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Returning Fan of Decware Products (Read 41471 times)
Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #300 - 03/12/23 at 21:14:26
 
JBzen wrote on 03/12/23 at 19:33:35:



Thanks, JBz.
Since I am kind of in a bite it and decide to chew or not mode these days, I will get some of those right away to try out.
Thank you for the suggestion.

I am always looking to improve what I have, but without the ability to drop mega bucks to fix everything at once.
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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #301 - 03/17/23 at 20:17:51
 
I got these JJ cryo'ed and non cryo'ed sets of rectifiers almost a year ago and have only just had a chance to compare them. I know these are cheapish tubes, $40 per for the non and $90 for the cryo'ed. Matched pairs are quite a bit more.
I bought the matched by the pair to attempt a comparison with some elevated hands on listening. These are tubes Chevy drivers would use. These are probably not that interesting to an Escalade or a Jaguar driver.  But, I am here and having fun.

But, HEY! I live in a new house now and everything, literally everything is different!!
All my previous explorations are nil and supplanted by current trials and errors along with a success or two.
So much more to discover! Just with the way things have gone, I am settling in to a lot of just "making" it all as real as it can be from this tenous point.

Had a favored tube set go nuts on me recently with one bad supernova tube. That basically caused a matched quad of favored tubes to become almost useless.
In trying to get back to "normal" I used some of my large stash of SV83s. Nice at that level! No actual complaints with the original voicing of this old SV83 stock. (I did replace some large caps to higher grade a few years ago)

But, I also ordered some other tubes, by the dozens, fearing the worst. I may never have that sound again! Not so, although, evolving.

Falling for the JJs (output) Hook Line And Sinker this time, using the F15s, instead of the old dual JBLs/B200 combo.

This is a nice matching.

Now going into the rectifiers which are similar manufacture, but again one set matched standard and one set cryo'ed. I am set aside by the differences. Still waffling as to which I prefer, but so much more to explore.

I know all you guys who are wearing the old Rolling Tube Hats are laughing at me right now. But this is the first time I have had a monsterous set of varying tubes to pull from since the early days, when I decided on ONE thing and went with it, because it tripped a trigger or two for me.

So, JJs, Cryo'ed GZ34 ($90 per for the Chevy driver. I ordered two matched sets, again), JJ EL84 (matched sextet, in case I am surprised by another supernova event) and I am buzzing with the same entusiasm I had when I first plugged in this tiny little beast of an amplifier more than fifteen years ago.

It seems that I am not only back near where I was (I dropped some coin), but walking in a new "rainbow" path and things sound really real again and maybe even better than ever!

I have not turned on my dipole subwoofer since the kid left, toward the end of the past weekend, and I removed the old Infinity subs from the "metal system" make over I did for his visit.

Only today have I gotten this far with some well known jazz.

Life is good!

Now, I want more.
Grin



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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #302 - 03/18/23 at 23:38:12
 
I went past midnight and after a doze, all day with this set up.

Nothing has changed but the introduction of the newest tubes.

I have not even moved a speaker, let alone pulled a tube.

This set up is going to work for a while, I feel.

If I am to question any advent it might be a pair of rectifier,s since I now have so damn many to choose amongst.

For the current and latest stack of albums, no need.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #303 - 03/23/23 at 18:36:21
 
For the second time, a product that I sold to a mentor or a friend in this case who has passed away has left word that I was to get a particular product back, if I am still alive.

Maybe twelve years ago, I sold a Dual 1229 tuntable to a friend and also a vintage Pioneer preamp.  I never liked the pre. I thought it sounded fluffy and gritty with the more accurate Yamaha and Crown Pro stuff I was using. I only used the Pioneer for a short while.

Anyway, he passed about a year ago and his wife/widow has found me through other music field acquaintances and told me some of the story.

She says he sent the table in for a rebuild a few years ago and did the "whole guts" of the silver thing himself. One of his many talents.
So with a drive down to southern Indianapolis (about sixty miles from me) I can re-acquire old goods sold.

The rebuilt table sounds intriguing, but the old "silver thing" as she called it does not appeal. However vintage ruleZ right?

My first instinct is to tell her to give it to someone who can use it, but I feel bad that she went through so much effort to find me after what she has gone through.

The other thing is she might just NEED to finish this for her own closure themes. I figure the table is worth half a tank of gasoline, even if it was not overhauled a few years ago.

On the phone she told me that no one she knows even knows what any of this stuff is.
She knows it's a record player, but not like the ones she grew up with. She's my age or so, mid sixties.

I don't want to hurt her feelings or discount her effort, so I suppose I am going to make a two and a half hour car trip tomorrow, in the rain.

I hope it completes her task.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #304 - 03/25/23 at 02:10:07
 
The task of retrieval of old sold items is complete and I am "FLOORED" at what happened today.
The friend/widow is happy to be rid of piles of stuff she had no way to know how to get rid of since her husband (one of my long time friends) died last year.

I had been more than a bit anxietous at the prospect of driving for more than two hours in the rain across town, but it was mainly just misty and the roads I took were clear of traffic, mostly.

The thing that "floored me" was that when we were talking, after my arrival at her home, she wanted me to take this entire room full of stuff away.

I drive a Traverse. I don't have a moving van!
For instance the old fellow had restored a pair of some dirty old A7 VOT Altecs from a dumpster dive that I had helped him grab twenty years or so ago (half wishing at the time that I had a way to do something with them).
Over a few years he spent ages veneering them nicely to be bare wood looking. I could carry one, but not both.
So, I got on the phone and tried to contact a couple of people who might want or know how to redistribute these olden treasures for her.
I spent all day there!

She told me I could have all these old records. Everyone had already picked out the ones they wanted. The rest are mine if I can take them away.
Nine banker's boxes of LPs, not all packed full, but seventy or more in each box. AND three of CDs packed so tight, I barely could lift them.
I did not even look. I told her I would take all the records today.
So, now I am taking twelve banker's boxes, a turntable and a huge preamp.
All while awaitng a couple of callbacks from associates who might be able to help.

I managed to place the huge (beautiful, now) Altecs, two equipment cabinets, two large boxes of cabling (I did rummage through and pulled out one power cable), some empty Anvil cases (I kept the one with two DC300s, DC150, and DC75 in it. I gave her two hundred dollars for it - most of the cash I had on me. It had value, I told her.) a myriad dozen of bookshelf speakers and some microphones.

She just wanted it all gone, but I did get her some money for some of the microphones, the A7s, Anvil cases and a couple of Fender amps. Fire sale prices, but she was very happy!

I'm not a big Klipsch fan, but I also came away with an early '80s era pair of Heresy IIs, I think they are. I'm certainly not a fan of miniature woofers either. I should be able to shine these up though and get some money for them, which I will get back to her.

My car was fairly full. Anvil rack I could not lift alone, two floor standing Klipsch speakers, twelve banker's boxes, large '80s Kenwood receiver, delicate table and pre in the front seat and a cable.

I have no idea if any of the electronics work or not, but I will have a fun time going through around six hundred new "mystery" LPs, a couple hundred CDs and a couple boxes of related audio odds and ends.

But most fully appreciated, our friend's widow got $2200 bucks cash today she did not expect. She was beside herself!

I could have gotten more for those Fender amps and to the right buyer, those Altecs could have gone for much more, but clearing the room was the challange she put upon me.
I did my best and the room is clear.

What a day!! I'm frigging beat!



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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #305 - 03/25/23 at 23:46:48
 
I got the rest of my tube order today.
Two matched quads of PSV 6P15P to try and a few more rectifiers, tried and true.

I have only opened them to "count" and make sure they look fine after shipping.

Fairly satisfied that my tube supply will last me for a while now.
I felt things were touch and go when the last rectifier puffed off and I did not have two matching to switch to.

Then a power tube went. I had plenty of SV83 to use, but the borderline panic had set in already.

I'm in decent shape for the near future.

Sticking with the cryo'ed JJs for now.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #306 - 03/26/23 at 00:02:47
 
My first glance at the boxes of LPs from yesterday's toil is beyond expectation.

June (my friend's wife/widow) had said there was probably not much in there since so many people have already picked through them.

From what I see, those first comers pulled all the "bubble gum" and left the best of the substance for me.
My friend had tastes about like mine - very ecclectic, so to get the dregs of his collection is still a great find!

I mean we differed. He had a couple of Procal Harem albums I never bought and I had a couple of Pablo Cruise albums he never bought. We agreed on a large amount of what good music is, however.

This will be an interesting dig through! I think this gift increased my LP collection by about twenty five per cent. Of course that is an estimate based upon quantity, before I begin to cull.
Smiley
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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #307 - 03/26/23 at 00:17:12
 
BTW, JBz, those Hudson HiFi sleeves you mentioned are of very high quality as per your suggestion.

I am not sure if the static rejection is any different from the Mobile Fidelity I have been using for ages, but they are definitely a great product. The typical winter static has subsided here somewhat for now, thank goodness.
I will certainly recommend these as well.

Thanks for the heads up.
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JBzen
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #308 - 03/26/23 at 11:36:22
 
Nice haul DD. You know what is said, "What goes around comes around". Good karma.

Life is bittersweet. My lifelong friend Deb passed about 16 months ago. Her cat Skeeters was headed for the animal shelter. We intervened and took Skeeters into our home. She is an older cat of 15 years and surely her stay at the shelter would not end well. Skeeters has become very dear to us and visa versa. She is right there at the top of favorite pets we have had!

John
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #309 - 03/26/23 at 22:07:51
 
Well done DD. Close friend of mine passed away last summer. His "lab" as he called it has sat dormant since. I took a whiteboard up and went through the setup, writing directions down on how to use it. His wife just can't bear to be in the room. His kids are indifferent. Someday when she's ready there's gonna be a helluva sale.

I'm pretty sure those Heresy's and the 1229 should fetch a nice amount. Back when I was into buying/fixing Dual's the 1229 was a sought after table. I had one for a bit, I didn't care for the idler drive. I've got random extra parts here if you need anything. If you have plans on using it...hopefully the idler wheel wasn't left pressed up against the platter, they can flat spot. Also, the single to multi switch...SLOWLY try to change it, if there's any resistance, STOP!
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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #310 - 03/27/23 at 15:54:56
 
Nice haul, indeed, JBz, but yours was impressive as well.

My last cat passed a couple of years ago after a long life of fifteen years as my best friend. I actually got her when she was three weeks old, unweened and she fit into the palm of my hand, tail and all.

A friend working in construction was pulling down walls and discovered this litter of tiny kittens, abandoned by the mommy cat once the noise started.
He took them home, fed them with an eye dropper and found them proper homes.
She was an amazingly affectionate cat, chose me as her person when she was a tiny infant and kept that promise to the end.
Bittersweet memories.

I haven't had the settlement (or what ever it takes) to get another cat yet.
Smiley
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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #311 - 03/27/23 at 16:13:30
 
Hi, Sean.
Thanks for the advice about the old Dual table. I remember some of its shortcomings, but I honestly need to review some of that to freshen up.

I have yet to decide what to do with it. I know he sent the turntable to someone just a few years ago for a comprehensive service.

I think I have the Pioneer preamp sold already.

As far as the Heresy speakers, I have found large corners of Klipsch enthusiasts in various forums.
I did a few read throughs when I was trying to decide what to do with my La Scalas.
Lots of folks talk about how the stock crossovers are basically crap on many older Klispch products. I doubt that I would gain much in return doing a crossover upgrade, though.

I'm probably going to clean them, oil up the wood and let them go. The wood is nice!


Thanks again for the info.

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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #312 - 03/27/23 at 16:34:40
 
The thing about this job I just did is, my friend's wife, June, kind of reminded me of my mother when my dad had a massive heart attack and had to leave a thriving music store for my mom to dispose of.
My dad survived for a while, but he was "benched" for life!

He also had a tremedous collection/stock of very rare older instruments, such as a '63 AND a '69 Selmer Mark VI tenor saxes, completely rebuilt. Some of those old Conn and King silver saxes from the '30s and '40s, Renasaince reproduction wooden flutes from Buffet made in the 1890s, two post war Gibson mandolins, etc, etc.
That's some high dollar stock, in case follks don't know what I am talking about.

My dad was the master at removing play and slop in the mechanisms of keyed instruments, balancing the springs and leverages for a perfect action.
He had a clientele which included several university professors of double reed studies that came around with their oboes and bassons every few months for a touch up before a big concert.

My mom had a really rough time through all that, selling off all the standard stock items in order to "Go Out Of Business" and finding the "right" people for the rare items.

JBz mentioned karma and if I balanced mine any by helping this old friend's widow, I would not know.

But, it feels good to help someone through this stuff.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #313 - 03/27/23 at 16:40:31
 
Good on you DD, was a nice thing and will have some tangible rewards as well.

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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #314 - 03/31/23 at 20:15:33
 
Thanks, Lon. It was a bit of work, all told, but I believe it was the right thing to do for her and my friend's old gear.



I forgot to mention that I also had a pair of Advent speakers, no one wanted. I hauled them away.

I have not plugged them in but I have the Klipsch Heresys sitting on my garage bench, playing.
They really do not need anything to sell them and they sound pretty good, for very old, tired speakers.

I just have them hooked to an old bluray player with a CD playing and a Yamaha P2050 (45WPC) for power. They are definitely efficient speakers. Play loud if you want and not that bad sounding at all. I'm surprised.

I like the woofers, even though they are puny little twelvers. Acoustic suspension! They do roll off at around 50hz, though. Nothing low out of these.

I see these on ebay going for $500 to $600 for an actual sale, but offered for $1100 to $2000, OBO. Those guys are dreaming!
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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #315 - 04/07/23 at 06:28:57
 
I have not done much with the Klipsch, except come to a realization that they really aren't all that bad.
As far as the Advent speakers, they will need a redo to the woofer surrounds before they are capable of any sustained use. They work OK, but the mids and highs sound so deeply veiled, I could never use them, even in a third or fourth outdoor system.

Someone will want them because they are "vintage" I am sure.

No painting has happened on my dipole project yet, even though we have had some warmer temps.
It has been stormy and unpleasant to keep a side door open much, plus it is super humid even if the wind dies down.

I was kind of playing chicken with the lightning storm we had the other night. I really wanted to move from movies to music and tried. But I eventually smartened up and unplugged everything and went back to movies with the kids.

Who cares if I blow up a TV or some such?
Grin
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #316 - 04/18/23 at 22:19:07
 
Not sure if I mentioned that on Friday before Easter, My friend June called me again to "report" that she had found another pile of boxes of records that I might want. If I could only come and take them away ...

These were in the basement where they kept decorations for Christmas, 4th of July, Raceday Indy 500 stuff, Thanksgiving prep, Cubs and Colts crap, IU basketball, etc ... he was a massive sports fanatic!

It has taken her over a year to get to this point in her grieving process. But now she wants to sell the house and move somewhere closer to her kids with much less upkeep than a bigass house.

Anyway, this last (I checked the entire house very well, this is it! We are done!) pile was even larger than the first and included at least three times as many CDs.

You can not just make a giant pile of boxes of LPs and expect anything good to come from that.
I only had on hand some salvaged particle board I had planned to use in my attic space for shelving lumber, but I made freestanding shelves out of that instead, which I attached to the walls on two sides.
I can barely see the upper third of my ceiling height mono stack as it is all shelves of boxes of LPs and CDs.

Now I am doing my best to Pre-Cull this giant stack of stuff and seperate things I might want to keep from what I will definitely donate to Goodwill or some such.

The problem I am having is that I pick up an album I haven't heard in a while and spend the next ten minutes exploring every detail of the cover art and I can't put it down. This is taking forever, even though I have a workable culling plan to work through.

This is a constant thing I often fight. I have detail fixations of some sort.
At this time, I am still wondering if my internal "confliction" is truly a detriment to producing an outcome or if it is helping me to feel the full gravity of what I have before me to deal with.

Oh Boy!

I spent the week cobbling together makeshift shelving so that nothing is stacked upon anything else and is no longer scattered around the acreage of what is left of my garage floor area.

I am not really compaining to have this problem, except for the consistent insufficiency of my internal fortitude required to start (easy!) and finish (tough!) any one thing.
I am pleased to say that my old friend had the decency to protect all of his stored albums in high quality slip cases with nice inner sleeves. If I had to do that, just the investment of supplies would be substantial.

I sold the Klipsch to an enthusiast, btw and I gave away the Advents to a speaker repair guy.
June would not accept the money for the Klipsch speakers. She said I had done so much and got her all that money before. And then she called on me again, So, NO more money. She is a treasure. My friend was a lucky man and a good man who always helped others.

So please do not think I am bitchin'
It's just that the task at hand is going to take me some time. If I am not around as much, just assume that I am sitting on a swirly stool reading the entire inner notes on an amazing old album trying to decide which pile to honor with its presence.
... and I'll be around from time to time.
Smiley

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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #317 - 04/27/23 at 19:01:19
 
I noticed a discussion of some questionable bass responses with the JJ EL84, but I can not find the posts again to respond in that thread.
I wanted to add a similar experience.
I had bought cryo'ed JJs in matched quads and gave them about a month of  play.

I was pleased with them at first and they do Umpth up the bass a bit, from which a bare naked Lii Audio F15 can usually benefit. But they do not do so in a way that is as natural and "real" sounding as I prefer.

I don't want to put people off from these affordable tubes, because they do sound decent, but the more I listened, the more I felt I was no longer getting what I had come to expect from my Zen amp dual setup.

It had nothing to do with quantity of good response, but more to do with a kind of inability to faithfully track complex bass passages in various genre of music I have played recently.

I have this giant stack of new stuff to play through and most of what I have explored so far after receiving this shipment of fresh tubes has been old jazz, but I have had some rock out times as well this month.

I listen to Blue Oyster Cult sometimes and there are some wild, difficult triple kick (he sometimes uses a flam foot pedal rig and three kicks) and heavy, involved bass passages that require a bit more than a light attempt at the "New York Studio" sound they were recorded within to fully capture the musicians intent. They were going for a concert sound on a studio album sometimes. I totally get it and I love it.

As far as some of the older jazz I have been playing through, sometimes it is the purity and simplicity that is even more complicated or demanding to reproduce well. I am NOT wrong!

But reproducing that kind of sound with untainted clarity is even more ambitious. I almost want to use the word "sanitary" to describe what was not there.
I can not get there with the JJEL84s, even cryo'ed and well matched.

I have gone back to my favorite 6P15P and right out of the box, I am sensing an improvement in "lack of slop" or some extra something noticeable that adds nothing.
The tones are more sanitary. I won't say spotless, but less blurred in the plainest, simplist one note drama and even the most complex passages.

SO, some concurrence with previous discovery. I bought the JJ EL84s again because I found them quite reasonably priced and I was running low on replacements. I will keep them as spares.

Going back to the PsVayne 6P15P for now.



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Sean
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #318 - 04/27/23 at 21:42:24
 
Do you have the Hazen Grid or Christmas Comes Early mod on your amps? I forget the technical reasons (something about pin out on tubes?) why EL84 are not recommended for use with that mod. I've tried both EL84 and E84L in my UFO and neither stayed in very long.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #319 - 04/27/23 at 22:08:02
 
I'm the same way Sean--my amps are wired for the Hazen Grid/Christmas Comes Early Mod and even though I have tried other types in the  amps I miss the sound that Mod produces and put the 6P15P tube in.

Here's his paper on the Mod:

https://www.decware.com/newsite/paper145.htm
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #320 - 05/14/23 at 04:29:41
 
Anyone else make it out to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, today?

I was there early and saw all the warm up races and the main event. Awesome, if you are into such theatrics! First race was at 8AM. I was there well before that.

Maybe some sunburn, a little dehydrated, a whole day long work out, but a really enjoyable day. I might nap away most of tomorrow.

I was offered a set of secondary level press credentials from an old photo buddy, which got ME into places the "unwashed" don't get to go. I bought a pair of tickets for my son and me, so he would have a place to be if I wandered off, which I did some.
Without tickets, press creds only allowed me trackside, some near pit access, but no seat. I can't go all day without sitting anymore.
Grin

We had ear plugs and cans over those (same as we use at the gun range), but my son still thought it was too damn loud. And it was. I need better hearing protection for the big race coming up in a couple of weeks.

My son is not going to the Indy 500. But he did get to experience some really close up looks at real live professional race cars and how they are worked.

All told, one fantastic day of racing here in Indiana at The Brickyard!!!
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #321 - 05/14/23 at 05:00:06
 
Damn!

I take a couple of days to go have fun in a different realm and Steve has new speakers out. Wow!
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #322 - 05/14/23 at 20:55:10
 
I have never made it to Indy, drove by once but it's on the bucket list. My son will be six this summer and he's not ready for Indy. We hit our first car cruise Friday and he's got it in his blood. I may not be the best parent trying to introduce him to the sweet smell of exhaust from a high compression motor. My dad didn't care much for racing or cars so I didn't get much exposure other than TV. I've been round the track in Charlotte in a van and on foot and spent a weekend in Michigan for an ARCA race and happy hour. Twenty years ago I dated a girl who had family in Charlotte who worked for the Petty's. That was an awesome trip, met Adam, Kyle AND Richard in Kyle's office. Adam died a few months later. Anyhow, I'm hoping the kid is up for a Mid Ohio trip next summer, for now we'll stick local.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #323 - 05/14/23 at 21:43:10
 
If you go near Indy and have the least interest in the history of the racing world and how it looked up to even a hundred years ago, go to the museum! Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

The museum is near the track, but with most racing fans, even Nascar and midget guys, you get anywhere near the gravity of that historic track and you will never regret the trip.

The museum is a blast for those inclined and it can take hours.

They move the cars in and out, to keep the displays seeming fresh, but the last time I was there they had on display the 1915 winner for all to see what some of those horse and plow or steam corn farmers were playing with at times.
Grin

I met Kyle long after Adam was gone, but I always wanted to meet  "The King."  It has never happened.
I grew up watching him (and his dad) on Saturday afternoon races.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #324 - 05/24/23 at 21:40:40
 
Did something change dramatically with the forum here, or do I need to update something?

Smiley

I can not sseeem to find where I left things.
Smiley
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #325 - 05/29/23 at 04:34:30
 
Something changed!
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #326 - 05/29/23 at 04:44:52
 
Did anyone else make it out to the Indy 500 today? Watch it on TV, maybe? We were between turn three and turn four. Not ideal, but all we could get.

I took my son for his first time. I've been there twelve times since he was born, a few more before, but not since 2019 when covid messed with us for a couple of years.

It was an amazing day!
The kid stood there with his jaw dropped most of the day and this was his second time to see these cars.
We went earlier in the month for the Grand Prix race and I had press credentials, so he got some close views of what these cars are.

But like today, there is nothing like seeing all thirty three cars running at once on that track!

I wonder if his tongue is sunburned.
Grin

Good night to all. I'm going down.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #327 - 06/03/23 at 01:08:33
 
I thought I was the bad guy screwing up this place with car shit.

... and yet no one even gives a shit about the Indy 500?

I saw car shit in Steve's thread. WTF!
I live in an insane world!

Smiley
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #328 - 06/03/23 at 01:29:03
 
Anyone see the tire go flying over the Safety fence?
Thanfully it missed the stands. Now the woman whose car was hit in the parking lot is getting a new car. Funny!

Penske does not miss a lick!
Although, I believe Chevrolet should have beat him to the punch. What an advertising oppurtunity for a car manufacturer!

However, I hit a coyote once that did a Hell of a lot more damage to the front of my car. Coyotes were a big news item at the time and my insurance company bent over backwards to make it right for me.

A year before, my wife's car was destroyed by hail damage in a tornado  while she was at work, parked in the UPS employee lot and the insurance compamy (same company, btw) barely gave us a pittance to fix $8000 worth of cosmetic damage.
We drove it for a while until we could afford to replace it and then donated it.
It was still a perfectly wonderful Buick, just uglied up a lot with over a thousand thumb sized gouges in the exterior sheet metal.

... but Robin gets a new car! Thank you, Mr. Penske!

Grin

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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #329 - 06/03/23 at 17:28:13
 
The wheel going over the fence was crazy. What's still not clear to me is if it was a direct hit or did it bounce first. Thankfully no one got hit in the crowd. The accident itself was pretty terrifying, luckily the center lines of the cars wasn't closer, we could be having a completely different conversation. The Canapino/O'Ward crash was something else, Canapino got ALL four wheels off the ground at what 20MPH?

As for insurance claims, I had a nice Accord coupe about 20 yrs ago. While my wife and I were cruising through the desert in AZ the car was sitting in 2' of water in my garage. Irony? Wacky flash flood wiped it out. Insurance adjuster walked around the car and took money off for every single defect and cut me a $1600 check. Told him to find me 10 more Accords in that shape for 1600 and I'd buy all of them. I filled the trunk with water damaged shit from the basement before they towed it out.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #330 - 06/04/23 at 01:30:21
 
The damage to Robin Matthews car looked more like the tire had only barely touched her car as a glancing blow.

Now you must understand that my mechanicking interest is of the hobbyist sort and I have only assembled a few (maybe twenty something) engines, some of which were headed to the short race tracks or the dunes as hobby/toy cars of various sorts.
Several Volkswagens, a Fiat DOHC 4 cylinder, a bunch of Fords from 4 cylinders to big boys, some Chevys, but only big ones, a Dodge once.

I've done some body work on several of my own cars, never for pay, just fun.

But I can tell you, as a car enthusiast, that her car was drivable even with the damage sustained by that errant lost tire from the Indy 500 race.
And yet they made a big deal out of escorting her home in a limousine with a number of escort vehicles, with press in tow.

Penske was not going to let this go. That woman's car was totaled on site and she gets a new car, as if she had drawn a lucky lottery number.


This was the headline in the news:
"Fan whose Chevrolet was crushed by flying Indy 500 tire will receive new car"


This is how horribly damaged her car was, shown from a published pic:


Tempest in a teapot?  Mountain out of a mole hill?
I have more ...

Grin
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Car_damage.jpg

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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #331 - 06/04/23 at 01:51:24
 
It was NOT the biggest story from the track that day, just the one that has had the MOST airplay, FFS.

Smiley


We are all glad that tire did not land in the stands!
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #332 - 06/07/23 at 02:34:39
 
I do not want to turn this fun music into a political statement, but we all lived down near there and many of us saw this coming.
I never knew Chad well, but the rest were my buds as life is sometimes.

This song has a really dark current affair feeling and yet it was recorded in studio and released as a part of a studio album in 2009. It was all bound to happen and predicted here in rock n roll.
Sam lived in Mexico and tried to make a business there. Kind of did. He has maybe more hands on than I with my little escapades south and west.

Great song!
I love Chickenfoot. Sorry, youtube sucks! Find the album and the others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2HJdfC_wPI
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #333 - 06/21/23 at 02:20:14
 
Does anyone have experience with outdoor sound?

We have been spending a lot of time out on the patio and some music is always needed. So far we have had my daughter's little Altec speaker and her Spotify stream for background music.

It's Ok-ish, but I want a better sound. I would love to have the ability to cast to the system with what ever someone wants, so bluetooth is kind of handy.

This is not for "listening" but just as background music a little louder than the crickets or the breeze.

I had some nice cabinets in our old place, under the carport which could be heard for blocks if I chose, but the bluetooth thing has sold me on how handy that can be for such a set up.

Any suggestions for going forward with this before I build another JBL Professional thing to have to hook to a CD player, amp and have to switch around manually?

I've seen a few bluetooth amps at Parts Express, but never tried any of them. Only a few watts would be fine. I want a whisper system.
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Mannytheseacow
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #334 - 06/21/23 at 04:31:17
 
Hey, DD. Have had the same interest here. I had some Klipsch RPM600’s that were sitting in the box and I couldn’t sell them for enough to justify selling them.
I purchased a Dayton HTA20 and this system serves its purpose. The Dayton is class AB. The tubes are nothing special. It’s simple enough to just power it on and even my wife can Bluetooth her Spotify or pandora to it.
This system plays background music for the kitchen, dining room, and deck. The speakers and amp combined get many compliments from guests though the biggest benefit I get from it is how much it makes me appreciate my real hifi.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #335 - 06/22/23 at 00:54:48
 
Thanks Manny, but I was thinking of going with something with considerably less power, maybe a ten watt 12V powered amp or something so small and durable I can just leave it outside all year under the protection of the eves as with the speakers I have.
I do not need to have tubes for this whisper system.

I have almost a half a pick truck load of older JBL Industrial drivers to use up. I have set up three Churches with these already for PA and even music reproduction. Eight in a linear array per side with a sub will blast a fairly large area with decent sound - way better than any of these crapshite stand mount, self powered, horrible little systems I have replaced over the years. Include a subwoofer and you can impress people with old damn speakers for free.
I got the entire pick up truck load for free.

These drivers were meant to take some weather, with a bit of protection, as in a carnival or park situation or as a distributed indoor system.

About eighty feet of back deck with two on each end with two pairs in the middle, I should be all set. All open back, of course, as they were designed to be used.
These are coaxial and a center HF paper cone is driven by a piezo effect off of the same magnet. I honestly do not notice the piezo noise until I begin to push them some as with two hundred watts across the array in a church system, which will never happen in my use.
97dB efficient and pretty good from 100Hz to 10KHz, perfect for background.

Anyway, I have the speakers, I just need an amp with bluetooth capability that does not go overboard.

I did find one other amp with a positive set of features at Crutchfield for about $200 but it is out of stock and not expected until August.
Sad

Thanks again for your advice. It seems the amp you suggested is available, but it also seems to be a bit delicate for my intended use.
I need a SS sandpile I can bolt up under the eves and leave there.
Grin
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #336 - 06/26/23 at 21:59:18
 
Still looking for an outdoor amp, BUT, HEY!!!

I got my old Technics SL-1015 table working today. It had quit spinning many years ago. I have a similar (better?) with the same malady that quit spinning recently and I have yet to look into that one.

I basically re-built the power supply after seeing a questionable, bulging cap.
Now it seems to spin fine and I set it up in my garage to use for my mono stack. It's working fine!
Thank god it had nothing to do with any of the quartz stuff. I hate trying to mess with that crap.
I've had to do too much of SS work keeping some older amps going when I needed them in the past.

It has an ancient Shure V-15 cartridge, type II something on it, which I had once thought was my forever rig, until it just quit spinning one day.
I don't think these tables enjoyed the 100% humidity and south Texas heat to which they were subjected in those early days.

But, I also have at least two unopened NIB styluses (styli?) if I need. I had taped them to the underside, for some reason.

Inspection through my 20X jewler's loupe, this one on the table looks to be absolutely new and perfect with no scratches (Shibata style).

I know it's not the best, but for my garage system, I think it should do fine.
It is awesome to have a turntable for my mono rig again.

Smiley
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #337 - 07/14/23 at 00:26:29
 
I thought I had posted this, but since I can't find it, maybe not ...

I, just about two weeks ago now, received two W15 bass drivers to compliment my F15 fullrange drivers. I have many drivers around to go through for bass reinforcement and I have been trying a few, but it just felt right to get the ones that were meant to go with these F15 full range drivers.

I am considering remaking my plywood/MDF/plywood sandwich baffles (still a test bed/work in progress) to accept both drivers in each.

I really like how these baffles sound just as they are, one F15 per baffle, 36" high, 36" radius sides, but I often want more low end authority when playing certain music.

I have been using a "Linkwitz" style H Frame enclosure for two fifteens, instead of twelves like his, which are doubled up on the sides since to me his look very light and wimpy, even for puny little twelve inch woofers.

I have a question though for those more experienced F15 users.
I have seen it done with seperate baffles, one full range F15 and an added W15 per side with the W15 movable for improving bass room responses.

I have also seen the two fifteens, one F15 and one W15, mounted into one large baffle together, much like what was shown on the Lii Audio website with rectangular baffles.

Before I go about making up two more larger sandwich baffles which will suppoert both fifteens in one baffle, does anyone have experience with doing this or the seperate baffle idea?

I know these things have been available for long enough that surely someone has goofed around with these ideas already.

So, I have several options at hand without a huge amount of labor to put forth.

*I can either remake a larger baffle to accomodate both fifteens, one W15 and one F15 in one baffle per side as I mentioned.

*I can remove the old Infinite Baffle Jamo drivers (which I have come to prefer) from my H Frame baffles and reload that enclosure with the two W15 drivers.

*I can make up two more sandwich baffles to only accomodate one W15 driver per baffle so each is movable within my listening space.

Anyone else using a single W15 and a single F15 per side?

Suggestions? Ideas? Recommendations? Guidance?

I have had my W15s breaking in out in the garage all week, since I got them. They actually sounded pretty damn good just sitting, unbaffled on the bench top when I first pulled them out of the boxes.
My hopes are high!

Any experiences to relate from anyone would be greatly appreciated.





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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #338 - 07/14/23 at 02:45:52
 
Hey, DD. I’m going through the same thing right now. Had w15s sitting in boxes for too long and building a plywood sandwich baffle for them while scanning for the right hardwood to make a single baffle for both my f15s and w 15s.
I realize my aspirations don’t help you though. Check out the hifi cave channel on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KnjosSh6qoo

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qnq0QzySvQs

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KnjosSh6qoo

He’s done what you are doing and has been very responsive when I’ve inquired about his results.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #339 - 07/14/23 at 16:32:39
 
Thanks, Manny!
I've actually seen that guy before, but not in relation to Lii Audio F15 and now F18 drivers. I remember him being enamoured with the Silver Tens, I think it was.

I do like his counter top baffles, but they are too thin for supporting these drivers. He even talked about how there is some resonances to address and he chose felt for that.

I have looked at many constructed counter top options and mostly decided that I will eventually order four 4' by as wide as they have by an inch and a quarter thick and double them up.

I'll have two and a half inches of laminated hardwood, but they won't be wide enough without some clever gluing up. Otherwise they won't work for the half round sides, which I plan to continue using.

I'm still working on how to buy the least amount of material and still end up with something like I have as a mock up, but using laminated hardwood instead of composite glue ups from plywood and MDF.

It sounds like you and I are kind of in the same boat, same drivers and yet to get them fired up and running right. Do post your results and I'll try to keep up as well.

Thanks for the links. I'll dig through them a bit deeper this week end. I'll see what I can glean from his experiences.

As for the next stage of play, and the easiest of all options I have, I'll probably pull out my Jamo IB drivers and replace them in my H Frame with these W15s for another test run.

I want another week of break in on these newish drivers first, though.
Call me Fudd.
Smiley
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #340 - 07/14/23 at 18:53:12
 
Manny, one point I kind of skipped over, after your linkies excited me so much, was that you are planning a single baffle for both fifteen inch drivers as well.

I used to use four fifteens, two per side with a single eight inch (B200 - still love that little driver for what it can project, as do many other listeners) full ranger above each pair. At first I thought it was great, but I did not have a dedicated listening room and I was setting them and breaking them down all the time.

I had some things measured out and it was easy to reset things, but I also found that with an additional "pile of wood" behind my unified open baffle speaker set up, I could change things dramatically by moving that angled pile/stack of wood around rather than the speakers themselves.

All open baffle, of course. I've been using OB since the early '90s. Most thought I was just stupid, but I kept working it. Now, I will never/rarely go back to boxing up my speakers. Near field (arm's distance) studio monitors in sealed enclosres are a rare exception, but I don't do much of that anymore.

The baffles were pretty much locked in to one placement and moving a deflector around back was my main way of tuning for my compromised multi-use room.

I made a four foot stack of 30/60/90 triangles of scrap MDF where some of the planks in each stack were an inch bigger on one side and alternated the sizes in each stack. One side had AB side jut out, next block had the AC side jut out and the next in the stack had the hypotenuse jut out by one inch and I alternated the pattern as I built them up to create randomness in reflection patterns.

Moving, angling and positioning those blocks sometimes is how I tuned my static one piece baffles to the room resonances.
It worked faily well as a compromised space.

I know none of my previous troubles can help you, as you already mentioned to me, but we are all full of ideas to share and if we are lucky enough, we have tried a lot of what's under the sun. Some other's ideas may apply more than we might think at first.

I intend to avoid that type of compromise in my new space. I want just my positives to work out and not use negatives to compromise for any lack of positive.

Anyway, tell me how you are planning to impliment your double fifteen baffles. I had a plan to just slam them together and go. Might be fine.

But dealing with room modes and nodes in my small room makes me wonder if I am just being lazy. Maybe I should make two more baffles so I can reposition my low end reinforcement drivers.

Do you have any insight as to why one should use one baffle per side as opposed to using two per side with each low range and each full range movable?

Sorry if it feels like I am drilling you, but I am trying to gather any information I can as I prepare to drop even more coin on even more expensive wood to cut up.

Grin
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #341 - 07/14/23 at 22:02:21
 
Not drilling at all, quite the contrary. That’s why I (and hopefully everyone) is here: to share ideas.
Interesting about the scattering on the baffle face idea with the triangles. I posted a question about that in the diy section here once and didn’t get much response. I feel like many people just post in the general section here and ignore the overall organization of the forum.
At the moment I’m just building a single center channel small tombstone to tide me over for using both the f and w.  For that I’m planning to copy the liionides design (http://www.modelpromo.nl/audio-dandy/reviews/The%20Liiondias%20Open%20Baffle%20S...) except making the top plate the same size as the bottom plate to accommodate the f15.
My reasoning for this is that I plan to make the plates removable. This way I can swap out the upper f15 for 10” plate if I want - both have their own sound that I like. So, this will be an extended project, time wise. I’m looking for two hardwood slabs 2” thick, 24” wide, and 6’ long, that match, look gorgeous, and are of a suitably dense material such as oak, walnut, or cherry. Possibly acacia. If I cut the w15 from the center of the slab I can match the grain on the 10” of f15 plate by simply rotating the w15 baffle 180 degrees.  I’m thinking to mount the speaker plates to the uprights using Striplox concealed connectors (https://www.rockler.com/striplox-pro-concealed-surface-mount-connectors?country=...), four per plate.   I can use these connectors too for mounting a variety of wing choices. Just waiting for my BIL with the sawmill to tell me he has the slabs cut…. Then see if they meet the criteria. Ahead of this project is making two more diffusers and carbon diaphragmatic membrane absorbers. Have the carbon and foam here, waiting to assemble. Time is the problem.
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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #342 - 07/16/23 at 02:06:52
 
Wow! That sounds really nice, Manny!

I have been looking at the Liionidas builds long and hard. I have not built one.

I have had a number of rectangular baffles and ever since my first try of an oval, back around the early 2000s, I keep coming back to the rounded ones.

I remember my dad repairing an old non baffled radio speaker. It had a blown coil which he rewound by hand and a diaphragm on each side of the coils connecting to a central electro magnet structure and the coil former that bridged to facing cones.
I think, as I grew up some and began to understand more, it had one magnet and two coils, each connected to opposing cone diaphragms.

I was very young, but I can also remember plugging in his soldering rig for him. I was helping, man! Maybe '62, but people still wanted the old radios to work the same as they used to.

Hearing that beat up twenty year old speaker (now more like eighty years old) come back to life inspired me in some way. It had no baffle whatsoever. The sound just radiated from a central point source and sounded amazing to me.

I spent the next "many" years, once I was teen enough to work a saw, building horns and tuned boxes to enclose speakers, making more and more powerful stacks of impressive arrays, making music, all the while never hearing what that old speaker could do to for the sound of a freaking half watt radio.

Open Baffle systems at large came quite a bit later for me. I finally discovered what that little crappy speaker my dad had fixed was doing, not for me, not for the music, not for that chincy old standard bench radio, but for the entire room.

Enough memory lane, but I have wanted that same open/non baffled effect since I was a child, I just did not know why or how to get there.

I am probably going with some form of rounded structure, even drawing ideas from the Lii builds.
I have even used rounded side wings at times with some pleasure. Flat front with backward folded wings, rounded. Now I'm thinking rounded with a fractal progression from the center outward, iterated toward nil.
Fractal math haunts me.

I thank you for your input! Those Liionidas constructs look like a very easy set of builds that I can manage.

I love your idea for matching grain.
I was often thinking that retiring would give me all the time in the world to just play, but it seems to be not so.
Grin
Good luck with your diffusors.

I am mostly satisfied right now with that angle, so what am I about to do ... Change everything!
Smiley












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SE84Cs Mono'ed, Lii Audio F15 OB, W15 "H" Frame Subwoofer, McIntosh MC2500, Lazarus Pre, Dual TT, Ortofon, Kleenline Iso Power, Revox, Crown R-R, Pioneer Elite Digital Source
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Mannytheseacow
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #343 - 07/17/23 at 03:29:33
 
I’ve only been toying with open baffles for a couple years so I have a lot to learn. Years of electrostatic/ribbon speakers though, and I just can’t listen to boxes anymore.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I got my single “tombstone” baffle pretty well fabricated and glued up today. Just need some final sanding and a few coats of tongue oil. I should be listening to it by Wednesday.
Of course the risk is that it sounds good enough that I never get to the liionides idea; I mean the f15s sound good enough on their own most of the time. Reminds me D.H. Lawrence’ Rocking Horse Winner…. There must be more fidelity!  :D
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Mannytheseacow
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #344 - 07/20/23 at 23:41:05
 
So what do you think, DirtDawg?
Got my little plywood tombstone done- 3 layers of 3/4” birch ply. It’s uncanny how well one w15 blends seamlessly into the F15s. Can’t wait to build the bigger baffles and have one on each side.
Looking forward to hearing how yours turn out.
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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #345 - 07/24/23 at 00:16:43
 
I think that's impressive, Manny.
Fast work.

I've actually been a bit in a holding pattern. Personal.

I believe these W15s have broken in sufficiently. I never resorted to any extreme measures to burn these in.
I think I mentioned how they sounded pretty good right out of the box, which was surprising after my experience with the F15s.
The F15s had to be harshly hammered severely for a month to get anything tolerable out of them.

Now I won't look back. These F15s are great, just a little bass shy at times.

I have not built anything or even bought more wood yet.
I have decided to pop out my IB drivers from my H frames and drop these in for a look see/listen hear.
I've not done so yet, but that is next.

As far as building, I have decided that having the two low end drivers in seperate, movable baffles makes the most sense, so no giant dual fifteen baffle for now.
But playing with what I have already built is next for me.

All plans are "soft" and possibly even fluid until complete, as we all know.

Grin
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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #346 - 07/30/23 at 15:03:55
 
I have burned in these newish W15s to my satisfaction and replaced the IB Jamo drivers with these Lii Audio in my H Frame enclosures.

So far so good. Quite a bit different in required room placement, but the effect of the bipolar radiation of this subwoofer design is still very much in play.

For the moment all that is resting, since my wife is still enjoying her quiet morning. She has not even turned on the TV yet, just coffee and the birds for her so far.

I have brought one of my Electric Ladyland CDs out to my garage where I intend to do some work today. At least until it gets too hot to enjoy things again.

Fact is, I am not using the type of system that Kramer envisioned. I am playing this CD in my garage on my mono stack.
It's a quad-amped mono rig and it sounds really amazing right now, even with Kramer's pan effects. Even in mono his effect changes the room into something fluid but agressive and quite ear perking.
I have to pause and sometimes I skip back, because my walls no longer exist, only the music is real and it is SO FINE!

As far as I have determined, there is no sweet spot. Every square inch is a sweet spot, maybe a little different in places, because there is some combing with a system like this, but it is still sweet.

I have done everything wrong to get here with this system, low Q drivers (but very flat and accurate) in an open back stack, all JBL paper up to about 500Hz (OK a lie, the four JBL E140s have an aluminum dome voice coil cap, but they are used as woofers only), where the two splayed out (about 30 degrees) JBL 2380 horns with four inch 2445 drivers take it from there, matched and crossed passively to four 2402 bullets, also splayed (about twenty two degrees).

No EQ, voicing is all within the crossover points, levels, overlaps or underlaps to refine the spectrum.

For instance the upper pair of fifteens are cut off at around 300Hz and the horns are set to take over at 500Hz in order to avoid a peak near those frequencies.

All the big drivers see all the bass information, but the eighteens are cut off at 40Hz, the lower pair of fifteens are cut off at 80Hz, and the upper pair of fifteens mate well with the horns reaching up to 300Hz.

Power is one Yamaha P2200 and one Yamaha P2100, so about six hundred watts. A very od school vintage system set up oddly, but kicking ass.
I have tried Crown amps, DC300, DC 150, but the Yamahas just sound better and they are much more quiet. Crossovers are Crown VFX2A, very adjustable.
Of course I've tried the DBX, Alesis, URIE, MXR, JBL crossovers I have, but the ancient Crowns blow them all out of the water.
I probably should have kept a couple of my Yamaha crossovers, but we move on.
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #347 - 07/31/23 at 01:56:56
 
The main thing I was doing today was to re-cap my old preamp.

I bought this used as a project many years ago from a memeber who was working on the "El Cheapo" project. Out of respect, I won't mention him by name, but I do still have all his info, from those old days.

He had had trouble with some hum and removed the power supply from the main chassis and made a second chassis for the new improved power with this really nice four foot cable with DIN connections.

I took it out off my system because I was getting all kinds of odd distortions from using it. I had cleaned everything and switched out everything (except the entire tube compliment) and still got that weirdness.
I switched back to an old trusty Yamaha sandpile and all that went away. I've been using that SS pre for more than a year now.

Today I tore it apart and replaced some stuff with higher grade, more modern stuff. Replaced all the tubes this time and took apart and twisted a lot of wiring that was just kind of hanging there.
Honestly, I spent more on the 12AX7 sets than I did on the entire pre so many years ago.

But, it used to sound pretty darn good and I want that back. To begin with, it's the only tube pre I have, so I'm pulling for it to work out.

I have not put it back with my main rig yet, but from a bit of pushing it this afternoon (drove it well into clipping and back more than once), there is no longer any odd noise coming out of it.

I'll have some time tomorrow to play, but I want to goof with the new speakers (W15) some more before I change anything else too soon.
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Rap
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #348 - 08/24/23 at 02:26:59
 
Recognise a few old faces... Take´s me back almost almost 20 years already
Still running my (albeit modified) Zen cs´s and HDT´s

Seem to remember having rather more post but maybe best they be forgotten.

Good to see DD and Lon still at it.
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Same Old DD
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Re: Returning Fan of Decware Products
Reply #349 - 08/25/23 at 18:48:05
 
Wow, Rap!
Where the beejeebees have you been?

I can say that a few of us still remember you. Yeah, it's been a while!

I'm sure your things have changed as much as mine have. Good to see you!

I hope you are planning to stay a bit and update us all.

Welcome back!!
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SE84Cs Mono'ed, Lii Audio F15 OB, W15 "H" Frame Subwoofer, McIntosh MC2500, Lazarus Pre, Dual TT, Ortofon, Kleenline Iso Power, Revox, Crown R-R, Pioneer Elite Digital Source
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