Send Aries Cerat to Pacific Audiofest so that I can judge myself.
Modern speakers vs Vintage speakers
- Thread starter thomask
- Start date
Yes, me!Are there any Aries Cerat users that are not also involved in selling the brand ?
I belately found that Pap C1 active crossover is very sensitive to power cable and mechanical isolation as other pre amp.
Symphosium Rollerblock undeer Pap C1 make it sound much more faster and detailed.
This Korean singer is called "Korean Madonna" .
She is 53 years old but not married yet.
My Altec sounds fast as ESL but with more oomph in bass.
It is not easy to reproduce full dynamics of Pink Floyd.
But my Altec with two 18 inch subwoofer is up to the task.
The sound of my sytem got transformed after I put separate isolation transformer and Isoaccousitc Bordeax foot for Pap C1 active crossover.
It was a bottleneck for the sound.
I wonder how much the sound will change after I install regulated LPS on Pap C1 active crossover.
Bi amped Altec A7 using active crossover could be very nice speaker.
I replaced switchng power supply of Pap C1 active crossover with Farad 3 linear power supply (Synergistc purple fuse, level 2 silver power cable).
It is not day and night difference but substantial improvement in clean treble and speedy bass.
Farad Super3 Power Supply with Level 2 DC Power Cables
Linear Power Supply Design and Execution Done Right I first learned about Farad linear power supplies when I was looking for a power supply to replace the SMPS stock power supply on my QNAP TS-251+ NAS with a linear power supply. I was amazed at the variety of linear power supplies
v2.stereotimes.com
This review on Farad 3 is almost spot on.l
My next step wll be to upgrade my Dac (Chord Dave and Mscaler).
The potental candidates are Lamp Horizon and Ideon Absolute.
I look forward to auditioing Ideon Absolute.this coming Saturday at dealer's shop.
Now my Altec A7 system does not sound like typical vintage speaker.
I also consider trying Accuphase crossover instead of Pap C1 designed by Nelson Pass.
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Thanks
They are RCA vintage 805 tubes made in 50's which drive treble horn.
Bass horns are driven by Rogue Cronus Magnum ii fitted with KT120,, Telefuekn ECC83 and Amperex ECC82 on the back which is not visible on video.
They are 18 inch subwoofers from Scaena 3.2.
I added them from 56 hz down using internal crossover of Crown XLS 2502 amp.
I had been using Dave and HmS for 3 years.
Pacific is a nice Dac which impressed me.
I consider either Horizon or Ideon Absolute for upgrade.
@thomask
I've enjoyed reading through your journey with the A7 and I think they sound fantastic in your YouTube clips, particularly the recent one with the speaker cable changes.
I recently bought a 'project' pair of Altec Valencias and I'm looking at upgrading the crossovers. Do you happen to know if there's a way to change the frequency range in the PAP C1 to lift the max to 800hz from 550hz? I've written to Nelson Pass on this but haven't heard back yet.
My other thoughts for the XO are to try the Lyngdorf that you mentioned, but it seemed to be a complicated arrangement. I owned a TDAi2200 some years ago and used it to run a set of Oris 150 stacked horns, with a Digi-out to a Tact digital amp for the bass towers, and it worked quite well. But I like my 300b monoblocks on the Valencias or the First Watt J2.
For subwoofers, I also have the Crown XLS2502 that you have and use a miniDSP 2x4HD to set the crossover points and add a little EQ, with the Crown powering a pair of passive subs (Aerial SW12 with plate amps removed). So I could try the miniDSP on the Valencias as a XO, but I've read it should only be done with measuring equipment to get the time alignment (phase) set properly between horn and woofer. Even though I have the UMIK-1 and REW software, I'm reluctant to start to mess with this, I'd prefer a more turnkey active solution if such a thing exists. It sounds like your c1 might be a solution if I can change that XO point.
Any tips would be most welcomed!!
I've enjoyed reading through your journey with the A7 and I think they sound fantastic in your YouTube clips, particularly the recent one with the speaker cable changes.
I recently bought a 'project' pair of Altec Valencias and I'm looking at upgrading the crossovers. Do you happen to know if there's a way to change the frequency range in the PAP C1 to lift the max to 800hz from 550hz? I've written to Nelson Pass on this but haven't heard back yet.
My other thoughts for the XO are to try the Lyngdorf that you mentioned, but it seemed to be a complicated arrangement. I owned a TDAi2200 some years ago and used it to run a set of Oris 150 stacked horns, with a Digi-out to a Tact digital amp for the bass towers, and it worked quite well. But I like my 300b monoblocks on the Valencias or the First Watt J2.
For subwoofers, I also have the Crown XLS2502 that you have and use a miniDSP 2x4HD to set the crossover points and add a little EQ, with the Crown powering a pair of passive subs (Aerial SW12 with plate amps removed). So I could try the miniDSP on the Valencias as a XO, but I've read it should only be done with measuring equipment to get the time alignment (phase) set properly between horn and woofer. Even though I have the UMIK-1 and REW software, I'm reluctant to start to mess with this, I'd prefer a more turnkey active solution if such a thing exists. It sounds like your c1 might be a solution if I can change that XO point.
Any tips would be most welcomed!!
I had not done any measurement so no opinion on boost from 800 hz to 550 hz.
But they have two nobs to adjust crossover slope.
The only bothering thing so far is slight hard edge which got ameliorated much since I had put more isolation under it and changed original switching power supply to Farad 3 linear supply.
You never know until you try.
Your source can also play some role whether vinyl or Dac.
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Thanks!
I just heard back from Nelson Pass, he says: "... the PAP goes nearly to 800 Hz already. I suggest that you set it to the highest frequency on the boards and see what you get."
So maybe I will give this a try.
Though I'm thinking long and hard about trying another Lyngdorf, either the one you had or the 3400. I'm just not sure how this will function as an active XO on a 2-way speaker, since its design concept is more geared towards 2+2. Will its Room Perfect feature provide phase matching of the two drivers in the Valencia? Probably not. Will it sound better than the passive XO that I'm using now? Who knows.
Using a TDAi 2170 has the potential of replacing a Denafrips Terminator DAC, Denafrips GAIA DDC, a Veloce battery-powered preamp, a First Watt J2, and various power supplies, cables, etc .....and resolving my XO dilemma!! So there's certainly a financial motivation for it to work. Whether or not it will play nice with my vinyl front end is another concern.
Ohh boy.
Although Pap C1 active crossover is pretty good, Accuphase F25 is another leage.
Accuphase F-25
www.accuphase.com
The latter makes sound fuller and nuanced.
Now I had done enough to make Altec A7 musical.
Beethoven Violin Concertonplayed by Chung Kyunghwa does sound also nice
Accuphase F25 is 30 years old and no longer manufactured.
They produce digital crossover called DF65 now
But Pap C1 was brand new manufactured last year.
Thus semi vintage active crossover won over modern one.
They produce digital crossover called DF65 now
But Pap C1 was brand new manufactured last year.
Thus semi vintage active crossover won over modern one.
My next active will be a Marchand X126 tube crossoverAccuphase F25 is 30 years old and no longer manufactured.
They produce digital crossover called DF65 now
But Pap C1 was brand new manufactured last year.
Thus semi vintage active crossover won over modern one.
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