Champion1553552704

Graham Doggett;187176 wrote: I have a jigsaw that will make short work of cutting out a circle or two if that's all that is needed. Drop me a PM to discuss. Cheers Graham. Thanks for your kind offer Graham. I will see if the cutshop works out. If not, I may need your help. Thanks again!

Owen Young;187175 wrote: Someone here has used the CutShop service: http://www.cutshop.co/ Thanks so much Owen, this looks very good and close to me as well. Will contact them and see how it goes.

Hi all, I am keen to DIY a pair of speakers. However, I have no wood working skill / tools. I am Ok to glue and assembly the cabinet (have done it before) but I struggle to get the driver cutout done (and don't want to spend the money to get the tools for one project). Anyone know a local carpenter who may do this kind of simple job in Auckland? All I need is the front panel cutout done. Thanks!

Thanks for pointing that out. Do you know Sam and is he a trustworthy seller? I am a bit concern that he is a bit far away from Auckland and the photo is not that clear (just showing the front panel). BTW, 909 and 99 will probably be too expensive for me.

Also interested in 606. Thanks

Hi, I am looking for a good condition Quad 405 power amp, MkII prefered, but MkI is also OK. Please PM me if you have one for sale. Thanks.

Hi Stedor and Ernie, Where do you get the comfy pad for the SR125? I have a SR125 as well and I haven't used it much at all because I find it quite uncomfortable and the pads are getting old now. Thanks.

I agree with Antipodes. There are bass nodes and antinodes in your room and when you sit an the trough of a frequency then that frequency disappear and no speaker placement is going to help that. But with multiple subs you can try to minimize those peak and trough and get better bass response around the room. Most people pay attention to speaker placement, but I believe that the listening position is even more important.

michael w;93874 wrote: Those look vaguely like my old 8417 monos, they had optional metal cages of mixed benefit. Inquisitive fingers were held at bay but the cage itself would heat up, requiring further protection... :rolleyes: Yes, they are in fact loosely related to the 8417. As I understand, sort of a replacement for the 8417 from quicksilver after the tubes were discontinued. The tubes are hot (as with all tubes), but it does not heat up the room at all.

Ernie;93848 wrote: Hey, hey, they look good. Is there no way to put guards on them? I had the same issue myself, but the kids do get older... BTW, what will the replacement be? Yes, they sell cages as well but getting them shipped to here is pretty expensive. And it is not just a safety thing (part of the reason for selling), but I don't really get a chance to sit down and listen for long enough, and I just couldn't bother switch the amps on and off. I am looking to get some solid state integrated, thinking about rega mira 3, exposure 2010s or naim 5i. Any recommendations?

Hi all, I have a pair of quicksilver audio mini mono monoblock tube amp for sale on trademe. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=223942296&ed=true Thanks.

I have a pair of Merlin TSM-MM mini-monitor for sale on trademe at the moment http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=214749495&ed=true Please have a look if you are interested. Thanks.

I have a grounded grid preamp for listed on trademe. It has stepped attenuator (vishay resistors), output coupling cap and tube damper upgrades. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics-photography/Home-audio/Amplifiers-tuners/auction-196807214.htm

Hi, anyone know where I can get baltic birch ply in auckland? I can't find anyone stocking them?

Hi James, mine is just the standard studio finish, not gloss finish. But it still look good to me as I think it is very durable (very hard to get scratches and looks professional). Yes, it comes with the alignment tool. It is just a simple piece of wooden triangle so you toe-in the speakers at a certain angle. Nothing fancy, simple but useful.

Loud speakers name: Merlin TSM-MM Source/Amp: Oppo 970 DVD + Benchmark DAC1, Transcendent Sound GG preamp, Quicksilver Audio mini mono. Basic technical: Standmount monitor, 87dB. Rating 10 best - 1 worst Musicality: 8 Pace, rythym and timing: 8 Soundstage:8 Quality of construction: 8 Value for money: 7 Overall tonal balance: 8 Most suited style of music: Jazz, Vocal, Chamber Any other information: I find it very neutral and accurate from mid-bass up, but it lacks some deep bass. Fast sounding without being thin. Not the best looking speaker but the finish is very practical and looks professional. Quite easy to drive.

What I mean is - if reviewer A has never listened to the equipment and wrote a review, an independent measurement from reviewer B is likely to reveal that the reviewer A has never listened to the equipment, as the descriptions of the sound does not relates to the measurement at all.

I think the question is not whether measurement gives you information on how an amplifier/speakers sound - I firmly believe that it does. In fact, someone mentioned that most of the the 'accurate' amps do not sound good to him is a good example. The problem is how we measure it properly. Most measurements are done in a controlled environment, with the equipment measured in isolation. Once you put the amp/speaker in your home, everything changes - speaker load, room acoustics etc. If you take a set of measurement of the whole sytem in the room that you are listening, then the results should indeed correlate very well with what you are hearing. That's why good designer do not just design the equipment based on the results in the lab, but also testing outside the lab, under real, practical environment. And you will find that some designers do a good job at relating the data to listening experience, and some do a bad job. That's what separate the great designers from the rest. Finally, I agree that measuring equipment in isolation gives little information about how good it sounds, but it should at least tell you whether the reviewer has listened to the equipment at all!!

This just shows that big names and price do not equal performance. While I agree that cable may need some burn-in, I am skeptical on how much burn-in does to the sound - I have heard changes in sound, but I have never heard a really bad sounding cable (or actually, any component) becomes really good after burn-in.

There are alot more hi-fi shops in Central again, but are more spread out. I went there about a month ago and spent quite a bit of time in the Central hi-fi shops. I was more interested in the smaller distributor and shops rather than the big guys, as the small ones have lots of stuff that you can't find in NZ, and the service are usually better. Hit Audio is particularly good.

Craig F;52978 wrote: Most power cords remove rubbish from the power feed going into your house, so all that comes before means nothing, the power that your amp sees is what counts. Just curious - aren't most of the power cords just wires (or perhaps shielding)? How does it filter out rubbish? And if they do in fact remove rubbish, does it mean that we should have longer power cord to get more filtering? I can see how power cord with passive filters or things like PS Audio AC re-generator can make a significant difference, but I still struggle (technically) to see how a power cord can make any difference, especially given that the amps usually have a lot of filtering at the power supply anyway. Another thing that I don't understand is why do most amplifier manufacturers still ship their products with cheap cables? Why do they put so much effort on designing their product and missed one important link?

Craig F;52769 wrote: If I had to just choose one, I think it would be the AP's by a nose, but since I don't have to I won't. Wow, you are lucky, I wish I can keep two pairs of great speakers!

Owen Y;52638 wrote: - Is it feasible to make/market a (small) range of cables with differing characteristics (eg. impedance), so that the customer can optimise the performance of his/her source-cable-load combo? From my memory, synergistic research used to make variations of the same cable and allow the customer to find one that best fit to their system. Not sure if they still do that now.

Owen Y;52606 wrote: Guys, "Imaging" is one thing, "soundstaging" is another, IMHO. This may be the case, but I tend to find that some wall reflection generally is beneficial for soundstaging. Standing waves, resonances, flutter echoes, etc. are another thing tho. If you suffer from this in your room then, yes seek to kill these. Owen, I agree with you on the above. And imaging and soundstaging are two different things. Sorry if I am confusing others. I don't like highly damped rooms either, as you loose the openness etc. But I do like to kill the first reflections and leave the rest of the room undamped to achieve a good balance. At the beginning, I thought I got a wider and more open soundstage when I remove the absorption at first reflection, but I quickly realize that the soundstage is not stable and imaging suffers. And it feels very 'noisy' when I turn up the volume. Damping the first reflection rectify all these. Anyway, this is just for my system. I am sure everyone has different preference and also depends on the system/room.

Yes, from my experience, a long wall placement really give you a much better soundstaging/imaging for the virgos. For first reflection point, especially on short wall placement, you really need some absorption material such as (thick curtains, rugs etc or better yet, sound panel built from polyester or fibreglass), instead of diffusion panels. However, most material are uneffective if your concern is the bass (rather than midrange/highs). But in most cases, mid/highs are what you want to get rid of at first reflection point.