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Legacy Whisper owners - Steridian problem

Whisper owners - Has anyone come up with a Steridian Replacement??

I'm having several problems using balanced mode of Steridian. Single ended is OK, but balanced yields a hum and also a slight veil on the sound, plus a loss of immediacy. Talking to Legacy hasn't solved the problem. Debugged the system and it is absolutely the box. Tried putting Cardas converters (to single-ended) on the pre-amp end of my balanced cables and plugging into the single-ended output of the pre, into the balanced inputs and out of the balanced outputs of the Steridian, into the balanced inputs of my amp. This works, as the Cardas plugs tie together pins 1 and 3. Its obviously not true balanced, and I hate to think this is my ultimate solution.

Has anyone come up with a workaround for the Steridian? The WHispers really sound better with the equalization in my system, especially on the bass end, and I really don't want to do without it. In particular, I thought I remembered reading somewhere on this forum a while back where someone had come up with a workaround that provided both better equalization and less distortion, adapting a different equalizer and/or algorithm, etc.

Please note - NOT trying to "solve" a ground loop system problem here - looking for a Whisper Steridian replacement/modification. I also have a Legacy Focus equalizer which is not bad, but still emits some ground noise and isn't as good as the Steridian for the Whispers. Thanks for your time -
fplanner2000

Showing 4 responses by fplanner2000

fplanner2000 OP
616 posts
 
Fsarc - Thanks for the info-- I'm not familiar with either of those pieces, but will check them out. The Steridian is designed by Legacy to equalize/accentuate bass, mid bass, upper bass and lower mids in the Whisper speakers. It is designed specifically for the Whispers, which is why the other Legacy equalizer I have for my Focus speakers doesn't work that well on the Whispers.

Any additional info is appreciated. I reconnected the Steridian and am now also getting some hum WITH the Cardas adapters, for the first time. This is driving me nucking futs!!
fplanner2000 OP
616 posts
 
I appreciate the responses so far.

Obviously Legacy is first up - I'll probably need to talk to Bill D. to get anything meaningful done. They ought to be able to fix their product so that it doesn't interfere with the rest of my system or degrade the sound, in ANY mode. The Whispers were not inexpensive.

Rives, Pass, Tact and Kosmos all seem to be realistic possibilities, but only as a last resort. At the level of my components, this SHOULD be fixable!! I'm going to do some more troubleshooting tomorrow am, just to confirm my Steridian issue.

Dbld - the Steridian adjusts the gain according to several algororithms particular to the Whisper speakers, according to Legacy.

Thanks again and still open to other suggestions...

Harve
fplanner2000 OP
616 posts
 
FINALLY, A HAPPY ENDING!!

!!!!!!! NEWSFLASH !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got some $50 2 meter SE ICs and connected from theMcCormack SE amp plugs into Steridian. Also ran true SE from VAC preamp into the Steridian.

GUESS WOT???? HUM IS GONE!! Also doesn't sound veiled, but its hard to tell without decent ICs.

SOOOOOooooooo, unless I start hearing a hum from THIS setup, I'm tempted to leave sleuthing alone for a while. Especially since both Kevin H. and Steve M. say I'll get the exact same performance out of their equipment in balanced or SE, and I KNOW the Steridian veils the sound in true balanced, which thankfully I won't be running. Is there a problem with the Steridian in balanced mode? Pretty obviously. Do I care at this point? Pretty obviously not, but I might if I start running into problems in true SE mode.

I'm afraid if I don't stop messing with this, I'll put the Steridian through a wall. I will NOT move it out of my system unless/until it starts screwing up again. In fact, I'm a little leary of touching ANYTHING at this point - time to just enjoy the music!!

Thanks you ALL very much for your help and assistance.

Harve
fplanner2000 OP
616 posts
 
Dbld- The problem was because the balanced inputs and outputs of the Steridian were not functioning properly in my system.

Single-ended, as I have just discovered, works really well with no hum OR veiling!! I say really well because right now I am running a stock 16 gauge power cord to my power conditioner from the wall (instead of my Elrod Statement), Au24 ics from my VAC to the Steridian, and $50. Monster cable 2meter SE ics's from the Steridian into McCormack amp in SE (instead of Nirvana S-X ics). It sounds really good, better than in Balanced mode with the high-end Ic's and PC, which really surprises me. I guess when you've got good components, you'll get pretty good sound even with $50. interconnects! Obviously when I put the Statement back in and put SE Nirvanas back in, the system will just get that much better. Can hardly wait!!

The takeaway from this problem I guess is that if you are having veiling-type problems using your Steridian with Whispers in Balanced mode, try using SE mode. It definitely is working for me (so far)!

Thanks again everyone for your suggestions.
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