Well hello everyone!
Nate: Thanks for stopping by. Is it just me or does dissension follow you wherever you go? [This is where I'm supposed to diffuse my aggressive sarcasm by inserting a silly emoticon -- here; this one :
Was that right? ]
I will answer your questions to the best of my knowledge, which is by no means definitive. The big-deal unique design feature of the De Capos and most (all?) other R3A speakers is the
lack of any crossover on the main driver. The driver takes the signal directly from the bottom binding post and starts pumping. (It rolls off, mechanically at 40 hz or so and at around 3 khz.)
The tweeter has a single capacitor (I think) that acts as a high-pass around 3 khz.
As such, there is no 'crossover network' to speak of, so the old argument against bi-wiring that is based on two cables just connecting you to the same crossover doesn't really attach.
The only thing I can really 'prove' here (and I mean prove in the purely colloquial "I heard a difference" sense; not the "I bought an oscilliscope and wrote a whitepaper" sense) is that the foil connector doodads that come with the DC's are bad news; and getting rid of them, whether by bi-wiring or by using higher-quality jumpers (which I haven't tried), is to be advised. For what it's worth, Aaron Shatzman, who reviewed the DC's for The Absolute Sound a couple years back (and now uses them as his reference), came to the same conclusion. (With the assistance of set-up man Scott Markwell, who is now also writing for Hi Fi + and incidentally since I'm already rambling made up his own award to give to the De Capo's big brother the Royal Virtuoso)
For what it's worth, Reference 3A has seen fit to include fancier Cardas-sourced jumpers on the new De Capo i. Anyone out there played with bi-wiring those?
Anyone want to take a shot at the idea that using 4" jumpers between the two binding posts will make the tweeters a couple nanoseconds
late?
Frank: Thanks for stopping in, too. We're always happy to get opinions from professionals.
Being of a decidedly non-technical bent, a lot of your post went over my head and I certainly won't try to debate it on that level. Your point with regard to fixing worst case problems is definitley a good one, and I agree that in most cases it is indeed the room. I know that in my case, acoustic treatment has made some important differences, but I am prevented from going whole-hog to get it ~80% fixed by constraints on room decor, etc. I have 4'x7' persian rug hanging on my rear wall, which damps the room considerably (with its wood floors and plaster walls); but I'm not aware of too many other acoustic treatments that I can pass off as art. (well it
is art...) In my situation (which I doubt is uncommon), it's often easier to spend money on a cable or vibration tweak or whatever that makes a small/medium step in the right direction than to address a huge issue like room acoustics (or changing amps or whatever)--for reasons of economy, and of inertia.
My little illustration notwithstanding, though, your point is well taken. I am baffled by people who nearly re-spend their equipment investment on expensive cords, vibration gizmos, etc., when they still have some pretty crappy components.
Oh. Free tips are always welcome. I havent' really done patio bricks.. I have placed 11kg bags of #9 lead shot on the speakers. Didn't hear much of a difference, although I didn't do the critical listening audiophile dance. I have definitely gotten audible benefits by damping speaker cabinets in the past--the De Capos are reasonably solid given their price point.
Free magic, and its friendlier cousin cheap magic, are definitely the best kind. See my little vibration sink
here...
