jtrade
pfm Member
Having jumped on the JVC bandwagon thanks to flatpopely & having my house move delayed, I retrieved my venerable Mk 1 Kans (purchased new from The Sound Org circa '84/85) from my desktop and set them to work.
The more I played them, the more I enjoyed them - they respond so well to a muscular amp - BUT I had never used them in such a large volume room & they were definitely light on bass. In my '80s configuration fed by a Xerxes > Rega arm > can't remember cartridge, although I think I auditioned AT, Denon & Supex at the time > Onix OA21 factory-modded for sub > AudioPro sub, the sub filled it all in nicely for high volume listening.
So I bought a modest JBL ATX100S sub on Marktplaats - not as old as the rest of the gear, but still no spring chicken - and made in Denmark. I have set the crossover to around 75Hz and turned down the gain till I can only just hear it.. and then down just a tad more (this was how the SO setup my AudioPro and it seems to work well). Now the room is fully energised and from Pink Floyd to Cavalleria Rusticana, it sounds magnificent.
https://gyazo.com/fb29262e7c63b8d9995cedce46574c0a
The one negative is that the JBL plate amp ads some hiss and hum which can just be heard between tracks at very high listening levels (ie. when no-one else is in either house or garden !). This is inaudible at "normal" listening levels, so I haven't even tried to sort it : my serious listening position is unusually high and far away from the speakers (nearly 20 ft, on the bar stool in the photo). Btw, without the sub in circuit, there is neither hum nor hiss : an amazingly silent amp, which in my case does not run hot at all (just a little warm).
I am on the lookout for a matching second sub, as I hear this provides optimal balance, perhaps with one sub set to reverse phase - this model comes up several times a year on Marktplaats. I thought of buying two passive subs and running them from the Speaker 2 terminals, but this would require some kind of passive volume control and crossover. If and when I acquire a second sub, I will experiment with another pair of IKEA butchers' blocks (as used below the amp and CD transport), cut to fit the subs, on which I will place spiked Kans tilted upwards, Super-Elf style, and probably away from the back wall.
https://gyazo.com/d5f004bf3854e4d96462d02b5180ec9a
So an unusual combination that will be an abomination to some, but which is providing a very great deal of listening pleasure.
... the only clouds on the horizon being that I have a feeling that Compasses would sound (& look) fantastic in this room (without the subs) and I am also fascinated by the idea of a fully DSP'd system of the kind Linkwitz has developed. I will be driving past Stuttgart later this year, so I intend to visit the guys he has been working with to listen to what they have : http://www.magiclx521.com/index.html.
Lastly, I have set the JVC AX-R337TN up on my desktop with some old JBL Control Ones : excellent sound, very silent amp with the added bonus of a great headphone output : https://gyazo.com/01f1cd012f0f8d9f59651cce0b62228e .
Edit : can't edit title, but should of course be AX-Z1010TN...
The more I played them, the more I enjoyed them - they respond so well to a muscular amp - BUT I had never used them in such a large volume room & they were definitely light on bass. In my '80s configuration fed by a Xerxes > Rega arm > can't remember cartridge, although I think I auditioned AT, Denon & Supex at the time > Onix OA21 factory-modded for sub > AudioPro sub, the sub filled it all in nicely for high volume listening.
So I bought a modest JBL ATX100S sub on Marktplaats - not as old as the rest of the gear, but still no spring chicken - and made in Denmark. I have set the crossover to around 75Hz and turned down the gain till I can only just hear it.. and then down just a tad more (this was how the SO setup my AudioPro and it seems to work well). Now the room is fully energised and from Pink Floyd to Cavalleria Rusticana, it sounds magnificent.
https://gyazo.com/fb29262e7c63b8d9995cedce46574c0a
The one negative is that the JBL plate amp ads some hiss and hum which can just be heard between tracks at very high listening levels (ie. when no-one else is in either house or garden !). This is inaudible at "normal" listening levels, so I haven't even tried to sort it : my serious listening position is unusually high and far away from the speakers (nearly 20 ft, on the bar stool in the photo). Btw, without the sub in circuit, there is neither hum nor hiss : an amazingly silent amp, which in my case does not run hot at all (just a little warm).
I am on the lookout for a matching second sub, as I hear this provides optimal balance, perhaps with one sub set to reverse phase - this model comes up several times a year on Marktplaats. I thought of buying two passive subs and running them from the Speaker 2 terminals, but this would require some kind of passive volume control and crossover. If and when I acquire a second sub, I will experiment with another pair of IKEA butchers' blocks (as used below the amp and CD transport), cut to fit the subs, on which I will place spiked Kans tilted upwards, Super-Elf style, and probably away from the back wall.
https://gyazo.com/d5f004bf3854e4d96462d02b5180ec9a
So an unusual combination that will be an abomination to some, but which is providing a very great deal of listening pleasure.
... the only clouds on the horizon being that I have a feeling that Compasses would sound (& look) fantastic in this room (without the subs) and I am also fascinated by the idea of a fully DSP'd system of the kind Linkwitz has developed. I will be driving past Stuttgart later this year, so I intend to visit the guys he has been working with to listen to what they have : http://www.magiclx521.com/index.html.
Lastly, I have set the JVC AX-R337TN up on my desktop with some old JBL Control Ones : excellent sound, very silent amp with the added bonus of a great headphone output : https://gyazo.com/01f1cd012f0f8d9f59651cce0b62228e .
Edit : can't edit title, but should of course be AX-Z1010TN...