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  1. tmallin

    Watkins Generation 4 Speakers

    I want to emphasize another aspect of the exceptional sound of these speakers. More than any others I have experience with, the Watkins Generation 4 allow each instrument or voice in an ensemble to have its own "lane" in the imaging, staging, and mix. It is thus easier to follow what each...
  2. tmallin

    Watkins Generation 4 Speakers

    In the last paragraph of post #2 above, I talk about using Roon's Muse parametric EQ to alter the response of the Watkins Generation 4 to more closely model that of the Graham LS8/1. i kept editing the adjustments talked about as the speakers continued to break in. I started with a suggestion of...
  3. tmallin

    Interesting article on the preservation or lack there of of digital media

    This problem dates back to the earliest days of digital recording back in the 1980s. The problem then was that digital master tapes at that time were often being done on VCR tapes and these recordings tended to self-erase over time. Unlike analog master tapes, however, rather than just losing a...
  4. tmallin

    Watkins Generation 4 Speakers

    I find the Watkins Generation 4 to be a smidge more sensitive than the Graham LS8/1. What that means is that for any given setting of the Leedh-processed digital volume control of my Lumin X1 streaming DAC, the SPL at the listening position is a bit higher. My two Benchmark AHB2 amps used in...
  5. tmallin

    Watkins Generation 4 Speakers

    My ears are just over 59 inches from the drivers. The procedure for setting up the speakers is basically the same as I used for the Graham LS8/1 and is described at posts 11, 12, and 13 of my Graham thread. The more I listen to the Watkins, the more I like them. They disarm criticism, whether...
  6. tmallin

    Watkins Generation 4 Speakers

    I think the Skylan stands I’m using with the Generation 4 speakers are close to ideal. Noel Nolan of Skylan recommended his two-post stands for speakers of this size and weight. They run about $320 delivered. The top plates are about 8” x 13” just a bit smaller than the speaker footprints. Noel...
  7. tmallin

    Watkins Generation 4 Speakers

    So how do the Watkins Generation Four speakers sound, especially relative to my current reference, the Graham LS8/1? When I finally did audition the Watkins, I casually placed them beside or in front of the Grahams and merely moved the speaker cables from the Grahams to the Watkins. First...
  8. tmallin

    Watkins Generation 4 Speakers

    The Watkins brand is hardly a well-known name in high-end audio circles. This family-run company has been around for about 60 years, though, with first Bill Watkins Sr., and now his son, Bill Watkins Jr., running the operation. A short interview with Bill Watkins Jr. can be found here. Bill Jr...
  9. tmallin

    Near-Field Listening: Acquired Taste or Proper Paradigm?

    Yes, the AR-4x is that size. I have no experience with the KLH 17, but the AR-4x was the first component speaker system I ever bought back when I was about 13 years old and the 4x was then in current production. I bought them again decades later as vintage speakers and used them in my office for...
  10. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    Enter the Lumin L2 Music Library & Network Switch Over the last couple of years, I have mostly listened to my own music files ripped from my CDs via Roon. Those music files were hosted on my Mac (or before that Windows) computer and played through my stereo room rig via Roon. This is because I...
  11. tmallin

    Near-Field Listening: Acquired Taste or Proper Paradigm?

    If you are stuck with horizontal mounting of the speakers, I'd try putting the woofers on the outside, not the tweeters. Contrary to some thinking, putting low sounds further apart aids the feeling of space and certainly helps the sound from the different drivers cohere better. Going back to the...
  12. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    Another Tweak Back in Post #45 I listed a number of sonic tweaks which improved my streaming sound. Here is another tweak I recently discovered which seems to improve the sonics I hear when streaming via the Lumin App as opposed to Roon. In my system, streaming via the Lumin App sounds at least...
  13. tmallin

    Please recommend some Monoblock Amps

    Having used Bryston monoblocks (7B ST and 7B SST)years ago, the more recent versions should be fine. Other options I've used and found sonically yet better than the Brystons I had are: Sanders Magtech Monoblocks Sanders Magtech stereo amps (which sound better than the Sanders monoblocks and...
  14. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    The sonic effect I heard must have been due to the relay and resistor left in the signal path with the Loki Max physically connected. As I noted at the time in post #3 of this thread, the sonic problem went away when I physically removed the Max from the signal path by connecting the balanced...
  15. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    Bass Extension & Power: Can You Have Too Much of a Good Thing? The potential bass extension of the LS8/1f floor-standing version of the Graham LS 8/1 model (see https://onahighernote.com/shop/speaker-systems/floor-standing/ls8-1f-floor-standing-model-of-the-derek-hughes-ls8-1-monitors/) is a...
  16. tmallin

    My cartridge’s stylus cantilever skews when dropped to record

    What you describe might be caused by improper tonearm azimuth adjustment. This is especially so with a unipivot-type arm which is not held in horizontal aligment by a set of four gimbal bearing common with other types of tonearms. A unipivot arm is free to rotate in the horizontal axis. Adjust...
  17. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    Back to Benchmark AHB2 Amps For the first time in the history of my audio hobby, I have purchased an amplifier for the second time. A few years ago, in my current listening room, I used a pair of Benchmark AHB2 solid state amps, bridged for mono operation with first my Harbeth M40.2 speakers...
  18. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    I'm glad you were able to solve your hum problem. The transformers in my pair of 750s also hummed some, sometimes more, sometimes less. But my main problem was hum audible through the speakers. My efforts to solve the problem included a different power cord (admittedly nothing fancy, just the...
  19. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    I deleted my post about the DVA M750 monos. These have been returned. A few days after I wrote that post, both amps developed hum through the speakers which got progressively more audible/louder until it was clearly audible from the listening position. My efforts to cure the hum problem were...
  20. tmallin

    Benchmark AHB2 Amplifier

    The Alon IV and the bit later V are among the best sounding dynamic speakers--based on repeated dealer auditions--I never owned. Of roughly the same vintage, the Aerial 10T is another one I found to sound great at dealers but never owned. I was never so taken with later models from Alon/Nola or...
  21. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    The 3.5 kHz crossover, as I've mentioned in previous posts in this thread, is pretty standard in this sort of BBC-inspired monitor. It was there in the Spendor BC-1 and all the later derivatives designed by Derek Hughes, including the Spendor SP1/2 and the Stirling Broadcast LS3/6 which I owned...
  22. tmallin

    DAC Stereo Balance Control?

    I agree that balance controls on DACs are rare. However, the Lumin App which controls my Lumin X1 streaming DAC has a balance control. Still, I almost never use it. I haven't had any use for a balance control in my systems for decades. Any well-set-up two-channel audio system like mine is...
  23. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    About Face: Using the Graham Stands with the Graham LS8/1 Speakers Well, you should have at least tried that first, you're saying! Yes, you're correct. But I didn't. In my initial view, placing the speakers on stands which at 20 inches tall was necessary to sit comfortably in my regular Drexel...
  24. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    More About Speaker Stands for the Graham LS8/1 I discussed my chosen Skylan SKY-24 speaker stands in post #24 above. Understandably, however, some may prefer to use Graham's own metal stands. These came with the Signature Edition of the speakers and are optionally available from Graham for use...
  25. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    I don't believe that there are any more new Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition pairs left for sale. I have not heard the non-signature edition so I cannot say how close it is sonically to the Signature Edition or even whether there is any sonic difference at all. At the time of sale I was told...
  26. tmallin

    Stirling SB-88 or Harbeth SHL5 for classical music?

    While I have not owned either speaker, I'd like to suggest that for an apples-to-apples comparison your friend has specified the wrong Stirling speaker. The comparison should be between speakers which are modern descendants of the legendary Spendor BC-1, as are the various iterations of the...
  27. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    Streaming Sonic Tweaks, IF You Want to Go There Back in the 1970s Enid Lumley wrote columns in The Absolute Sound about various tweaks you could perform to your home's electrical system wiring, as well as your audio system wiring and set up which went further than most people believed was...
  28. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    Limitations of Streaming, But Why I Prefer It My own experience is that reissues are wildly inconsistent compared to the originals or earlier reissues. Sometimes the newest 24/192 remasterings really do sound better to me. But if there is a trend in successive reissues, it is toward greater...
  29. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    Roon Equalization For any of you currently using Roon or thinking about using it, one of the lesser known Roon DSP functions which comes "for free" with the purchase of your Roon license is fairly sophisticated parametric equalization. See the description of this function here. Roon makes a...
  30. tmallin

    Graham Audio LS8/1 Signature Edition & a New System

    iPad as a Streamer I agree that using an iPad connected via USB to a good DAC like the Benchmark DAC3B is perfectly acceptable to my ears for internet music streaming. I've tried it and it sounds fine. Just keep the USB cable off the carpet and thus away from your feet when you are sitting in...

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