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Post by pre65 on Aug 1, 2014 5:59:22 GMT
I bet Gordon could sort you out with some fantastic knobular adornments in the timber of your choice Dave. And I'd guarantee that they'd fit. I'd do it myself but my lathe is in mothballs at the moment. Or Speedy Steve could turn a couple of custom metal ones.  |
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Post by Dave on Aug 5, 2014 9:50:24 GMT
Or Speedy Steve could turn a couple of custom metal ones. Having lived with the new knobs for a few days I've come around to them, in fact they look rather swanky on the BTE so they will be staying. The main reason for changing from the originals was that they were far too small to operate comfortably, especially the volume control which is a stepped attenuator. With the smaller diameter black knobs in place the volume control required a fair bit of force to rotate. The larger diameter of the new knob has improved the handling of this control immeasurably and thus in operation it now feels more upmarket. Mission accomplished...
ART Skibo's
After some very extensive and intensive listening performed over quite a few months I have come to the conclusion that my ART Skibo's are an enigma wrapped up in a conundrum. I wouldn't blame you, dear reader, for becoming somewhat perplexed with me over my wayward meanderings regarding these beautifully constructed units, and they really are lovely pieces of furniture.
The issue for me has been that they can sometimes sound sublime in this room and yet at other times they can be a little bland and uninvolving. I've never owned a pair of speakers quite like them and thus it has taken me some time to understand them and truly appreciate how they are interacting with this room. The conclusion I have come to after all this ruminating is that the room is too small for them to really stretch their legs, which is a shame. On reflection then I am going to sell them on once the DM2's are up and running again, hopefully to someone who can give them the space they so desperately need to give of their best, and this time I will not be changing my mind.
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Post by Dave on Aug 6, 2014 22:51:36 GMT
Further from my last post I have decided to conduct a wee experiment while I'm still waiting on the few bits to arrive so I can begin work on the AV21's (yeah okay, I'm bored). I shall try to explain it in a way which makes sense, this will be a novel approach for me.
To put it simply the JVC and Quad 306 are going to do the dosey doe and swap places. The Quad will sit in the wee system powering the AV21's driven from the variable output of the BTE while the JVC will sit in the main system pushing the Skibo's around via the BTE's flat output and Bob's your brothers Aardvark twice removed. This will require a little lead jiggery pokery but nothing major. There, simple really.
And what do I expect to achieve by doing this? Wellllll... If all goes to plan, peace will break out all over the world; Putin will develop a huge boil on his bottom; The Scots will realise they love us really and begin pelting us with forty year old single malt whiskey and Bernie Eccleston will become a humble and honest man. Oh nearly forgot, it is entirely possible the JVC might just kick the Skibo's into life. Okay, that last one might be a bit of a stretch...
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Post by chukka on Aug 6, 2014 23:08:10 GMT
Hi Dave, where is the 306 (just joking, you don't have to take another pic)
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Post by Dave on Aug 7, 2014 7:54:32 GMT
It's shy... Every time I get the camera out it scuttles under the wardrobe  |
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Post by brian2957 on Aug 7, 2014 10:51:32 GMT
Dave , you're a habitual tinkerer mate , gie yer heid peace Just got one of these . link . Bliddy wonderful . |
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Post by Dave on Aug 7, 2014 15:32:55 GMT
That I am but I'm a man on a mission Brian. I've got the 306 hooked up to the AV21's in the near field setup and it sounds bloody fabulous mate, a lot better than when I powered them with the JVC. This is seriously good, so good in fact that I'm considering a complete change of direction. I've been playing all sorts today and I can't stop, I'm totally caught up in the musicality of it all... 
Not the best photo in the world, soz...
Nice one mate, enjoy...
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Post by Dave on Aug 8, 2014 10:00:29 GMT
There has been an interesting development, it would seem that neither the Quad nor the Skibo's were at all happy in their relationship. The JVC AX-A3 has usurped the 306's position and frankly I may as well have changed the speakers too because the entire character of the Skibo's has changed enormously, from boring to bouncy, from dull to lucid... The flabby, over-bearing bass has gone completely to be replaced by a tight-assed version which extends down into the depths of hades. I think the Skibo's may have sneaked off to the gym overnight. Some extended listening is called for methinks, to be continued....
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Post by MartinT on Aug 8, 2014 10:08:06 GMT
Always surprising the difference that amp-speaker chemistry can make. That's a good finding - you could sell the Quad for good money and finance something really substantial from the JVC used market.
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Post by Dave on Aug 8, 2014 10:20:39 GMT
Oh no, the 306 ain't going nowhere until the DM2's are running again. I need to explore every aspect of this before I even begin to contemplate making a decision like that, I've been here before. Mr Impulsive is long dead... RIP  |
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Post by John on Aug 8, 2014 11:21:39 GMT
That good to hear Dave
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Post by Dave on Aug 9, 2014 10:43:18 GMT
My new toy arrived this morning...  |
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Post by Dave on Aug 9, 2014 13:21:32 GMT
First 2.2uF cap fitted in one of the AV21's. More later... 
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Post by Dave on Aug 9, 2014 16:30:40 GMT
Life intervened so the other will get done either later this evening or more likely tomorrow now. Running the modified unit with the unmodified one there doesn't appear to be much of an imbalance in the sound. I did note a more natural ambience with percussion but it is subtle so I could be imagining it. I will have a clearer picture once both are sorted. Do film caps need time to bed in btw?
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Post by MartinT on Aug 9, 2014 17:29:51 GMT
Yes, a little use will help them to settle into final performance.
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Post by Dave on Aug 11, 2014 12:22:11 GMT
All done and sounding fab straight off the bat, I'll give the caps a few days to bed in though before commenting in detail. NB: TAS is incredibly slow today guys...  |
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Post by danielquinn on Aug 11, 2014 12:53:58 GMT
No x-over on the bass , now where have i seen that before  dave , you should also hard wire it . - take of the parts . solder the wire to the capacitor terminal , solder the other capacitor terminal to one of the resistor terminals and solder the other resistor terminal to the + mount on the tweeter |
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Post by MartinT on Aug 11, 2014 13:20:12 GMT
NB: TAS is incredibly slow today guys... See the Forum Notice about today's issues. |
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Post by Dave on Aug 11, 2014 13:36:34 GMT
Ah okay, I missed that obviously |
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Post by Dave on Aug 11, 2014 13:40:35 GMT
No x-over on the bass , now where have i seen that before dave , you should also hard wire it . - take of the parts . solder the wire to the capacitor terminal , solder the other capacitor terminal to one of the resistor terminals and solder the other resistor terminal to the + mount on the tweeter Hmm that's not a bad idea. I intend to rewire them at some point so I'll give it a go then |
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