JVC RX-ES1sl

JDUBS · « **Reply #360 on:** 14 Oct 2004, 01:33 am »

Hey guys, just saw the post by ooheadsoo, regarding my experience with the JVC and its fan.

Anyway, mine was making a weird clicking noise when I first got it. Happenned about once every 5 or so seconds. It was coming from the volume control side of the unit.

I opened it up and turned it on again. I saw that the fan was trying to kick on but there were a couple pieces of foam "padding" pieces wedged in the fan, blocking it from starting up.

Anyway, I pulled those out and fired the unit back up. It ran hot before, but nomore since! It runs luke warm now.

Basically, if anyone has a JVC that's top is hot to the touch, I would make sure the fan is working!

tubeytubeamp · « **Reply #361 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 01:25 am »

I'm not sure were to post anymore in regards to the JVC's. Anyway, I haven't had much time in the last six weeks since my daughter was born, except for the last couple of days.

I have to say that there is really a special synergy with the JVC and Linaeum tweeters. I put plast-i-clay inside a pair of Optimus x77 that I picked up off ebay for $36. I'm amazed at how good the combo sounds. I encourage anyone to pick up a linaeum based speaker from Aura, Radio Shack, or Linaeum. I'm sure Chairguy will agree.

Dmason, I still have my mind set on a Pair of Phase Tech v4's and will be buying a pair once my JM labs's are sold. Another speaker that looks very interesting is the Omega Minuet. Does anyone know when it will be available.

I may change my name to digidigitalamp soon.
Dennis

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #362 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 01:41 am »

Allright Tubey Dennis, congrats on the new daughter! Mine's 6 months and a bit, it gets a little more fun in a few months (unless teething really stinks for her...and you). I'm not getting much more sleep, just having more fun during the daytime with her (my office is in my home)

The Linaeum is just plain good. It worked will with my old Norh's, too. I have not heard the monopole versions, only the dipoles. Very good dispersion fairly good integration with very cheap crossover compenents with a wide range of (also cheap) midbass units. I'm very pleased with my Linaeums now, yet not quite done tweaking them.

-Richard-waxed such poetry on the synergy of his Maggie 1.6's and the JVC, I'm trying that route too. My room 's too small to accomodate the 1.6's and (likely) 12's well, so I just bought the MMG's for $500 (slightly used on Agon). We'll see how that matches up by the end of next week.

I really like what the Linaeum ribbons do for the highs, it's be interesting to hear the quasi-ribbon highs of the Maggie, with (first time for me) planar magnetic midbass. I have a nice subwoofer if it's a bit too polite in here

Dmason · « **Reply #363 on:** 23 Oct 2004, 03:47 am »

Dennis, Happy babydom, Big Daddy!

are you suggesting that these Linnaeum(ae) are still available new? I don't spend much time auditioning speakers in Rat Shack, but will take your word on it. MORE SPEAKERS. More is better. I shall find some.

I just received a pair of new Radian 8" coaxials, beautifully made latter day Altec duplexes, 96db, same basic idea as the vintage Tannoys, 4th order x-over with nice paper cone, compression tweeter in the middle, using the cone as a radial horn, giant magnet, 10 pounds. These are next, in a

new MLTL design which comes to me from Martin King. A 36" floorstander pair for the living room. This could be the Mt St Helens of point source speakers, but will only need 2 watts to crack the walls. Fortunately, my $50 battery powered Sonic Seismic is mellowing in nicely, and will in no way be out of place in this set up.

JLM · « **Reply #364 on:** 28 Oct 2004, 08:40 pm »

Just got a reportedly slightly enjoyed RX-ES1SL in the house for an in-home audition. Its supposed to have about 175 hours on it. Using with my FTA-2000 speakers (Bob Brines designed/built Fostex F200A full range whizzerless single drivers in floorstanding mass loaded transmission lines, 90 dB/w/m, 8 ohms) and a 6 year old Sony XA20ES CD player. No power conditioner, Kimber Kable PBJ interconnects, plenum rated single strand cryo'd CAT5 speaker cables, no isolation, everything is sitting on a 36" wide by 18" deep by 30" high Techline cabinet that holds my CDs. Unit runs barely warm to the touch with no fan noise (at moderate listening levels).

Recently had a $1,500 Decware 12 wpc EL34 based "Torii" integrated amp in for an in-home audition. Normally use a 6 year old $700 Rotel 100 wpc stereo receiver. Haven't figured out most of the remote controlled functions (like FM tuning or tone controls) yet.

Early comparisons:

All around better than the Rotel, more dynamics, more detail, more treble/less bass emphasis (could be tone control settings, but haven't figured out how to display the settings).

Much closer to the Torii than the Rotel in sound quality, better bass control, more treble, less resolution, less midrange magic, more macro dynamics.

Chairguy/DMason,

Could you guys please summarize for all of us the preferred settings and any other painless/non-destructive tweaks. Thanks much.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #365 on:** 28 Oct 2004, 08:51 pm »

JLM,

The least destructive/most beneficial tweak is to get to the 300 hour mark. You ain't done hearing stuff 'till then.

Conditioners are a huge deal, it seems, but a pricey one. Beyond these two, diminishing returns and subjective opinions probably exist.....but no one yet has said the little JVC 'sucks' or 'blows'.

Get those two things done, and you're well on your way to enjoying it thoroughly.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #366 on:** 30 Oct 2004, 03:57 am »

My little one is teething - it gets hard to put her to bed. Fortunately, like Dad, she's comforted by music. But, this little one is a rasta' - she digs Marley and Tosh mostly and, on reasonably loud, goes quietly to sleep during teething episodes.

I've been doing this for a month or so - works lie a charm - the little JVC and the 6-8 ohm/87db sensitive Linaeums chugging tunes in the 22-23 range (plenty loud in my 12 x 15' room). 3 cuts in or about 10 minutes, she fast asleep.

Yesterday, I received my Maggie MMG's. Tonite, she had a bit o' tooth trouble again. Put old Peter Tosh on again...this time, due to power hungry Maggies, need about '30' for appoximate same volume.

2 cuts - poof. No sound. 'Stand By' still on, so good. Wait 10 minutes, pull & plug cord back in...music works again.

Moral; the little overachieving JVC is acting it's price now. Weak power supply can't drive 4 ohm loads to high levels without overloading. Nice that it has some fail safe built in...funny that it didn't oscillate or show strain until 'poof' time. Best paired with 87db+ speakers and relatively normal loads. So, be forewarned.

It's a great little amp+ for the price, but it has it's limitations. I am not sure if the F10 is any different than my ES1sl. I still love it, but I need another amp to drive and try to hear the Maggies sing as folk have said they can.

Anyhow, play on......

cjr888 · « **Reply #367 on:** 30 Oct 2004, 12:03 pm »

Quote from: TheChairGuy

Moral; the little overachieving JVC is acting it's price now. Weak power supply can't drive 4 ohm loads to high levels without overloading. Nice that it has some fail safe built in...funny that it didn't oscillate or show strain until 'poof' time. Best paired with 87db+ speakers and relatively normal loads. So, be forewarned.

Greatly appreciated comments like these as there's so little information regarding any of the consumer receivers and lower impedance speakers and know the bad as well as the good helps everyone....whether its isolated or across the board..

Ordered one of the $119 units off of eBay and hoping it won't be problematic and that it will be likeable enough to exist as part of a downsized system....

Just throwing a thought out there, but now that the two JVC threads are 20+ pages long, and I think there's some duplication in questions, do you think there's enough 'agreed upon' or 'fact' information to warrant a small FAQ or Q&A being made a sticky at the beginning of the threads? Nothing too in detail, but maybe the basics like difference between the two models, difference even if opinion of the two input options (DVD-Multi, etc), sources to buy, limitations/options for subwoofer hookup, my unit runs hot....., impressions w/isolations, ERS, etc. If time exists, I may run through the thread again myself and at least bookmark individual posts that link to all the answers.....

Yes, this is an extremely selfish thought.

Probably going to have the unit sent directly to Wayne for the IEC modification.

I understand that space is tight and that certain other reasons implies that modifications wouldn't be that easy, but curious if this would not be the case if the space limitation didn't exist, or if there's other reasons why its not advisable? Anyone?

tomek · « **Reply #368 on:** 1 Nov 2004, 01:37 am »

this jvc unit has a fan?

yuck. how loud is it? i work so hard to get my system's noise floor down and i sure don't want to hear a fan.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #369 on:** 1 Nov 2004, 01:42 am »

It's audible at low levels. I'm thinking about installing a panaflow fan into it. Keeping in mind that my head is roughly 15 inches from it normally, and for serious listening sessions, still only about 3 feet away from it.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #370 on:** 1 Nov 2004, 05:12 am »

My fan is so quiet I have to get within 20 inches to hear it....I completely forget that it has one.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #371 on:** 1 Nov 2004, 05:55 am »

Come to think of it, at 3 feet in the middle of the night, I don't think I can hear the fan with music playing.

-Richard- · « **Reply #372 on:** 3 Nov 2004, 06:08 am »

Hi ChairGuy,

I am moving to southern California from
southern New Mexico in 2 weeks so I have not
had much time to look in on this fascinating JVC
thread...

I notice you have had problems with your Maggie MMG's...

Sorry to hear that there appears to be a synergy problem
there with your JVC RX-ES1...

I have the F10 and as you pointed out I use it to drive my
Maggie 1.6QR's...

I have never had the problem you are experiencing...

I have experimented with different volume levels on
many different kinds of music...

True...as you pointed out...the low 4ohm efficiency of the
Maggies demands a noticeably higher number on the
JVC volume scale compared to more efficient speakers...

One interesting and disconcerting experience I have had
with the JVC was when I played a particularly challenging
orchestral musical piece at very high volume on the JVC...
it was an experiment...and definitely found the limits of its
synergy with the Maggies...

The thinner than a human hair mylar film began to shudder...
I quickly lowered the volume and prayed at the same time...
fortunately that has never happened again (thank you lord)...

I do not know if the JVC was "clipping" and therefore sending
a very "rough" signal to the Maggies that it could not "interpret"
as music...or if the Maggies merely reached its "breaking" point...

As you might understand I was not sufficiently curious to repeat
these conditions again...I love the Maggies too much to see them
damaged...

Actually Deb has grown incredibly found of the Maggie and JVC
combination...they play with a cleanliness that makes other speakers
sound fussy and messy...Deb is really delighted with them...I was going
to sell them recently...space considerations of our new much smaller
space in Ojai...but Deb kept dropping hints that she would really
miss them so I relented...

But I never experienced a shutdown of my JVC and my F10 does not
seem to mind at all that the Maggies are inefficient...they play clean and
smooth and detailed and dimensional and make the Maggies really
sing...voices sound "alive"...not at all mechanical...

I suspect the smaller Maggies you have may have something to do
with your perplexing experience. Perhaps they need more "break-in"...

Let us know how things unfold for you.

Warmest regards -Richard-

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #373 on:** 3 Nov 2004, 06:25 am »

What leads you to Ojai? Nice secluded place.

-Richard- · « **Reply #374 on:** 3 Nov 2004, 06:36 am »

Oh Yes...

DMason has once again opened a new audio
portal for me with his experimentation with
single point source full range drivers...

As we know, he built a cabinet for his Jordan JX92S's
and seems to be experimenting with the Fostex speakers
as well...

I am also looking into the rather expensive Lowther's
with their mythical history and highly regarded musical
magic.

I am planning on building a horn loaded cabinet for
them soon...but I have to pack and drive a Budget 15 foot
truck with all of my stuff in it to Ojai first and get settled a
bit before I can take on this project....

Meanwhile if the good doctor, DMason, would like to
share some his observations with us of how these
marvelously efficient single driver full range speakers
sound with his digital amps...I for one would be thrilled
and fascinated to hear his insights...as always...

My first speaker was a co-axial Warfdale...back in the
all tube era of the later 1950's...and it sounded lovely,
lively and convincing...I am very anxious to get back to the
single driver again...I suspect that is where the magic will
play for me...

Yes...yes...a work in progress...this search for life among
the eletrical fields...among the mechanical gyres and gears...
for the true spirit and soul of music...

Warmest regards -Richard-

-Richard- · « **Reply #375 on:** 3 Nov 2004, 06:59 am »

Hi ooheadsoo,

A long story...12 years ago Deb and I sold
everything we owned (almost anyway) and
became peripatetic for a year living in a tent
and traveling everywhere in the US that seemed
interesting to us...I had never had the pleasure of
doing that in the 1960's when so many young
American's where replicating Kerouak's journeys
"On the Road"...we finally settled in Ojai because
we where studying the revolutionary radical teachings
of J.Krishnamurti...an avatar from India that challenged
everyone to explore the possibilities of a transformation
of consciousness through a deep understanding of how
the mind actually works...he lived part of the year in Ojai
and choose to die there...I never met him...only read his
startlingly evocative books...

I was very open at that time and Ojai became our "spiritual"
home...we then left to teach in rural southern India for a year
which changed both Deb's life and my own...upon our return
I began teaching at Parsons School of Design in NYC and
Deb started a book design business, working on the mac
at home...we have been trying to get back to Ojai ever since.

A few months ago the Krishnamurti Foundation of America
asked me to give a course in the teachings of this master
teacher and I accepted...since Deb works on the mac we
can live anywhere...at least while our economy holds up.

Warmest regards -Richard-

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #376 on:** 3 Nov 2004, 08:07 am »

Congrats on finally making it back to Ojai. I only went through there once on a sales trip. It was a nice beautiful place. Surprisingly high amount of traffic on the main road though. I hope everything works out for you.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #377 on:** 3 Nov 2004, 01:35 pm »

Hi Richard,

Congrats on the move...I've not been to Ojai, but keep thinking about it as we vacation in (nearby) Santa Barbara and Montecito every couple years.

Perhaps we are now finding greater differences in the ES1sl and F10 than originally believed (I think most of us came to the conclusion that they are the same, with an extra channel on the F10), but perhaps the power supply was subtedly improved in the F10 generation

The combination of my JVC and my Maggie is kinda' dreadful - very thin and lacking impact. When I inserted my back-up AudioSource Amp3 and Dynaco PAS-4 in it's place I am enjoying the Maggie attributes that folks talk of: lack of boxiness and an openness (and speed) that is widely revered. This combo is by no means anything special or particularly audiophile (AudioSource was bought for $250 used and the Dynaco was a closeout at $600), but drives the Maggies with aplomb.

The result is alltogether turned around with my 90db sensitive Vandy's...the synergy of the JVC and Vandy made me truly realize that the Vandy was, indeed, one of those great buys for well under $1000....ditto for the JVC RX-ES1sl.

The weight of the two JVC's is roughly similar, so I think they are both switching power supplies, but, maybe there have been (successful) efforts to improve it in the 2nd generation.

-Richard- · « **Reply #378 on:** 4 Nov 2004, 12:34 am »

Hi ooheadsoo and TheChairGuy,

Thanks for your kind words and supportive
thoughts...I deeply appreciate it.

I will be living in a mobile home
circa the 1970's...panels for walls
and so on...a real challenge for
audio reproduction...I plan on using
sound deadening board and sheetrock
layered over that...Deb and I have
collected Kilims from Turkey from our
travels there (at different times before
we got together)...so that will help to
soak up some of the early reflections.

Someone told me recently that if owners
of paintings (as an example) where to put
a rigid foam material behind them...that
would do a lot to act as an inexpensive
solution to helping "soften" a room for
audio...I thought that sounded intelligent...
I haven't tried it yet...but living in a mobile
might inspire me to give it a try...along with
other ideas to make the listening room more
audio friendly.

Always the warmest regards -Richard-

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #379 on:** 4 Nov 2004, 01:57 am »

In a forum of interesting people, I think that you Richard, are the mostest!

Don't know how you're to cram Maggie 1.6's in a mobile home (double wide, perhaps?), but good-darn luck to ya' and I hope everything works out splendidly.