Given that you've eliminated polarity issues (at least in the speaker wiring), and eliminated the Rane, if the Alphas driven by themselves directly do not produce lots of bass, I guess I would suspect the power amp.
So you're going to swap power amps -- that's a good idea. If that does not work, then there is perhaps a polarity (or other) issue at the source or pre, I guess!
Last edited:
I would also check the alphas themselves. There may be something wrong with them too. Although, it is unlikely that there's something wrong with all four of them.
Well fellas it has been a busy evening!" I have checked all the drivers as far as I can with a meter, all OK. I have rewired the drivers in parallel, this time directly to the drivers, not via the magnet wire flying leads I had previously. Then, I have a modded Arcam alpha 5 that needed some holes in the board filling with caps... so that is plumbed in now and the whole thing is definitly getting there! I will mess about with speaker positioning etc tomorrow after work as it is a bit late for a full on session now! thanks for all the help guys, I really do appreciate it, and that is the essence of this forum I think.
Steve 🙂
Steve 🙂
hi there matey!
If things get just very slightly better than they are now, I could certainly live happily with them. I will do some more messing...
I think the Cd player change has made a BIG difference, I had forgotten just how good this Arcam Alpha 5 CD is after modding, even better that I got it for free!!
also, I have some LDR's coming so I can finish that too when they arrive.
Thanks, Steve.
PS, I think you are quite far away from me on the Wirral? If not, pop over! EDIT... I see you are in Hampshire! oh well, you are still welcome! maybe you will go to the next pie show?
Last edited:
Hey Steve,
The crossover I used was the only electronic crossover I have made and was surprisingly effective, easy, and cheap. I would not dream of using the popular passive crossover I had previously. Night and day difference!!! It really is the way to go on this set-up.
It is a PLLXO;
Passive Line-Level Crossover
I have an Edexcel spreadsheet that was kindly passed on to me where you tap in the desired crossover frequency, such as 5khz, and you are given the cap and resistor values for hi-pass and lo-pass 6db or 12db crossovers. A simple breadboard for experimentation and you are away. No opamps or power supply are required. No pro level signal level worries either. The list goes on!
I will email you the spreadsheet if you want to try it.
All the caps and resistors can be picked up in Maplins retailers for a few quid overall!!! Only hard part is you will need to solder the connections on to RCA plugs of course.
The crossover I used was the only electronic crossover I have made and was surprisingly effective, easy, and cheap. I would not dream of using the popular passive crossover I had previously. Night and day difference!!! It really is the way to go on this set-up.
It is a PLLXO;
Passive Line-Level Crossover
I have an Edexcel spreadsheet that was kindly passed on to me where you tap in the desired crossover frequency, such as 5khz, and you are given the cap and resistor values for hi-pass and lo-pass 6db or 12db crossovers. A simple breadboard for experimentation and you are away. No opamps or power supply are required. No pro level signal level worries either. The list goes on!
I will email you the spreadsheet if you want to try it.
All the caps and resistors can be picked up in Maplins retailers for a few quid overall!!! Only hard part is you will need to solder the connections on to RCA plugs of course.
Hi SAC, Thanks for the advice, I have PM'd my email to you. I will try to persevere with the rane, but I would like to try out the one you are using in the future possibly.
It does look interesting.
Steve
It does look interesting.
Steve
I've tried "enhancing" your original room pic as best I can to actually see what's going on, but it's still hard to tell. You have covered everything electronic. I think you have an acoustic problem. It looks like there is material directly behind the speakers. That makes it similar to the speakers actually being closer to the wall. The "trick" to open baffles is to get yourself situated in the middle of the lobes, which get narrower as you go deeper in frequency. Arranging boundaries and solid material close to the speakers will push the anti-phase radiation harder into the hot zones that you want, pinching it off so that you have to be closer to the driver to hear sub bass. Placing them out near a side wall is no good either, unless you want to listen right where the corner is formed by the baffle edge. Bass will be strong there, but not between the speakesr where you hope to listen. Move them out into the room and you will get bass. If the room is too small for that, then the room is too small.
Hi Andrew, thanks for your reply! You are correct, there is a full bookcase a couple of feet behind the left speaker and a pair of Sachiko's stood in the corner behind the right!
My plan is to build a couple of room treatment panels, the kind using rockwool panels, one behind each speaker, do you think this would help or hinder? I have heard of people getting good results this way.
The room is quite long and the speakers fire down the length so I will try moving them out into the room a little more, thanks.
Steve
I think you will be in for a pleasant adventure clearing out behind the speakers and re-positioning. The damping of the rear side should probably only be explored as a means of controlling the higher frequency response there, since you will not be able to do much in the way of modifying the intensity of the lowest frequency pressure that way. (unless you get into some sort of sealed resistance panel, which will simply lower the Q and reduce efficiency) If you do decide you need some loss you might best intall it near to the walls, especially if you use a solid backing material, which will simply reflect LF and cause you the same sort of problems you're dealing with now if placed close to the speakers. Of course there's a host of shapes and even tuned resonant systems you can place in the corners and behind in general. What you'll wind up with will certainly be a matter of ambition and taste.
Last edited:
Great thanks Andrew. I have moved them around a little and I am listening to some nice Pink Floyd while I ***** the changes..
Haha, I guess the site does not like the word a s e ss
- Status
- Not open for further replies.