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Another beast tamed...Acoustat Spectra 22

Michael wicked thread would you say removing the preamp gives you more of a uncoloured sound?
 
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It gives a less restricted sound. Especially with the SS amps. Presentation of content is improved in every conceivable category. I'm very anxious to see if this is the case with my cd horn/cone/dome/box speakers, too. :scratch2:
 
tomlinmgt said:
It gives a less restricted sound. Especially with the SS amps. Presentation of content is improved in every conceivable category. I'm very anxious to see if this is the case with my cd horn/cone/dome/box speakers, too. :scratch2:
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There's just something about capless hook-up...
 
That's a nice looking little passive unit.

But hell fire do I ever love jockeying system volume at the laptop. Less cables, less hardware, less circuitry, no remote to keep up with (or stress out over damaging)....it's as liberating as when I kicked the GEQ out of my system some three years ago.

But I understand that's a luxury only for the pc source crowd. And damn is it ever a nice one!
 
does the wood between the speakers act like a diffuser? Did you make it yourself? Do you have lighting behind your speakers?
 
tomlinmgt said:
Ice cube trays. Lots and lots of white plastic ice cube trays. Or those square grid diffusers that cover fluorescent light fixtures.

So, basically, nothing sexy there to gawk at. I'd like to do something to give them a bit more visual appeal.
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Although I'm an Acoustat owner and lover I must admit they look quite agricultural with no grill cloth. Even I don't like to look at them naked.
 
Jerryfan said:
does the wood between the speakers act like a diffuser? Did you make it yourself? Do you have lighting behind your speakers?
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The lighting behind the speakers comes from a few rice paper floor lamps.

The treatment you see on the rear wall is a seven module stepped fractal diffuser....a design created by Arqen Sound. I did build them myself from birch plywood. I discussed them a little bit in the last few pages of this thread...

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=547132

The devices on the floor directly behind each speaker are poly diffusers with 4" of OC 703 behind them The entire stepped diffuser array has 4" of Roxul SafeNSound behind it.

In this picture you can see the entire array (the Acoustats hide the outboard modules)...

attachment.php
 
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Managing the digital volume control leads to quality degradation on lower sampling rates doesn't it? Are you running 192khz to mitigate this or is 96khz sufficient? I've been hesitant to go this route after reading about this....what are your thoughts?

You seriously have those JBLs too? I'm getting jealous here lol. Very nice setup.
 
^^^

If it does I'm not hearing it as the improvement realized by removing the preamp was pretty substantial...so if there's any degradation to SQ by controlling volume at the laptop it's considerably less than the improvement afforded by getting a preamp out of the chain. I'm fairly new to the computer audio thing, but I'll be looking into what you're talking about in greater detail. And my tube amp has output control, so I can throttle the volume there with the laptop volume kept wide open and compare that against keeping the amp output wide open and throttling volume at the laptop.

Thank you for the compliment.

The JBL's are impressive, but so far I'd say the Acoustats and the set up in the following link have been the best two flavors (and very different flavors, at that)....

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=571184
 
I think it might be noticeable if you were running 10% volume off your laptop on a 48khz sampling Or was it 16bit vs 24bit oversampling? I'm not an expert on this subject either, just some bits(heh) of info I've picked up looking for a DAC with a volume control and the drawbacks of a digital one. Maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in.
 
Interesting that a preamp bottleneck emerged in a electrostatic loudspeaker thread, I must say.

Resistor-free/Potentiometer-free attenuation is available, as well, assuming one's level controls, if equipped, are effectively out of the circuit at full.

I've always had an active preamp, but am running a TVC (Transformer Volume Control) now.

Yes, many digital volume controls lose resolution at low levels, in the same range that pots have problems, but the OP prefers higher levels.

:D

Congrats on the 'stats!
 
So I've tried this preampless magic, it's not working for me. My DAC just doesn't have enough gain to drive the Adcoms properly. It sounds good, but nothing really striking since I can't really push it. I've also bypassed the subwoofer just in case but running em full range didn't help. The FiiO Trashcan just doesn't have the gain that I need. Very happy with the DAC overall but it just won't do set up like this for me.

Loud music sounds fine, but stuff where I might be able to tell the difference like the XLO disc is too quiet.

Hmm maybe it is better? The noise floor has to be lower, I know the Adcom pre is very noisy right now running stock capacitors and no upgrades. Just so damn quiet on dynamic music!

OK after some time:
It seems like I'm getting better stereo separation
The speakers seem less beamy, maybe I'm crazy
Lower noise floor for sure, I know that Adcom pre is noisy
Things do seem to sound overall better

Oh and I've set the supported formats to 96khz minimum with 192 supported and changed default format to 24bit 192khz. I swapped out the computer doing the streaming since I was having some issues.
 
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sqlsavior said:
I would be very interested in how you would characterize the flavors...

Thanks!

:yes:
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The most obvious difference is sound stage presentation. The 19's are middle to front with width and height that is more "close to stage". The Spectras are middle to back (waaaay back) with width and height that better conveys the space of the room or hall in which the music was recorded. With the 19's the majority of sonic content seems to be coming at you, whereas with the Spectras you look into the presentation and though they are set up a good 5' from the front wall, 80% of the sonic content seems to originate from the diffuser array mounted on the wall behind them resulting in a mind bending disappearing act...so the ventriloquism factor is VERY high.

The 19's have more bite to the leading edge of content so there's more of a tactile element/sensation when listening to them. The 22's have a little less intensity to their presentation, but at the same time it's a bit thicker, as if the sonic images themselves occupy more dimensional space. I can't say one seems more realistic than the other, but combining the two would certainly create what I think would be the ultimate in realism.

These characteristics, to me, generally result in a listening experience via the 19's that I find more invigorating and engaging...as if I'm closer to the musicians (or even amongst them) and through the 22's slightly more ethereal and spacious but with just enough edge that I can stay connected and drawn towards the music. No clear winner here....but certainly some will prefer one over the other.
 
I think Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris was probably made for Acoustats. Had a listen last night and damn, that was nice. :yes:

Jack White's Lazarreto...interesting but, well, not so much. :no:
 
tomlinmgt said:
Seems that's the case...and since the Hafler is a loaner I'm once again on the hunt for really a big amp. Always wanted to try one of them big GAS amps...:scratch2: Or I could go ahead and send this PL700 I have sittin' around out for the White Oak mods.
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Hey Tom, you might also want to look for a Sunfire amp. Bob Carver has done some real interesting things in the world of amplification! No doubt... controversy yes, but no doubt! :yes:

And since I have been lurking around the Acoustat Posts of late, let me first make the announcement here, that I will soon be joining Tom with a pair of Spectra 22's sitting next to my KEF 107's! That is going to be an interesting comparison. :yes: And I think I know how it will pan out! :smoke:

More fun to follow! :thmbsp:
 
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