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MDAC first listen (part XXIII)

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John,

Been mulling over the av bypass option. I won't be using this until you produce the Mamp. As I,ve recently moved from a Marantz av pre pro to an Anthem receiver. Also by the time the Mamp or Mimp is available the Mpax (if its deemed as a suitable upgrade to fusion l2 versions) may be available. So would it be worth having the Mickey Mouse av bypass done now? Or will there be other methods of which I could bypass my receiver with Mpax or Mimp/Mamp?

I would be interested in the balanced headphone mod as until I purchase a power amp this will be my reference listening option.

Thanks
 
misterdog said:
The theory leads me to believe they will be great value for the money, including 'super tweeters' 'tri- amping' and 'active croossovers'

all for less than the RRP of my current amplifier alone.
Click to expand...

What was it about things sounding to good?
Laws of cost and quality and physics changed again?

misterdog said:
Experience leads me to think that the world is 'finished' with snake oil and that my expectation may be disappointing.
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I'm sorry to say, but I think you will be.

I checked into a local dealers shop with Artist 6's in the window because I had heard good things about Adam in Sound on Sound and other "pro" papers.

He was very forthcoming in setting up a listening session for me. Alas, I would not listen to the Adams for very long, they were just lacking in every direction. I do not think that they can show you what an MDAC can do.

I tried a few other speakers in that shop, up to the 4000 Euro mark. The only models with some real resolution were Magnepan 1.7s. Against those - wonder-tweeter or not - the Adams simply sounded distorted and nebulous.

Cheers anyway, maybe you like them after all or they were not setup correctly in the shop.

Achim
 
Achim said:
Alas, I would not listen to the Adams for very long, they were just lacking in every direction. I do not think that they can show you what an MDAC can do.

I tried a few other speakers in that shop, up to the 4000 Euro mark. The only models with some real resolution were Magnepan 1.7s.

Achim
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But this is comparing a huge, unwieldy, passive speaker (pair for ca. 3300 Euro) to a small, elegant active speaker (pair 1100 Euro). Including the necessary amp(s), you would need somewhat like 4-5x the investment. And a "studio" to fit them in ...

IMHO, the Adams are an exceptional value and are, together with the MDAC and some streamer, a very elegant, very good quality audio solution (maybe not "high end", whatever that means). And there is joy in that, and using them.

And, the MDAC provides a notable difference to many types of output devices; the point is that don't need elaborate systems to hear that.
 
PhilCTTE said:
John,

Or will there be other methods of which I could bypass my receiver with Mpax or Mimp/Mamp?
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If memory serves me well, both the MPAX and MIMP/MAMP will include a bypass function, so you should have a solution by then. I presume these will have a more sophisticated bypass (for balanced signals, etc.).

One consideration might be where the boxes will be in your room and cable length...
 
Achim said:
What was it about things sounding to good?
Laws of cost and quality and physics changed ?

Actually, no. It's unnecessary.

The cost of the shiny metal boxes and transportation and extra dealer fees for separate power amplifiers is huge!

Three power amps already inside the speaker are a correspondingly huge saving.

They are also mated to each driver.

They have no x-over to feed and therefore do not require the extra power to do that.
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WAD62 said:
...whoooah! I can feel a semi coming on...;)
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OK, Listened to your unit :) will ship it out tomorrow.

I downgraded your units software to V0.90 just for our listening tests - as each software has its own sound signature.

The L2MDAC / Toy upgrade changes the units sound "Balance" - so the settings that you might have settled on before with your unmodified unit might not be optimal now for your system. With the MDAC's Software and digital filters you will have plenty of options to play with ahead of you to fine tune your system :)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86116171/WAD62 Toy.JPG

SimonOm,

About to modify your unit to the Toy spec :) - should also be able to ship your unit tomorrow.
 
simonom said:
:eek::D:eek:
Fantastic news, John. Simply f a n t a s t i c.
Every digit, limb, and stray bun crossed, Simon
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Just completed the Toy modifications to your unit (Removed the Dales and incorporated the latest performance enhancements).

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86116171/SimonOm Toy.JPG

Before I started working on your unit, I'd completed WAD62 unit ready for shipment - then realised there was one last small modification (Remove 8 Resistors) I had not done - so I have to reopen and rework WAD's unit :(
 
JohnW said:
Before I started working on your unit, I'd completed WAD62 unit ready for shipment - then realised there was one last small modification (Remove 8 Resistors) I had not done - so I have to reopen and rework WAD's unit :(
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This sounds as if the removal of these 8 resistors has a positive impact on SQ.
 
Hi John,
I have one of the two L2 MDACs with "Multicom" Resistors, when do you think I could send over my unit for substitution?
 
Ale79 said:
Hi John,
I have one of the two L2 MDACs with "Multicom" Resistors, when do you think I could send over my unit for substitution?
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Hello Ale79,

I'm curious: before hearing of the issues with these resistors, what was your opinion of the sq?

Thanks,
Johan
 
Hi John,

Looking at the pictures of simonom's versus WAD62's, what is the difference between the four blue-colored components versus the red-colored components in the same position?

And IIRC, in your testing last weekend, you ended up removing the NOS BC components Polypropylene KP series Film / Foil capacitors and found an improvement in SQ, did I understand correctly?

Best,
Leon
 
JohnW said:
Before I started working on your unit, I'd completed WAD62 unit ready for shipment - then realised there was one last small modification (Remove 8 Resistors) I had not done - so I have to reopen and rework WAD's unit :(
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Well spotted John...:)
 
JohnW said:
I downgraded your units software to V0.90 just for our listening tests - as each software has its own sound signature.

The L2MDAC / Toy upgrade changes the units sound "Balance" - so the settings that you might have settled on before with your unmodified unit might not be optimal now for your system. With the MDAC's Software and digital filters you will have plenty of options to play with ahead of you to fine tune your system :)
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No problem John, however I'll be going back to A10 (OT/XD initially) as I will use screen dimming going forwards...;)
 
This is all so exciting! I'm feeling like a child before christmas. :D

John, thank you so much for all your efforts! :)
 
JohanH said:
Hello Ale79,

I'm curious: before hearing of the issues with these resistors, what was your opinion of the sq?

Thanks,
Johan
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Hi Johan,
Unfortunately due to post-housemoving chaos I haven't as yet listned to the L2 "Multicom" MDAC.
 
simonom said:
Great, many thanks, John. Is its Creator happy with its sound? :D
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Yes, its one of the better ones :) - and its not given me any trouble so I hope it remains that way :)

Renata's about to post the units - I'm going to catchup on sleep after pulling an all nighter once again... I'll Email your tracking numbers later this evening.
 
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