The SRS in action (and CD player question)

polksda

Well after a long week at work I finally got a chance to set up the SRS the way I want them and tweak the audio settings in my receiver, crossover points to the sub, etc. Then I sat down for an extended listening session. I got so engrossed in the music that I inadvertently blew off a Christmas party that I had been invited to. Oops!

I had thought that something was "missing" when I auditioned them with Paul, but I knew I hadn't optimized anything. Changing the crossover point on my receiver from 40Hz to 60Hz, and changin the bass from "LFE + Main" to "LFE" really makes the system sing. I guess that with the crossover at 40, not enough bass information was getting to the sub. 80Hz made for pounding bass, but it was too muddy, and detail was being lost on the SRS.

The biggest difference I notice between the SRS and the other SDAs is that everything seems effortless on the SRS; regardless of material, bass content, or volume level, I never feel like the SRS are struggling to keep up. They're the Energizer Bunny of the speaker world.

As far as demo material, I listened to Eagles - Hell Freezes Over, some Mark Schultz, some solo Rob Halford, and to finish off the session, Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygene. That last one sounds gorgeous with SDAs.

The weak link in my system is currently my CD player (Esoteric CDZ500, from 1990). I had planned on using a Denon 3910 DVD player for audio, but the one I got from Crutchfield exhibited horrible macroblocking so I'm returning it.

I've decided to get a dedicated CD player rather than using a DVD player for audio. I've read good things about the Cambridge Audio 640c, which I can get locally. The same place also carries the Rega Planet and Jupiter, but those are a bit out of my range. I'm also intrigued by the ShengYa S10 vacuum tube player, which comes in at about the same price as the Cambridge Audio. Does anyone here have that player?

What other current players in the $300-800 range do people recommend?

Thanks.

F1nut

Jolida JD 100 used for about $600.00.

cfrizz

You might want to check out Rotel RCD-1072.

polksda

Following up.

I've got an el cheapo Sony CE595 coming to handle SACD stuff, but am still looking to get a dedicated player (or transport/DAC) for redbook. I will most likely have to buy sight-unheard.

I've scraped together a bit more room on the credit card and have extended my budget somewhat. $1500 is now the top end, although obviously the cheaper the better.

Players I'm either intrigued by, or have read plenty of good things about that I can pick up used in that range:

Shanling CD-T100
Anthem CD-1 (changer)
Rega Jupiter 2000
Arcam CD 192
Ah! Njoe Tjoeb w/ upsampler
Cary CD 302/303
Consonance 2.2
Musical Fidelity A3.2
Meridian 508
Jolida JD100 fully modded

What players in the $1000-1500 range do you like? Which ones disappointed you?

What's your feeling on upsampling players?

Thanks!

danger boy

check out this limited edition transport/DAC combo for sale over THE bay

CAL audio combo

white cotton gloves are even included in the deal.

you're welcome.

polksda

Uhhhh... ok. $1500 != $4000.

I'm gunna assume yer just funnin' wit me...

F1nut

The only one that I've actually heard on your list is the Jolida, but I do have knowledge of some others. IMO.......

Shanling CD-T100 - no

Anthem CD-1 (changer) - no

Rega Jupiter 2000 - no

Arcam CD 192 - no

Ah! Njoe Tjoeb w/ upsampler - good reviews, I was actually going to get one. Hard to find used.

Cary CD 302/303 - the 308 is reputed to be great, not so sure about this one.

Consonance 2.2 - I know nothing about it.

Musical Fidelity A3.2 - worth taking a look at.

Meridian 508 - I know nothing about it.

Jolida JD100 fully modded - I'm getting one of these for the shop rig. The stock version w/upgraded tubes impressed me, can't wait to hear a modded version. Check out the modded offerings from Sound Odyessy at http://www.soundodyssey.com/Products.html
For $1095.00 you even get a clock upgrade and the unit upsamples to 24/96.

"What's your feeling on upsampling players?" Yes, I like it.

BlueMDPicker

Originally posted by polksda
What other current players in the $300-800 range do people recommend?

I'd put the Eastern Electric MiniMax on the list for consideration in your initial price range.

polksda

Well, I bit the bullet. I just ordered a new Ah! Njoe Super Tjoeb 4000 with upsampler from upscaleaudio.com. There have been 1 or 2 used on audiogon in the $750-800 range, but they go almost instantly at that price. The ones that show up on Ebay sell for as much or more than buying them new! This way I'm buying from an authorized reseller and have full warranty.

Ah, the power of tubes... (think of commerical "Ah, the power of cheese...")

jdhdiggs

Originally posted by F1nut

Jolida JD100 fully modded - I'm getting one of these for the shop rig. The stock version w/upgraded tubes impressed me, can't wait to hear a modded version. Check out the modded offerings from Sound Odyessy at http://www.soundodyssey.com/Products.html
For $1095.00 you even get a clock upgrade and the unit upsamples to 24/96.

Shoot Jesse, these guys are just down the street now, thanks for the indirect help!

I think I now have something to do this weekend...

2-tall

I put in a cambridge 640 in my system with 3.1tl's and I am hearing an incredible difference in sound .There is a sound stage I never had before

F1nut

James, yeah how about that. You should call Brice first to make an appointment as I don't think he's there all the time. I'm coming up to see him soon, maybe we can hook up.

F1nut

Polksda,

Please post a review/impressions when you get it and Congrats!

keith allen

Good choice polksda,I thought about a 4000,but for my budget it came down to a used music hall mmf25 and cambridge azur640,read all the review and figured it was just splitting hairs,so went with the best deal,got the mmf 25...wow,what good idea a dedicated cd player was,and there is a couple common mods one or two user mods...lets us know how ya like!

jdhdiggs

Originally posted by F1nut
James, yeah how about that. You should call Brice first to make an appointment as I don't think he's there all the time. I'm coming up to see him soon, maybe we can hook up.

I'd love to, but right now I'm living in a 1 bedroom apartment using rental furniture using a reciever and LX-5's as my only sound system so I can't really show off much of anything

Lunch or what not would be sweet.

And now back to our regularly scheduled thread:

F1nut

No problem, lunch is good...a trip to Sound Odyssey..even better. I'll be in touch.

polksda

I received both my Sony CE595 SACD player and the Super Tjoeb today. I've got them both "burning in" with discs on repeat. I've decided to leave the upsampler out of the Tjoeb for now, and then add it after the player is burned in, in order to isolate how much of an improvement there is (or not) due strictly to the upsampler (as opposed to burn-in of the player and/or tubes).

I did give a listen to the Tjoeb raw out-of-the-box, and even then it is a major improvement over what I was using - fuller midrange, better vocals, deeper bass. If other people's experiences are any indication, it will only get better as the player burns in...

At some point I'm going to have to explore new interconnects. I'm using a mixture of Monster (normal grade, not their THX series) and Phoenix Gold "Trans Balanced" interconnects.

So who's got the best "bang for the buck" interconnects in the sub-$50 per range? (new or used)

F1nut

Dude you've got a 1k CD player there, you're going to have to raise the bar a little more than $50.00 interconnects.

polksda

Am I?

Count me in the skeptics class (at least initially). How much of a difference am I going to hear between a $50 interconnect and a $150 interconnect? If you mean I need to jump up to $500 interconnects, eff that. I've gone beyond my budget as it is. I can scrape $50 together here and there, but I'm not about to dump $500-2,000 into Kimber HolierThanTheChristOnChristmas Kable or Nordost ValhallaWithThorSingingAlong interconnects.

There's no way I'm going to dump bookoo bux into interconnects and power cables sight-unseen (or in this case ears-unheard). I'm not going to buy green pens either.

I did say $50 new or used. You seem to imply that a pair of $50 (used) interconnects (conceivably $100-200 new) are insufficient. Not to sound harsh, but if you're going to blanketly poohpooh the idea of $50 interconnects, could you recommend what you believe to be the "minimum acceptable standard". Where do YOU place the bar?

danger boy

Polksda,

lots of people (me included) really have taken a liking to Signal Cable interconnects. Frank the owner will even give Club Polk members a 5% discount on his items.

I use three (pairs) of his interconnets on my two seperate 2ch rigs. I suggest you look at those. Good build quality and great sound for a small fee. I choose to go with his Signal Cable 2's with bullet connectors. Once burned in for approx 70+ hours.. they sound reallly, really good.

signal cable

tell him Danger Boy sent ya.

F1nut

The bar.......around $200 to $300.00 for used cables. The difference....night and day.

jcmccorm

I hate to be off topic, but burning in cables? Come on now...

Cary

F1nut

Cary,

What experience do you have with cables? What cables have you tried and what gear are you running them with?

jcmccorm

F1nut, I've got a mix of Monster and AR cables between the sources, preamp, and amp. I don't recall the models, but they were the near the top end for those manufacturers (the best that the B&M shop had on the shelf, but I think both Monster and AR have better ones avaliable. For example, the 6 cables I have between the SACD player and preamp were $99. Not cheap stuff, but not what is considered high-end either).

I use an Outlaw 950 preamp and Adcom 555II for an amp. SDA SRS's for mains. Once again, not necessarily cheap stuff, but not high-end either. Perhaps not revealing enough to be able to discern a difference in cable - I'm not sure.

I am open minded and willing to be corrected and educated. I will humbly apologize if I'm wrong, but, speaking with my electrical engineering hat on, I can't understand the necessity of breaking in a cable. Speakers, sure; it's a mechanical device. Audio gear, yeah, probably. Capacitors certainly change chracteristics over time. But cables? They just move electrons and we're not changing the structure of the copper because of it.

Please educate me though if I'm wrong.

Cary

PS. I'm willing to do some homework on this if there's another forum to check out, technical papers, books, etc. that anyone could suggest.

F1nut

Cary,

Ah, another EE......I should have known. Please don't take that wrong, it just seems that EE's in general have a hard time with things like cable burn in or that different cables have different sonic signatures. I will only speak from personal experience with my own gear as I have no scientific evidence to offer and therefore can not explain exactly what occurs. I like MIT cables and it has been my experience that when new they sound a bit rough around the edges. That is, the highs are a tad harsh and the bass a bit boomy or sloppy. Having gone though a number of new MIT interconnect cables I can say it's always the same. I hook them up, sit down and listen to a few very familiar songs and then walk away because it's not listenable. I then let the system run for 100 hours or so with the volume turned down low. After that I sit down again and the sound is now "right" in that the highs are smooth and the bass is tight with a depth and width to the soundstage that wasn't there to begin with. I have found this to be true with other interconnect cables I have tried as well, although the end result may be that I don't like the sound they have, they did change from when they were new. Since I don't sit and listen to my set up over the 100 hour time span I can rule out the possibility that I just got accustomed to the sound as some folks will suggest. A number of people think it's the dielectric that burns in and not the actual wire(s) themselves, but whatever it is, it happens.

It might be fun to try a interconnect cable experiment yourself. Take a pair of cables from your current stock that are well used, buy an exact pair of the same cables new and set up your system for 2 channel playback. Listen to a song or two (with the used cables) that you are very familiar with first, then swap in the new cables and see if you can hear a difference. Whatever the end result you can always return the new cables for a refund if you don't need them.

I think your gear is good enough to be able to discern a difference, however, one can not rule out the fact that some people just can't hear as well or don't know how to listen as others do.

Jesse

TheReaper

I always figured it was best to use the same quality of cables used internally by the manufacturers. That way I would get the sound as intended.

Kind of like the cables that are being used to break in the sub-woofers in this post:

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24010&highlight=tour

F1nut

In that case you really should try some better aftermarket cables.