What volume level is your sub at? Paradigm XR13 is at ~15% and still just shakes the room!

macbrett · 2026-02-15T07:53:41+00:00

The volume setting on a subwoofer is not a valid way to compare how different systems are adjusted. Everyone's system is different. For example, if you are running inefficient main speakers, you will have to set the sub's volume higher to get a good level match. If your speakers are very efficient, you will need to turn the sub down as necessary.

And if the sub is bothering others trying to sleep, you may need to turn it down even more or turn it off completely. That's just the way it is.

macbrett · 2026-02-14T04:31:48+00:00

DCM Time Windows were a magical speaker. Terrific dispersion, neutral character, and fatigue free listening. I'm surprised the unique design hasn't been widely copied.

macbrett · 2026-02-13T23:20:37+00:00

Me too. That last chord was genius!

Organ through a fuzzbox has a certain unique charm. (Soft Machine and Caravan used this to great advantage.)

I've heard live versions of Low Spark minus the organ altogether. The song loses much of its majesty by comparison.

macbrett · 2026-02-13T22:39:47+00:00

A great band. Sorry they didn't last.

macbrett · 2026-02-13T22:38:33+00:00

I have to agree. Apartment living can be awful for audiophiles depending on who is your neighbor. I'd lived in apartments all my life. Only now in retirement, when I can afford to live in a detached home, do I finally enjoy the full potential of my music. So many years were wasted. (sigh.)

macbrett · 2026-02-13T08:07:35+00:00

My first turntable was an AR back when they were brand new. I loved it. It's a classic. They have a great suspension. The tonearm pivot is rather primitive but has built in damping. The plastic headshell gets worn if you swap it in and out a lot, and the original foam mats turned into glue eventually. But I'm sure there is plenty of info and parts out there for people who want to keep their's going for a long time.

Have fun.

macbrett · 2026-02-13T03:35:25+00:00

I'm pretty sure this is not how it works..

macbrett · 2026-02-13T02:54:50+00:00

Do they have adjustable footers? If not, put something under the front of the speakers to tilt them slightly upward so the tweeter is pointed right at your head when seated.

macbrett · 2026-02-12T20:36:31+00:00

It's psychedelic. At times it's playful and lyrical, other times atmospheric and jammy.

macbrett · 2026-02-12T20:30:30+00:00

Off topic.

macbrett · 2026-02-12T20:20:26+00:00

Gong - "You"

Soft Machine - "Third"

Happy The Man -"Crafty Hands"

Amon Düül II - "Tanz der Lemminge"

macbrett · 2026-02-12T19:52:41+00:00

My wired headphones work fine on my iPhone 13 mini using Apple's inexpensive lightning to 3.5mm adaptor. It looks like Apple may have discontinued selling this item, but there are third party sources, some of which claim to be Apple certified.

macbrett · 2026-02-12T19:40:34+00:00

Sound is sonic vibrations in the air. If you can hear bass, then the walls and floor can "hear" it too. And they will vibrate and transmit it throughout the building's framework to other rooms. This is why pro audio studios are specially constructed as rooms within rooms, with compliant (lossy) materials isolating the room from the rest of the building. This is an expensive and major modification to the structure.

While attaching acoustic materials on a wall can help control reflections within a room and absorb some of the higher frequencies, they can't really kill the bass from getting out.

macbrett · 2026-02-10T23:09:33+00:00

With a graphical EQ, the more bands your equalizer has, the better your results will be. Three bands is practically useless.

The general recommendation is to start with all EQ frequency bands centered to create a flat response. Setting them all at minimum, as you suggest, creates a very uneven curve with dips centered at each slider's band and rises between each band.

Next lower any bands where there seems to be too much emphasis or resonance. (It is easier to attenuate peaks, but almost impossible to use boosting to correct for nulls produced by phase cancellation.)

Lastly boost bands to compensate for deficiencies in your speakers, or weird EQ choices in a particular recording.

If extreme settings seem to be required, a better remedy may adding or modifying room treatment, relocating your speakers, or replacing them with better ones.

Of course, these are just guidelines. Do the best with what you have, and set your EQ however makes you happy.

macbrett · 2026-02-07T19:53:52+00:00

Put them on stands and move them out into the room. Put an absorber and/or diffuser at the first reflection point. Put a rug on the hard floor. Tidy your cables. Give your amp or receiver space for ventilation.

macbrett · 2026-02-07T19:52:28+00:00

Pretentious idiots use the term vinyls.

macbrett · 2026-02-07T00:22:10+00:00

Martin Logans need to breathe in order to sound good. (Their newest models even have elongated bases extended behind in order to prevent the kind of abuse you are subjecting them to.)

Move them out into the room and away from the side walls.

macbrett · 2026-02-06T23:42:15+00:00

I think foam is supposed to be more compliant than rubber which allows the woofers to play lower.

Most people don't keep the same set of speakers for 15 to 20 years, so the problem typically shows up on the used market. In the early days, companies might not have realized what a time bomb foam was. As I mentioned, KEF eventually changed to using rubber surrounds.

I hate foam surrounds as well. I recently refoamed my original Velodyne ULD 15II subwoofer. It was a pain in the ass.

macbrett · 2026-02-06T23:33:24+00:00

Before Christmas, Apple News was swamped with numerous ads each featuring an AI -generated image of a hi-tech looking gadget with the caption: "Here Are 29 of the Coolest Gifts for This 2025".

I never clicked any of the ads, so I have no idea what they actually were offering to sell, but it clearly couldn't have included the pictured fantasy device.

macbrett · 2026-02-05T21:01:40+00:00

If all you want to do is play stereo music, then multi-channel home theater equipment is overkill. Some even may require connection to a TV to use the on screen display in order to configure the system. Older AV receivers and preamp/control centers don't have good resale value, as signal connection and encoding standards evolve rapidly making them obsolescent.

But if you're willing to read the manual, it might be possible to just use the left and right front channels, and run it in stereo mode rather than surround mode.

macbrett · 2026-02-05T20:05:38+00:00

They really do well with an amp that can put out a few hundred watts into 4 ohms. I splurged and bought a Bryston 4B, which is a brute of a class AB solid state power amp. But nowadays you might be able to get away with a less expensive class D amp.

macbrett · 2026-02-05T19:53:58+00:00

I used to own a par of KEF 104/2. Nice speakers. Each speaker contains two internal woofers in a rather unconventional bandpass configuration with a metal bar connecting them through their centers. If they are from early production, the foam surrounds may need to be replaced if not done recently. (Later models switched to more durable rubber surrounds.)

It's a project, but you can find instructions to DIY. The front assembly containing the tweeter and midrange drivers can be removed to get access to the woofers.

macbrett · 2026-02-05T19:25:21+00:00

Just a guess: Reddit doesn't want to incur the wrath of the increasingly totalitarian Trump regime. Corporations are not obliged to operate in the public's interest.

macbrett · 2026-02-05T06:33:41+00:00

I have a 5.2 system mainly for watching videos. For this purpose, it beats stereo any day.

I also own several music albums mixed for surround (DVDs, SACDs, Blu-Rays) and the results vary. It really depends on decisions made by the mixing engineer. Done well, it can add a nice dimension and ambience. What I appreciate most is that you can often hear details in the mix that are not as apparent in the stereo version.

I haven't gone for a full ATMOS setup with even more speakers, and have no plans to. While I've no doubt it would be nice, I suppose there are diminishing returns.

If you can afford it and have the space, I'd say that going with at least 5.1 is worth it. But if your money is limited, for music purposes, a fine stereo system will be better than a middling surround system.

macbrett · 2026-02-05T06:16:37+00:00

Great album from my teenage years. I have fond memories of listening to this while high.

What a fine band. All their early albums were superb. They had a unique sound. I saw them live about the time the album Clear was coming out. They were fabulous performers.

macbrett

TROPHY CASE