AI-1 Interconnect
Comments
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Ah, shows you how much I know! I stand corrected. So how do you know if a pin/blade pair of SDA's in AI-1 compatible?
The compendium has a chart to go by. I'm too lazy to type it. If it comes up in "real" life ask again and we'll fill you in. It's based loosely on production year and serial numbers. As always there are a few exceptions that slip through the cracks.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Ok, I'm just thinking out loud here, but you have a cable. You have a X-nsfrmr. You have two connections.......
Is there something special about the X-nsfrmr? Why the exorbitant sale price? I mean, I know Flea-Prea is beyond normal thinking, but $355.00? Is it for just one model that's rare? I'm sorry, I'm just lost here. This sale was just freakin' ridiculous.~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Ok, I'm just thinking out loud here, but you have a cable. You have a X-nsfrmr. You have two connections.......
Is there something special about the X-nsfrmr? Why the exorbitant sale price? I mean, I know Flea-Prea is beyond normal thinking, but $355.00? Is it for just one model that's rare? I'm sorry, I'm just lost here. This sale was just freakin' ridiculous.
Well they are rare to be selling as a stand alone item, they usually are sold with the speakers. As F1 stated the original sounds better than a DIY unit. Simple supply and demand. Someone obviously wanted it for use with mono blocs or a non-common ground amp. Hell, Las bet $350 while taking a dump!
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Sal, both the pin and blade read open because of the isolation transformer.
You are correct in that both connectors/wires are used with the AI-1.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Ok, what is the pin and what is the blade? I'm seeing two pins on each end of the connector.
Can someone please explain? Shouldn't there be another connection?~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Tom, one pin and one blade at each end. The black box contains the isolation transformer.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Pin being the longer one? Sorry, man. I've never seen one before......rookie and all.~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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Correct. No problem, that's what we're here for. Well, most of us anyway.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Hmmmm, I thought I read on here that the second conductor was only connected by Polk for testing purposes and was unused. But I'm certainly no expert, I'm just running the normal configuration - single common ground stereo amp.
Maybe I'll stick to taking advice here rather than giving it!
Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance. -
Hmmmm, I thought I read on here that the second conductor was only connected by Polk for testing purposes and was unused. But I'm certainly no expert, I'm just running the normal configuration - single common ground stereo amp.
Maybe I'll stick to taking advice here rather than giving it!
That's true except in the case of the AI-1 cable, which is unique because of the isolation transformer."Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I like that you made a cardas post that replaces the Pin on your SDA's but when i do it I will put in two cardas posts, one for the Pin and one for the blade connector. So that when I want to use Mono Blocks I can use my homemade AI-1 cable that will be connected to both Cardas posts.
Sal
You don't really HAVE to; you can use just one Cardas for the pin, and if you need to use a homemade AI-1, just connect the "blade" to the negative post. That's where the blade goes anyway._________________________________________________
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SOPAThank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman -
Can't we get a transformer custom made?, one with precise windings that matches the output of the transformer in the original AI-1 cable?
Yes, Raife posted about that.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Can't we get a transformer custom made?, one with precise windings that matches the output of the transformer in the original AI-1 cable?
Sal
Yes, it certainly can be done but I believe it gets quite pricey pretty quickly for a custom transformer, but if one is willing to pay $350+ for the original AI-1 cable then maybe cost isn't an issue.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
So the original AI-1 is better than even the monster that Scott built?
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67197Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance. -
So the original AI-1 is better than even the monster that Scott built?
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67197
Better is subjective, I guess. The transformers off the shelf from Avel aren't the "exact" specification as the Polk original but it is close. Close enough that is should work out great. But for those that want the best possible solution, the original is a little bit better, so I've heard, not from personal experience.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
This is how I heard it. The Stancor was the worst by a large margin and should not be considered. The Avel was close to the stock AI-1, but the Avel I tested wasn't exactly to the stock specs, so I felt that an Avel properly spec'd would be as good as the stock AI-1. I'd say the Avel I tested was about 95% there and will certainly do the job.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I have a couple of these ....one in use and one for my in storage 2.3's....so I took the cover off to get some readings and pics.
The primary reads .3 ohms ( With a NIST calibrated DVM that reads 0 ohms with the leads shorted together ) ....so thats a very nice low ohm reading for the coil.
The secondary also reads .3 ohms ( It should ....its just an isolation transformer
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The primary and secondary are labeled at the terminals as S and F.....S being for the Black/Blade connection and the F being for the White/Pin connection.
Its just basically a nice little isolation transformer and nothing more....when you see the pics you will see why the mythical magical beast went for 355 bones
The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club -
I have one of these almost complete. The wires were cut about an inch from the transformer. My buddy sold his mono`s and spliced the wire together to use the interconnect. I grabbed the center piece thinking I might go monoblocks someday. I dont have enough posts to sell here but am willing to trade...I have been looking for a pair of rta 8tls (in black) for a while now. This would be ideal to solder good wire and go Cardas connects. Best of both worlds.HT: SRT's.....Pioneer SC95, Oppo 105D; ps4; Mitsubishi 1080p 82" DLP; DirecTV
2 ch: SRS 1.2tl's.....Odyssey Stratos monos, Dynaco PAS pre w/Mods, Arcam DV-135, Music Hall MMF 5, AQ wires
Bedroom: SRS 3.1tl's, RTA 8T (phantom center), Pioneer sc-lx701, Mitsubishi 1080p 82" DLP, DirecTV, ps3
Car: SR 6500's.....Planet Audio HVT752 tube hybrid amps (2), Alpine dvd-a double din HU, two 12" Kicker's -
This is how I heard it. The Stancor was the worst by a large margin and should not be considered. The Avel was close to the stock AI-1, but the Avel I tested wasn't exactly to the stock specs, so I felt that an Avel properly spec'd would be as good as the stock AI-1. I'd say the Avel I tested was about 95% there and will certainly do the job.
Dammit, that's the second time you've had to correct me about the Stancor and Avel. Why can't I remember that!!!!!! :eek:
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
LOL....I wasn't correcting you, just stating my findings.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
dacoupedeville wrote: »I have one of these almost complete. The wires were cut about an inch from the transformer. My buddy sold his mono`s and spliced the wire together to use the interconnect. I grabbed the center piece thinking I might go monoblocks someday. I dont have enough posts to sell here but am willing to trade...I have been looking for a pair of rta 8tls (in black) for a while now. This would be ideal to solder good wire and go Cardas connects. Best of both worlds.
Your buddy wasn't using his brains. There is absolutely no reason that the AI-1 can't be used with a common ground amp.
The party that might be interested will send you a PM as I understand it.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
LOL....I wasn't correcting you, just stating my findings.
I know, it's just that the last time this was discussed I made the same statement."Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
