Earthquake Cinenova Users.. Question

mwaarna

I recently purchased the Earthquake Cinenova used...

I am loving the amp, but i have one question to you owners..

I have the Cinenova hooked up to my Pre-amp with a 12volt trigger.

When I turn the ssytem off, it turns off the amp.

About 3-4 seconds later one of my speakers makes a popping sound.. Nothing horrible, but just a popping sound..

It seems as if the AMP has a capacitor that it discharges when the amp is turned off...

Does this happen to you guys?

Thanks

-Matti

polkatese

yes, Matti, it happens to me too. This is the version that I was told as the reason:

On these high-end amps, they intentionally removed the power discharged filter from the design, since it affects and colors the overall quality that they want. Hence, the discharge of the capacitors caused the pop in your speakers a few seconds after you turned off the amp. Believe me, I am still concern sometimes when it does that (afraid of damage to my speakers, obviously). But so far it hasn't cause any problem (it's been 3+ years since I got my Gemstone Blue Diamond). Just make sure you lower your volume before turning the amp off.

Gaara

I used to have a Cinenova, same thing here. Never used the 12v but whenever I would shut the thing off I would get some thumps from my fronts. Never was loud though so it was never a concern. Mine was a older version with the larger transformer, purchased beginning of 2004.

mwaarna

Thanks for the replies...

Cept for Busa who just wants to spam!

Yeh the popping sound is never loud, so its not that big of a deal..

Monster Jam

polkatese wrote: »

(it's been 3+ years since I got my Gemstone Blue Diamond).

I am a continued hold-out from moving to seperates with my power hungery LSi15s (four of them) and an LSiC. Right now they are being run by an extremely unreliable yet capable HK 525. (Its the Grant Hill of receivers)

I had Gemstone Blue Diamond on my short list of amplifiers, but their website has remained EXACLTY the same in the last 4 years - and so I've considered moving to what I assume to be a safer brand like Emotiva. Could you tell me if Gemstone:
Isstill in business?
If you have ever contacted their customer service?
Have you ever had an issue with your amp?
Are you satidifed with your amp and can you compare it to any other amps?

I would be very interested in your comments.

polkatese

Monster Jam wrote: »

Could you tell me if Gemstone:
Isstill in business?
If you have ever contacted their customer service?
Have you ever had an issue with your amp?
Are you satidifed with your amp and can you compare it to any other amps?

I would be very interested in your comments.

Yes, they are still in business. The owner of Gemstone is over at AVSForum, his handle is Steve_H. His name is Steve Herrala, owner of Sound Video (soundvideo.com) in Minneapolis, MN.

I spoke to Steve quite frequently in the past, the other person is Jerry, who usually manning the phone number at Gemstone. But, if you interested in this amp, ping Steve directly, since he is the one that really knows everything about the design and built of this amp.

I never have any problem with my Gemstone, had it since October 2005, to power my system (SF Cremona, LSiC, LSi9, and LSiFX)

I compared it to B&K 125.7 and Rotel RSX-1065. Big improvement is in its low-end weigh, soundstage, and the overall oomph.

There is a thread in AVSForum in which it was compared with the heavy hitter in the class of Cinenova, etc. and it holds itself favorably.

Hope it helps..

goingganzo

my adcom 7607 is the same way with the turn off pop

mwaarna

Second Question About the Cinenova AMP..

What kind of screws are used? I used a regular allen wrench, which fit the thing, but I tried decently hard to turn it counterclock wise, but could not budge it...

I want to take the handle off, and i have a new stand, which fits the AMP, but I need to take the handles off..

Also do they do anything funky like unscrewing clockwise?

mwaarna

Well they unscrew counter clockwise and use 3mm Allen Wrench screws...

I got one handle off, they are insanely tighyly screwed in...(Reason.. because there are washers/a nut in the other side... found this out later...)

the other 2 screws seem to be ****..(as in stripped)

I Ended up opening the case of the Cinenova..

Warning to anyone who owns a Cinenova who wants to take the handles off..

The Grounding is screwed into the handles...

So you will need to open the case to redo the grounding...

Also Pictures of the Guts of the Cinenova and my New stand...

http://picasaweb.google.com/dontripmeoff/Annoying?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrYxObNkuz3Lw#

Also the handle screws Hold the Faceplate onto the case....

And you need new screws if you are planning on taking the handles off, because the last 1/4" is not threaded, so when the handles are missing you cant get the screws tight...