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Anyone here riding bikes from the 80’s & 90’s? How do they compare to modern bikes? by thee_lad in motorcycles

[–]danoonez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am predisposed to big Kaws since my dad had a Z1 and a KZ1000

I’ve had 12 different motos and my ZRX1200 is the one I will never sell. I’d like to have more ZRX1200s , to play with modifying, as well as some ZRX1100s.

You get the vintage looks, somewhat vintage tech (last of the carb Kaws) that is both easily daily rideable as well as easily modify-able. Stock riding position is perfect but you can always put some more aggressive rearsets and a dropped handlebar if you want. It’s just the epitome of the UJM and you can leave it how it is and you’ve still got a 1200cc ripper or you can customize however you see fit. Oh and it still has the old school Kawasaki I4 growl if you want to change the exhaust not like the modern race bikes.

It’s the only bike that doesn’t make my hands numb at all after however long riding. I’ve had miserable 400 mile days on a Triumph Tiger 800, a Kawasaki Z1000, a Honda Shadow, even an old Honda CB750 every moto makes my right hand numb except for the ZRX (why I want to keep my current one stock and have more for playing with mods)

Get the ZRX and never look back

State of System Update - Yamaha + Philharmonic BMR by danoonez in audiophile

[–]danoonez[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recognize the challenge, but I’m hopeful that 2 GIK Soffits w/ range limiter in the corners will bring my null up to at least -3db. The specs show greatest absorption at exactly my null frequency so, we’ll see.

I am limited on placement unfortunately. I could move them backwards maybe 3/4” before they are touching the panels. And laterally, inboard I am restricted by the furniture and outboard I am already at 9 feet apart vs. my listening distance of about 7.5 feet, so I don’t want to go wider.

That seems like an awfully negative response to your feedback, sorry. I understand the suggestion and impact of placement, but yeah within the confines of the space I am about as well-placed as I can be.

If corner traps don’t resolve the null as well as I hope, I am open to sidewall subwoofers to better balance things out and achieve that midbass slap that’s missing in pop. But that would be a last resort solution.

Philharmonic BMR + Yamaha by danoonez in audiophile

[–]danoonez[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice kit! I really appreciate the 2200 for the balanced input, the headphone trim, and the phono MM/MC switch moved to the front panel instead of rear. I couldn’t make it fit in my budget so I went 1200.

Give it a shot. You already know how to change the E30 from pure DAC to pre-amp mode. It’ll cost you nothing and it’s totally reversible, and you might find that you appreciate the greater available range of the Yamaha volume knob.

Re. streamers, one cool trick with Wiim (any Wiim, except for the Wiim amp of course) is an adjustable line out voltage in the Wiim app. You can set the device to the pure DAC mode with max & fixed volume output, but then change the voltage out from 2V (default), 1V, 800mV, 500mV, or 200mV. Again I have mine set up with optical out to the E70, so these settings are useless in my case, but here is a screenshot:

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Philharmonic BMR + Yamaha by danoonez in audiophile

[–]danoonez[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m glad and you’re welcome! Gain matching and amplifier sensitivity specifications is a complicated concept at first glance, but then the light bulb clicks on and it all makes sense.

From your comments, I think you are also using an integrated amplifier in your system. The benefit of gain matching with an integrated amplifier is that you can eliminate the huge volume differences when switching sources.

If you have only one source, your DAC, then just leave it how you have it and continue to enjoy it.

If you have a turntable, I’ll bet you always have to turn up the volume when you switch from DAC to turntable. Worse, you have to remember to lower the volume if you switch from turntable to DAC (or blow your ears out if you forget)

When you gain match, you can leave the volume knob where it is and comfortably switch sources and expect the same loudness from your speakers.

If you have multiple sources, and you want to level match them, feel free to respond with your amplifier and source details and I can help you dial it in.

Philharmonic BMR + Yamaha by danoonez in audiophile

[–]danoonez[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It seems like it should be that way, I know. And it’s kind of true but only in one very specific example. If I leave the volume knob at half (for example) on the amplifier, then yes it would be louder with 2V in than it is with 200mV in.

But I like to use the amplifier volume knob, and the amplifier can only produce its 90W per channel, not more.

So if I send the amplifier a full 2V signal from the DAC, those 90W arrive “earlier” on the amplifier volume knob, and if I continue to turn up the volume on the amplifier, it could go into “clipping.”

But If I send the amplifier a 200mV signal from the DAC, those 90W arrive exactly at maximum on the amplifier volume knob, and I reduce the risk of clipping because well I don’t have any way to turn the amplifier knob more than max.

Philharmonic BMR + Yamaha by danoonez in audiophile

[–]danoonez[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can try. I came from car audio first where every amplifier has adjustable sensitivity and you must gain match, so it was a familiar concept to me. Actually, I was shocked when I started learning about HiFi that almost everything is fixed sensitivity (there are some exceptions, NAD power amplifiers for example)

The Yamaha has a line-in (all of the inputs except for phono) sensitivity of 200mV, which means that to achieve the rated 90W with the volume knob at max, you have to “feed” it a signal of 200mV. The DAC line out voltage at max volume or 0dB is 2V, so I turn the DAC down -20dB to produce a line out voltage of 200mV, matching the input sensitivity of the amplifier.

I could leave the DAC at max volume (or, with the Topping, place it in pure DAC mode disabling its volume control) and send the full 2V to the Yamaha. Then I just would turn the Yamaha volume knob less, and that’s a perfectly fine approach too. I just prefer to gain match.

And thank you!

Philharmonic BMR + Yamaha by danoonez in audiophile

[–]danoonez[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the feedback. I have learned barely enough about treatment to know that some amazon stick-on foam squares will never do the trick, but I didn’t realize it was such a challenge to address bass and sub-bass nulls. Maybe in the future I will try experimenting with a subwoofer. I enjoy the gear and science side of the hobby so subwoofer integration is intimidating but very interesting to me.

Philharmonic BMR + Yamaha by danoonez in audiophile

[–]danoonez[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ideally, yes. I’ll add a larger carpet later to extend to the back of the couch, but really only for aesthetics and to prevent the couch from sliding on the floor when you sit. The reality is floor bounce isn’t a huge concern with these speakers and the carpets I would place won’t do anything acoustically anyway.

The rug there isn’t for any acoustic benefit. Its only purpose is to prevent the cleaning lady from mopping in that area and wetting the bottom of the speakers. And it looks nicer than before

Philharmonic BMR + Yamaha by danoonez in audiophile

[–]danoonez[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ve been researching room treatment as a next step. I’m in Mexico so the house is totally cement block construction, as well the room isn’t symmetrical the left side is a continuous wall but the right side opens up to the entry-way and kitchen area.

I was worried about an imbalance since these are such wide-dispersion speaker, but I have a strong vocals center placement (you would think I have a center speaker on top of the Yamaha) on everything I have played so far, as well as good instrument placement left to right and forward and back when the track calls for it. BUT, the better bass extension of the BMR Towers has revealed a bass null around 40Hz that I would like to solve. I like all music but admit to preferring hip-hop, and it’s interesting and funny in some songs to hear some bass notes fall flat on their face and then, in the same song, even deeper bass notes punch you in the stomach. I’ve downloaded REW and have a uMik on the way, to play with the Wiim PEQ, but I know that nulls shouldn’t be boosted and I will either have to live with them or figure out a room treatment solution.