9 hours ago, Ittaku said:

I did that last time. Ground loops, and my power conditioner is one big mofo rather than multiple smaller.

 

Aaah, of course - having a power conditioner makes a 32a line the one to go for.  I don't get any ground loops from my multiple circuits, though???

 

Andy

 

1 hour ago, andyr said:

 

Aaah, of course - having a power conditioner makes a 32a line the one to go for.  I don't get any ground loops from my multiple circuits, though???

You don't have a Supratek preamp *cough*. It acts like a military spec ground loop detector.

Haha - and like all military supplies ... it comes with a high price!  

 

Andy

 

13 hours ago, Ittaku said:

Tried contacting them multiple times through the local distributor and their "service" but have had radio silence in response.

 

Meanwhile I got the sparky to come around and investigate putting in a dedicated 32A line for me. I had to make up some crap to convince him I needed 32A but he said he can do it; now waiting for the quote and time.

I think Geoff at @HeyNow Hi-Fi was stocking the Artnovion stuff. Maybe see if he has better luck in waking them from their slumber to help you out?

11 hours ago, BugPowderDust said:

I think Geoff at @HeyNow Hi-Fi was stocking the Artnovion stuff. Maybe see if he has better luck in waking them from their slumber to help you out?

Hey, give me a buzz tomorrow and I’ll check it out for you. 
Geoff 

039525 0022 
 

Got my new 10m subwoofer cables courtesy of NB speaker cables.

 

So many things still in limbo thanks to this lockdown. Still thoroughly enjoying the new room, but the liveliness of the room is much more evident now that I've been here a while and starting to detract from my enjoyment, so I need that room treatment soon. Geoff was going to send someone around but lockdown... I've also become particularly aware of just how bad the dipole loss is in this larger room on my woofers and had to bump up the amount the subwoofers do even further for smooth coverage; more than I'd ever intended with their crossover now at 50Hz instead of 35. Need to assess how good/bad/indifferent this is over time. It allows me to play louder than ever before if desired, but realistically I listen that loud only 1% of the time just for show, so it's no great advantage.

Have you measured your room response? What does it tell you? Care to share some charts?

29 minutes ago, BugPowderDust said:

Have you measured your room response? What does it tell you? Care to share some charts?

RT60 is as high as 1 second between 250 and 2500 Hz. Not surprising given it's a large room submerged in concrete slab with no furnishings or room treatment. It's normal for larger rooms to have longer reverberation times, but it would be nice to get it down. Remember I haven't done anything at all yet to tackle it apart from putting the rug on the floor so it's no big deal. The couch I ordered for the room isn't even here yet. It's just one big empty.

Yeah that’s gonna make it lively alright.
 

I know the temptation is to tinker but maybe try and hold out changing what sounds like it was a great sounding setup until you can get the room behaving itself.

My room was sitting at about 900msec before treating it with panels, and is now down to 550msec. That’s good enough for me. I didn’t want a dead room, and as it’s 9m long, polished floorboards and lots of glass, it’s never going to give super low reverb times.

5 minutes ago, BugPowderDust said:

I know the temptation is to tinker but maybe try and hold out changing what sounds like it was a great sounding setup until you can get the room behaving itself.

But that's been my plan all along...

I smashed through 5000 hours on my power valves without even noticing. I've already lit them up for today, so tomorrow's task is to check them all again. On the other hand, I went ahead and replaced all the small signal valves on my preamp as they started making rushing sounds in the bass range. Hilarious given preamp valves are supposed to last 10,000 hours and power amp 2,000. The preamp valves are only 2,000 hours old. This time I ordered some matched, high gain, low noise Sovteks from Tubedepot. They're my goto now for well-tested off-the-shelf regular valve supplier.

Edited July 24, 20214 yr by Ittaku

1 hour ago, Ittaku said:

I smashed through 5000 hours on my power valves without even noticing. I've already lit them up for today, so tomorrow's task is to check them all again. On the other hand, I went ahead and replaced all the small signal valves on my preamp as they started making rushing sounds in the bass range. Hilarious given preamp valves are supposed to last 10,000 hours and power amp 2,000. The preamp valves are only 2,000 hours old. This time I ordered some matched, high gain, low noise Sovteks from Tubedepot. They're my goto now for well-tested off-the-shelf regular valve supplier.

 

Very odd about those preamp valves.    I have never had to replace a preamp valve in an amp due to it being worn out. Usually it was because in the days of old guitar amps etc, they often got rattly and microphonic due to physical abuse.    I have removed 12au7 12ax7 style valves from equipment that ran all day every day, and they still tested the same as new.   I have bought boxes of old used valves, and nearly all of the small signal ones test like new as well.  Hard to kill them.

 

New production valves might conceivably be less well made by some manufacturers.  Rushing bass sounds is peculiar.  Gassy maybe?  Due to poor conditions and lack of QC during construction, or poor materials?

 

I have bought from Tubedepot.  No complaints about them from me.

Tested all my power amp valves for the 5,000 hour mark. Replaced two regulator valves whose plate current has crept up, but all the power output and small signal valves all still measure very good. Next stop 5,500 hours.

Got my extra-wide generously padded soft 3 seater lounge suite and it's made a remarkable impact on the liveliness of the room. I think I should wait till I get the two single seaters that I'm also putting on either side before tackling the room treatment, as they'll be going in front of the first side-wall reflection points. Important lesson - if you're after room treatment, try a plush fabric couch first! Putting a big couch here had nothing to do with planning hi-fi get togethers, honest!

 

the room is looking wonderful, Con.

Went to order some more cables from https://www.ordiocables.com.au/ but to my disappointment their minimum order is now $500. Oh well.

I swapped a perspex turntable cover for some aurealis speaker cables last year. They're well made and sound good on my Rye system. I ordered some matching jumpers from Geoff and I had them within the week. I know that's not what you need but might be worth checking him out.

8 minutes ago, buddyev said:

I swapped a perspex turntable cover for some aurealis speaker cables last year. They're well made and sound good on my Rye system. I ordered some matching jumpers from Geoff and I had them within the week. I know that's not what you need but might be worth checking him out.

Thanks, was just after some basic 10m long XLR cables. Ended up getting the cablechick ones which were half the price. So long as they're balanced cables and solid construction, I'm not worried about their quality (subwoofers really don't impart much in the way of quality, though of course if you read reviews and testimonies...)

On 2/8/21 at 3:25 PM, buddyev said:

the room is looking wonderful, Con.

 

I’ll say!

 

Truth is, nothing beats a purpose-built listening room. I spent most of my life listening in shared living rooms, and just a few years ago (after most of the kids moved out) got the opportunity to convert a rarely used guest room into a (mostly) music room. Nothing like what Con’s got to work with, but much better than sharing a general-purpose living space.

 

Just wondering Con, are you planning to try some ceiling diffusion? I know it tends to, ahem, impede on the looks of a room, but I found it to be one of the most effective treatments in my low ceiling (2.45m) room.

Congrats on the new house and room Con!! 

 

looks fantastic!

 

Are you still in the same suburb?

 

Cheers

 

David

Edited August 14, 20214 yr by dcathro

Just a thought, Con.  If you you are still finding the room overly lively you can easily get floor to ceiling drapes (backed by a heavy bumf lining along the side walls.  Works wonders in my room which is a similar size (a bit smaller probably).  Clap echo virtually non-existant.  

 

Looking good though!

I will almost certainly be using roof absorption (or diffusion if that's what's recommended.) I have moved suburb yes, now in Kew.

 

As I can't even get the audio technician out to measure my room, to inverse celebrate the ongoing lockdown I decided to buy new electronics which should arrive this week. For those who don't already know what I ordered, see if you can guess what I'm getting.

6 minutes ago, Ittaku said:

 

As I can't even get the audio technician out to measure my room, to inverse celebrate the ongoing lockdown I decided to buy new electronics which should arrive this week. For those who don't already know what I ordered, see if you can guess what I'm getting.

 

 

You're going to take your rubbish tube amps to Vinnies ... and buy the ML monoblocs that Marc has for sale?  

 

Andy

 

6 minutes ago, Ittaku said:

 

As I can't even get the audio technician out to measure my room, to inverse celebrate the ongoing lockdown I decided to buy new electronics which should arrive this week. For those who don't already know what I ordered, see if you can guess what I'm getting.

 

Well you won't be replacing your MSB dac, nor your AR amps, nor your Supratek pre, so that only leaves a new streamer or new DSP?  I'll guess a streamer...

🧐