(here we go)....RSII refurb
- Thread starter Jonesy09
- Start date
Jonesy09
Super Member
For those who continue to give a .....
.....shite.
Here's what's been do'in with the RSII bi-amp project.....
The Carver M500t and M0.5t didn't work out. While they both sounded vey nice in the lower midrange and up individually (at lower volumes), and even separated between woofs & uppers, I could'nt get the level mathcing to work out. It would've involved active XO's, or other measures to get things right, and since I've sunk considerable resources into the passive XO rebuild I thought I'd continue along that line.
Consumer amps with level contols were in order. Having always liked the look of Yamaha gear, and hearing of it's power handling capability and sonic quality, I grabbed a M-60 for the woofers and (thanks, again, to Chris) a M-4 for the top end.
After haveing listened for a few nights I can safely say that I'm a total Yammie convert! I've only matched the woofers and uppers by ear, no meter measurements yet, but just dicking around with the level contols by ear had yeilded a huge improvement over the Carver impementation.
A surprising, and somewhat alarming, development occured in the top end. Much more detail.....almost to a fault. Not harsh. Smooth-ish yet clinical. But the potential is there to be unforgiving with varied source material (my sources are limited at the moment as I've decided to pull apart the TT that goes with this system at the same time).
I'm looking forward to more exploration with this combo. Initial impressions are very good with the yamma-power.
Stay tuned..............
Here's what doin', if you're interested.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=301230
.....shite.
Here's what's been do'in with the RSII bi-amp project.....
The Carver M500t and M0.5t didn't work out. While they both sounded vey nice in the lower midrange and up individually (at lower volumes), and even separated between woofs & uppers, I could'nt get the level mathcing to work out. It would've involved active XO's, or other measures to get things right, and since I've sunk considerable resources into the passive XO rebuild I thought I'd continue along that line.
Consumer amps with level contols were in order. Having always liked the look of Yamaha gear, and hearing of it's power handling capability and sonic quality, I grabbed a M-60 for the woofers and (thanks, again, to Chris) a M-4 for the top end.
After haveing listened for a few nights I can safely say that I'm a total Yammie convert! I've only matched the woofers and uppers by ear, no meter measurements yet, but just dicking around with the level contols by ear had yeilded a huge improvement over the Carver impementation.
A surprising, and somewhat alarming, development occured in the top end. Much more detail.....almost to a fault. Not harsh. Smooth-ish yet clinical. But the potential is there to be unforgiving with varied source material (my sources are limited at the moment as I've decided to pull apart the TT that goes with this system at the same time).
I'm looking forward to more exploration with this combo. Initial impressions are very good with the yamma-power.
Stay tuned..............
Here's what doin', if you're interested.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=301230
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just curious, which Adcom is your preamp and what is your CD player?
one of the rules of the game is that as your system progresses, component matching often becomes more important than before, particularly when your speakers are capable of great detail. if you can find another preamp to try, it would be good to compare and hear how much difference there can be. i'm sure my ears and tastes are different, but i never thought the M-4 sounded too clinical in my system. in the meantime, if the what you're hearing is bothersome enough, you can see if dialing back the tweeters helps.
one of the rules of the game is that as your system progresses, component matching often becomes more important than before, particularly when your speakers are capable of great detail. if you can find another preamp to try, it would be good to compare and hear how much difference there can be. i'm sure my ears and tastes are different, but i never thought the M-4 sounded too clinical in my system. in the meantime, if the what you're hearing is bothersome enough, you can see if dialing back the tweeters helps.
Jonesy09
Super Member
I learned that rule the first time I ran these reconditioned II's (reference earlier in this thread). I put a a Musical Fidelity X-DAC in to tame the harshness of the Toshiba SD-3950 I'm using for CD's. So far, it's worked fairly well. Very listenable.
You're correct on the preamp though. The Adcom GFP-555II is likely the culprit. Fortunately it's only a loaner and I'll soon have a tubed Anthem Pre 1L (thanks Evan) on scene. I'm really looking forward to hearing what efffect that has.
You're correct on the preamp though. The Adcom GFP-555II is likely the culprit. Fortunately it's only a loaner and I'll soon have a tubed Anthem Pre 1L (thanks Evan) on scene. I'm really looking forward to hearing what efffect that has.
Jonesy09
Super Member
It's been longer than I suspected but the Anthem Pre 1L is in, along with a Yaqin MS-22b phono pre, and the initial verdict is.... :thmbsp:
Listening has been limited, but between LP and CD I've got a few hours in and I'm very impressed so far. I've still not level matched, but the ear-guided method is yeilding some very nice results so far.
It's safe to say the choke point on this system was the Adcom pre. Not to impart a negative reflection on the Adcom, it was a very competent piece that served well through many ideations, but the Anthem has really opened things up.
The Anthem has kept all of the good qualities I previously heard and expounded on them; dynamic range, space, presence, separation....I now understand the attraction to tubes. Everything is now a bit more "airy" and alive. I don't wan't to get silly with the waxing poetic as the Adcom presentation with the Yamaha amps was very nice, but there just seems to be a bit more 'there' with the Anthem.
I feel the bottle-neck has opened up and this system will now only be subject to incremental changes in tubes in the preamp path, perhaps some tube amplificaton, and changes in sources. All of which I'm happy with for now.
Good lord these speakers are revealing!
Nothing but fine tweakage to follow.
Listening has been limited, but between LP and CD I've got a few hours in and I'm very impressed so far. I've still not level matched, but the ear-guided method is yeilding some very nice results so far.
It's safe to say the choke point on this system was the Adcom pre. Not to impart a negative reflection on the Adcom, it was a very competent piece that served well through many ideations, but the Anthem has really opened things up.
The Anthem has kept all of the good qualities I previously heard and expounded on them; dynamic range, space, presence, separation....I now understand the attraction to tubes. Everything is now a bit more "airy" and alive. I don't wan't to get silly with the waxing poetic as the Adcom presentation with the Yamaha amps was very nice, but there just seems to be a bit more 'there' with the Anthem.
I feel the bottle-neck has opened up and this system will now only be subject to incremental changes in tubes in the preamp path, perhaps some tube amplificaton, and changes in sources. All of which I'm happy with for now.
Good lord these speakers are revealing!
Nothing but fine tweakage to follow.
Speakernutz
Member
I know this is an older posting but this is worth a shot to me.This is so fine to see how nice mine can end up being. Luckily mine are beautiful wood clear too the bottom..No drags or water hits. What the Howards you used to clean these up so nice....I want exact names so i don't use a different product than what you used if I find Howards locally . I'd appreciate that info greatly.
Sound Dragon
Yawns and sets his couch on fire!
Howard Feed-n-Wax is the product. and it works miracles. when I refinished my last pair of speaks i did a light sponge scrub with some dish soap and Murphy's oil to get some grime off. I dried it off immediately and after applied the Howard's product and must say, its amazing.
Jonesy09
Super Member
Use the Howard's Restore-a-finish first. Then follow up with the feed-n-wax. Once the finish is brought back you can periodically put on another coat of the wax. I've reapplied once, after about a year, since getting the RSII's. The restore-a-finish has worked great on several other pairs of speakers I've pulled out of piles in the thrifts.