stevenlevel

Wow thanks guys Now I have to decide which to buy? What are the number one and two in your opinions if you had to pick just two?

I have found that now that I'm back into vinyl in a huge way that I would love to have a couple of good jazz records. The problem is I have no clue what is considered Classic jazz like I know Classic rock. Can you guys that enjoy Jazz please just give me a few available records that would be considered great Jazz that are available on new 180 to 200 gram weight vinyl? Thanks I'm sure there are a bunch of good Jazz records out there but I have no clue what is good or great. I like female vocals as well so at least one solid female jazz singer would be great as well.

Oh I agree completely with that. I found getting back into vinyl a lot of fun and the artwork is a big part of that. Just buying good 1/2 speed re-masters and 180 to 200 gram weight vinyl is fun I also love the sound of vinyl when it's all set up correctly. I had a bit more of a learning curve when I got back into vinyl than I thought it would be. Learning to properly set up the cartridge in the head shell with a protractor and getting it's tracking force spot on with a digital scale were new to me, but once set up correctly really made a big difference! Researching and buying a Denon DL-103 MC was by far the best $167 I ever spent on a cartridge. I have not listened to anything but my growing vinyl collection in about a month since I bought the Denon DL-103. It really shows off how great vinyl can sound. I always use these three 200 gram weight LPs to show off how good vinyl can sound : Dire Straits "Brothers In Arms" double LP 1/2 speed re-master, and RUSH's "Moving Pictures" sound fantastic on vinyl and people are simply blown away when they hear these records. So much better than digital CD playback and of course those lousy Mp3's that so many people are used to hearing. Vinyl rules

Vice News had a story last night 3-15-17, about the comeback of vinyl and why vinyl makers think that it has come back after all the years with CD sales being dominate since they came to market. They stated that in 2016 that vinyl out sold CD's for the first time EVER! When asked why the resurgence the guy being interviewed stated "It started with the Millennial's trying to be different." " People like to see mechanical things moving about." "That watching moving parts that all work together to make music is embedded in all of us." I really enjoyed the comments this guy offered and I can't recall his name but it was in England where he found some old record pressing machines to get his record stamping business going. They then talked about new presses produced,that he was the Guinea Pig and the first to buy and use these new type of pressing machines for vinyl. Big fan of Vice News and Bill Mahar who produces the show. Long my they reign, giving us the real news that so many of us long for now a days.

I bought some Crazy glue in a 3 pack of $ 2.99 and it worked great. Nice tight bond and perfectly straight like it was before. This way I can throw out the tube I used and not worry about the shelf life since the 3 tubes were all air tight and needed a puncture to break the seal. I don't have a car so getting to the Hardware store is a pain in the butt. However, there is a local CVS about a block away from my apartment that had the glue.

Is the Loctite Instant Adhesive cheaper than your basic crazy glue? I'm used to using different viscosity's of Crazy Glue since I used to build Imported 1/72nd scale plastic models of the different military aircraft and Crazy Glue( not it's correct name and a brand name) was my go to glue for landing gear and any other very tiny parts. I know this has nothing to do with home audio or Caver equipment but here is a photo of my best models that were airbrushed by hand with a dual action (Control on air out and paint out) airbrush.

Thanks, I'll use that instead

Just learned the hard way that a Shure M97xE is not a single part and comes with a die-cast aluminum mounting shell that's actually glued to the cartridge itself. I was simply trying to move the cartridge forward in a original Technics aluminum head shell and it snapped off with very little force. The die cast mounting shell is actually glued to the cartridge and when pushed side to side to get the cartridge setup with the proper amount of overhang it just fell off. Now I need to use crazy glue or a tiny amount of epoxy to glue the mounting shell to the metal cartridge body. I was shocked because the force was so little and the cartridge comes with small mounting screws that get lodged in pretty tight to the head shell requiring you to move it side to side to get it to slide back or forth for proper adjustment. The mounting screws are just large enough to get lodged rather tightly into the standard head shell making movement rather touchy. So be careful with your Shure M97xE since I was being careful and still seperated it from its mounting shell that I thought was part of the actual metal cartridge body. While setting it up loosen the large mounting screws so you don't put any lateral force while moving it forward or backward in the mounting head shell of your choice. No real big deal but I'm forced to buy some crazy glue now and make sure it's glued back on properly and straight while the glue is drying. Totally surprised by this and am glad it's now my number 2 cartridge

Hi, I have used the wood glue method only a few times to get a hard piece of vinyl or a metal sliver out of the records grove of the first track. I made sure the glue was really dry before pulling it off as it really stretches a great deal as you pull it off. That said it did get the foreign object out of the records grove stopping it from skipping when the stylus hit that part of the first track. So it works well but I would only use the glue for foreign objects that cause either skipping or really loud pops that will not come out of the LP's grove with normal cleaning. It works but it's not as simple as people think it is. If the extra tab of glue I left to grab and pull up on the LP came off I would have had no idea how to get the glue off the record. So use great care with the glue method.

Somehow I knew I was going to get that response. I used the SAE 5000 back in 1980 and since I only listened to heavy metal music I could never tell if was messing with the sound or not. That said, my dad never bought one and that should have been enough for me to know they could alter the sound. After all my dad bought the C-1 and the hafler DH-500 as well as a Technics SL-1600 MKII with a Shure V-15 IV He also bought a DBX decoder but it was only for DBX encoded LP's that were rare and expensive back in the early 80's but they did sound great. They added more overall dynamic range and limited some of the vinyl noise at the beginning, end or in-between tracks. I wish he would have kept the V-15 cartridge and his DBX encoder and encoded records since they would have been mine He said he can't remember what he did with his table or his plentiful vinyl collection. Too bad for me

Yeah, I just realized that having the .flac CD version is pretty meaningless when setting up vinyl Upon further review "The call stands" for either 0 pf or 150 pf which is what you and a few others stated would be the best setting. 300 pf is too high I have a Disk Washer that I use with 91% rubbing alcohol if a record needs to be really cleaned. I don't use rubbing alcohol very often, but some new records need it to get rid of any residue from the stamping. Now I have read about using dish soap and filtered water, but it's so hard to do without a real record cleaner that will hold the record properly. Any advice is very welcomed

Thanks I just didn't see that But I have both the vinyl and CD versions of that excellent recording I have two questions: In my Shure M97xE cartridge instructions it states "Optimum Load" including tonearm and amplifier input capacitance 47 k-ohms 200 to 300 pf per channel 1:So is 300 pf the proper setting on my C-1? I have it set there now and have been doing some vinyl listening tests but I have not played DSOTM which should allow me to get it right. 2: Has anyone used the KLH 7000A or the SAE 5000A with their Carver preamp and turntable? I had a SAE 5000 back in 1980 but sold it in 1985 when I bought my first CD player. I gave up on vinyl after 75% of my records were badly warped when I moved and didn't get the records out of my car before it was 95 degree's and 1:00 PM. So I ended up selling my old Tech SL-Q303 table, the Shure M97 cartridge and my SAE 5000 and about 75 records for almost nothing. I love vinyl again and have learned to keep it nice and clean but I have a few that still have the ocational annoying pop or click and wanted to know if anyone ever used one of these? Which is better? Do they affect the playback sound in a negative way? Sorry more than 2 questions. Thanks, Steve

Sorry Kev, what does DSOTM mean?

Thanks Kev as usual you are there to give me some great advice. I had some issues getting on the site for a while and could not figure out why? Still don't know if it was on my end or if the site was down for an upgrade?

I'm using a Technics SL-Q3 with my Carver C-1 mm phono stage. Does anyone know the proper pf setting I should use on the back of the C-1? I have it at 300pf right now and it sounds pretty good. I got that setting from a online post so I have no clue if that information is accurate or not. Thanks, Steve

Thanks guys for the feedback. As far as normal speaker swap, I mean just swapping them from left front to right front and vice a versa. I'm beginning to think it's my hearing. I just turned 50 and I know I have sinus issues that I never knew about until about 4 months ago. I was thinking about simply replacing the L-Pad cross-overs with the standard cross-overs in my second pair of 450's that I use for side surround sound. I have had passives fail twice with this model of speaker and it's very obvious when they fail. They will make a popping sound unlike the normal 6 1/2" main driver. I have replacement drivers and passives to use if a driver is bad. That's one good thing about Definitive I can say. There customer service is outstanding and they have sent me many replacement drivers/passives/ and even new rear binding posts over the last 4 years. The speaker that sounds weak is always the right side which has a open doorway right behind it. The left side always just sounds much fuller with good midrange and really good low bass as well. I made sure the phase was correct and double checked it as my dad taught me about how important correct phase is back when I was 14 and I put my very first system together. He actually built the hafler DH-500 in kit form back in 1981 or 82 when he also bought the C-1 preamp I am also currently using. The L-Pads are the best I could find at Parts Express and are rated at 100 watt mono if I recall correctly. It was the highest rated L-Pad available that they sold. One is either off by about 20% or my hearing is. I can get them even with the highs but the speaker on the left needs less gain than the right speaker does. I was planning on replacing all the drivers and passives in both speakers but I ordered the #6 3/4" when I need #8 3/4" that were out of stock. I ordered some nice gasket foam sealer to go around the 6 1/2" and the 10" passive but I need the new screws as these at least a few of the screws on all 4 speakers are striped out but repaired. My goal is to make sure the main front speakers are both air-tight and have new drivers as well. However, as I mentioned I need some #8 3/4" course threaded screws before I can go down this path. Once again thanks for taking the time to answer my questions as there were so many. Seeing how when i swap the left and right with each other and the left speaker seams to sound better, it must be speaker placement with both the open doorway and the fact there is couch on the right side as well. I hooked them up in a second bedroom that has nothing in it with the speakers in the best possible placement and they sounded perfectly even with a nice Denon receiver that I had in storage. So once again thanks for taking the time to answer all the questions I asked. You guys are the best at this site

Here's what is going on: I own two pair of Definitive Studio Monitor 450's that have off axis tweeters and a side mounted 10" passive radiator to boost the main 6 1/2" bass drivers low end. They also each have a 1" aluminum dome tweeter that's been annealed(What ever that means?) Sorry I can't post any pics for at least a few days to give people a better look at how they are setup but please try and picture this. My 50" plasma is slightly offset in a corner to the right so it's not perfectly angled but this was the most effective place in order to have my main 450's (on the steel stands designed for them) to be placed at each side of the tv with the passive 10"ers aimed inward and the off axis tweeters set up to be on the left side of the left speaker and on the far right side of the right speaker. Now a while back I posted about how bright these speakers are and they were so bright that it was suggested by a few that I place L-Pads on each side front speaker and also my Definitive C/L/R 2002 center channel speaker. I went ahead with the project and added 3 L-Pads between the tweeters and the cross-overs of these 3 main speakers. Now it seems like no matter what I do the right speaker seems dull, lacks mid-range and bass when compared to the left speaker. If I go back and forth with the C-1 balance control the left speaker really seems to not only sound different but lacks some volume as well. Now I have a 2/200 watt digital display that's hooked up to my main hafler DH-500 amp and it shows that the left speaker is getting a equal signal or close enough to the exact signal the right speaker is getting. If I adjust the L-Pads the speakers do not adjust the highs on a equal basis and this is obvious. So here are a few questions: Can L-Pads(variable resisters) have different amounts of attenuation at the same exact settings? Can the left speaker that's right next to the wall but has the passive faced out away from the wall have it's sound boosted thus fooling my ears with the balance control all the way left or right? It seems like when I do a simple speaker reverse that whatever speaker on the left side seems to play louder and have a better overall sound. Is this normal or am I hearing things? Could one cross-over just have a failing cap that's messing with the overall sound of the right speaker? I ordered new deep threaded screws, and new gasket foam to make sure the drivers and passive are all air tight as these are not ported speakers. I also several replacement drivers for both front speakers. I plan on swapping out the L-Pad cross-overs with the cross-overs from the second pair of 450's and re-sealing all the drivers putting them back to brand new status and then simply use the C-1 tone controls to avoid that really bright pair of tweeters. I fear I made a mistake buying these Definitive 450's as I just can't understand how they could produce a speaker or speakers that are this bright, and really bothering me a great deal with certain music. I tried several Graphic Equalizers and ended up selling every one as they just added distortion I didn't need. I want my seperate component system to sound like it should with CD and vinyl playback and I'm doing my best to get these 450's to sound as good as they can. The odd thing is that with the excessive brightness comes great upper and lower mid-range and fairly good lows. If this tweeter is tampered with I end up getting a dull, lifeless, and thin sounding speaker. I listen to a lot of new vinyl and have begun a new collection. I find that when I play vinyl the sound with a Technics SL-Q3 and Black pearl MM cartridge that the highs are more even than when I play CD audio. Some older CD's from early on in my CD collection sound tolerable, but all new fully digital recordings sound so bright I can't take it after a while. Really sorry about this really long and messy post but I'm really looking for a way to get these speakers to sound good enough to last me a few more years and then I'll replace them with some good floor standing speakers that will not be too bright. Please keep in mind these are $600+ a pair speakers retail that I picked up for $290 a pair about 3 years ago and bought them without even listening to them first based on the name and that my dad owns Definitive floor standing models from about 8 years ago that I really loved. So I will listen to any suggestions or opinions anyone has and be grateful that anyone responded at all to this diatribe about my poor speaker choice that I should have know was too good to be true! How DEFINITIVE can sell speakers this bright and think they are audiophile class speakers at $320 (retail) each is beyond me and if I had any good sense back then I would have returned them right away! Help.............. Help.............. If there is anything I can buy that can adjust these speakers without adding distortion I'm all ears

Will 60 watts per channel be enough power? The amp100 I have shows 60 watts per channel into 4 Ohms and not 140. It's odd as it's 50 watts per channel into 8 Ohms but only bumps up to 60 with a 4 Ohm load. This amp was bought to power my rear Definitive Bi-Poles and runs off my Yamaha receiver rear speaker outputs right now. The size of the sub is very large compared to the 12" powered sub that's sitting on top of it currently. It's at least twice the cubic feet of the 12" Dayton Audio powered sub that's sitting on top of it. This was purchased back in 1983 as a kit from Chicago Speakerworks. I bought the satt's or bookshelf speakers first in 1982 for $325 a pair and then worked a part time job at 15 to save up for the stereo non-powered sub that cost $350 in kit form. My dad was an audiophile back in the day and thought they were by far the best speakers I could afford to buy. The satts still work and actually still sound pretty good to this day. They had a 5" peerless coated driver with rubber surround and a 1"soft dome tweeter. The stereo sub actually was working until 2 years ago when the cross-overs caps blew apart making the inside of the sub look like the yard the day after a fire works display. I thank you guys for the info. Can I run the woofers without the low pass filters to test it safely? Would you get the 100 HZ or 80 HZ low pass filters? I was thinking 100 HZ as the drivers should get down to about 35 HZ as the sealed enclosure is built like a tank. I also bought new gasket sealing tape and good deep threaded screws to get my main front speakers sealed air tight and get rid of any stripped screws as well. My front Definitive 450's don't sound even to me in output as the left seems to be playing louder to me. So I'm going to replace both 6 1/2" with new one's sent from Definitive for free and make sure they are mounted perfectly and air tight. Same for the 10" side mounted passive rads as a few of the screws may be stripped causing air leakage. Hopefully, when I'm done doing all this the front speakers will sound exactly the same as air leakage is a big issue that needed to be addressed.

I think my Hafler DH-500 or my C-1 preamp has some faulty resisters or caps as I'm getting some excessive hiss at full volume of the MM phono stage. It odd as one channel is super clean and one channel produces more hiss than I ever heard before. Was thinking I need re-ground the amp with a STAR ground like it had before I replaced the RCA inputs but it's hard to do. I was able to replace the RCAs but there is no room to work in the back of the amp unless I'm willing to remove a bunch of parts like the two main large caps. Just not sure how to get the amp grounded correctly so it produces no audible hum of hiss like it did before I messed around with it. It's only audible at near full volume so most music playback is not effected but it bothers me just knowing it's there when it was not before I replaced the RCA inputs.

I was going to use these in some Cerwin-Vega RE-24's that had blow woofers and just seal the speakers enclosure and get rid of the port as these drivers Part# 299-2188 are best when used in a sealed enclosure. So I can still just cut out the port tube and seal these old C-V speakers from 1994 and use them with these 10" woofers. Then I thought why not try getting my old and very large old non powered stereo sub working again if these drivers will perform good enough. They weigh 7.25 lbs each and at $17.50 each and 55% of retail price of $40 each I figured I could try using them in my old non-powered sub that is non ported and was a stereo subwoofer. No one ever stated if a lowpass inline RCA would work to filter out from 100 or 80 HZ if they were plugged into the amps inputs? These drivers look as though they they will work well enough but they are not high end sub-woofers per say. They are rated down to 39 HZ which is good enough and I just thought I could at least try them in the old sub just to see how they sounded. Since the amp has a volume control and a balance control it should be pretty good for driving these two 4 Ohm drivers. Can someone tell me which inline pair of lowpass filters I need from Parts Express? They are not cheap at about $30 for a pair but if they will work and these 10" drivers also get low enough I'll buy them. Love the idea of a stereo sub like it was before. Didn't even think of that but the amp can handle 4 Ohm loads so why not? I didn't order the inline filters yet since I didn't know if they would work. As mentioned I bought these 10" replace the blown 10" woofers in a rescued pair of C-V 3 way speakers and these were rated as the best to replace those drivers if I eliminated the rear port which would be simple. But then I began to think about the extra amp and using it to drive both these drivers mounted in my old large sealed stereo non-powered sub that I have had forever. Thanks again for all the feedback in advance and if you guys can give me the part # for the inline low pass filters that would be great. Thanks again and sorry if I was redundant here. Steve

Hi I'll try to keep this short but need to explain what I'm trying to do here: I have an old non-powered sub that's been used as furniture for many years now and I decided to turn it into a dual 10" sealed powered sub. I found two nice 10" drivers with 2" voice coils for only $35 at PartsExpress. So these are 4 Ohm woofers that I plan on wiring in series turning the 2 drivers into a 8 Ohm load and will be powered by a Audio Source Amp 100 in it's mono mode of 160 watts. My main question is how to use a high pass in line RCA filter at 100 or 80 HZ so the woofers only play low bass. So I'll have 2- 10" woofers playing the same mono output from my Carver C-1 preaout 2 right or left channel. Then I'll run from the pre-out 2 to the Audio Source amp 100's RCA input and then run the speaker wire from the amp to the subs two drivers. So can I place a inline 80 or 100 HZ high pass filter into the secondary amps input to get the proper bass frequencies I need? The amp has a volume control to adjust the output and is rated at 1% THD just like most powered subs are. So will this setup work as I have stated it? If not please explain. Also any suggestions or feedback is always welcomed by you wonderful people. Thanks in advance. Steven Level

After some research and review readings on Parts Express, it seems these Titan 10" 4 Ohm drives are closest I'll get to the original 10" woofers. Cost is $35 including shipping. I get what everyone is saying about getting a good match and the difference in the Ohm rating and that ohm rating changes during use and might not match up well with the cross-overs. It's not worth it for me to spend $130 to get the exact same drivers as these speakers are far from being worth that type of investment. I was also hoping I could simply re-foam the woofers but they are both trashed beyond repair. I'll keep them and maybe in the future I'll find someone selling the same drivers at a cheaper price? I can maybe find some that just need to be re-foamed and do that myself to get the exact same woofers. Thanks for the feedback guys.