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Post by MartinT on Apr 25, 2022 7:20:30 GMT
Updated photo as of last night.  |
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Post by MikeMusic on Apr 25, 2022 8:56:52 GMT
More black kit and you'll be sorted Martin !
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 25, 2022 22:29:52 GMT
How close are the speakers to rear wall Martin? The pic must make them seem much closer than they actually are.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 26, 2022 5:23:46 GMT
Not as close as they look in the photo. The rear adjustment knob on the Townshend Podiums represents the rear extremity, but the body of the speaker is more forward. Even so, it's a good question and I have them as far back as I dared go after a lot of listening. The Podiums allow that due to their damping of the speakers and subsequent bass control. I also have them a touch further apart than I started out as the imaging is now pretty strong for large speakers. With my listening seat close to, but not against, the rear wall I've maximised the soundstage I can achieve.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 27, 2022 18:53:01 GMT
Right, that's it - no more touching the system for a while except for two of the four additional Schramm weights to arrive soon.
The two extra SR Purple fuses are burned in and doing magical things with the Gustard U18. The Belden FE has won the I2S cable shoot-out and is back in place feeding the X26 Pro. The new grounding cables are superb and it's all gelling together really well.
If you saw my grin playing Opium by Dead Can Dance, you might believe I'm smoking some right now.
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Post by MikeMusic on Apr 27, 2022 20:36:26 GMT
I'm sure there will be an itch along very soon for you to scratch Martin  |
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Post by brettj on Apr 29, 2022 22:54:23 GMT
One spies an oxymoron in play...
My eldest daughter had a friend over when she was four.
He used to say "I need-want it."
Still a term I use.
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Post by MartinT on May 20, 2022 6:43:38 GMT
MikeMusic you have made me wonder about the pure silver grounding cables available from AliExpress. The 14AWG (silly imperial unit) pure silver phono version is a not inconsiderable £45 plus shipping, tax etc. It's half the area of the 11AWG silver plated cables I'm using. I think I will try one and listen for what effect it has. 
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Post by MikeMusic on May 20, 2022 8:53:45 GMT
For the amount of money involved it is worth a punt
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Post by MartinT on May 21, 2022 19:03:56 GMT
It was noticeable today how my system sounds better with the warmer weather. Being in an annex where the heating is off when I'm not listening, it takes a lot of warming up in the winter months (although I set a minimum temp of 15C unless away on holiday).
I guess the main contributor to improvement would be the speaker drivers, but also the electronics a bit as they sound better when fully warmed through.
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Post by MikeMusic on May 21, 2022 20:02:45 GMT
Wonder if temperature and humidity is another variable we need to consider
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Post by MartinT on May 22, 2022 14:38:18 GMT
Absolutely amazed that two Vangelis albums I know very well: China and Heaven and Hell, sound completely magnificent on my system right now. All that work with power, vibration control and grounding boxes really pays off when I revisit such tremendous music.
The Blade Runner soundtrack is next for listening.
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Post by MartinT on May 27, 2022 22:16:18 GMT
The sheer dynamics and grunt in musical playback are still catching my breath. Just one example: the song Already Down by Allie Moss. It starts with piano and her voice, recorded just a little hot. As the song reaches its crescendo with some grunty bass and hammer blows, I remember wishing it had just a little more of both. Tonight I played it again at my usual volume of -13dB and the hammer blows struck like never before while the grunty bass really grabbed and shook the room. Remarkable changes in system performance from just a few recent changes, primarily the fuses and grounding boxes.  |
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Post by tarzan on May 30, 2022 18:45:28 GMT
Wonder if temperature and humidity is another variable we need to consider l always think my system sounds better when it is raining.....but would never post that on an audio forum.  |
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Post by MartinT on Jun 2, 2022 12:28:18 GMT
With everything running well, I've just switched the DAC back to the 'Gentle' filter from 'Vivid' after a while running the latter.
I've said before that these names are silly as they actually represent Minimum Phase (Gentle) and Linear Phase (Vivid). I'm sure all the X26 Pro owners have left theirs on Vivid because, well, who wants Gentle? The reality for me when listening is that Minimum Phase sounds better and for good reason, just as it sounded the best with my old Ayre SACD player. Compare it with viewing a photo with a little too much edge enhancement. At first it looks exciting, but turn it off and the photo looks more realistic.
What I hear is a little backing off of sibilance with edgy recordings, a little smoother but absolutely no loss of detail, excitement or dynamics. I shall most likely leave it like this.
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Post by mocarver on Jun 2, 2022 12:50:08 GMT
With everything running well, I've just switched the DAC back to the 'Gentle' filter from 'Vivid' after a while running the latter. I've said before that these names are silly as they actually represent Minimum Phase (Gentle) and Linear Phase (Vivid). I'm sure all the X26 Pro owners have left theirs on Vivid because, well, who wants Gentle? The reality for me when listening is that Minimum Phase sounds better and for good reason, just as it sounded the best with my old Ayre SACD player. Compare it with viewing a photo with a little too much edge enhancement. At first it looks exciting, but turn it off and the photo looks more realistic. What I hear is a little backing off of sibilance with edgy recordings, a little smoother but absolutely no loss of detail, excitement or dynamics. I shall most likely leave it like this. Although I haven’t had my system for a long time, the burn in period seems to be mostly complete. I have listened to both Gentle and Vivid. Gentle is my choice. The Vivid seems more “forced” if that is an acceptable phrase. As my system is nearly all neutral sounding and revealing, especially the Audeze Headphones, I think I’m hearing the music as it was meant to be heard by using the Gentle setting. Others MMV. |
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Post by nicholas on Jun 2, 2022 13:18:39 GMT
Following the initial setup of the X26 Pro I simply left the filter on "Vivid" assuming that more is better. Will set it to "Gentle" and see what happens... good find, lads!
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 2, 2022 14:55:48 GMT
Following the initial setup of the X26 Pro I simply left the filter on "Vivid" assuming that more is better. Will set it to "Gentle" and see what happens... good find, lads! Like a 'Loudness' switch ? |
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Post by MartinT on Jun 2, 2022 15:50:31 GMT
Like a 'Loudness' switch ? More like different flavours allowing some system/preference matching. The Gustard filters are a little more obvious than the built-in ESS filters which are damned near inaudible in their differences. |
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Post by MartinT on Jun 9, 2022 9:35:37 GMT
I can't yet form a definite opinion of the difference between the standard copper AliExpress grounding cable and the 14AWG pure silver one.
The system sounds very good but I've had little listening time so far this week.
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