Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Out with the new and in with the newer

Why is it that I like Take 5 so much over iheartradio even though it sounds like crap compared to spotify? The fidelity is not there but the soundstage and imaging is.

Really enjoying the updates Mojo!

Due to the customs delay I’ve been reduced to cable making... at least everything will be ready when the remaining items arrive.

I had fun doing that a few nights ago. Instead of using a stripper, I used my Cold Steel Bush Ranger Light.

I have another surprise. One of the supposed features of the LFR is stable imaging that can be enjoyed from multiple positions. I can attest to the fact that the A-LFRs' laser-focus imaging stays rock solid at least 18" to either side of the MLP; perhaps more but right now I don't feel like moving my chair to find out.

I was actually never interested in this feature but it opens up a couple of possibilities. I'll bet that in my cave, 12 feet wide on the speakers and with a 12 foot MLP, I may be able to do without a centre. And in the living room, I can get a 2-seater at my MLP so that my FWB and I can enjoy the same imaging.

I've listened to all kinds of music on these - well-recorded and badly-recorded. There is not a single tune that I haven't enjoyed. Of the ones I enjoyed least, they were recorded in a boomy studio or the engineer boosted when he shouldn't have. I am astounded.

Blair, your speakers are obsolete.

Mojo - remember when I mentioned that the Actives will make you start reviewing the source - CD, Spotify - etc???

You have entered that zone. It's TOO much fun!

Craig, I remember everything you say. That's how important your words are to me.

It's very interesting how I can listen to vinyl jazz on iheartRadio and enjoy it so much. It's for sure not as clear as CD or Spotify but nonetheless, the soundstage is there. The best way I can describe it is I hear the images on the 3D soundstage but those images are lower resolution. This is analogous I suppose to seeing fuzzy figures in the distance and then using binoculars to see the details. What this tells me is that spatial cues are preserved even in a low resolution rendition.

In some ways, it is easier to relax to a lower resolution presentation. I've often thought about a "time-machine" mode in the DSP. Choose your timeline: tubes, vinyl, reel-to-reel, cassette, CD, stereo, mono.

Last night I listened to Light My Fire in mono (below). Although the vast majority of the presentation was in the center, I was surprised how it spatially extended into and across the soundstage. In some ways, it was more satisfying to listen to than the stereo version.

Although I find no fault with the actives, I suspect more can be done to offer enhanced virtualization. Surely by incorporating additional drivers, a higher degree of control is given to the designer to linearize the amplitude response curves. The challenge there of course is driver integration. And I still think more research is needed to understand if 1 Hz resolution is adequate for frequency response sweeps. One of the things that should be researched is image and soundstage collapse as the SPL is increased. What I mean by that is as the volume is increased, the soundstage moves toward the plane of the drivers and images start to over-lap. This is the case with every speaker of course. So there may be an opportunity to shape the response as a function of SPL although I do realize this would require more computational resources.

https://open.spotify.com/track/7aghcqWLL9hGMIb0VFdbyD?si=6OctZR-WSG6xsgM8urA9BA

There is zero variation in the resistance of each driver voice coil array between my left and right speakers. They are perfectly matched in that regard.

And the ADA DC level on each channel is nil.

I'm listening at a very low, very relaxed level of -54 on my Pioneer. I measured less than three milliWatts peak per side...LOL! No problem whatsoever picking out all the images. Piano is way in the back right out my living room window and cymbals are in the front right and lower than the piano. Trumpets appear on the left, higher than piano and forward of the cymbals. At this volume level, it's as wide as my 5-pane bow window which is 10 feet.

By the way no highs and no lows to speak of on this track.

https://open.spotify.com/track/04fYIpNFPunUy3i18uSind?si=fheOMA-9QEqeFE2QLlN_ZQ