Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:36 pm
New Living Room System Extension
On the "Other site" as well:
Well ok; even though it will be a while before I can replace the two "round magnet" drivers from AOS-II, I don't believe the slight dip in response at 44 Hz is enough to make me wait to do their "review":
First off, there are too many variables to do a really valid A/B comparison of the AOS’s to the EPI 1000's: room acoustic differences, the "Rollandized" TFM-42 vs. my TFM-45 for the 1000's (but since I've tuned it up to specs it probably sounds pretty much the same as the 42?), the 8 meter "average quality" IC's vs. the "better quality" QED IC's used with the 1000's in my LR, etc.
The AOS's may be best for "apartment" listening because even at low volume, they are very clear and detailed. Sort of like the music is "under a microscope". The spherical dispersion and 14 drivers make even the softest passages very clear/detailed. But they can really rock as well at high power levels! But the 1000’s with their 8” woofers are probably better overall for a large, high ceiling room that you might need to “fill with sound”. The "sweet spot" of these speakers is anywhere on the sectional and from there it's a little like being "on stage" with the music. From the chair in front of the amp (the more conventional listening location), the sound stage is pretty much that of conventional loudspeakers.
More “tinkly” highs were experienced with the Nordost wires: but I will really need more time to fully appreciate/evaluate them because I really don't have a good “baseline” to compare them with because I did not get to hear the AOS’s sans the Nordosts’ enough before switching to the Nordost wires. After a few months of listening to the AOS’s WITH the Nordosts (and hopefully with the two woofers “upgraded” in AOS-II), I will switch back (briefly!) to the 12 Ga “lamp cord” speaker wires and see what “goes away”. And I’m sure that some of the extreme musical detail that I’m hearing thru the AOS’s must be from these wires! In any case, the Nordost wires (and holds mostly for all “wire upgrades”), the effect (IMO only) of premium wires is more of an “insurance policy” that anything that might be improved in your system via wire upgrades is being addressed and therefore you can rest assured that your system is delivering the best sound that it can (even if your ears cannot hear the difference or the effect is physiological or whatever). I personally believe that IC upgrades and speaker wire upgrades absolutely improve the quality of a good system’s sound, in general (YMMV!). And have proved this to myself via the “missing” lyric word’s “test” and just from listening to old songs that I’ve listened to for years before the “wire upgrade” and definitely hearing things and noticing improvements to the sound after the “upgrade”. Have not tried a power cord (PC) upgrade to date and for reasons stated previously I may never (e.g., don’t want to “mod” my vintage Carver amps to accept a different PC). Also, for numerous reasons, the bulk of my listening is (now) at relatively low power levels (under 50 w/c) and I believe that the primary effect of an expensive PC upgrade to be in its ability to transmit “power surges” during times when your amp is asking for “peak power” and the standard Ga PC may not be able to deliver that needed power for that brief time. Just my opinions! I vow to at least try a PC upgrade someday when I have nothing else left to “tweak” in my system (and I’m far, far from that right now!). Different strokes for different folks, etc….
other site linky for additional "details": http://www.thecarversite.com/yetanotherforum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=378
Well ok; even though it will be a while before I can replace the two "round magnet" drivers from AOS-II, I don't believe the slight dip in response at 44 Hz is enough to make me wait to do their "review":
First off, there are too many variables to do a really valid A/B comparison of the AOS’s to the EPI 1000's: room acoustic differences, the "Rollandized" TFM-42 vs. my TFM-45 for the 1000's (but since I've tuned it up to specs it probably sounds pretty much the same as the 42?), the 8 meter "average quality" IC's vs. the "better quality" QED IC's used with the 1000's in my LR, etc.
- jsw_img_3334.jpg (44.61 KiB) Viewed 3033 times
- jsw_img_3338.jpg (46.29 KiB) Viewed 3033 times
The AOS's may be best for "apartment" listening because even at low volume, they are very clear and detailed. Sort of like the music is "under a microscope". The spherical dispersion and 14 drivers make even the softest passages very clear/detailed. But they can really rock as well at high power levels! But the 1000’s with their 8” woofers are probably better overall for a large, high ceiling room that you might need to “fill with sound”. The "sweet spot" of these speakers is anywhere on the sectional and from there it's a little like being "on stage" with the music. From the chair in front of the amp (the more conventional listening location), the sound stage is pretty much that of conventional loudspeakers.
More “tinkly” highs were experienced with the Nordost wires: but I will really need more time to fully appreciate/evaluate them because I really don't have a good “baseline” to compare them with because I did not get to hear the AOS’s sans the Nordosts’ enough before switching to the Nordost wires. After a few months of listening to the AOS’s WITH the Nordosts (and hopefully with the two woofers “upgraded” in AOS-II), I will switch back (briefly!) to the 12 Ga “lamp cord” speaker wires and see what “goes away”. And I’m sure that some of the extreme musical detail that I’m hearing thru the AOS’s must be from these wires! In any case, the Nordost wires (and holds mostly for all “wire upgrades”), the effect (IMO only) of premium wires is more of an “insurance policy” that anything that might be improved in your system via wire upgrades is being addressed and therefore you can rest assured that your system is delivering the best sound that it can (even if your ears cannot hear the difference or the effect is physiological or whatever). I personally believe that IC upgrades and speaker wire upgrades absolutely improve the quality of a good system’s sound, in general (YMMV!). And have proved this to myself via the “missing” lyric word’s “test” and just from listening to old songs that I’ve listened to for years before the “wire upgrade” and definitely hearing things and noticing improvements to the sound after the “upgrade”. Have not tried a power cord (PC) upgrade to date and for reasons stated previously I may never (e.g., don’t want to “mod” my vintage Carver amps to accept a different PC). Also, for numerous reasons, the bulk of my listening is (now) at relatively low power levels (under 50 w/c) and I believe that the primary effect of an expensive PC upgrade to be in its ability to transmit “power surges” during times when your amp is asking for “peak power” and the standard Ga PC may not be able to deliver that needed power for that brief time. Just my opinions! I vow to at least try a PC upgrade someday when I have nothing else left to “tweak” in my system (and I’m far, far from that right now!). Different strokes for different folks, etc….
other site linky for additional "details": http://www.thecarversite.com/yetanotherforum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=378
Last edited by elgrau on Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
FR: 400 disk changer with PS Audio Digital Link III DAC; Technics SL-1100A TT. QED Quenx1 IC's from DAC & TT to Adcom GTP-602 preamp/Tuner. AudioQuest King Cobra IC's from preamp to M1.0t mk-II opt2. QED Silver Spirals 4M wires to EPI 1000’s.
LR: AudioEngine wireless link from family room preamp to Barcus-Berry 2002R Sonic Maximizer to GlowPower Zyxt IC's to Sunfire 300x2 to Nordost 6M bi-source wires to AOS 28" MDF spherical speakers using six 6.5" woofers and eight 1" dome tweeters symm. arranged around the surface.
SS system: CX-995V DVD to AV-634x 3-4 channel amp (center/rears) & M1.0t mk-II opt2(fronts).
Garage: 300 disk changer to Entech 202.5 DAC to MXR150 Receiver (pre) to TFM-42 to EPI 400 speakers.
LR: AudioEngine wireless link from family room preamp to Barcus-Berry 2002R Sonic Maximizer to GlowPower Zyxt IC's to Sunfire 300x2 to Nordost 6M bi-source wires to AOS 28" MDF spherical speakers using six 6.5" woofers and eight 1" dome tweeters symm. arranged around the surface.
SS system: CX-995V DVD to AV-634x 3-4 channel amp (center/rears) & M1.0t mk-II opt2(fronts).
Garage: 300 disk changer to Entech 202.5 DAC to MXR150 Receiver (pre) to TFM-42 to EPI 400 speakers.
