Politics and hi-fi
- Thread starter Tony L
- Start date
russel
./_dazed_and_confused
I doubt there is much problem obtaining an equivalent or better spec TO3 device for transistors, Hitachi did some nice lateral FETs that can be used as drivers and headphone amplifiers but there is no equivalent and fakes abound and as for Sony and Yamaha power jfets, well I am glad I have a few Sony power JFETS knocking around because they have joined the unobtanium mine now. Trouble is I am terrified of wrecking them but I shall not let them go to waste in case any one is worried.
I agree that speakers cannot be tiny and sound great. However compact to medium sized stand mounts look fine in most homes.
I was more referring to the rest of the electronics. I've had the stacks of boxes. Been there, sounded great, but ultimately just too damn messy. I want decent sound. Not the best, but very good. I just don't want the mess. That does not mean I want the other extreme of Bluetooth one box micro speaker. Just a compact proper hi-fi. Currently that is AVI Lab and PMC, but with other little boxes and cables, like DAC etc. However if I can cut out yet more clutter then great.
I was more referring to the rest of the electronics. I've had the stacks of boxes. Been there, sounded great, but ultimately just too damn messy. I want decent sound. Not the best, but very good. I just don't want the mess. That does not mean I want the other extreme of Bluetooth one box micro speaker. Just a compact proper hi-fi. Currently that is AVI Lab and PMC, but with other little boxes and cables, like DAC etc. However if I can cut out yet more clutter then great.
davidsrsb
pfm Member
"Unusual" power transistors with thermal tracking diodes, motorised volume pots, input selector ICs...
There is a long list of already extinct spares. It is ridiculous that a 1950s valve amplifier is easier to maintain than a 2000s Cambridge
Tony L
Administrator
The whole disposible culture really annoys me. It is unbelievably wasteful. I fear about being able to play CDs at all in the near future, yet I know my Leak Stereo 20, Quad 303, Garrard 301, Verdier tube pre, Tannoys, Klipsch etc are built to last and will remain serviceable far, far beyond my expected lifespan. They are simple maintainable things built from standard parts. It is the same thing when I'm doing my one day a week demonstrating 1948 vintage tube technology computing at MOSI - the SSEM replica, which is hard-wired from appropriate WWII period vacuum tubes, radar CRTs, capacitors, resistors transformers etc is fully maintainable and (comparitively) easy to fix 66 years on whereas the bank of iPads in the display in front will be in landfill or broken and unfixable probably within five years, let alone when people in the future want to learn about our era of computing technology.
PaulMB
pfm Member
It is interesting that you state that speakers cannot be tiny and sound great, then go on to say that compact to medium stand mounts "look" fine. I'm absolutely not arguing with your point of view, heaven forbid, we are all entitled to decide for ourselves. I've been amazed myself by the power and quality of a tiny T-amp. But speakers are a different matter.
By the way, what is the logic of stand-mounts? They have the same footprint of a speaker 3 times the size that would provide better and more extended bass.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
Fakes aside, the fT of 15MHz is somewhat unusual. The TO3 devices today are either significantly lower or higher than that.
If you can point me to a source of equivalent 2SA747 and its complementary 2SC1116 transistors, I shall be grateful to stock up some. The closest I got was 2ST5949 and 2ST2121, but these are also now out of production.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
Well, I guess that depends on your definition of what sounding great is. I agree small loudspeakers can't go loud and deep at the same time, but a small 2-way has much better odds at sounding musically coherent than the average 3 or 4-way floor-stander.
If I were to blindfold you to listen to these two designs of mine, you'll be hard pressed to pick one from the other. More often then not, visitors listening to the little pair first expected a much bigger loudspeaker.
James
MikeMA
pfm Member
Up to a point, but I don't think it's quite that simple. While you might get extended bass, there are other trade-offs and cost issues.
At any given price point it ought to be easier to build a better stand-mounter than floor-stander, simply because you can spend less on the cabinet and more on drivers etc. Plus, it's easier to control cabinet coloration with a smaller box. Many cheaper floor-standers are effectively stand-mounters stuck on empty - and resonant - wooden boxes.
Generally speaking, at any given price point, I would choose decent stand-mounter over floor-standers, and add a decent sub with room correction if needed. This of course totally ignores the cost of the sub and decent stands which probably negates my whole argument.
PaulMB
pfm Member
Up to a point, but I don't think it's quite that simple. While you might get extended bass, there are other trade-offs and cost issues.
At any given price point it ought to be easier to build a better stand-mounter than floor-stander, simply because you can spend less on the cabinet and more on drivers etc. Plus, it's easier to control cabinet coloration with a smaller box. Many cheaper floor-standers are effectively stand-mounters stuck on empty - and resonant - wooden boxes.
Generally speaking, at any given price point, I would choose decent stand-mounter over floor-standers, and add a decent sub with room correction if needed. This of course totally ignores the cost of the sub and decent stands which probably negates my whole argument.
I see, interesting.
merlin
Avatar changed - Town names deemed offensive.
The Japanese audiophiles had a penchant for large loudspeakers in small rooms and it does work.
The typical loudspeaker that used to be seen used size to increase efficiency and sensitivity rather than bass extension. Therefore the bottom end worked well near walls in small rooms whilst music's fundamentals retained the gravitas that small standmounts sadly more often than not lack.
All of the fundamentals can be found below 1khz so typically, a lot of popular loudspeakers over there and older designs over here featured a large cone that worked up to this point and some form of horn loading above that.
Over here we still find Tannoy and Klipschhorn to name just two examples of such an approach. In reality, they take up no more real estate than some standmounts that require a meter of space to perform. Jammed into corners or against rear walls they can sound remarkably good in small spaces as heard often in apartments around Tokyo.
The real problem is that none of these designs are remotely "wife friendly". I'd love to see a modern take on one of these - maybe disguised as something different and more domestically acceptable to the fairer sex.
The typical loudspeaker that used to be seen used size to increase efficiency and sensitivity rather than bass extension. Therefore the bottom end worked well near walls in small rooms whilst music's fundamentals retained the gravitas that small standmounts sadly more often than not lack.
All of the fundamentals can be found below 1khz so typically, a lot of popular loudspeakers over there and older designs over here featured a large cone that worked up to this point and some form of horn loading above that.
Over here we still find Tannoy and Klipschhorn to name just two examples of such an approach. In reality, they take up no more real estate than some standmounts that require a meter of space to perform. Jammed into corners or against rear walls they can sound remarkably good in small spaces as heard often in apartments around Tokyo.
The real problem is that none of these designs are remotely "wife friendly". I'd love to see a modern take on one of these - maybe disguised as something different and more domestically acceptable to the fairer sex.
Purité Audio
Trade: Purite Audio
Andof course large full range loudspeakers can work in smaller rooms, you just need to attend to any room/speaker issues with passive acoustic treatment, EQ or DRC.
Keith.
Keith.
davidsrsb
pfm Member
Take a decent small stand mounter like the Spendor D1 and add about GBP500 for the matching stands
merlin
Avatar changed - Town names deemed offensive.
I imagine some of those designs were hugely entertaining.
It's a shame I do not have two suitable corners in my living room otherwise I would have built my own heavily disguised corner horns many moons ago. With modern DSP, materials and some wonderful drive units on the market, the feasibility of such systems has never been as simple.
russel
./_dazed_and_confused
Joe Hutch
Mate of the bloke
That was because women were in the kitchen 24/7 listening to the Light Programme on a bakelite valve radio.
It is a question I have asked in the past. My conclusion is that the typical home audio stand mount speaker with a fixed baffle step correction in the crossover designed to only work on stands out in the room is primarily a fad. Unlike pro monitors with their switches on the back they cannot be positioned on shelves, desktops, etc... without upsetting the response. The claimed advantages are somewhat vague and don't seem to survive examination based on physics or real world experience. The cost of a typical stand is more than the typical cost of including a bit more wood and stuffing in manufacture. If you already have a stand of the correct height you are happy with then you can replace a stand mount speaker with another one of the same size without purchasing a new stand. It might be a bit tenuous but it is an advantage!
blossomchris
I feel better than James Brown
Never thought I would hear anyone say this, or on any other hifi forum for that matter.
A couple of forum people have seen my speakers and suggested, without hearing or a proper listening, that they are too big for the room, not sure you can convince people this works, but it certainly does for me.
Bloss
davidsrsb
pfm Member
The main problem with small cabinets is the little mid-bass having to pump too hard to get sub 100 Hz. Taller cabinets don't really allow bigger drivers, only a little more efficiency, unless multiple drivers are used. Unfortunately the usual 2.5 way gives excessive baffle correction and boom