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Bronze Member Username: Marcuslee842Chicago, IL U.S.A. Post Number: 53 Registered: Mar-05 | I bought 3 APC 1000VA BX1000 8 Outlet UPS systems and a Monster PRO 3500 power center. The APC's have line conditioning, automatic voltage regulation and up to 55 minute battery back up time! Here's the good part, the three APC's are connected to each of the Monster's three output banks. 1 for the high current filter, 1 for the analog filter and, 1 for the digital filter outlets on the back of Monster's excellent PRO 3500. The 3500 cleans and conditions the power and then sends that to the APC where it goes through more filters and conditioning and voltage regulation and then to the components. I was expecting a difference but man, not one this big. It's like I have all new high quality components! The UPS might be the best feature of all, because if there 2 minutes left in a championship game, or I reach the last stage of a video game and the power suddenly goes out, I'll be okay! I just keep watching or playing until I decide to shut everything down properly! |
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Bronze Member Username: Marcuslee842Chicago, IL U.S.A. Post Number: 55 Registered: Mar-05 | WOW I posted this back in March and no one still has nothing to say. Go figure. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 4192 Registered: May-04 | What do you want us to say, Marcus? We've been busy playing video games. |
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Silver Member Username: Touche6784Post Number: 407 Registered: Nov-04 | i find it strange that a person who sits infront of a computer pushing keys can afford all that stuff. go figure. must have won the lottery or sold drugs as a side job. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 4197 Registered: May-04 | "WOW I posted this back in March and no one still has nothing to say. Go figure." Not picking on you, Marcus. But that's a double negative you wrote there. "No one has \b[anything] to say." Go figure. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 4198 Registered: May-04 | Sorry, I can't type tonight. "No one has anything to say." |
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Silver Member Username: Joe_cOakwood, Ga Post Number: 464 Registered: Mar-05 | maybe you could recommend some speakers to me even though you usually don't. I respect alot of what you have to say and would appreciate it Jan. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 4209 Registered: May-04 | I probably can't tell you to go buy this speaker. I might be able to help you clarify what you should consider. Tell me more. |
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Silver Member Username: Joe_cOakwood, Ga Post Number: 468 Registered: Mar-05 | I was looking at bohlender/graebner z-1's and comparing them to other book's at their price ($500pr) like ascends (which I have not heard of course) and paradigms which I have not heard either. Any other suggestions on a good pr for record listening (warm toned) in a med/small room??? |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 4214 Registered: May-04 | j.c. - Not yet. Tell me a few more things. What equipment do you have right now? What are you hearing that gives you the urge to change speakers? Since those qualities in your present system are what you already have, what will you expect the new speakers to bring to the system? (Try to be more specific than good bass, clear mids and clean treble. Also try to give me an idea why the BG speakers are appealing to you.) Would you say your system has a balance to it right now? What are the strong points of what you own as a system? How's the soundstaging and imaging? Do performers exist in a believable space? Is the soundstage placed in front of the speakers or behind? How about stage width? Do images occur outside the speaker's edges or are they confined to between the speakers? Which do you prefer? Do you care? What is the best "hifi" you have ever heard? Do you listen to live music? How often? Are there any placement issues for the new speakers? Briefly, can you tell me what the strong points and the weaknesses of each component in your system amount to? One of the reasons I don't do recommendations is the availability of products. I see little point in recommending something a prospective buyer can't audition. What, then, are your attitudes towards this purchase? Will you buy over the internet without hearing the speakers? What products do you have access to if you want to hear the speakers in a showroom? Sorry to be so detailed about this, but this is why I don't normally do recommendations. |
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Silver Member Username: Joe_cOakwood, Ga Post Number: 470 Registered: Mar-05 | amp=denon 1804 w/ project II turntable(ortofon om20 super cartridge) upgraded wires, the urge to change is one inherent to my personality and two because of the brightness of my JBL's. I would expect the new speakers to bring more spaciousness and detail to the midrange and make the music "sound" like I am playing it on a 7.1 surround because the soundstage is so close. The BG speakers I heard (played a nora jones cd which I own at home) gave me a few more sounds I had not heard or I had not heard as well as my current system. The sounstage was brought much closer to me than when I play the front only in my system at home. I am not worried about low level extension as much because my sub is quite musical even though it is cheap. The strong points of my system now is low level extension of course, the listening environment is as perfect as I can get it and the electronic are quite nice in my op. The 7.1 (6.1 bridged) movies sound really great to me as I feel that brightness in movies is more forgiving than music. When I play sacd multichannel discs, the performers are in a believable space, but when I switch to two channel on the same content, the soud seems flat if that makes any sense. It may have something to do with the fact that the front channels in my current setup are placed for movie watching (1 1/2 the width of my tv apart from each other). Which is another point to make, the new speakers will be placed at a perfect width (experimentation expected) for music. I think that that last comment also applies to stage width and will be changed somewhat with widening the placement?? Most of my music content will not be live (maybe 10% live). The strong and weak points. The components: denon amp- much less bright than my former amps (sony panasonic, pioneer) and has plenty of power with detail throught the musical range, cd/dvd-sony changer sacd/dvd, nice but it is more for convenience than quality and mostly used for dvd watching anyway. Project II- this is my first non-plastic turntable and though most audiophiles might shun at it, I think it's great. The needle that came with it was an oyster and it was too harsh and way to "loud" for me. I replaced it with a Grado red and loved the difference but unfortunately than cartridge is not shielded and the motor on that project is under the plate and well you know the rest. So I got an Ortofon om20 super, great for me. All of the wiring in my system is upgraded and I have the monster line conditioner/surge protector hts2600 which as you know, I think was a worthy investment. The main weakness as far as music goes, are my tweeters in the JBL's. They are aluminium and are quite bright with music. I went into the mains and soldered replacement 12ga wire to the crossovers (which I was going to replace with these:http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=260-144) I also put some deadening material inside them and this improved the midrange but expectedly didn't change the high end. I like you am real nervous about buying audio products without at least auditioning them with my ears let alone my setup at home. This is why I would like some recommendations on products that i can go hear, Monitor audio, B+W, polk ls series, mirage, paradigm, pinnacle, jamo, are all brands I can listen to. I do see alot of folks talking about the axioms and ascends but I am nervous about not hearing it and hate to have to rebox something up and ship it back. Jan I feel I have given you what AA people call a fifth step (inventory) and hope you can help with it. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 4218 Registered: May-04 | Let me work on this for a while. Have you heard the B&W's and the Mirage line? If so what are your impressions? I'm not understanding what you mean here; "I would expect the new speakers to bring more spaciousness and detail to the midrange and make the music "sound" like I am playing it on a 7.1 surround because the soundstage is so close." Does that imply you want a soundstage that is placed forward of the speakers? If so, that is usually the providence of a brighter speaker like the JBL's. Any access to the Infinity Primus line? Any interest in pre-owned speakers? Here's something you can try on your JBL's if you want to experiment. Go to a fabric shop and get a square of thick felt. Look for the highest wool content and a thickness about 1/2" to 3/4". Cut this into strips about 3/4" wide and apply these to the front baffle of the speakers with double stick tape. Begin with a strip between the woofer and tweeter. Next surround the tweeter to take down the sideward dispersion off the front baffle. Do not interfere with the operation the drivers. This may or may not be a temporary solution. Aluminum domes can be nasty creatures. Also try placing the speakers on their side instead of upright. Place the tweeters to the outside. Listen with various amounts of toe in starting with no toe in at all. Try the Home Depot 16-14 AWG extension cord as speaker cable. |
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Silver Member Username: Joe_cOakwood, Ga Post Number: 471 Registered: Mar-05 | Do you think that replacing the crossover is a worthwhile endeavour? also maybe I am confused on the soundstage idea, I am thinking that when I feel I am there at the music the soundstage is close , no? or is it the other way around? I also have 12ga monster wire on the speakers, expensive version of extension cords but we've been throught this before. The more I think about this the more appealing those BG's get. That ribbon tweeter was so detailed. |
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Silver Member Username: Joe_cOakwood, Ga Post Number: 474 Registered: Mar-05 | Jan, tell me what you think on the BG's because I think they are the one's, the dealer near me has a trade show pair for 10% off mint cond. I really want them. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 4223 Registered: May-04 | They would appear to be decent speakers. I haven't heard them so I can't say much. I doubt you will go wrong. |
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Silver Member Username: Joe_cOakwood, Ga Post Number: 534 Registered: Mar-05 | Jan I settled on a pair of Totem rainmakers just thought I'd let you know. |
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Bronze Member Username: Marcuslee842Chicago, IL U.S.A. Post Number: 56 Registered: Mar-05 | I was just joking guys, I just thought someone would find it interesting. I make a decent amount at my job so it's not that bad. I will just say when I do buy something I am usually broke because of the car note. |
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New member Username: NickpadovaniNewnan, GA USA Post Number: 10 Registered: Jan-06 | Just to throw in my two cents, Marcus your idea is actually quite genius. Any equimpent with cooling fans (especially the fan bulbs on LCD/DLP/LCoS TVs) will shut off when the power goes out and leaves the equipment hot. Using a UPS and then turning the equipment off properly when the power goes out will allow the cooling fans to properly cool down your equipment, thus extening its life and reliability. This, of course, depends on where you live, how often your power goes out, but down here in the lightning belt southeast, it's quite a common problem! |
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Bronze Member Username: Frostyda9Calgary, AB Canada Post Number: 80 Registered: May-05 | I added a UPS to the system a few weeks ago, to reside in conjunction with the monster power centre that was already in place. I can't tell you why, but ever since I did, the the faint "click" when switching between sources has disappeared. When you consider that the UPS will give you a chance to shut down your system properly in the event of a power loss, and more than likely will include some level of voltage regulation, it's not a bad investment at all. |
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Bronze Member Username: Marcuslee842Chicago, IL U.S.A. Post Number: 61 Registered: Mar-05 | Thanks guys, I thought that it would help some people out. I have a 72in Toshiba DLP now and when the power went off a couple days ago I had time to shut it off and let it cool properly. A life saver since the bulbs in the DLP are very easy to blow out |