For the Hi-Fi enthusiasts among us...

Jakeys · Dec 13, 2024

Trev
Often the biggest advantage of SACD wasn't the format or higher resolution itself, but the recordings. Alternate masters (or re-masters) of the same albums were more dynamic than their radio-ready counterparts, which were optimized for maximum loudness at all times. These superior mixes are still around on sites like Tidal (or pirated FLAC files people trade). The added dynamic range makes a big difference.

Completely agree, but it's frustrating that standard CD is perfectly capable of that as well, and yet it was a human decision to use that increased range to make everything louder and more compressed. 96 dB range is exceptional, I'm pretty sure it exceeds the realistic range of human hearing unless you're listening in an anechoic chamber and at a volume high enough to give you hearing damage. I guess mastering for SACD was done under the assumption that the format was only going to be used by audio nerds, i.e. a different target market.

One benefit of streaming becoming the standard is that they all enforce loudness normalisation. I expect this will mean mastering for maximum loudness at the detriment of range stops occurring entirely. I doubt anyone is mastering CDs separately from streaming.

vibe · Dec 13, 2024

Mastering can be so bad these days. I dare you to take a listen to the new album by The Cure.

Fallout Boy · Dec 14, 2024

Bought yesterday (seller will not ship, so I have to wait until next year to get that safe (by myself) from Germany to France)

for a VERY good price incl. all documents. IMO very rare. Similar to BRAUN & Dieter Rams.
(but I am not a hifi-enthusiast 😉.....)

edit: is there any difference buying 4 or 8 Ohm loudspeakers? Need some. Can you recommend some small vintage 2way-speakers?

Matty01 · Dec 14, 2024

I still have a CD player- largely for listening to cds of the band I was in 20 odd years ago and Jazz bootlegs which I can’t listen to any other way
All my other listening happens via tidal through the eversolo app through a modern Densen Amp and a pair of modern monitor audio studio 89 speakers…

Congnong2566 · Dec 14, 2024

amply 300b an el84 reel-to-reel Teac 4300, Teac DMD -1600Al speakers tannoy Arden

JwRosenthal · Dec 14, 2024

Fallout Boy
Bought yesterday (seller will not ship, so I have to wait until next year to get that safe (by myself) from Germany to France)

for a VERY good price incl. all documents. IMO very rare. Similar to BRAUN & Dieter Rams.
(but I am not a hifi-enthusiast 😉.....)

edit: is there any difference buying 4 or 8 Ohm loudspeakers? Need some. Can you recommend some small vintage 2way-speakers?

Uher made some fabulous stuff. 8ohm tend to be less power hungry. Most larger speakers will dip to 4ohm even if spec’d as 8ohm for heavy bass notes, but if you are going to run 4ohm speakers that can dip to 2ohm you need to verify that the amp is designed for a constant 4ohm load (would be in the specs). Magnepans (at least the older ones I know) as an example, will draw a constant 5ohm load so an amp with at last 150w/ch that can stand 4ohm constant was needed otherwise you would start clipping and the amp would run of out of steam where you got the volume up (this is for SS amps, tube amps are a little different- the classic pairing back on the day was ARC M100’s on Maggie’s at 100w/ch).

I ran my Maggie’s on my heavily modified McIntosh 2205 (200w/ch) and I would regularly hit the power guard at slightly above moderate listening levels. It sounded fabulous but if I kept cranking the volume up the amp would tell me it was not happy. But watching those big meters slam against the top and the red lights flicker meant we were having fun.

sxl2004 · Dec 14, 2024

Fallout Boy
Bought yesterday (seller will not ship, so I have to wait until next year to get that safe (by myself) from Germany to France)

for a VERY good price incl. all documents. IMO very rare. Similar to BRAUN & Dieter Rams.
(but I am not a hifi-enthusiast 😉.....)

edit: is there any difference buying 4 or 8 Ohm loudspeakers? Need some. Can you recommend some small vintage 2way-speakers?

I would recommend modern 2 way speakers which will be better than vintage. Elac has one highly recommended pair.

JwRosenthal · Dec 14, 2024

For decent speakers, you may want to check your local want ads for people who are moving up the food chain (or local hifi enthusiast sites). The beauty for us dumpster divers is that audiophiles always have the upgrade bug so there are lots of good deals to be had if you are an informed shopper. Look for major brands like B&W, Monitor Audio, JBL (their upper end series)- they sell several tiers and the middle range is always the sweet spot for value. (MA silver series, B&W 6/7 or CM series- mid range and excellent but not TOTL).
Avoid speakers older than 25 years old. Unless the surrounds were butyl rubber, they either have or on their way to rot and will need to be re-foamed.

ghce · Dec 14, 2024

JwRosenthal
For decent speakers, you may want to check your local want ads for people who are moving up the food chain (or local hifi enthusiast sites). The beauty for us dumpster divers is that audiophiles always have the upgrade bug so there are lots of good deals to be had if you are an informed shopper. Look for major brands like B&W, Monitor Audio, JBL (their upper end series)- they sell several tiers and the middle range is always the sweet spot for value. (MA silver series, B&W 6/7 or CM series- mid range and excellent but not TOTL).
Avoid speakers older than 25 years old. Unless the surrounds were butyl rubber, they either have or on their way to rot and will need to be re-foamed.

If you are prepared to replace the speaker annulus yourself you can pick up some very high grade older speakers for peanuts!
I've replaced many over the years, a simple but annoying job to do and one that many who don't know how to do and with a lack of people who know how to means cheap " stuffed" speakers available via whatever means.

ahartfie · Dec 14, 2024

Who wants to come refoam my Empire Scientific Grenadiers? They’re too heavy to leave the house.

JwRosenthal · Dec 14, 2024

ghce
If you are prepared to replace the speaker annulus yourself you can pick up some very high grade older speakers for peanuts!
I've replaced many over the years, a simple but annoying job to do and one that many who don't know how to do and with a lack of people who know how to means cheap " stuffed" speakers available via whatever means.

This is very true. I just figured for the novice it is fairly involved. The middle ground is sending the woofers off for a re-foam, which I have done a few times as I don’t have the stomach to do it myself- if you misalign that voice coil or puncture the cone they are done. . A friend of got a set of 12” Tannoy HPD’s in reasonably sized factory cabinets for free that had rotted out surrounds. Pulled the woofers, packed/shipped/repaired and returned for around $250 all in. Spectular sounding speakers.

ghce · Dec 14, 2024

JwRosenthal
This is very true. I just figured for the novice it is fairly involved. The middle ground is sending the woofers off for a re-foam, which I have done a few times as I don’t have the stomach to do it myself- if you misalign that voice coil or puncture the cone they are done. . A friend of got a set of 12” Tannoy HPD’s in reasonably sized factory cabinets for free that had rotted out surrounds. Pulled the woofers, packed/shipped/repaired and returned for around $250 all in. Spectular sounding speakers.

It's a reasonably straight forward job but requires a good deal of concentration to avoid stuffing it up.
When I was younger and more keen than I am now I also rebuilt burnt out paper/ cardboard coil formers and rewound the burnt out coils which wasn't so bad but you then had to remove, realign and reglue the bottom hinge, god that's painful!

ahartfie · Dec 14, 2024

The only stupid question is one you don’t ask so I’m asking: how do you know when it’s time to refoam your speakers? I’ve only ever had this one pair and they sound fine to me. I don’t hear any crackling or distortion, but as they are the only set I’ve ever had I don’t know any different. Before my decrepitude set in I wanted to borrow a set from my local used gear store for a comparison trial, but COVID-19 put the kaibosh on that.

ghce · Dec 14, 2024

Any splits or holes in the outside foam, rubber or flexible hinge mean they need repair.
If the outer hinge (annulus) is damaged either ripped or just plain disintegrating you will hear it as a flapping or buzzing sound more so at certain frequencies.
Visually it's quite easy to see a damaged outer hinge with out listening to it.

ahartfie · Dec 14, 2024

Thank you for that. The woofers are bottom-firing, the tweeters are electrostatic, and I can’t see squat.

JwRosenthal · Dec 14, 2024

It would be the bottom firing woofers you would want to check out. Bass drivers from the 30’s-60’s used an accordion cloth or doped paper surround that can be pretty much perfect to this day (Tannoys until the early 70’s and Altec’s until the 80’s are an example. But most companies went to much more complaint foam in the late 60’s/early 70’s to get better bass out of smaller cabinets (those stiff surrounds required large cabinets to move enough air to make real bass). By the late 80’s many companies had moved to rubber and by the 90’s the higher end companies to newer materials like Kevlar. The foam are the ones that we need to inspect as they have a lifespan of about 15-20 years before they start to degrade. Storage and environment can play a big part in that. Very arid climate or constantly air conditioned (drying) can speed that up.

But most standard sized drivers can be re-foamed. There are a handful of odd-ball sized drivers like 8.5” that can be problematic for which to source the foam.

vibe · Dec 15, 2024

Linn Kans in the office.

Fallout Boy · Dec 15, 2024

WOW, and thanks @ you All: I start learning a lot. Will keep you updated. Guess in April I will bring the UHER to France. AFAIK the https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/ is a good source. -> So I intend to buy the speakers in Germany.

e.g.

Merci, again!

Larry S · Dec 15, 2024

Fallout Boy
WOW, and thanks @ you All: I start learning a lot. Will keep you updated. Guess in April I will bring the UHER to France. AFAIK the https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/ is a good source. -> So I intend to buy the speakers in Germany.

e.g.

Merci, again!

I use these CM5 as left/right front in my 5.1 system, bought em new. They are very transparent, image beautifully and I like them very much. With a sub woofer they are fantastic.

Larry S · Dec 15, 2024

They sit on sound isolated sand filled stands. their bigger CM10 siblings handle 2 channel duties in the main room.

For the Hi-Fi enthusiasts among us...

Jakeys

vibe

Fallout Boy

Matty01

Congnong2566

JwRosenthal

sxl2004

JwRosenthal

ghce

ahartfie

JwRosenthal

ghce

ahartfie

ghce

ahartfie

JwRosenthal

vibe

Fallout Boy

Larry S

Larry S

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