petaluman

Responses from petaluman

What should I expect moving from MM to MC?
Although there was a brief discussion of >20khz response, the OP has repeatedly prioritized a "fuller, warmer sound".  This sounds to me like the mid-range. The original holder of the MC patent was audio legend Joe Grado.  However, he didn't m... 
Need help. I need recomendations for amp, or amp/preamp
Parasound produces an extensive range of high quality SS power amps, as well as preamps & integrateds.  They frequently engage legendary engineer John Curl to help design their products.  In addition to multiple power rating choices, they offe... 
Opinions before purchasing
Jason's talking about the room resonance, which reinforces bass output.  Of course, almost all speakers will roll off below that room effect.  That is the whole reason why DSP is particularly useful for low frequencies.  It's not that the speakers... 
Ethernet - Analog/Digital Signal Clean Up
Several mentions of the Sonore OpticalRendu, but there is a simpler way if you don't want the extra boxes this requires.  Their Signature, ultra, and microRendu devices are ethernet in/USB out devices and have worked well for me.  
The thing about objectivists is...
Any -ist is a drag if they take their -ism too seriously.  I'd like to thank everyone for being different from me.  
What does Q mean in speaker specifications?
@erik_squires  It's been a long time since I read the original papers, and it's possible the nomenclature has changed or I misremember.  What I recall is that the total (electrical & mechanical) Q of the speaker was called Qts and the final d... 
What does Q mean in speaker specifications?
The system Q of driver & cabinet has been used as an essential guide to a speaker's bass quality since the seminal work in modeling bass alignments using filter theory was done in the late 50s-early 70s by several people.  The parameters ident... 
My experience with the First Watt F7
I noticed that the F7 has a low input impedance of 10k ohms.  Perhaps your preamp prefers a higher value.  
Why Music Has Lost it’s Charms (Article)
Do your own research.  Try to find every place in your area where music is actually being played and go listen.  Bars, parks, churches, nightclubs, community centers, concert halls, college campuses, don't stop there!  One of the towns near us has... 
Suggestions for Digital Audio Recorder
You can get all the things you’re asking for (in a general sense) with either home or portable. However, a full size unit will have a lot more features - they have more room for circuitry & connectors. A portable can make live recordings in t... 
Isn't it really about quality of recording?
In my case, I'd estimate that it's roughly 99.999% about the music itself.  The Gershwin piano rolls and Benedetti wire recordings of Charlie Parker (solos only!) will always be more significant and worth listening to than the finest recording of ... 
Using Adcom GFA-555s as monoblocks to power magnepan 3.3s in active biamp
To Tackle your simpler question: Take a look at the Stereophile measurements on any speaker.  Regardless of what the manufacturer specifies as its nominal impedance, the solid line in the 1st graph will show the impedance (up and down) varies sig... 
Using Adcom GFA-555s as monoblocks to power magnepan 3.3s in active biamp
Bridging an amplifier effectively doubles its output impedance, which halves the damping factor.  A 4 ohm speaker remains 4 ohms, but the amp's ability to stably drive the load is compromised significantly.  So, you can safely bridge into 4 ohm sp... 
Politics and Music
As usual, many different opinions here.  As always when the topic is music, the form is so much larger than the locus of all of our musings.  Things to keep in mind: Political and philosophical do not always mean the same thing. Artists (and acc... 
Avalon Acoustics reputation
Small companies (which most audio makers are) often struggle to survive their founders' passing.  Even if they're not sold & gutted, the vision & passion that birthed the company is very difficult to sustain.  Sounds like Avalon could be g...