time to import Tannoy from the UK. I just scored a new pair of ST100 SuperTweeters from StoneAudio UK for about $915 USD shipped thanks to Dusty Chalk (they were on sale). Heck, the equivalent prices of even the not-on-sale new speakers are better than USA used/demo prices. The USA distributors here use a > 2x conversion rate of UK pound -> USD, but the current exchange rate is more like < 1.4. Wish I'd thought of that sooner - it's a great time to import. Damn, those SuperTweeters usually go for > $1000 USD on audiogon USED.

So pretty. I love infrared film. Last 35mm roll I took of it, years ago, had the bottom 5-10% burned in, I assume by an infrared sensor for the camera's auto-winding mechanism

That looks like it would be perfect in the right length. I think it's time to find out more about VinceVaughn Audio

That is very odd! Runs completely counter to my experience with any of the Tannoy DC drivers, much less a high-end model like the TD12. The Dimension series in my experience (TD10, TDC-1) has particularly stunningly clean and life-like vocal reproduction - in fact I'd consider that its greatest strength. I've run the TD10s off of 3 different tube amps (20, 35, and 70 Watts/ch) and 2 SS amps (105, 400 Watts/ch) - never experienced a problem at my listening levels on any amp. Vinyl, CD, and SACD sources. Room is fairly large at roughly 21'x30'x10', but I do sit fairly close (9ft from each speaker), which reduces the power requirements. I'd estimate my "loud" listening sessions hit peaks in the upper-90s dB. Get a dB meter if you can to get an idea of your power requirements (you can kind of "guesstimate" from that). Also get a knowledgeable someone to listen in and give you opinions/ideas on the issue. Hopefully it's something cheap/easy to replace, and not a problem with the drivers As for the choice on Kensington/Canterbury/Westminster - tough choice! Definitely try to get your ears on a model before you buy. I was not ready to consider the Canterbury/Westminster level but they must be something to behold For a REALLY large room, the Glenair with its 15" driver at under $10K USD would be the relative "budget" option here. Tulip waveguide and no pepperpot, but still all reports I've heard have been very favorable! In a perfect world you could find a dealer with an upgrade policy or a demo Glenair, get them now, and then trade up when you get more cash

Thanks Steve! I'll be sure to take new pics then. I've just moved my speaker rig back to its previous (longtime) positioning arrangement, after deciding that not only looks better and is more functional - but it sounds better there, too. I had to try the "fire down the room's long dimension" approach since that's what's traditionally suggested - it just hasn't worked out that way for me, thus far. Arrrgg! That's a fine idea, but one that I really don't need running around in my head right now

Bought orange tulips and Ramen (her request) for my girlfriend's lunch. I told her she'd be better off, nutritionally, eating the tulips and keeping the Ramen on display. Well it looks like they ARE sold in pairs, hooray! Unfortunately Stone Audio's had a bit of trouble verifying the billing address with my Visa so the order has been delayed. A bit of a hassle and a few buck in international phone call charges later, I'm hoping it's been resolved and that these things ship tomorrow. Assuming things go off without a hitch now, I'll need some sort of light & flexible speaker cable for these tweeters. Tannoy's SuperLink cable looks nice but the 0.75m is too short for the Kensingtons and the 1.75m version is a bit steep. I'm thinking a simple 18-20 AWG solid core OCC or Silver twisted pair would be perfect.

Happy birthday - hope you had a great one dude! Light hangovers are the best balance between fun the previous night and lack of pain

Glenairs are twin-rear ported just like the Dimensions. Most Prestiges are distributed front-ported, except the Yorkminster which is twin-rear ported and the Westminster which is a horn enclosure. The Kensington, Yorkminster, Canterbury, and Westminster are the only current Tannoys to use the Alnico magnet and pepperpot tweeter waveguide. The others use the tulip waveguide. I haven't heard the TD12 so I can't compare to the Kensington. On paper, it should compare favorably. The local dealer has repeatedly told me his favorite of the Dimension line is the TD10 - I think he mentioned something about the voicing and difficulty controlling the bass (which would likely be very room dependant). Of the TD10, TD12, Glenair, Glenair 10, and Kensington, his favorites are the Glenair and Kensington. From my experience, the Kensington has a sweeter midrange (not that there's anything wrong with the TD10 mids which sound very clean & neutral) and a bigger, more "out of the box" sound than the TD10, and also extends noticably deeper. The Glenair 10 sounds pretty darn similar to the TD10. I get the impression that the Turnberry SE and Glenair (the big 15" one) are favorites at their respective price-points. However, the pepperpot/alnico setup (of which the Kensington is the most affordably priced) may afford the sweeter mids, and always go bigger if you can afford it

Placed a web order last night for the Tannoy ST100 super tweeter, in walnut finish, from Stone Audio UK. Hope it's for a pair

* Olivia Newton John * ABBA * Some of that sappy anime soundtrack music I collected a few years back * One of the elevator-music-on-steroids albums I found in my parents' old stash - "Mauriat Magic". It has one the HOTTEST covers I've seen, though

Noooooooooooooo The HD650 was not meant to sound shrill and nasal. That's what happened when I foolishly purchased the maple headphile cups years ago (fall '04 IIRC). Interesting info on the JVC DX1000, btw. I had no idea - should be worth a look!

If you need something vaguely like HD650 sound in a closed can for under $1000, the only thing that strikes my mind is the JVC HP-DX1000 (would have to get used on that budget). If the newer DX700 has a similar sound, that might be perfect. The DX1000 has even more bass than the HD650, while maintaining a nice treble sparkle. Like the 650, I found them to be superbly musical and one of the least fatiguing listens out there - that's important for closed cans which tend to be either shrill, honky, or both until you get to the L3000/R10. The DX1000 less neutral than the 650 (mainly for its bass response), but a nonetheless very pleasing balance to my ears. So that leaves what, $200-300 for an amp? Fortunately the old dynalo is exceptionally good, and cheap The Headamp V2 is cheap when it turns up. Or, look into the M^3 or an upgraded PPA. I'd stick with SS on this budget, especially since many of the closed headphones are low-impedance. The headphone is going to be a more important consideration than the amp at this level, especially since it must be closed. I've owned the W10vtg/W2002/W11jpn/W5000, and have borrowed a modded Denon 5000. Though it may go against the grain here, all of them bothered me for one reason or another, upon longer term listening if not right off the bat. Well, actually the W11jpn was fairly nice but they're rare.

Those look sweet. Nice, dude. ....and here's your chance - not sure how you feel about black ash, though. AudiogoN ForSale: Thiel 3.7 The Kensingtons were my "pie in the sky" replacements I had planned for the Dimensions. Didn't think I would go for them so soon but when this very local pair came up for sale w/ warranty - it was a good chance so I sold some stuff I thought I never would, to make it happen. Now I'd better pick future replacements for these. Hmm....the Yorkminsters look nice with extension to 22Hz, 95 db efficiency, and a 12" version of the same driver

I had a silly, but cool, little strobe photography project in high school. You can take a dedicated camera flash unit and hook up the trigger points on its foot to an SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier - Silicon-controlled rectifier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Then hook up a microphone to trigger the SCR. Any loud noise past a certain threshold on the mic will trigger the flash. A clap, a pop, or certainly a gunshot will do. You can control the time delay of the strobe relative to the event by varying the distance of the microphone to the event source - the calculation is simple, given the speed of sound is 330 meters/s. Obviously, more sophisticated circuitry is required for longer delays, but this is very simple and works well enough in a large enough room - in fact it gives you a very fine time granularity. For setup - the camera and the microphone each get their own tripod. Tripod for the flash is optional but recommended. You'll need to completely (or nearly so) darken the room (this part can be tricky - we used a darkroom). Set off a nice long shutter exposure (make sure you have a nice long exposure), trigger the event, and the flash will fire automatically. I think the typical dedicated camera flash will have a duration on the order of 1/10,000 to 1/20,000 of a second? Fast enough for some cool stuff. In practice, one of the issues was that the darkroom was small enough that the slap echo would tend to trigger a SECOND unwanted strobe. Also, firing a gun in this room was not an option

Haha, that's what I get for leaving open dozens of browser tabs logged in to stuff, then sleeping in past 1pm Dude I've already bought her TWO purses this year. Shoes maybe, but no more damn purses! Back to more audio-related things - I'm completely amazed at how these speakers are the most imposing large boxes I've ever owned, while sounding LESS like a box than anything I've heard. The sheer presence they project is unreal in its realism The TD10s had a -6db roll-off point at 39Hz - a bit high for a large-ish tower. This didn't previously bother me since it was still so much better than what I'd owned before - either plenty of less controlled bass, poorly integrated bass, an even higher rolloff point, or a combination thereof. The TD10s were so comparatively balanced and splendidly integrated from top to bottom. I even had a failed attempt at integrating a Martin Logan Depth i subwoofer. Never got the combination to sound a worthwhile degree better than the TD10s alone for 2ch music (it did provide a substantial improvement with movies), though truthfully I probably gave up a bit too soon (in part to finance the Kensingtons). Overall, the TD10s had a sonic signature that was highly neutral. However, and possibly partially due to the early rolloff, it was on the clean/lean side of neutral if anything. Perhaps that's why they sounded so stunning with the rebuilt vintage Heathkit W4 tube amps, which embody every GOOD stereotype you've heard about lush, warm, tubey mids - they were able to coax truly glorious mids out of the TD10s. Too bad these amps were also somewhat lacking in bass slam. I really should have tried to bi-amp with the McIntosh MC2100 and W4s for the best of both worlds Now with the Kensingtons, I'm hearing sound from them that makes me realize why Tannoy targets the Dimension line towards HT use with a sub. The Kensington rolloff point is 29Hz, and there may be other factors are involved too but there is a significant difference here, for the better. They both use a 10" driver so the low-end difference must be from the cabinet: 105 Liter volume for the Kensington, 67 L for the TD10. That and the crossover (and possibly the Alnico magnet) also makes for an extra 3db of efficiency, to 93db/Watt. I'll be able to hit LOUD levels of 100db+ at my seating position from a 25-Watt tube amp. For speakers, I'm moving into the camp that bigger truly is better.