Why be polite ?

[Bam!]

Hey duders....

I have been listening to quite a few systems in the last while......tube systems.....full range...line arrays.....solid state......bookshelf speakers.....electrostatic.....passif pre amps......active systems...endless.......just endless.....

There is always one thing that keeps coming up and I was wondering what you guys thought.....

It's the way it always sounds polite.

No I am not looking for aggressive speakers......but more....going beyond the limits of the pre amp.....or the amps......or the speakers...

I always here the limitations of the systems......whether they were $$$$$ or so called cheap...respectively speaking ofcourse!

So my quest for a system that doesn't have this problem continues.....


The funny thing is I find my system very modest...and while when playing people like Diana Krall....Impulse...Peel me a grape.....it's far from being polite.....the live feeling without boundries is very there.....

Do another listen with let us say Frampton Comes Alive II.....back to politeness......

[Cowanrg]

my system is far from polite...

i can put on some nice "easy listening audiophile genre" music, and its very precise, accurate and musical.

however, throw on some marylin manson, tool, etc... and get ready to have your bowels re-shifted. its also good with many kinds of rock music. it just grabs hold and wont let go i have measured a good 110dB from the subs alone

[Bam!]

my system is far from polite...

i can put on some nice "easy listening audiophile genre" music, and its very precise, accurate and musical.

however, throw on some marylin manson, tool, etc... and get ready to have your bowels re-shifted. its also good with many kinds of rock music. it just grabs hold and wont let go i have measured a good 110dB from the subs alone

hmmm...I read your profile....but don't dee the whole thingy...can you tell me your system.....you listening room...

I am indeed curious.......I have not yet heard Maggies! ops: :B

[Cowanrg]

my room is about 20' wide, 18' deep, and 15' tall in the middle (arches up). every wall but the back wall is an exterior wall. the back of the room is open to the rest of the house, and its 2 stories tall. so, from upstairs, you can see down into the living room. the back of the room extends another 20-30' back.

all the equipment but the surround speakers is on that front wall. i have a pair of magnepan tympani 1D's dominating that wall (each is 4' wide by 6' tall). they are about 3' from the back wall. behind EACH i have a velodyne HGS15x (the new one that is basically a DD series without the EQ and mic). these "augment" the bass

my middle rack has my TV, dvd player, processor, power center, xbox, vcr, and sirius radio. the dvd player is also my cd player and is a brand new denon dvd-3910. its awesome. the processor is a yamaha rx-v1300 (havent found a new processor i like that i can afford yet). its definately the weak link.

next to the main stand, i have an audio stand on each side of the rack. these hold two rotel B-1080 amplifiers (around 200x2 @4ohms each). one of these powers each front Tympani. (so i have about 400 watts to each speaker). then i have some custom built pass labs aleph3's that power the rear surrounds.

all cabling is audioquest or synergistic research. the front speakers use two runs of pike's peak with the DBS upgrade kit (72v). all interconnects are audioquest jaguar with the new DBS packs, including my 6-channel analog for dvd-a and sacd. sub cables are synergistic research resolution reference. these things are NICE. they make the sub sound like two levels up in performance. the best sub cable ive heard by FAR. but the downside.... $1k a pop. yikes. ive also got various power cords on everything, audioquest sorbothene feet on the dvd player, etc...

magnepans are not typically characterized as a very dynamic speaker. however, i think most people under-drive them. all the maggies iver heard that i have really liked had insane amounts of power to them. i dont think you should feed them less than 300 watts per speaker, AND, the amp must be able to handle a pretty brutal load. (4 ohm max, dips down to 1 to 2 ohms like its nothing, AND they are like 83dB sensitive). so it really takes a good amount of juice to drive them. most amps get really harsh and start to fall apart at their peak levels. the rotels do a pretty good job for now. they get VERY hot though, at times too hot to touch.

the seating position is only about 7ft back from these puppies. they are about 8ft apart though, so the soundstage is HUGE. from the outer edge of the left speaker to the outer edge of the right, its 16ft. so the soundstage that it projects goes even beyond that (as most good speakers). so i get a soundstage that is realistically beyond about 25'.

the subs work well with the maggies. they are "fast" enough to keep up with the VERY quick bass panels on the maggies. i get absurdly low extension and still get the detail. kick drums, (or any drum), bass guitar, etc... just belts out of these things in all its glory. the subs are set to 1/4 on their dial. they never even get close to trying. i have NEVER bottomed them out, or even gotten relatively close, and ill play some insane stuff (a lot of rap too).

but imaging is what these things do best at. their ability to place an instrument ANYWHERE in the room is great. even in 2-channel, i get sounds from behind and from the sides. i have tricked people into thinking im playing a multi-channel DVD-A when its just a stereo mix. they will get up and walk over to a surround to find its NOT actually on.

but just becasue of their sheer size, they create a LOT of sound. its not that they are loud, but its just such a full sound. they fill the room, rather the house even at lower levels. and as you crank it up, they really just saturate the room with crystal clear sound.

[Bam!]

Cowanrg...

Thanks for that hard work of posting such a well detailed anatomy of your system! I appreciate it.

Now from what I understand....you are a multi channel listener....that goes through 2 subs + your maggies for music listening...?..and on occasion you listen to 2 channel...

What is your Pre/pro ?

Thanks!

[Andrew Pratt]

(4 ohm max, dips down to 1 to 2 ohms like its nothing, AND they are like 83dB sensitive)

None of the maggies i've ever owned or seen specs for deviate from a constant 4 ohm load. They're not like Martin Logans which do dip very low.

[Cowanrg]

ive measured mine while being driven, and they dip down pretty low. its not as drastic as say a cone speaker, but it does go low if the bass does...

BAM,

im mainly a music listener. the 2 subs are for music, as well as multichannel material. the processor is the yamaha rx-v1300 right now. im not using its amps, just using it as a pre/pro. i want to eventually get something better, but not sure what as of now...

[Andrew Pratt]

That's interesting b/c you almost always see them as a static 4 ohm load.

[aud19]

My system rocks perrrtty well too Steve-O It seems to go from "delicate and muical" to "kick your ass" pretty well

Jason

[NMG]

I think any good system when setup properly should have that "jekyl and hyde" personality in the sense that it should indeed play what it is being fed in the way that the musician intended it to be heard.

My system will also sound "musical" and "polite" with lighter stuff but throw on some good ole hip hop and the room will be buzzing with sounds that could drive many audiophiles to various levels of insanity :T

[Bam!]

My system rocks perrrtty well too Steve-O It seems to go from "delicate and muical" to "kick your ass" pretty well

Jason

I hate when it is muical........Ya know those days when there is just something missing.... :lol:

Ahhh haven't punned in a while! ops:

[Bam!]

...maybe I am explaining myself incorrectly...

What do you guys associate "politeness" to ?

[David Meek]

IMO, it describes a sound that is a bit "smoothed" or "rolled off" with regard to the highs and possibly the upper mid-range. Not something I like. I prefer accuracy, but without harshness.

[NMG]

I agree with David and also a system that may not give justice to the way the low frequencies were recorded by the musician.