omg i'm such a geek..lol..i searched ARS tubes on google...apparently military tubes?? are they any good? i have sooooooo much to learn..speaking of which..what's the bypass switch for on the sp-10? thanks in advance for your patience :) |
linnlp...thank you so much for your imput...when i can afford the $ i will try those tubes as well as the ones that newbee reccomended..this is really fun with the help of those of you with so much more experience..
newbee..will do..thanks again:) |
hi..its me again...do any of you have any suggestions for how i can make 6" high speaker stands for my vandersteen 2ci's until i can find the sound anchor ones used? thanks:) |
newbee..okay..it's official..now the low level hiss is only on the right side as well...you rule!! this is with just the front two tubes swapped so far..what next? |
oh wow..i posted these last posts days ago...
pmotz..thank you for the kind offer to find the vandersteen 2ci instruction manual.
newbee..you have been an immense help..more than i can say..thanks
if any other posts show up out of context..it's cause my posts haven't been posting for the past few days..
hey whats your opinion on whether to leave the tubes on all the time...or turn them off whenever they are not in use..i've heard varying opinions..
thanks guys :) |
newbee...thinking about what you said..by axis on the speakers..do you mean to toe them in that much? ive been kinda going on the triangle to the listening position philosophy..equal distance between speakers..and listening position..ughh..listening now..and they really sound BAD on the speaker stands..i mean i was lacking a tad of bass with them on the floor, and a bit of the punch i prefer but the sounstage was awesome and the vocals brought tears to my eyes..geez this stuff is confusing!!! |
newbee...great advice..and what i am hearing directly reflects what you are saying...finally..it's starting to make sense..k..i'm gonna take a deep breath..relax...take my time..and ENJOY the hobby..you are so right there...looking forward to seeing the stars on a dark night in the country...but as they say anything worth having is worth waiting for....thanks soooo much :) |
newbee..wow..you're awesome..you spelled out those instructions so well..including that i don't need to put the tubes back where they were, that i am actually going to dare to go into the sp-10 and do as you suggested..how cool..i love doing stuff like that but i never had anyone spell it out so simply that i could actually attempt it with my stereo equipment...i'll let you know what happens. and umm..i can take a hint..lol..i take it you have read the reviews on the shanling..??! going there now...after i carpet my floors, ceilings...walls..move my speakers..and wait for the tiny green men to come and take me away :)) |
hey jafox :) ohh...what a dream that would be to actually HEAR what is possible. thanks for the thought...i would SO be there if i could. i am fumbling in the dark here...i have the ear for music...but often not the knowledge (or funds) to make it happen, which is very frustrating. you guys are helping tremendously tho. i know even the system i have is capable of sooo much more...one of you could come in here and presto-magic...i just sooo don't know what i am doing!! i try to remind myself what newbee said...relax..take your time..and have fun...BUT i want it set up already..so i CAN just sit back..listen..and enjoy...i just want my music!! whahhh. can anyone relate ;) |
hi you guys..i just wanted to let you know that newbie me had the speakers all measured out to "perfection" so i thought..until i was reading the instructions for the 2ce's tho i have the 2ci's...and it dawned on me..acoustical center!!!!! DUHHHHHH. i of course had measured from the edge of the speakers...ARGGGHH...just thought i would give you guys a giggle at the newbie here..the 5 inches difference closer to the backwall made all the difference. now..i just can't wait to get the stands!! |
thanks so much both of you...lol..i am so a newbie..i actually had to look to see what tubes are in the preamp. (my ex bought this whole system for me as a gift) they say ars 6922 E88. would ars mean they are the original tubes ?? i can't move the amp to see what tubes are in there, but i remember the guy my ex bought it from saying something about lots of 6550s and 12ax7s (is that right? geez i'm embarassed.) i haven't used the phono stage yet...wondering now if i might want to switch the tubes from that side to the ls?? newbie..the shanling could be contributing...as it broke in it did get brighter which i thought was quite odd. i do have a marantz 65 se i could try that as an alternative. as for the speaker placement..i'm working on that. the room is 13' by 9.75 and the speakers are now placed 4.5 ft from the back wall and 24 in from the side walls..no toe in...ummm errrr..what are the "first reflection points? nope, haven't listened to neutral systems.. i really have no clue what it "should" sound like. jafox, why is the sp-10 "bad" for cd playing? argh...why don't they tell us this stuff in the rave reviews?? i had the arc ls2 here before the sp-10. nothing bright about it but no "magic" either and very little soundstage as opposed to the sp-10 where i finally heard in person what i had heard audiophiles talk about..every breath..every pluck of the guitar...and i could "see" where all the instruments were...wow what an experience.!! thanks so much for your advice..both of u...i sooo appreciate it!! (and obviously i need it...lol!!!) |
jafox...quite a morph there...i know..just part of the hobby:) what am i getting myself into!! lol
i've unabsorbed the idea that you put a bad spin on the sp-10...i get it now, for the money, it is not the #1 choice for playing cd's , which at the moment is all i do..so actually that was very valid advice.
i am also an "ambience and bloom fanatic" which is how i fell in love with tubes in the first place.
i'm beginning to wonder...maybe i should have brought this up first..but i thought it was a solved problem. the first day i had the sp-10 it was so beautiful..i swear i cried like all day...humbled..and just in awe. then late that day..the left channel crackeled...my ex told me to mess with the balance knob..i did, and it went away. however, it could be my imagination..but it hasn't been the same since. the ex who gave me the system said when he had it the left channel had done the same so he brought it in where he bought it..they "fixed it" supposedly just sprayed the switches and it was supposed to be all better. and that was the day he gave it to me. well the brightness thing started after the first crackle here...and today it did it again...since all of you agree the sp-10 cannot and should not be bright...and wasn't that first day..now i'm thinking it needs repair?? do tubes go out that way..by an occasional crackle and/or hiss..or would it be a switch prob..or?? and hmmm....could that cause the "brightness" i'm hearing that was just not there that first magical day?
thanks again all of you, not just for your help, but for the laughs..you seem like a great bunch of people :) |
hi pmotz...all the controls are in neutral..being the purist i am..however i do think you are correct in that what i am hearing may not be so much brightness as it is lack of bass to balance it. do you have the kimbers on yours? do you have them on the stands they are supposed to be on? i believe that could be one of my big probs as well..not being on the "proper stands", also the speaker wires and as you suggest..that is the only thing that hasn't been changed in my entire system since starting out with nad and the vandies...hey, do you by any chance have the 2ci instructions?? thanks for your input :) |
LMAO newbee..don't EVEN ask..the story behind the "big favor" my ex did me...he gave me the system for all of 5 min then took it back when , well that's another story...it's taken two years for me to get it back...this time with "no strings attached"...and IN WRITING...believe me the price i paid was far higher than you can imagine. on the other hand..yes, i am fortunate i do have it back now..and yes..whoa..what a way to start exploring the possibilities...i'm just a tad embarrassed i have all this equipment and i'm such a rookie!!
what kind of tubes do you have in yours?
hey i really like that you won't leave "old faithful" for the "young chick" way to go newbee ;) |
newbee...you are a riot, and of great help...and such a warm welcome too..thank you :) but...why do u call yourself newbee..i think that would officially be me!!!
bluefin and newbee thanks for the comfort that the sp-10 is still a good choice..i'm breathing again now..whew!!
newbee..ty for the compliment on my ear..fortunately or unfortunately..i do have an audiophile ear..without the knowledge (yet) to adapt my equipment to what i hear and like..now that's a challenge!! my gut says the same as yours does..that the problem is the source...but the shanling is so dang pretty to look at i don't want it to be that!!! also don't want to-can't afford to do the 1200. worth of mods to make it "tolerable". interesting that you said to put the speaker axis in front of me..seems as that is what i have done..just naturally liking how it sounded. last night i put the vandersteens on stands not the ones they are supposed to be on...but at least up off the hardwood floors. now that was interesting..the system sounded much more "live" or in your face..whichever way you want to look at it...but somehow "off" which could be that the reccomended height is 6" off the ground and these brought them to 9" and my normal listening height is from 31-33'. placed where they now are i would have to be at 39" listening height. so trying to figure out what a good happy medium would be...thinking of just putting spikes under the speakers directly...even tho vandersteen reccomends the 6" stands. would you have any suggestions regarding that? the system is in my bedroom/living room...so adjusting listening height wouldn't be very pheasable. (unless i put the bed up on bricks or something. and he talks about tiltback if the listening level is higher, but not if its lower than recommended. i tried to tilt them forward at a friends insistence...yuck is all i can say to that attempt. i like you am a purist...and vandersteens angled down to the listener seems counter to his entire design of those speakers..tho don't hesitate to right me if i'm wrong. this is a very adventurous but frustrating hobby when one is truely a newbie as i am..i hear what is "wrong" but don't know how to fix it...so grateful that you wonderful ppl are here to help...okay..going to look for wool rugs now :))) thanks again! |
