tokenbrit wrote: ↑2021-03-10 01:48

ThomasOK wrote: ↑2021-03-10 01:00 Just for fun:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kj1qixl1kwere ... M.mov?dl=0

The grills are alive with the sound of music. Glad that you've been able to reunite a few of your favourite things... :)

Great fun and very enjoyable! Was a bit confused not to hear Julie Andrews, obvs ...

What are the white rectangles on the bottom shelves?

springwood64 wrote: ↑2021-03-10 12:11 Was a bit confused not to hear Julie Andrews, obvs ...

What are the white rectangles on the bottom shelves?

Sorry - it wasn't meant as a Trapp

I'm sure Thomas will explain further but, while I'm apologising I should type something useful: the white rectangles are foam damping. The Harmoni racks sound better if you don't put equipment on the bottom level; the damping helps manage any residual vibration so that the rack performs optimally, and the music's seeping through...

tokenbrit wrote: ↑2021-03-10 14:14

springwood64 wrote: ↑ Was a bit confused not to hear Julie Andrews, obvs ...

Sorry - it wasn't meant as a Trapp

We are talking about fun, not von (Trapp) tokenbrit!!! ;-)

beck wrote: ↑2021-03-10 14:26

tokenbrit wrote: ↑2021-03-10 14:14

springwood64 wrote: ↑ Was a bit confused not to hear Julie Andrews, obvs ...

Sorry - it wasn't meant as a Trapp

We are talking about fun, not von (Trapp) tokenbrit!!! ;-)

Apologies again. My only excuse is that it was late in the evening, and the sound of music from Tom's clip was a joy to behold

Very nice Tom - good to have some more music on here. Been quite quiet lately.

Yeah, the sound of music trumps the sound of silence...

hey Tom are you now using the Linn Silver Analogue II´s when "it's late in the evening, and all the music sees me through"?

Thanks all. I don't think the Silver IIs are in the system but I'd have to check to see if I left a pair in there. This isn't yet what I consider fully optimum but was meant to show that my system is back. The TM was repaired and has been run long enough to be fully burned in and I had just dialed in the voltage on the PS. The Ekos SE/1 is brand new with only a couple hours on it so the internal wire isn't burned in yet but I am using the same external arm cable as before which I repaired and tested. Everything else is pretty much as before. This is after playing a couple sides of records so everything was warmed up. I started with "Late In the Evening" which was not quite together and a little harsh. After a couple of records it was flowing better but I still found the horns a bit harsh. Then I demagnetized the record and it was much better. Record demagnetizing is still controversial even with me. I tried it once on a harsh sounding record when Fredrik was here and we all felt it was improved, then I tried it on a record that already sounded good and the guitar sounded a little less tuneful to all in the room. So I only use it now when I have a record that sounds harsh when I don't feel it should. In this case it worked and then I made the recording as I felt it was sounding quite musical.

Now I can enjoy records again (I hadn't played the LP12 for about a month or two waiting for the arm before I rebuilt the LP12). Plus I can try out some other things, like the long-awaited Silver IIs vs originals and various power strips. So there should be more clips before too long.

Oh, yeah. As mentioned by tokenbrit, the white blocks are damping for the rack. They have to be the precise right size and are cut from 1" thick dacron polyester. My experience is that the Harmoni rack is at its most musical as you see the one in the middle configured: 4 total shelves, only three of which are used, the top a Mimer K, the next two Tor shelves and the bottom a Reference bottom (basically an upside down Tor). There is another identical rack behind the right speaker with the KRadikal on top and SM and TM underneath. A third rack with all Tors has the Kremlin and HAKAI. The thin wood shelves under the top three appear to act to pull energy away from the shelves the equipment sits on. The one on top of the bottom shelf does the same thing for the whole rack but does it better with the damping pad on it. I have often demonstrated how much better it sounds with the pads on rather than off at Hi-Fi shows and have blown many minds in doing so. The improvement is not subtle.

Here's a fun little experiment:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4niu6uxlaem12 ... 1.MOV?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dck6oyz1oj2lk ... B.MOV?dl=0

I like the “system in a box” approach you use in your top clip markiteight!

Though I do prefer the more normal approach in the other clip.......... :-)

Sounding good Mi8, including digital.

markiteight wrote: ↑2021-03-11 06:27 Here's a fun little experiment:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4niu6uxlaem12 ... 1.MOV?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dck6oyz1oj2lk ... B.MOV?dl=0

:-) Interesting ... sounds excellent both ways ...

Very interesting and definitely a bit of fun. Both sound good in different ways.

Now the question is: Should I play your first clip back through my system and see what happens? (I'm not saying I have the time to fool with this, just ruminating on the consequences.)

ThomasOK wrote: ↑2021-03-11 23:13 Very interesting and definitely a bit of fun. Both sound good in different ways.

Now the question is: Should I play your first clip back through my system and see what happens? (I'm not saying I have the time to fool with this, just ruminating on the consequences.)

I posted those clips as a way to explore just how robust Source First and comparison via clips really are. Your suggestion might actually be helpful in that respect, but I think it's safe to say our methods are indeed quite robust!

Continuing with the Paul Simon theme:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l6bssob6nh0wm ... 6.MOV?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/w1z6lb7i3o22l ... 2.MOV?dl=0
I made the recordings in a darkened room to obscure the change so as to avoid influencing your choice.

Edit: I should probably point out that this comparison is independent of the one above. No laptop involved. Source is my usual LP12 in both clips.

Obviously second one is better... Although a badly setup Lp12 can sound worse than a laptop

The second clip makes it so easy for me to relax and enjoy the music just floating away on a cloud......

same here.

I prefer the second as well. It sounds more alive and engaging. The difference sounds similar to me in character to speaker position or alignment tuning.

I can choose that tune in one note. I prefer the second clip. I don't know what you did but definitely better.

I understand Mardi Gras was a bit different this year. I heard they still had it and tried to make it as good as possible, but an event that is known for crowded streets and packed bars isn't quite the same in the middle of a pandemic. Here's to it being back in full force next year.

markiteight wrote: ↑2021-03-12 00:50I posted those clips as a way to explore just how robust Source First and comparison via clips really are. Your suggestion might actually be helpful in that respect, but I think it's safe to say our methods are indeed quite robust!

Continuing with the Paul Simon theme:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l6bssob6nh0wm ... 6.MOV?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/w1z6lb7i3o22l ... 2.MOV?dl=0
I made the recordings in a darkened room to obscure the change so as to avoid influencing your choice.

Edit: I should probably point out that this comparison is independent of the one above. No laptop involved. Source is my usual LP12 in both clips.

Second clip for me!

Thank you all for your responses. I have to say I'm surprised at the results as I fully expected exactly the opposite! To me the setup in the first clip doesn't sound as "good" but is more musical, in that I find it easer to follow the tune and make sense of the music, but it's presented with more of a sense of disinterested indifference. By comparison the second clip setup is intimate, seductive, beguiling, and pretty good musically...just not as good as setup 1. Is this a trap? I think so! Question is, is it me who has fallen into the trap or all y'all? I'm pretty sure it's me who needs rescuing!

So what are we listening to? Clip 2 is system as usual, clip 1 is Keilidhs in place of Omens.

Which Keilidh’s have you got? I’d guess the earlier ones with the mesh grille over the tweeter?

Spannko wrote: ↑2021-03-13 23:14 Which Keilidh’s have you got? I’d guess the earlier ones with the mesh grille over the tweeter?

They're actually very late production examples (s/n: 54,7XX/54,7XX+1) with 015/3 tweeters, 013/4 woofers, and composite bases. The tweeters were damaged so I replaced them with good ones out of a pair of donor Tukans, checked to make sure the tweeter levels were set to factory default (they weren't) and let them play for about a month to allow the solder joints time to settle in, and to find the speakers' optimum position in the room.

There's still something unusual about this particular pair of Keilidhs. I've heard lots of Keilidhs, both aktiv and passiv, in lots of different rooms/systems over the years and they have all consistently sounded a bit dull/shut in (which is why I was a bit surprised to find the crossovers in this pair set to lower the tweeter output), but these sound quite lively and even a touch bright at times. It might be that my usual listening spot is higher and closer to the speakers than normal and the room is quite small, but their tonal balance is different than any other Keilidhs I've heard...in a good way! In this setup they sing the most musical tune I've heard from Keilidhs.

First time I listened I did prefer clip 1 but must admit being influenced by beck and Lego into listening again and for longer and then started to appreciate what clip 2 has to offer. Listening again and i feel I can hear the tuneful Linn speaker thing and yet your normal setup is ultimately a bit more rewarding. I suppose I find clip 1 initially easier to make sense of but it’s ultimately providing a shallower view of the music, if that makes sense. So, I think I’m hearing the same as you but phrased differently.

Charlie1 wrote: ↑2021-03-13 23:54 First time I listened I did prefer clip 1 but must admit being influenced by beck and Lego into listening again and for longer and then started to appreciate what clip 2 has to offer. Listening again and i feel I can hear the tuneful Linn speaker thing and yet your normal setup is ultimately a bit more rewarding. I suppose I find clip 1 initially easier to make sense of but it’s ultimately providing a shallower view of the music, if that makes sense. So, I think I’m hearing the same as you but phrased differently.

I like your assessment, Charlie1. Here's another situation where a bit from column A and a bit from column B would be lovely. I think there are still areas of the Omen's design that can be further optimized so there's hope yet.