It is too bad AES (A Cary subsidiary) isn't in business anymore. They had a wonderful 300B kit that could be had for ~$800. With the price of most I've seen nowadays, it'd be hard for me to justify the experiment. It was much easier for me to justify the ~$650 for the ACAs, especially as I've never played with transistors and I could get 16W out of a monoblock.
In the least, I can report back what 8W/ch gets me out of the Halcyons if that would be helpful information.
In the least, I can report back what 8W/ch gets me out of the Halcyons if that would be helpful information.
Agree Dave, the impedance curve is also important.
However I have found the higher output impedance of SETs makes it less of a good match with most multi-way speakers. Even if the bass is there (at low and moderate volumes at least), it can sound loose and wooly. The tightness and punch can improve much with good solid state amplifiers with lower output impedance.
The opposite effect can be seen with underdamped speakers (Fostex FExxx come to mine) - with a high output impedance can make them sound more full and balanced.
However I have found the higher output impedance of SETs makes it less of a good match with most multi-way speakers. Even if the bass is there (at low and moderate volumes at least), it can sound loose and wooly. The tightness and punch can improve much with good solid state amplifiers with lower output impedance.
The opposite effect can be seen with underdamped speakers (Fostex FExxx come to mine) - with a high output impedance can make them sound more full and balanced.
No update today. FedEx did the ol' bait and switch and I fell for it. Tell me it is going to be delivered on a Sunday and then Sunday morning inform me the delivery moved to Monday. I should've known better but with Amazon doing Sunday deliveries, thought FedEx was upping their game.
Next update will be pictures of the drivers. There won't be any substantial listening until next weekend. Only so many hours in a day.
Next update will be pictures of the drivers. There won't be any substantial listening until next weekend. Only so many hours in a day.
The storm, so far, has not been what they doomcasted. We'll see in the morning. In the meantime, got the Halcyons up and running. Very, very surprised. Listening to Yo Yo Ma play Bach's Cello Suites. The level of detail is greater than my Dynaudios which I didn't expect. There is a large sense of space and can hear more of the resonance of the body of the cello. I like what I hear so far but need to let them burn in. One drawback is I may not have enough gain in the system. Working to see if I can raise the levels in JRiver's Media Player. So far, I have the software volume at 100% and I'm not running from the room.
Tomorrow is clean up then playing with setup while I keep music pumping through them. Maybe some serious listening in the evening. Currently only running one ACA in stereo mode. Will try monoblocks tomorrow to see how the sound changes. And some Beethoven and Stravinsky symphonies to get them moving.
BTW, Madisound's kit didn't come with enough foam. I made due with what they shipped (42"x27x5/8" sheet cut to 21" x 19" for lining the tube and 2 7.5" circles stacked filling the back) but have a 72 x 48 x 1" sheet on the way. Not sure how much it really matters.
Finally, I started with 12 oz of filling behind each woofer. I have another 2 pounds available to experiment with.
I'll get some more pictures of the construction posted tomorrow if any are worth posting.
Tomorrow is clean up then playing with setup while I keep music pumping through them. Maybe some serious listening in the evening. Currently only running one ACA in stereo mode. Will try monoblocks tomorrow to see how the sound changes. And some Beethoven and Stravinsky symphonies to get them moving.
BTW, Madisound's kit didn't come with enough foam. I made due with what they shipped (42"x27x5/8" sheet cut to 21" x 19" for lining the tube and 2 7.5" circles stacked filling the back) but have a 72 x 48 x 1" sheet on the way. Not sure how much it really matters.
Finally, I started with 12 oz of filling behind each woofer. I have another 2 pounds available to experiment with.
I'll get some more pictures of the construction posted tomorrow if any are worth posting.
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Tom,
Glad to hear that weather conditions are better than what was forecasted. May the sun shine soon!
Also great to see that you have the speakers up and running. Your initial impressions seem positive. The ACA is a low gain amplifier - it has 14dB gain, so ideally you will need a preamp which has higher gain. What preamp are you using? I think I see a Shciit Audio item on the rack, but can't make out the exact model.
Glad to hear that weather conditions are better than what was forecasted. May the sun shine soon!
Also great to see that you have the speakers up and running. Your initial impressions seem positive. The ACA is a low gain amplifier - it has 14dB gain, so ideally you will need a preamp which has higher gain. What preamp are you using? I think I see a Shciit Audio item on the rack, but can't make out the exact model.
Hi zman01!,
Yes, positive. Amazed at the level of detail. The bass is a bit boomy. Trying the various monoblock modes tomorrow, guessing I'll settle on parallel to get as much current out as they can. If the bass is still underdamped, time for some more stuffing!
The Schiit you see is a Bifrost DAC. I think it will spit out enough voltage on its own, just have to figure out the SW knob in JRiver Media Player to twiddle. I switched over to iTunes and have plenty of juice, just can't do hi-res then.
More experimentation tomorrow and more updates to come. So far, very satisfied. Better imaging and detail than the Dynaudios. The imaging, I expected. Detail, I am quite surprised. It has been quite some time since I've had a system that made the room disappear.
-tom
Yes, positive. Amazed at the level of detail. The bass is a bit boomy. Trying the various monoblock modes tomorrow, guessing I'll settle on parallel to get as much current out as they can. If the bass is still underdamped, time for some more stuffing!
The Schiit you see is a Bifrost DAC. I think it will spit out enough voltage on its own, just have to figure out the SW knob in JRiver Media Player to twiddle. I switched over to iTunes and have plenty of juice, just can't do hi-res then.
More experimentation tomorrow and more updates to come. So far, very satisfied. Better imaging and detail than the Dynaudios. The imaging, I expected. Detail, I am quite surprised. It has been quite some time since I've had a system that made the room disappear.
-tom
6sX7: Fantastic! Glad to see a brother in arms up and running. i also have a pair of ACAs, but I never even tried to run them with the Halcyons. I just assumed that more power would be needed. Glad to know they work. I can say the ACAs sound a whole lot better than I might have guessed driving the Frugelhorn XLs. That combination puts out a lot of volume.
I had the same problem with Madisound not providing enough foam. I asked them about it and they said just use what you have. [They also said that the crossover can’t be set up for bi-amping, which Dave proved to be wrong - mine are bi-ampable now]. I think Curt specified 1 inch foam and what I got was half inch, and not quite enough, especially with the need to cut out disks for behind the tubes.
I’m disappointed that, six months later, after being alerted to the problem, Madisound didn’t fix it. i asked Curt and he said 1/2 inch would work, but 1 inch would be better, so I got some on Amazon and used that. I also noted that more stuffing is needed, as the recommended amount leaves the bass a little boomy. I’ve got probably double the recommended amount in there now, and the bass is tight and it pops with authority when needed. Luckily, it’s very easy to remove the port tube and jam as much stuffing in there as you like. You didn’t glue it in, did you?
I think one nice surprise that you can expect is that while you are very pleased with the sound now, when you finally get a chance to feed your Halcyons some more power, you are going to experience that new car feeling all over again. Lucky you!
I had the same problem with Madisound not providing enough foam. I asked them about it and they said just use what you have. [They also said that the crossover can’t be set up for bi-amping, which Dave proved to be wrong - mine are bi-ampable now]. I think Curt specified 1 inch foam and what I got was half inch, and not quite enough, especially with the need to cut out disks for behind the tubes.
I’m disappointed that, six months later, after being alerted to the problem, Madisound didn’t fix it. i asked Curt and he said 1/2 inch would work, but 1 inch would be better, so I got some on Amazon and used that. I also noted that more stuffing is needed, as the recommended amount leaves the bass a little boomy. I’ve got probably double the recommended amount in there now, and the bass is tight and it pops with authority when needed. Luckily, it’s very easy to remove the port tube and jam as much stuffing in there as you like. You didn’t glue it in, did you?
I think one nice surprise that you can expect is that while you are very pleased with the sound now, when you finally get a chance to feed your Halcyons some more power, you are going to experience that new car feeling all over again. Lucky you!
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