here is my delima............


I have a cj - 2500a, cj - pv 12, alon 4's,rotel 975. i have tube rolled my brains out, settling for amperex nos. I use tara labs vector 2's between the power and pre, ive tried different ic from audio art, to morrow, to audioquest for the other components, one makes the sound to thin, one makes the bass to boomy, I cant seem to get it just right. i use axiom tri wired speaker cable. the problem is i have this mid range, mid bass vacuum that i cant seem to get rid of. i wonder if my system is starting to degrade, after all it is an older system. or is this a product of lets say the speaker or amp/pre manufacture design. i did read some where that the older alons had a problem with the midrange on some of their speakers. just about every thing i could think of to remedy this problem but all i get is back to square one. i did recently have my local power compy come out and was told my box was only 100 amps. i did some calling around on that and was told my house could be under powered, which is just as bad. i have noticed that when i am playing my system and the heater comes on, the sound degrades. and i do notice the fluctuation like others in bad areas in sound from lets say 11:00 to midnight maybe(peak time) this hole in my midrange is not always there, it varies from day to day and time. i do notice that as i turn up the volume i tends to get worse. ive tried replacing all the drivers in my alons, but that lasted for just a while and then the problem came back. also when i turn up the volume, i get very little gain past say 11:00, after that the sound quality gets terrible. any help at all would be very much appreciated..............
kennesawjet
Hi Kennesawjet, I'm glad you worked it out. Thanks for the info on the Tara cables.
The reason I asked was because I had a "missing" midrange problem too. In my case it had to do with the jumpers I was using on my speakers. The speakers have separate treble/ bass-mid posts to bi-wire. I used a single speaker cable run and then jumpers.

I was losing too much with the jumpers causing the problem. It was only when I went to Siltech Gen 5 jumpers that the midrange lull was much less. Later I put on some Siltech 7th Generation 770L jumpers and the problem completely resolved.
All the best.
ddrave44, the problem seem to stem from the tara lab cables. one day I separated all my cables as far away from each other as possible, and the sound improved drasticly. I remove certain units from the wall socket and used an extension cord to route them to other areas in the basement. this cleaned the sound up and fixed my midrange problem as well. now I don't have to turn up the sound as loud to get a pleasing return. I guess by the way the tara labs are designed, (hollow tubing) placement is evey essential. its like your spark plug wires in your car arcing, also I got rid of the morrows I had on there, this helped as well... seem to compete with the taralabs.
Hi Kennesawjet-
I just saw this thread and was interested to know how it worked out, as I had dealt with similar issues last year. Did you resolve the issues you had?
Regards,
David
thanks jomik, have a electrical engineer neighbor put some type of meter on panel now to record house fluctuation. he has already suggested new 200 amp panel. whole home surge protection, higher s value wiring. to name a few, will consider that if and when new panel box is needed.
Bus bars are conductive metal strips built into the panel, inside behind the breaker switches. They distribute incoming power to the breakers and power circuits in your home. Normally panels come with aluminum bars. Panels that have a copper bars cost a bit more, but sound better than aluminum. If you need to get a new panel, getting the copper bus is worth the few extra bucks.
just fyi, did some switching around of my ic's, it would appear that tara labs don't like to play nice with some of the other manufactures. I ran an additional tara labs (vector two's) from the cd to pre and it seem to sound better. before It was a little to bright for my taste to have more than one in the loop. will keep you all posted.........
If upgrading power make sure the buried wire to the panel can handle 200 amps. Consider a panel with copper bus bar. Do a search on this site for electrical service or dedicated power, dedicated circuits to get more info. Good luck.
KEnne,

That was the gist of it. Just the condensed version. ANy specific questions, just ask. Good luck + keep us posted as things unfurl.
mapman, please if you can and when you feel up to it. post the whole thing. Im getting a feeling here I may be on to some thing.........thanks
thanks rockadanny im impressed, wow eggleston's. lots of out of the norm type stuff here too....
darn, I had researched your gear and posted a lengthy response with a multi-step plan that did not make it through somehow + I am too lazy to do it again.

In a nutshell...

Good news was you have a problem which is solvable, not a dilemma, which is not. That's a good thing.

Bad news is there is probably several things to do for better results starting with making sure all tubes are strong and operating properly (get them measured if possible) and optimizing speaker placement for best sound.

After that, I do not think you have the best amp to bring out the best in your speakers. That's a topic to keep in mind once you make sure what you have is set up and functioning its best first.

Lastly, but only after the others, a suitable Furman power supply to all devices save power amp would likley help take things to a higher level of detail dynamics and clarity once everything else is squared away prior.
thank you all for your fine responses, I think I will try to up grade the panel 1st. I do have the down stairs system on a dedicated line though. but let me address some of your responses individually;
Rrog - why do I need therapy?
islandman dan - I think you may be on to something, my room is rather small.
rockadanny - then you know what im talking about, ive heard many complaints in the forums about dirty energy in their areas.
mechan - I was thinking of that, going with a McCormack dna 500, or pass labs 350.5 and maybe a newer preamp like the classic se from cj
wilsynet - if I do anything it will be a whole home power conditioner and surge system, when I put the panel in. and again thank you all for your fine thoughts

rockadanny, what type of system do you have, just curious..........
It does sound as if you have total system malaise an old problem of over familiarity with what you have. I like the sound of the Nola/Alon speakers. It does sound however as if you need to think about a new pair of speakers. You may want to stay with this company or go in a new direction altogether. The full rich tone of the mid bass and lower midrange is certainly worth persuing.
I would also take the advice to upgrade your house power very seriously. I had a whole new panel put in with more amperage. I had a couple of dedicated lines to my listening areas put in at that time as well. Thats a start anyway.
Assuming from your handle you are in Kennesaw, GA? If so, then no need for heater any longer. If so, I am just up the road in Canton. Whenever I sit for long listening session I shut off heat/cool and unplug TV, cable box, computer, and other junk not in use which might draw or dirty the power. Try it to see if your system sound at least stays consistent before making any gear changes
room treatments may help the hole in the sound you are talking about.
But I don't think it will address the "real" problem...
Sounds like you've spendt plenty of money, to no avail. I would upgrade your house power to 200 amps, and provide dedicated circuits to your audio system.

That stands out from your description of the symptoms you are having. You may also be having room issues, if getting good quality power doesn't do the job, that's where I would look next.