Daddyjt

Well shit, that explains a lot - all this time I thought it was four more Carver items per week... welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard! I spent 4 months in CA this past winter for work, much of it in the Bay Area - Walnut Creek, Dublin and Milpitas. I acquired a very nice set of Carver Silver 9t amps from a guy in San Mateo, for a fellow Carversite member down in the LA area. Pretty country up there....

I agree Dennis, Prime is where it’s at lately for me too. I am anxiously awaiting the next season of Jack Ryan, and I need to get to season 2 of Hanna - just no time at the moment. Prime also seems to be much more stable on portable devices (in the hotel at night), and the Prime “suggested for you” algorithm seems to be more accurate (for me at least) than that of Netflix.

Yes, Unfortunately season 4 will be the last.

I thoroughly enjoy Ozark, and it’s most certainly a fan favorite with their subscribers - so what does Netflix do? You guessed it, they CANCEL it... unbelievable.

Unfortunately, I cancelled my Netflix subscription today. Netflix has been the source of hours of entertainment, and perhaps some of the best original content I have seen. Shows like House of Cards, Ozark, Narcos, Longmire, Haunting of Hill House and Santa Clarita Diet. There has not been anything new on Netflix that I have found interesting for some time, but more importantly, Netflix seems intent (rabidly, or so it would seem) to push a political ideology over the development of compelling content. This has been present at Netflix for some time, and I've met it with a mild annoyance. However, the current pace of politically correct programming spewing from Netflix has become more than I can bear. The straw that broke my back is the latest offering "Cuties" - a film that blatantly and unabashedly sexualizes not just minor girls, but girls as young as 11. It's a free world (for now), and if Netflix has enough interest in their audience for this drivel, then more power to them - I'm not angry, more sad, because I know what they are capable of, and I stand perplexed that they have sold themselves so far down the river of "woke culture". Or maybe it's just me...

Welcome aboard - you’re going to fit right in:-)

Not necessarily "off the beaten path", but this film did not receive anywhere NEAR the play it deserves. The film is Hell Or High Water, starring Ben Foster, Chris Pine and a straight-up Oscar worthy performance by Jeff Bridges. It is difficult to speak to much of the plot without divulging spoilers - and while the central premise of the film is a series of bank robberies, it is in no way accurate to term it a "bank robber" movie. The story is rich and rewarding, and the full scope of the plot is given in a steady, but measured pace that is ultimately very satisfying. Perhaps the most endearing part of the film is the relationship between Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham who play partners in the Texas Ranger (Law enforcement) organization. Their dialogue is laid-back yet razor sharp, and a joy to behold - on a separate note, this film may soon be "cancelled" in light of the current culture sweeping the country. The film also paints a stark picture of life in poverty-stricken West Texas, - In fact, the hardship of life in a small West Texas town is a character in the movie, right along with the actors. Overall a touching film about friendship and family that is well worth your time.

Jim Croce could say more in two and a half minutes than many artists can say in a whole album... "Photographs And Memories" Photographs and memories Christmas cards you sent to me All that I have are these to remember you Memories that come at night Take me to another time Back to a happier day, when I called you mine But we sure had a good time When we started way back when Morning walks and bedroom talks Oh, how I loved you then Summer skies and lullabies Nights we couldn't say goodbye And of all of the things that we knew Not a dream survived Photographs and memories All the love you gave to me Somehow it just can't be true It's all I've left of you But we sure had a good time When we started way back when Morning walks and bedroom talks Oh, how I loved you then

Another thing to consider with Switching to active crossovers is the fact that many passive crossovers incorporate notch-filtering to address driver and/or enclosure resonances/anomalies. Replicating then via DSP is rather straight forward if you can determine what frequency and the amount of gain/attenuation is needed. The “magic” of many speakers lies in the crossover network - be advised that there is more to most crossovers than just frequency filtering. That said, providing you don’t exceed the physical limitations of the drivers (tweeters and mids), you likely won’t damage your speakers... but the results may be far from ideal sonically.... at any rate, there’s no harm in trying:-)

Thanks Brian - yes, they do have a narrow (albeit deep) footprint, hence a high WAF (If that is a consideration). The bass response out of the single sealed 10" drivers is mind boggling. Granted, the abundance of power from the Silver 9t amps certainly helps, but seriously - They easily best the Infinitys (2 x 12") and even the Legacys (3 x 12") in bass response. As for the rest of the room decor, I had zero input - and quite honestly, I didn't care! I mean hell, I have a theater room (Which I DID decorate to MY standards) AND a 2ch listening area, and all is cost me was a year of work and letting her decorate it... Who wouldn't take that deal? 🙂

For flexibility, you can’t beat a “mini-dsp”. Completely programmable via laptop to be crossover, parametric eq, etc. https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidsp-in-a-box/minidsp-4x10-hd the basic for a 2way system: or go the full 9 yards:

Since you asked, yes...!

here are a couple things that “jumped out” at me as I read about them:

Wilson are made about 45 min from me, up in the Wasatch mountains. I went up there several years ago and took a tour - very nice folks, and an incredible facility.

Correct - capacitors don’t work like resistors. Paralleling capacitors = the sum of the capacitors paralleled. If you had the room, you “could” parallel seven (7) 1uf caps... just make sure they all have the same voltage rating.

you could also parallel a 3uf and a 4uf....

The Magico M9 just might be my end-game speaker... If i were insanely rich... And single... https://www.magicoaudio.com/news/m9?fbclid=IwAR2IFTcYjJ19oUH0nAazjTdBz5a1kHge1m2sIgG7m_kMgoqMbFjxs7JVpXI

A truffle sniffing pig has got nothing on Tim ( @PhilDent ) - he’s found three (3) pair of 2.9s in the past 6 months... one pair for him, one pair for me, and a pair that’s still for sale in the LA area, as far as I know...

you are certainly correct on the big Polks - no sub needed. Do yours have the RDO194 tweeters? That is a very worthwhile upgrade (even though, at $50 a tweeter it’s a $400 upgrade)...

If (when) I get to the end of my current work assignment I’m going to take a trip down to Tekton (assuming they are open by then...). Thanks for the track recommendation - I’ll check it out tonight!

Thanks - the listening and note taking were the fun part. The typing and creating quick excel charts was a bit monotonous, but it’s worth the effort to share the results. Vinyl may have added a whole different dimension to this contest - my head is swimming just thinking about it, lol!

If logging in today and seeing a post from me brings you angst, worry not – I just wanted to share a neat experience I was able to have with a fellow “audiophile” (I hate that word), and then I shall fade back into the shadows. As some of you know, I have become quite smitten with NHT speakers of late. As some of you also know, I’m a bit of a speaker hoarder (Those days may be over, but more on that later). Tim (@phildent) was kind enough to acquire a set of NHT 2.9 speakers for me shortly after I left CA this spring. With the whole Covid landscape, logistics of acquiring the speakers from Tim has proven a challenge, to say the least. So I did what any speaker aficionado would do – I kept searching until I found yet another pair. This pair ended up being in Bozeman MT, about 5 hours north of me. These are not in perfect cosmetic condition, so I am still planning on meeting up with Tim at some point in the hopefully not too distant future. Needless to say, I’ve been enjoying the sound of the 2.9 speakers a great deal. That did not stop me from dragging out another pair of speakers to play for a while (as I often do). This time it happened to be the Infinity Kappa 9 set. Seeing as how these were once my “unicorn” and favorite speakers, I was taken aback at how NOT in love with the sound I was from the get go. So much so, that I was checking cable connections and polarity (Yes, I’ve made that mistake before). All being in order, I retired for the night. As luck would have it, a friend and fellow audio enthusiast was in my neck of the woods for a few days. I asked him to come over for dinner, but my real motivation was to have someone “ground” me, with regards to my feelings on the NHT and now the Kappas. Travis (No affiliation to the forum) is a great guy with a fair bit of audio experience, but most importantly, he’s not afraid to hurt my feelings and tell me I’m full of shit. If you have a friend like this, cherish them – they are far more useful than someone who will kiss your ass and tell you they love everything about your system. Long story short (I know, too late), Travis comes over and really likes the 2.9. A lot. We also listened to the Kappas (He was more forgiving than I), and the Polk SDA SRS. 4 hours later, he heads out. I get a text the next morning (He sent it at 2am), saying we should do a March Madness style bracket/comparison with the NHT, Polk, Infinity and another speaker. I mull it for a minute and reply “How about a bracket of 8 speakers”? His instant reply “I’ll bring the beer…”. What transpired was two additional 4-5 hour evenings of listening, listening, and listening. And then listening some more… We bracketed the speakers by random number generator, as there was no other logical way to “seed” them. The first night we did the “quarter finals”, and the second night we did the semis and then the final round. Going in I would have thought that as the listening session went on it would be harder and harder to discern the subtle differences between speakers. However, quite the opposite was true – the longer we listened, the easier it became to spot the subtle differences between the speakers and music tracks. I am also happy to report that other than the Legacy Focus 20/20 vs. Polk SDA SRS 1.2 round, we were in total agreement – that one round was a tad contentious though, and it really could have went either way. The other thing I found fascinating was that with the exception of the Bose, B&W and Carver, all of the other speakers were my absolute favorite at one time or another. Now I find several of them somewhat, and in some cases severely, lacking. Funny how our tastes evolve… Here are the contenders: B&W Nautilus 805 – I purchased these from the original owner about 4 years ago. They are mint in box, and unmodified, as far as I know. Bose 901 VI – I purchased these about 5 years ago, only because they are in mint condition, and they have the original EQ and “tulip” stands. I’ve never owned a serious Bose product, and just wanted to play with them… Carver ALIII – I acquired these for a steal ($400) about 7 years ago. One of them had sat in about an inch of water, and the base was ruined. I manufactured new bases for both speakers, and installed Infinity “perfect 10” woofers. I eventually removed the woofers and replaced the stock drivers. Infinity Kappa 9 – I acquired these about 8 years ago. The woofers have been professionally re-foamed, and no further modifications have been done. Klipsch RF7 – I bought these new in 2008, as part of a 7 channel setup (RC7 and RS7x4). I have upgraded the crossovers with film caps and air-core inductors. I also installed the “resistor mod”, but quickly removed it, as I found it detrimental to the sound (there’s a thread on that here somewhere, if one cares to look it up). Legacy Focus 20/20 – Perhaps my “highest end” speakers, I acquired them from the original owner about 4 years ago. They are bone-stock, as far as I know. NHT 2.9 – After having Tim acquire a pair of these on my behalf this spring, I just couldn’t wait to get them from LA to my house in UT, so I took a quick trip up to Bozeman MT and bought a pair from the original owner. They are not pristine looks-wise, so yes Tim – I still want the pair you have on hold for me… Polk SDA SRS 1.2 – I traveled to Denver CO to acquire these about 3 years ago. They have an interesting history, as they were once owned by member “madmaxx”, prior to his passing. They have been modified with the RDO194 tweeter upgrade, the woofer baskets are dynamatted, they have a full set of “Larry’s Rings”, and the SDA cable has been rebuilt with MIT cable and Nutrik connectors. NOTE – the SDA cable was NOT used for this evaluation. The signal chain: Source - Oppo BDP 105 running SACD, DVD-A, and FLAC. Preamp – Round one was completed with a 10-Octave line stage pre. The second and third rounds with a BillD C1 (Modified by B-Man – That’s right, I haven’t gotten around to modding a C1 for myself… yet…) Amps – Carver Silver 9t pair. Cables – Kimber Silver Streak ICs and MIT Shotgun S3 speaker cables. The Music: Dire Straits “Love Over Gold” SACD, Private Investigations. This is my new #1 test track. It really has it all – Imaging, detail, deep bass, a deeper soundstage, and tons of subtlty. Specifically, the xylophone is very prominent in the middle of the track, but its also present in the first half, albeit “hidden” by other instruments. How much of it you can hear (and how detailed it is) in the first half of the song is a function of your system synergy. There is a sound of breaking glass in the last ¼ of the track – this sound should be way beyond your front wall (behind your speakers) and to the left. When the deep bass hits, it must maintain its composure, and not color the mid bass. The high hat cymbal in the first half of the track should have the most subtle presence – almost a “kiss” of a sound. The guitar plucking is stunningly life-like, and it really should sound like Knopfler is right in the room with you. Fleetwood Mac “Rumors” DVD-A, Gold Dust Woman. I really only use this track for one thing (I don’t even particularly like the song, lol) – In the first minute of so, I’m listening for the separation between the cow bell, the high hat and the snare. That’s it. You should hear three VERY DISTINCT sounds – there should be no overlap or “meshing” of these three, as they were mic’d separately in the studio. Alison Krauss “A Hundred Miles Or More” FLAC, Jacob’s Dream. Alison’s voice is a tricky thing, as many of her songs start out soft and subtle, then 20-30 seconds in, she really opens up – Jacob’s Dream is no exception. I liken it to a race car going into a corner. Just like a racecar driver needs to choose his corner entry speed carefully, the Alison Krauss listener needs to choose their listening volume carefully. If you go in too fast, you are going to hit the wall – the same is true for listening level. If your system is well-assembled, you have plenty of power, a solid source, and perhaps most importantly great speakers, you’ll hold the corner and the result is goosebumps. If not, you WILL find yourself reaching for the remote to turn the volume down. I wish all artists put the level of importance that she does on quality recording – The detail of her recordings is truly a thing other artists should aspire to. The detail of her vocalizations, banjos, guitars and a real joy – acoustic bass- they all blend together for a memorable experience. Shawn Mullins “Soul’s Core Revival” FLAC, Ode To Billy Joe (Electronic). Shawn’s baritone voice can be a real challenge for crossover construction in 3+way systems. If there are any humps or valleys in the output, the result will be non-linear, and it WILL sound compromised. Shawn is another artist that takes great care in his recordings, and you will hear it in a well-defined and spacious sound stage. Klymaxx “Greatest Hits” FLAC, Man Sized Love. This track is just plain FUN, and it plays BIG – Tight, solid bass, big horns and great vocals. This track is just FULL of sound, yet all the sounds seem to have their own space. On great speakers you can play this song at truly “live” listening levels, and it will not be fatiguing, in fact it begs you to inch the volume “just a bit higher”… Ramin Djawadi “Game Of Thrones Season 6 Soundtrack” FLAC, Light Of The Seven. This is a piano and string composition from the HBO series. Surprisingly well recorded (for a soundtrack), the piano is quite well done – nice key strikes, pleasant decay, and when the strings come in it takes on a whole new level. One of my favorite mid range tests. Without further delay, here are the results: Here are our score sheets: Semi-Finals: And the finals: I am happy to report that the NHT was the CLEAR winner. It had incredible bass for a sealed 10” – deeper than I would have ever thought possible, taut and controlled with not even a hint of boom or flab. The melding of all the drivers into a coherent sound front is truly something to behold – absolutely no frequency dips or humps, and as stated all drivers sound as if they are one. Sound stage that is as deep as it is wide – close your eyes and the speakers just disappear. But perhaps the most impressive trait to both of us was their ability to present both the most subtle detail and the strongest crescendo side by side, and the subtle detail was never lost. Never. If you have the opportunity to give a pair a listen, do so. And if you have the opportunity to buy them, so much the better. Thanks for reading, and as promised, I’m headed back to the shadows… Peace.