musichal
poet emeritus
Odd. The link works for me. Anyway, go to MCM electronics for the one I found first in a search for "speaker to line level converter."
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Any way to boost power output of vintage quad receiver?
- Thread starter hnash53
- Start date
Odd. The link works for me. Anyway, go to MCM electronics for the one I found first in a search for "speaker to line level converter."
musichal
poet emeritus
You're welcome. Keep the jazz cat smilin'.
hnash53
Super Member
Yeah... that's one cool cat on all of the Rippingtons' albums !
sKiZo
Hates received: 92644 43.20°N 85.50°W
I run an outboard tube amp on the front channels, but still use the 9001's rear amps to drive the rear channels. The rear speaker outputs go to a Dynaco Quadraptor, which is in turn hooked to a pair of Gecko 1114 flat panels directly to the sides of the main seating position, and a pair of Bose 161's mounted behind and up towards the ceiling. The Dynaco allows me to balance those, only instead of front to rear, top to bottom for a good blend. There's also a set of Bose 201's about 10 feet back of this array that are hooked to "B" rear for additional depth as needed. I can adjust those for a good blend using the front/rear balance on the 9001 as I don't need that for the front channel amp in the main room - that pulls signal from a tape loop which is unaffected by the 9001's balance controls.
Oh. I've also got a L+R center channel driven with a mono tube amp that adds a lot to the mix. That's tapped from a Carver H9AV holograph.
(I did mention I layer holography over the quad effects, didn't I?) <G>
It may sound complicated, but it's not, really. Definitely unconventional though.
Also worth repeating, I use the rears more for ambiance than anything. Perfect for me is when I don't really notice the rears at all ... until I turn them off and the music dies. Moral there is, do what works for you.
** Not to worry - the front amps aren't wasted. I use those to drive a couple other rooms in stereo.
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I knew I would learn what they are really for if I read enough on AK!
Some joker tried to tell me they were for hooking up equalizers.
Thanks, Bro!
sKiZo
Hates received: 92644 43.20°N 85.50°W
Unless of course your amp has volume controls ... Better yet, two, so you can adjust the balance.
(I do seem to remember mentioning that a loop will normally bypass the receiver's controls?)
In my case, tone is handled via external EQ and PEQ, as well as DSP ...
(Doncha love it when they speak alphabet?) <G>
Way more versatile and flexible than any receiver pre anyway.
Happy to be of service ... truth be told, tape loops are made to hook up a LOT of stuff ... even all at the same time! Had to draw me a map to keep track of what all and where on my system ...
(I do seem to remember mentioning that a loop will normally bypass the receiver's controls?)
In my case, tone is handled via external EQ and PEQ, as well as DSP ...
(Doncha love it when they speak alphabet?) <G>
Way more versatile and flexible than any receiver pre anyway.
Happy to be of service ... truth be told, tape loops are made to hook up a LOT of stuff ... even all at the same time! Had to draw me a map to keep track of what all and where on my system ...
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What a useful product. And one of the items is actually a tape deck.
Wish I had a dbx 200 back when my SAE pre was in my main system. It was woefully short on inputs.
hnash53
Super Member
I'm restarting this thread a bit as I continue to try and increase the power of my vintage quad receiver...
In looking at the speaker input line level converter here http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/60-10380 .
But I am unable to figure out how/where this goes. Posts #18 & 19 say this will work... but I don't know where to put it in the system.
Any help/links/diagrams would be appreciated. Thanks!
In looking at the speaker input line level converter here http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/60-10380 .
But I am unable to figure out how/where this goes. Posts #18 & 19 say this will work... but I don't know where to put it in the system.
Any help/links/diagrams would be appreciated. Thanks!
Ohighway
Wannabe Minimalist
I'm familiar with that Sanyo quad receiver. This is the cleanest, best, most elegant solution. ^^^^^
hnash53
Super Member
I just don't have the room/space for Heresys. I run two pairs of Polk bookshelf speakers (TSi200s and Monitor 40s) and a Polk sub in my quad system.
But I get the idea of using easy-to-drive speakers... 92-96 dB efficiencies. I just really didn't want to buy new speakers... or even used speakers to replace what I have.
hnash53
Super Member
...and since I have a quad system, I will need two of the converters? Will I need to get TWO power amps... or can I just use the amp in the Sanyo to drive one of the pairs of speakers?
Yeah... maybe dumb questions... I'm much more informed by pictures and diagrams... or paint by number instructions.
Here's one diagram I found... but again, I've got a quad system:
http://pdf.crutchfieldonline.com/ImageBank/v20080820123300/Manuals/543/543ADP12.PDF
dr*audio
Fish fingers and custard!
One more thing. I worked on all these quad receivers, pretty much every one made, when they were new and most of them have very underdesigned output stages. They will not take any abuse and will NOT drive a four Ohm load. They will blow the output stage. Fair warning. If you are looking for more volume, either use a bigger amp or get more efficient 8 Ohm speakers, but do not use 4 Ohm speakers. The ONLY quad receivers I have ever seen with any decent power are Marantz 4300 and 4400.
hnash53
Super Member
Yo Kent... I checked and the A25s have the same efficiency as my Polk speakers that I currently have with my quad system... 89dB.
Seems like horn-loaded speakers are about the only ones that might work.
whoaru99
Epic Member
Indeed.
That said, they can be used if one can tolerate the resulting kludge; most of which has been explained by SKiZO.
They're generally poor substitutes for pre outs as they often have relatively high output impedance. Fortunately, many amps have high enough input impedance that the sound isn't f-ed up too badly.