Negotiating Purchase for THEE Musical Subwoofer…
- Thread starter Vinyl
- Start date
Vinyl
Active Member
Update: The 80 hour break-in is now complete - I’ve managed to tweak the controls where the sub is now a mere ½ dB louder than the Maggie’s – it’s been improving daily – when it arrived it was 4db louder than the speakers – that was unacceptable for a sub of this caliber – the integration is superb – there’s simply no sub – just a pair of full range Quasi Ribbon speakers – with an overall improvement up and down – the space has been cleaned and rearranged.
Edit:up to date image.
Edit:up to date image.
TitaniumTroy
Well-Known Member
Vinyl, glad to see the sub is going well, have you started the tweaking process since your break in time has passed the 80hr mark? Have you ever had any experience with and SVS Ultra? Also any funny or interesting tales from your listening sessions with the HardCore audio crowd in your quest?
Vinyl
Active Member
Hi Troy – my old friend who I visited multiples times with the dual Vandersteen’s and Maggie’s called me yesterday- inquiring about my progress – I invited him over last night for a session and asked him to bring some of his music – critique with his experience with the same equipment is welcomed.
After 30 minutes of spinning various cuts he suggested we move the speakers forward – add a little tilt forward – and toe-in where the outer sides of the speakers are flanking the sides of the listening chair - all similar to his set-up - laser and slope levels are required for true uniformity.
When finished – we had brought the speakers out another 8” – now in exact plane as sub -tilt is at 1/8 slope forward - toe-in 12” either side of LP – I’ll need a couple of weeks to get acclimated - sub is now ¼ dB louder than speakers – on the whole - sub is well integrated- subtle-non-directional- difficult to detect from the mains – in my experience - on the 'Beachcomber' – most subs will always exaggerate – the Vandersteen does not - this feat alone is praiseworthy.
On the SVS question – one of my friends has an all Totem 7.1 system with dual Ultra’s – I love going there for movies – he plays at reference levels - whenever I instigated the music side - he had to recalibrate the subs for music – if only it was this easy - I’m past this BS - much to his delight - I no longer prod the music side – killer HT though.
After 30 minutes of spinning various cuts he suggested we move the speakers forward – add a little tilt forward – and toe-in where the outer sides of the speakers are flanking the sides of the listening chair - all similar to his set-up - laser and slope levels are required for true uniformity.
When finished – we had brought the speakers out another 8” – now in exact plane as sub -tilt is at 1/8 slope forward - toe-in 12” either side of LP – I’ll need a couple of weeks to get acclimated - sub is now ¼ dB louder than speakers – on the whole - sub is well integrated- subtle-non-directional- difficult to detect from the mains – in my experience - on the 'Beachcomber' – most subs will always exaggerate – the Vandersteen does not - this feat alone is praiseworthy.
On the SVS question – one of my friends has an all Totem 7.1 system with dual Ultra’s – I love going there for movies – he plays at reference levels - whenever I instigated the music side - he had to recalibrate the subs for music – if only it was this easy - I’m past this BS - much to his delight - I no longer prod the music side – killer HT though.
D
Deleted member 133
Guest
Looks great!
Regarding the break in period, I'm I misreading what you are saying or over the 80 hours has there been a 3 3/4 dB drop in output of the sub during that period? ("1/4 dB louder than the speakers" now versus "when it arrived it was 4 dB louder than the speakers".)
I find it amazing that the sub's designers would design their sub such that after 80 hours it would settle down to almost perfectly match your particular set-up.
Or, if you are tweaking things with time, how can you tell that there's been any change between first listen and 80 hours later?
Jeff (who's SVS PB13 Ultra was considered "broken in" when it reached the bottom of his basement steps!
)
Regarding the break in period, I'm I misreading what you are saying or over the 80 hours has there been a 3 3/4 dB drop in output of the sub during that period? ("1/4 dB louder than the speakers" now versus "when it arrived it was 4 dB louder than the speakers".)
I find it amazing that the sub's designers would design their sub such that after 80 hours it would settle down to almost perfectly match your particular set-up.
Or, if you are tweaking things with time, how can you tell that there's been any change between first listen and 80 hours later?
Jeff (who's SVS PB13 Ultra was considered "broken in" when it reached the bottom of his basement steps!
)
Vinyl
Active Member
If I seem to give the impression that subs output magically dropped to accommodate this particular address – this is not the case – but rather my lacking writing skills.
When sub arrived the initial suggested K Ohm settings for the amp /speaker’s sensitivity levels produced the unwanted 4db boost – once grasping all control functions and how they affect output/integration – along with many trial/error settings – is where I’m at today.
For Clarity
DIP switch comes with a chart to locate various values for the amp’s input impedance – the switch covers values from 5K Ohm / 200K Ohm – e.g. if amp impedance was 100K - suggested settings would be 4. 8. / amp at 15K – settings - 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 8. Etc. – same applies to the rated speakers sensitivity – Maggie sensitivity rated at 86db – dialing them at 82db gives better integration - same with the amp rated at 10K – best integration at 33K – Q controls bass tightness/room/placement.
When sub arrived the initial suggested K Ohm settings for the amp /speaker’s sensitivity levels produced the unwanted 4db boost – once grasping all control functions and how they affect output/integration – along with many trial/error settings – is where I’m at today.
For Clarity
DIP switch comes with a chart to locate various values for the amp’s input impedance – the switch covers values from 5K Ohm / 200K Ohm – e.g. if amp impedance was 100K - suggested settings would be 4. 8. / amp at 15K – settings - 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 8. Etc. – same applies to the rated speakers sensitivity – Maggie sensitivity rated at 86db – dialing them at 82db gives better integration - same with the amp rated at 10K – best integration at 33K – Q controls bass tightness/room/placement.
The loosening of the spider (in this case 3) will vary according to chemicals used to stiffen – all factors considered in design - the improvement on average after break-in might be 5% to 10% - regardless of break-in time – Vandersteen chose 80 hours – so when I comment “it’s improving daily” – it’s either the spiders - new settings combination - or both.JeffMackwood said:
D
Deleted member 133
Guest
Neat!
Thanks for the clarification.
Jeff
Thanks for the clarification.
Jeff
TitaniumTroy
Well-Known Member
So Vinyl, what did you think of friends SVS Ultra subs, so far as blending with the Maggies. Once you recalibrated them for audio?
TitaniumTroy
Well-Known Member
Opps, ok well tell him to get on the stick and recalibrate them in the name of Hi-Fi and if he doesn't like it he can always change it back. The Audio Godz shall not be denied :violin: