The Two Channel Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by purr1n, Nov 10, 2016.

  1. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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    @dericchan1 - we use advice threads like these to keep the forum uncluttered. Hope you don't mind me pasting your question below:

     
  2. dericchan1

    dericchan1 Facebook Friend

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    Not a problem at all. I am new and didn’t know where my post should go.

    thanks

    Deric
     
  3. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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    No worries. I would go with option 2 above, btw.
     
  4. dericchan1

    dericchan1 Facebook Friend

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    Just an update on my quest to achieve sharing two systems with a single sub. I think I have achieve semi-success. Bought an amazon 50ft sub cable to test. Had it plugged in to the R channel input of the sub with my 2.1 system and plugged the other cable from receiver to L/LFE of the sub. No more power interference or hum. So it’s prob the circuitry of the rca switch box causing the interference!!!

    However, not sure why subwoofer won’t wake up no matter how loud I turn up the volume on my 2.1 system connected to the R port of the sub. But when I turn switch the sub from “auto” to “on”, bass came out perfectly!!

    Sub works perfectly and wake up and goes back to standby automatically for the receiver connected to the L/LFE port of the subwoofer tho. Honestly not sure why that’s the case tho. Is it possible the sub is designed that only sound input to sub through L/LFE can trigger/wake the sub? I tried swapping the two sub cables as well so prob has nothing to do with the amazon cable.

    Deric
     
  5. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    This seems to be a common complaint with a lot of subs. I mean a lot. I have a simple solution. I leave the sub in the ON setting and plug it into an outlet that is controlled by a light switch. Flick of the switch and it is on, flick again and it is off for the night.
     
  6. dericchan1

    dericchan1 Facebook Friend

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    My sub is located in a pretty convenient position so it’s not that bad to manually turn on or off. None the less I have it plugged in to a smart switch so I can voice command the sub on and off.

    but just curious as to why the auto trigger only works on the LFE input not the R input

    Deric
     
  7. nishan99

    nishan99 Friend

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    I Had bad experience with Roy Mottram from tubes4hifi which costed me 20 days and $100 for nothing. All I can say he was very unprofessional.
     
  8. iFi audio

    iFi audio MOT iFi Audio

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    It seems that only one input of your sub is auto-sensing. But can you drop in here what sub it is? MAybe there's some info in its manual.
     
  9. dericchan1

    dericchan1 Facebook Friend

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    I believe that's probably the case that only the LFE channel has auto sensing. No issue so far, everytime listening to music I will just turn on the Sub from auto standby to ON. It is a power sound audio 15S subwoofer. Don't think it was mentioned in the manual tho

    Thanks

    Deric
     
  10. dericchan1

    dericchan1 Facebook Friend

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    Call me crazy!!! I never knew there is such a thing as directional interconnect RCA cables until my experience last night!!!

    I ordered some terminated Van Damme HiFi OFC RCA interconnect from an authorized Uk seller on eBay. They arrived with no “arrows” pointing direction what so ever.

    Connected from my preamp/dac to my amp and played my familiar playlist. Down right it just didn’t sound right, it was harsh and muddled and I could hardly recognize the vocal of my favourite singers, and I had to turn the volume up quite a bit compared to my normal volume. At first I thought perhaps the interconnect needs to be burnt in, so I keep playing the list, but I couldn’t stand listening to the music after a few songs.

    I was really sceptical about what could be wrong so I started examining the cable to make sure connection was nice and tight and I didn’t have the polarity wrong. That’s when I notice the cable jacket has a line that reads “High definition, OFC, “directional” cable. Obviously I wouldn’t know what the hell directional means so I reached out to the seller and he indicated to me that I should follow the direction of the word on the cable and go from source to destination. (I honestly believe he should put an arrow sticky on the cable btw) I followed the direction and reconnected again and now the sound is back to normal again, beautiful clean mids and highs, volume is also back to normal level. It’s quite an upgrade indeed compared to my old van damme pro interconnect cables!!!!

    Obviously I don’t understand how a rca cable can indeed be directional, perhaps someone here can educate me on this?

    Deric
     
  11. dericchan1

    dericchan1 Facebook Friend

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  12. rockwoodkelly

    rockwoodkelly New

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    (Reposting because I mistakenly started this thread elsewhere, my apologies.)

    I'm at an audio impasse and would love some advice. But first some background, if I may...

    Long-time audio guy, first 2-channel, then home theatre. Currently running a 7.2(+) setup with a somewhat imbedded 2-channel chain in a medium-sized basement. I mostly listen to rock, with some occasional EDM/pop. I'm at that 98% "happy" mark with my current 2.0 chain. The sound is clear, punchy, and resolving.

    The thing that is bugging Me, and for the most part always has, is the lack of soundstage. The sound is dead-tied to the speakers, not "wide", "deep", or "tall". I've meddled with settings, swapping components, speaker placement, toe, etc. I'm honestly at a loss. I'm to the point of considering a dedicated preamp before my integrated amp, but would love input from you fine human beings.

    What I'm running:

    Project Debut Carbon TT > Schiit Mani phono pre > SchiIt SYS input 1
    Oppo BDP-103D as a CD transport > Schiit Modi Multibit > Schiit SYS input 2
    Schiit SYS output > Schiit Vali 2+ hybrid tube combo head-amp/pre. > Emotiva BasX a-100 Gen. 2 integrated amp
    The speakers are Klipsch WF-35 2-way ported floor-standers with horn-loaded 1" titanium tweeters, (3) 5.25" carbon-fiber mid/woofers, a 2500 hz crossover point, and very sold cabinets.

    I typically run the SYS and a-100 volume pots full up, and control volume with the Vali 2+. That said, soundstage does not differ if I cut the Vali 2+ out, and run SYS > a-100, using the SYS for volume control (the a-100 has a TERRIBLE felling volume pot). The soundstage is basically the same whether I'm spinning vinyl or CD.

    The a-100 has a headphone out, so I'm not completely tied into needing a head-amp. Also, I'm not married to having a tube in the chain.

    My thought is this: try a different setup for the preamp. I'm considering purchasing either a Schiit Saga S or Jotunheim 2, and selling the SYS and Vali 2+.

    Is this a solid train of thought? I've read that the preouts on head-amps leave something to be desired in comparison to a dedicated preamp. Does anyone have any direct experience with that? I've never had a dedicated pre before, so this is new territory for Me. Is the amp itself an issue? Or maybe the speakers? Something further up the chain?

    Am I barking up the right tree, or am I completely off-base? Please help!

    Thank you all so very much for your time and consideration!
     
  13. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I have very similar speakers that I use for home theater, Klipsch VF-36. These speakers have insane soundstage, but they are much better for movies than music. My stereo setup is Emotiva PT-100 > A-150 > KEF Reference Model Three (1994).

    The Klipsch sounded much more musical from the Emotiva setup than from the Sony STR DN-1080 when I tried that once for grins.

    I'm not sure what to tell you. The Klipsch have crazy good soundstage from both the Sony and the Emotiva. Your basement could be the issue, or it could be the Vali. I would try using just the SYS, or maybe even just the A-100 to eliminate possibilities.
     
  14. rockwoodkelly

    rockwoodkelly New

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    Yours are very similar, I’d venture to say they probably have the exact same tweets/horns. Thank you for the advice. Makes me really wonder what’s going on in my setup. I’ll try bypassing both the SYS and Vali and see what’s what.
     
  15. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Preamp will not solve this issue. How far out do you have the speakers from the wall behind them? And do you have something like a TV and/or stand in between them? Speakers slammed up against a wall behind them and/or with a big flat screen TV and/or stand in between them will not soundstage well IME. Also it may just be the speakers - even though @LetMeBeFrank has similar ones, things can vary greatly from model to model. Also, in my experience, horn or waveguide tweeters tend to localize (I.e not disappear) way more easily than direct radiating tweeters on the baffle - thats not a definite thing (I’ve heard lots of Klipsch with horns can soundstage fine) but just something I’ve noticed in a few of the speakers with waveguides I’ve tried. Also I think the speakers you have are more of a waveguide loaded tweeter, than horn loaded like Frank’s.
     
  16. rockwoodkelly

    rockwoodkelly New

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    There is a tv and stand between them, they are not pushed back against the wall. They are roughly 3.5’ to 4’ out. Maybe it is just my location and placement. If so, I may be at the end of my quest, as there is no room in the basement to separate the 2-channel from the theatre. :/
     
  17. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Have you experimented with speaker placement and especially toe-in, and your listening location as well? A lot of soundstaging is derived from setup/seating position and room. Are you seated against a wall? This can also limit things unfortunately. I’m not saying a preamp can’t improve soundstage - it can. But IMO it’s further down the line compared to room/setup, the speakers themselves, and then you get into amps and sources. If you did try a new preamp, definitely go with Saga - Jotunheim won’t do any better for you than a SYS will (Jot is a balanced headphone amp first - the preamp part is really not it’s primary purpose, nor it’s strength - Saga walks all over it as a preamp.)
     
  18. rockwoodkelly

    rockwoodkelly New

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    I’m not dead back against a wall, but I am close. I’ll mess with toe once again, and pay extra attention to the results. Thank you so very much for the recommendations and advice.
     
  19. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    How far apart are the speakers and how far away are you sitting? Ideal setup in many cases is usually close to an equilateral triangle or something within a couple feet of that on each end.
     
  20. rockwoodkelly

    rockwoodkelly New

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    8’ wide, just under 9’ back from the speakers.
     

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