This is true if you don't use symetrical links. While i found the precision of localisation of instruments in stereo is better with an unique PSU.
ROTFL!
Regarding all the hype around this company's products - I somehow can't let go the feeling that it is in the phase of intensive pushing and pulling of its brand before being sold to the highest bidding conglomerate.
Not implausible, but since afaik no money is being made in "high-end" audio these days, not sure what is being sold.
Actually the amplifier is pretty reasonable at about 3k I believe.
Jacco,
I don't think there are many places in the world that actually machine granite on the scale it takes to make a large enclosure from solid blocks of granite. Mine were machined in China for me by someone I knew quite a few years ago. He has a company that makes these very large round precision ground granite stones that are sitting in matching granite bases and supported by a thin film of pressurized water. At Disneyland they have one that is about 4 or 5' diameter, solid, and you can turn that stone with a touch of the hand, very amazing until you understand the principal behind it. Besides machining the center section with a boring machine they also had to make the cutouts for the drivers, a major accomplishment and a lot of hand work to polish the entire outer surface. Perhaps some millionaires would appreciate the amount of work to do this and would be willing to pay the shipping costs to get them but it just isn't something you would see many of. Just one of those wild things some of us do and afterwords say what was I thinking!
I don't think there are many places in the world that actually machine granite on the scale it takes to make a large enclosure from solid blocks of granite. Mine were machined in China for me by someone I knew quite a few years ago. He has a company that makes these very large round precision ground granite stones that are sitting in matching granite bases and supported by a thin film of pressurized water. At Disneyland they have one that is about 4 or 5' diameter, solid, and you can turn that stone with a touch of the hand, very amazing until you understand the principal behind it. Besides machining the center section with a boring machine they also had to make the cutouts for the drivers, a major accomplishment and a lot of hand work to polish the entire outer surface. Perhaps some millionaires would appreciate the amount of work to do this and would be willing to pay the shipping costs to get them but it just isn't something you would see many of. Just one of those wild things some of us do and afterwords say what was I thinking!
Brad,
I would agree that high-end audio may not be a growth market but to say nobody is making money just doesn't ring true. Just look at John's friend Wilson, how many of those 100K$ speaker systems do they sell per year? Still more money there than meets the eye if you really analyze the industry, it just isn't going to grow at this point.
I would agree that high-end audio may not be a growth market but to say nobody is making money just doesn't ring true. Just look at John's friend Wilson, how many of those 100K$ speaker systems do they sell per year? Still more money there than meets the eye if you really analyze the industry, it just isn't going to grow at this point.
High-end starts on the other side of 10k these days, I'm afraid.
Their products are sold in the high street shops (Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Thomann, Audio Advisor.. even Evilbay) and are targeted at 'joe doe with a bit of cash to spare'. That's different market altogether. Apparently, 'sensibly priced' products sell well.
Quote: "Due to an unexpectedly high demand, our stock of .... converters is very low."
Christophe,
Besides having to close the ends of the blocks they are solid, no seams, one big massive block of granite, they are insanely big pieces of granite about the size of your speaker enclosure without the horn on top. You use structural epoxy to glue in the end pieces. Do not try to move them yourself would be a warning to anyone!
Besides having to close the ends of the blocks they are solid, no seams, one big massive block of granite, they are insanely big pieces of granite about the size of your speaker enclosure without the horn on top. You use structural epoxy to glue in the end pieces. Do not try to move them yourself would be a warning to anyone!
No problemo. Every city has granite cutters and grinders...... look under Head Stones for graves. They will cut any size(s) you want and even polish it. Reasonable prices, too.
Need a base ffor your TT?
THx-RNMarsh
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It is those numbers they get.... amazing numbers for a power amp. Does any one else have numbers as good as they spec? Below the measurement capability of A-P's best instrumentation?
I'll do one better. I have an order in to get one and check it out and listen to it. Then I wont have to just read about it and speculate.
THx-RNMarsh
+ kitchen countertops, bathrooms.
Solid stone loudspeakers currently appear to be popular in some areas, e.g. Russia.
Plenty of manufacturers who made loudspeakers of stone or part of them, e.g. B&W's tweeter housing, Mr Gerhard added 150lb of stone to his Cerubin loudspeaker.
In the '80s/'90s, all granite/marble loudspeakers were popular in Germany.
Even some DIY lsp kit companies offered cabinets in marble or granite, also here.
Solid stone loudspeakers currently appear to be popular in some areas, e.g. Russia.
Plenty of manufacturers who made loudspeakers of stone or part of them, e.g. B&W's tweeter housing, Mr Gerhard added 150lb of stone to his Cerubin loudspeaker.
In the '80s/'90s, all granite/marble loudspeakers were popular in Germany.
Even some DIY lsp kit companies offered cabinets in marble or granite, also here.
I'm sure those cutters who do headstones can cut but I'm not so sure they can do precision machining of things like the speaker recesses and boring large diameter holes with long dimensions isn't something they often do. I knew a granite guy who had a counter top company and watched them cut granite and marble with wire saws and it was amazing what they could cut through but the work wasn't any more precise than someone could do with wood and a table saw, close but no cigar.
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It matters to us/me from an engineering interest perspective, and it does matter for Benchmark from a bottom line perspective.
For the listener? Nah.
Jan
Quick Off Topic Questions.
Which are good sounding NP/Bipolar coupling caps, 1uF -100uF, line level signal voltages.
Are two known good sounding polarised electrolytic caps connected in series back to back, worse/same/better than NP ?.
Are NP/Bipolar the same item named differently ?.
Dan.
Which are good sounding NP/Bipolar coupling caps, 1uF -100uF, line level signal voltages.
Are two known good sounding polarised electrolytic caps connected in series back to back, worse/same/better than NP ?.
Are NP/Bipolar the same item named differently ?.
Dan.
If you are going with electrolytics, go with NP electrolytics with a substantial voltage rating. I did measurements of distortion of electrolytics (in my book), and found that distortion of NP electrolytics designed for speaker crossovers is much, much lower that that of ordinary electroltyics. I do not recommend two polarized electrolytics back to back. Check out the Nichicon NP caps on DigiKey that were specifically designed for speaker crossovers. 10uF, 100V radial is a good choice for coupling. The voltage rating DOES make a difference. Don't use a low-voltage cap.
Cheers,
Bob
How I wish I had the memory to pull references and names "out of the bag" when I need it !
There are a few "capacitor comparisons" that are scientifically based and have been published over the years/decades.
All can be relied on to tell the "truth", but one MUST read what the testing did and what was being tested.
Virtually all the "filter tests" apply to filtering duties.
If you require a low distortion filter then a "filter test" report is the place to find the info.
Compare the reports from a few authors. If they agree and many will, then you can be assured they are right.
But, there is another duty where we use capacitors - signal coupling - the duty here is very different from a "filter".
A "filter test" report does not directly apply to a coupling duty.
One must be careful to extract the relevant information, if signal coupling is being examined.
Why is Signal coupling different from filtering?
Because the filter duty is looking at signals that are both above and below the "filter frequency" of the test.
Whereas for a signal coupling duty the signal is many octaves away from the turn over frequency, maybe even many decades away from the "filter frequency"
Take a filter of 10nF feeding a 10k for a "filter frequency" of ~1519Hz. Test the distortion at 1kHz or 1k65Hz or 2kHz or anywhere else close to the "filter frequency".
Now change the 10k to 1M to move the filter frequency down to ~15Hz.
Test for distortion in the range 1kHz to 2kHz. Is any distortion detectable?
Now apply the same analysis of "test reports" where electrolytics are used in filter/coupling duties.
eg, 1mF into 10k cf. 1uF into 10k The 1uF in various guises of P, NP, back to back and inverse parallel will have small amounts of distortion around the "filter frequency". And yes they will be different. Change to the 1mF and again look at distortion at those same frequencies for the various NP, P, B2B, ||, does the report mention any distortion? Did they try to measure the distortion in the pass band that is 2 or more decades above the new "filter frequency"?
Do they "test" 1uF NP and 220uF+220uF P+P in back to back format, in the Audio Passband?
There are a few "capacitor comparisons" that are scientifically based and have been published over the years/decades.
All can be relied on to tell the "truth", but one MUST read what the testing did and what was being tested.
Virtually all the "filter tests" apply to filtering duties.
If you require a low distortion filter then a "filter test" report is the place to find the info.
Compare the reports from a few authors. If they agree and many will, then you can be assured they are right.
But, there is another duty where we use capacitors - signal coupling - the duty here is very different from a "filter".
A "filter test" report does not directly apply to a coupling duty.
One must be careful to extract the relevant information, if signal coupling is being examined.
Why is Signal coupling different from filtering?
Because the filter duty is looking at signals that are both above and below the "filter frequency" of the test.
Whereas for a signal coupling duty the signal is many octaves away from the turn over frequency, maybe even many decades away from the "filter frequency"
Take a filter of 10nF feeding a 10k for a "filter frequency" of ~1519Hz. Test the distortion at 1kHz or 1k65Hz or 2kHz or anywhere else close to the "filter frequency".
Now change the 10k to 1M to move the filter frequency down to ~15Hz.
Test for distortion in the range 1kHz to 2kHz. Is any distortion detectable?
Now apply the same analysis of "test reports" where electrolytics are used in filter/coupling duties.
eg, 1mF into 10k cf. 1uF into 10k The 1uF in various guises of P, NP, back to back and inverse parallel will have small amounts of distortion around the "filter frequency". And yes they will be different. Change to the 1mF and again look at distortion at those same frequencies for the various NP, P, B2B, ||, does the report mention any distortion? Did they try to measure the distortion in the pass band that is 2 or more decades above the new "filter frequency"?
Do they "test" 1uF NP and 220uF+220uF P+P in back to back format, in the Audio Passband?
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It matters to us/me from an engineering interest perspective, and it does matter for Benchmark from a bottom line perspective.
For the listener? Nah.
Jan
Why don't people ever mention that these specs are inherently one dimensional in that it is at best a perfect measurement of the voltage at the output terminals, the current which actually (in a sense) better reflects what the speaker is doing is probably still full of distortion? In any case this is a strange thread to be pounding the table about crazy low THD numbers.
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