So Cal Listening Session: MiniMax, IRD, ACI, RidgeSt.

John Casler · « **Reply #40 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 01:24 am »

While it is always good to use a "reference" one is familiar with I too have grown weary of some of mine.

Since we are going to be looking for the qualities that electronics can affect it is good to use cuts that give us the greatest tests for these qualities.

In the pre-amp shoot out (and any cables for that matter) I'm looking for:

1) detailed highs
2) Resolving ability (power)
3) Low noise
4) lifelike midrange
5) dynamics in general
6) leading edge transient abilities and impact
7) tight, dry deep bass.

I would suggest:

1) Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Flight of the Cosmic Hippo which demonstrates most of those qualities

2) BlacK Light Syndrome - very detailed and complex

3) For Female Voice, the Allison Krause at Union Station is good in my book

4) For Male voice we could use the Josh Groban too

Other possibilities:

Gil Shaham - Four Seasons as MD suggested

Stan Getz - Girl from Ipanema (SACD) smooth sax, female voice, resolution

Quincy Jones - Birdland - complex musical passages of hundreds of great transients, bass and percusive impact

Eric Clapton - Unplugged as long as it's not "Tears in Heaven" - hard to handle and sometimes overmiked

Ray Montford - Shed your skin, complex

Lords Tundra - Dean LaPeer - resolution of bass, attack, transients, lots of sonic detail, impact and dry bass.

Although long cuts can be a drag, it might be a blessing to "IF" we spend a short period of time say less than a minute or so in the SWEET SEAT, and then switch with the next person.

We have done this before and if 4-6 people get to sit in the SS during one cut then it is better than one person staying there for the whole cut.

Care must be taken to try and hear the same section of the cut with the A/B'd component.

Obviously not every swinging mondo is gonna get mucho SS time but if you know what to listen for, much can be heard in 30-45 seconds.

Gonna resemble "musical chairs" but at least the name is appropriate.

If we pick 3-4 cuts total (more would be too much for your auditory memory) to use for most of the testing we could spend a little time in front of our "reference systems" with those cuts and become familiar with them ahead of time.

I like the first four mentioned (in the order mentioned) but I am "very" open to just about anything as long as it gives us good listening/judging criteria.

Gentlemen, start your CD players

Any votes?

John Casler · « **Reply #41 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 01:35 am »

Oh and for the Preamp comparison, we need to have some pink noise to pre-set the volume levels of each pre, so that all we have to do is switch cables and not worry about volume levels each time.

This can also be done for speaker comparisons, by marking the volume level knob setting for each speaker using the pink noise again.

Mad DOg · « **Reply #42 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 06:34 am »

Got SOCS to work...operator error...most likely won't have time to listen to SOCS so we'll hold this for another time...

Sa-dono · « **Reply #43 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 06:44 am »

Quote from: Mad DOg

your idea of NOT using norah and diana is a good one as well...as Sa-dono overused norah and john casler has overused and abused diana!!!

Let me be the first to say you suck *ss, ya b*tch!

You can't "overuse" Norah

Sounds like it should be a great get together. I'll have to ponder making it to one of them. If I drive all that way, you dang well better gotmikey!!! Would be cool to meet you..and finally hear the Ellis 1801's

gotmikey · « **Reply #44 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 06:51 am »

Sa-dono,

Don't get your hopes up just yet. Things are looking quite nice for the 24th, but I ain't sure yet due to work. Just like we planned... seven months ago! You bringing anything?

Sa-dono · « **Reply #45 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 06:51 am »

Quote from: skchow

.....we had an USC alum as a guest conductor.

Sunny.

My condolences

Sa-dono · « **Reply #46 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 06:58 am »

Quote from: gotmikey

Sa-dono,

Don't get your hopes up just yet. Things are looking quite nice for the 24th, but I ain't sure yet due to work. Just like we planned... seven months ago! You bringing anything?

If I do make it, then I might bring a power cord or more. Looks like there will be a ton of other stuff to listen to as is. And yeah..it's craazy that it has taken this long to possibly finally get this together as planned.

JackStraw · « **Reply #47 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 01:58 pm »

As I said in PM to Mad Dog, I may be coming up from San Diego on the 24th.
I can bring my Stan Warren modded Aiwa/MSB combo if anyone wants to hear it, but I agree that there is a lot of gear being mentioned. So, if you want to hear it speak up.

If it looks like I'll be there, I'm open to car pooling if anyone else wants to. I'm in 92130. I'll send some PMs mid next week to arrange.

John Casler · « **Reply #48 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 04:01 pm »

Quote

and john casler has overused and abused diana!!!

She told me she likes that sort of thing and who was I to argue

JoshK · « **Reply #49 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 04:06 pm »

Hey Keith, do you have a copy of the Flamenco guitar cd that Serg was playing? I would like to know what that was. Interesting stuff.

randog · « **Reply #50 on:** 15 Jan 2004, 05:09 pm »

Quote from: hifitommy

"maybe this time i shold bring my spendor s3/5s. they are easlily transported.

Please do (even tho I won't be there). I've been wanting to hear someone report on these speakers.

Randog

Mad DOg · « **Reply #51 on:** 16 Jan 2004, 07:44 am »

Sotantar,

I tried to email you but the email was returned as undeliverable...

Jon L · « **Reply #52 on:** 16 Jan 2004, 08:56 pm »

I just got a Bent Audio silver-transformer preamp. I would love to compare them to the Purist and EarMax, since those were on my "audition" list but I never got to listen to them.

Maddog, could you PM me your address? I've been there once but I lost the address.

skchow · « **Reply #53 on:** 17 Jan 2004, 01:09 am »

I'm terribly sorry guys, but Fedex is being a bitch to deal with it. This means that I may be unable to bring the IRD purist preamp to MadDog's place tomorrow. :T What happened was that they were supposed to deliver the darn thing on Wednesday. For some reason they didn't feel like it so they kept it until Thursday, but I was away when they came. To be sure I got the preamp today, I stayed home all day, and called them twice to confirm that the purist was indeed being delivered. I just called them now, and found out that the package has been marked with the address as being bad. (Note: they managed to find my place yesterday when I wasn't here!). They'll try delivering again tomorrow, which means I pretty much have to stay here until they actually find my place. If they find my place in the morning, I'll try to make it to MadDog's place in the afternoon, but if not, I might have to miss out on the get-together.

Sunny.

Mad DOg · « **Reply #54 on:** 17 Jan 2004, 02:22 am »

Quote from: skchow

I'm terribly sorry guys, but Fedex is being a bitch to deal with it. This means that I may be unable to bring the IRD purist preamp to MadDog's place tomorrow. :T What happened was that they were supposed to deliver the darn thing on Wednesday. For some reason they didn't feel like it so they kept it until Thursday, but I was away when they came. To be sure I got the preamp today, I stayed home all day, and called them twice to confirm that the purist was indeed being delivered. I just called them no ...

geez, FedEx is as bad as UPS...

will FedEx allow you to pickup from the local facility instead? this way you can pick it up in the morning and still make it out to the session...at least you won't be at FedEx's mercy then...hope you can make it still even if you don't have the IRD for tomorrow...

the other thing to do is to call up and ask to speak to a manager regarding their screw up...demand for them to fix their mistake...

JohnR · « **Reply #55 on:** 17 Jan 2004, 02:53 am »

Fedex Ground (I assume it's ground) won't allow you to pickup at the depot. Tried that once, no luck

Something about how once it's on the truck, it doesn't come back.

skchow · « **Reply #56 on:** 17 Jan 2004, 03:10 am »

Yep, I tried asking them about pickup. As John said, they don't allow it. :T What's worse is that the package is NOT in a truck, and instead is in some private, nondisclosed location.

UPS is really good around here it seems. I consistently get things before the scheduled delivery dates, and I've never had problems with them. Fedex on the other hand, has already screwed up a delivery of speakers to me so I'm not exactly pleased with them...

Sunny.

Sa-dono · « **Reply #57 on:** 17 Jan 2004, 07:09 am »

Quote from: skchow

Yep, I tried asking them about pickup. As John said, they don't allow it. :T What's worse is that the package is NOT in a truck, and instead is in some private, nondisclosed location.

Actually, I have gotten them to allow this. However, they do have to set this up in advance...and the pickup location will likely be far out of the way. They told me my pickup location was South-East of downtown LA...when I was in West LA, and there is a FedEx facility nearby

Mad DOg · « **Reply #58 on:** 17 Jan 2004, 08:41 am »

Quote from: skchow

Yep, I tried asking them about pickup. As John said, they don't allow it. :T What's worse is that the package is NOT in a truck, and instead is in some private, nondisclosed location.

UPS is really good around here it seems. I consistently get things before the scheduled delivery dates, and I've never had problems with them. Fedex on the other hand, has already screwed up a delivery of speakers to me so I'm not exactly pleased with them...

Sunny.

no worries, sunny...

we'll still have lots of other stuff to listen to...i believe another person will be bringing his Linn Katan monitors...

gotmikey · « **Reply #59 on:** 17 Jan 2004, 05:33 pm »

Why don't you come next week, Sunny? If you don't have the Purist by then, I'd be really surprised and personally pissed. Oh, and that secret location is probably Carlsbad. I work right next to it. We could pull a stealth mission and liberate the little guy from his captors...