HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: denio@seismo.CSS.GOV (Dennis O'Neill)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: CAMBRIDGE SOUNDWORKS ENSEMBLE
Date: 4 Sep 92 18:23:05 GMT
Organization: Institute for Obfuscatorial Dynamics

In article <laespnINNfgf@news.bbn.com> jdhill@BBN.COM (Jack D. Hill) writes:
> I didn't like the Ensembles at all. They produce a nice sound stage but
> they are very bright and thin sounding. The bass is also pretty slim
> but this is to be expected with speakers this small. To increase the
> bass and mid-range they recommend that you place the speakers against
> the wall, but then the sound stage goes to hell. To further increase
> the bass they say to put the woofers in the corners, or - for even more
> bass - next to each other. I played some song recital disks and the
> human voice comes across as being very nasal sounding. I would expect a
> speaker of this size to get at least that right.

My experience differs.  In my room with my electronics, the CSEs had
too much bass when I had the bass module together or in corners.  One
thing about the CSEs is that my perception of their output was very
position-dependent.  I found I got best results with the high freq.
modules on CS stands, about 5 feet out from the side walls and three
feet out from the back wall, toed in toward my listening chair.  I did
not like them so well with the HF modules on bookshelves.

I particularly disagree about human voice.  In my setup,, voices sound
pretty good.  Usual disclaimer about good for the money and all that,
but overall I've been very satisfied.  These won't be the speakers
I have for the rest of my life, but they'll do nicely for the next couple
of years.

Dennis O'Neill
-- 
Dennis O'Neill (denio@seismo.css.gov)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: trw@spl1.spl.loral.com (Tim R Witort)
Subject: Speaker Specs (Q, Qtc, Qts, Vab)
Organization: Loral Software Productivity Laboratory
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 17:52:32 GMT

After my preliminary education in the ins and outs of speaker
design, I have a little confusion about some of the specifications
which describe the performance of various driver/enclosure
combinations. Any insight on these would be greatly appreciated:

  1) Q   - this is the ratio of resistance to reactance in a series
           circuit and the opposite in a parallel circuit. I know what
           resistance is, but what is the reactance and how does it
           apply to speakers?

  2) Qts - this is the Q of a driver at its resonance freq.(fs) considering
           all driver resistances. Answering (1) might explain this
           better.

  3) Qtc - this is the Q of a driver in an enclosure at the resonance
           freq. of the driver/enclosure system (fc) considering all
           the resistances of the combination. Again, (1) will probably
           make this clearer. How does this correspond to the volume of
           the enclosure (Vb)?

  4) Vab - this is the volume of air with the same compliance as the
           given enclosure. That's all I know about this spec and it
           doesn't adequately describe what it measures. A more detailed
           definition would be nice - with examples.

I got this much information from The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook, but more
descriptive definitions and how they interrelate would be very nice...

thanks,
-- Tim
From: ejones@desire.wright.edu
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: HELP: what satellite system should I buy?
Date: 3 Sep 92 14:53:17 GMT
Article-I.D.: desire.1992Sep3.095318.3882
Organization: Wright State University

I hope someone out there will help an novice audio-nut wanne-be. I
will be moving into an apartment RSN (real soon now) and am bringing
my cheap stereo with me. I have a Radio Shack (please try and 
suppress the gag reflex) digital receiver that claims 100 w/ch. Fine.
I do, however want to build a nice system within the next year. So, 
I thought I would start with a nice speaker system and work my way
up. Since space will be at a premium, I was considering the purchase
of one of the many satellite/subwoofer systems. I have only heard one
such setup and that was the Bose am5 and am7 systems. Nice, but 
pricy. I have seen several people here mention Cambridge Soundworks
Ensemble II. Where would I call/write to get info about these speakers?
Are there any other great sounding speakers in this price range? ( <$500)
Also, would my present amp be sufficient to drive these until something
better comes along? 
One last question if you don't mind. Where would I start looking for
higher end audio equipment? The only catalog I have at the moment
is Crutchfield. They have some nice stuff, but surely there are other
distributors out there. Thanks for listening to me. Any help will surely
be appreciated!

	Ed Jones,
	poor college student
	Wright State University
From: ahaley@eoe.co.uk (Andrew Haley)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: How do I use a "bias fine adjustment?"
Date: 26 Aug 92 10:49:10 GMT
Organization: EO Europe Limited, Cambridge, UK
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3

mather@sees.bangor.ac.uk (Paul Mather) writes:
: My cassette deck has a "bias fine adjustment" control on it.  I remember
: reading in my instruction booklet what this was and how you used it.
: Sadly my manual is packed away somewhere I can't seem to find it.
: Perhaps then someone on rec.audio can help me in its absence?
: 
: What does this control actually do?  I know it varies the recording
: bias, but since I don't know exactly what role the bias has when
: recording, I'm a little in the dark about why you'd want to adjust it?

With bias that is too low, you will hear rising frequency response;
too much high frequency.  To adjust this, take your chosen tape and
conduct listening tests at various different levels of bias.  It's
worth doing this with dolby off, at least to begin with, as dolby
affects the frequency response as well.

It's not easy to do this unless you have a three head machine with
off-tape monitoring.

: I have a faint recollection that the fine adjustment control is used
: to "tune in" different brands of tape to the cassette deck.  Could
: someone briefly explain why this is necessary?

Because different tapes need different levels of bias to linearize
their frequency response.  For example, TDK SA and MA tapes tend to
need somewhat more bias than the IEC standard suggests for their
type.

: Finally, could someone suggest how I might use my fine bias control
: to "tune in" a tape in practise?  I recently used a That's EM-X tape
: which came out sounding a little bassy when recording with Dolby on.

That may be due to a dolby mismatch caused by the tape sensitivity
being different from the tape your machine is set up for.  This can be
adjusted by a hi-fi dealer.

: I wondered if using my fine bias control could help eliminate this
: but couldn't recall the manual procedure for figuring out the setting
: for each type of tape.  It involved something along the lines of
: recording some radio noise at very low recording level, or something
: like that.  If it helps, my cassette deck is an old Aiwa ADF-360.

The recording level doesn't matter that much for bias setting.  Use a
realistic level, and choose the setting that sounds most like the
source.

: Cheers,
: 
: Paul.
: 
: -- 
: e-mail: p.mather@sees.bangor.ac.uk
: 
: If your mailer can't reach me, I'm obviously not worth talking to.
: 
: "This is known in the trade as filler crap ladies and gentlemen."
: 
: 	--- Frank Zappa, "The Sanzini Brothers", _Tengo Na Minchia Tanta_


Andrew.
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: sethb@fid.morgan.com (Seth Breidbart)
Subject: Re: Sony Mini-Disc Questions/Debate
Organization: my opinions only
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 21:07:12 GMT

In article <MARC.92Aug26101831@mamba.es.ele.tue.nl> marc@es.ele.tue.nl
(Marc Heijligers) writes:
>In article <1992Aug25.213444.5225@fid.morgan.com> sethb@fid.morgan.com (Seth Breidbart) writes:

>   >It is not ordinary chrome tape.
>
>   One of the selling points for DCC was that it was ordinary tape, which
>   could be produced cheaply.
>
>As I said, the magnetic properties differ from 'ordinary chrome tapes' as used
>for compact cassettes. The properties are more like video tapes. 

Then how much will they cost?  If they're not a tape that is already
made (and "properties are more like video tapes" doesn't imply a tape
that factories are already set up for), there's no reason to believe
they'll be cheap.

>   > The information on the tape is 'digital' (in
>   >fact it is analogue ofcourse), which means that a degradation of the tape can
>   >hardly be noticed (a degraded '1' has to degrade very hard to become a '0').
>
>   If it's that hard to degrade, why does dat use half of its real estate
>   for error correction?
>
>You are amngling two points. A DCC tape that is recorded properly will not
>degrade as fast as analog recordings. 

Having used analog tapes for many decades, we have some idea how they
degrade.  Since there do not exist DCC tapes that are more than 5
years old (and probably none that old), there is no experience in how
they degrade.

>My first interest is copying CD's, ...

> It is (or will be) much
>cheaper than DAT,

I bought a dat deck (Sony D3 dat walkman) for $500; I've seen decks
for less than that.  The catalog I saw DCC in said more like $900.

> and I can buy pre-recorded tapes for it. 

I thought your interest was in copying CDs?

>And hey, isn't this all about being satisfied? Have you heard DCC your own?
>Can you judge how it sounds after copying 100 times? 

No, I haven't heard it, and I'm not likely to.  Why should I move to a
format that sounds worse than the ones I have, and offers no
conveniences?

>Theoretically you can have all kinds of opinions about the system, but your
>ears will have to tell you about what you can or cannot hear practically.

True.

Seth		sethb@fid.morgan.com


Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: rogn@telematikk.idt.unit.no (Egil Rognvik)
Subject: Re: DIY - Subwoofer advice needed.
Organization: IDT
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 06:17:26 GMT

Correction to my own posting:

>I'm about to build a subwoofer (active filters, 5 amps, two-way satellites, 
>mono subwoofer). Using "The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook" I get vented 
>enclosures of about 60 litres and f3 of about 30 Hz. I've seen more "popular" 
>formulaes, and they give about 73 litres and f3 about 27 Hz.
>Should I use the cookbook or the formulaes?
>I know I can extend the frequency respons by enlargening the box and tuning 
>to a lower frequency, loosing transient response. Is this advisable? 
>Is lowering the response from 30 to 25 Hz with a 0.5 dB dip, or to 20 Hz with
>a 2 dB dip worth it?
>I'm considering building a compound (isobarik) system to lower the distortion.
>Will the lowered distortion be significant (will I notice the difference)?

>The element is a Vifa 8" with Vas=185 litres, Qts=0.37, f3=26 Hz.
                                   ***

Vas=85 litres


egil

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Egil Rognvik                                * egilro@idt.unit.no
The Norwegian Institute of Technology       * rogn@telematikk.idt.unit.no
Division of Computer Systems and Telematics *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
From: lstowell@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: New multi-channel Forte amp?
Date: 28 Aug 92 18:57:03 GMT
Reply-To: lstowell@pyrnova.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell)
Organization: Pyramid Technology Corp., Mountain View, CA
Originator: daemon@sword.eng.pyramid.com

Has anyone got any experience with that new multi-channel Forte
amplifier?   

I'm most interested in someone using it in a DSP type 4-6 channel
system, not just Dolby Surround...

How would you compare it to Harman Kardon Citation 21 (fronts) and
HK 90 wpc integrated amp for the rears?  

Would I get noticeably better sound?   Would it handle 4 ohm M&K
SX-1's better than a Citation 21?   

Can you crank the sucker without self-destruction or annoying
distortion?
From: M.Willis@ee.surrey.ac.uk (Mike Willis)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Green Pens & CDs (was Re: Very expensive cables)
Date: 4 Sep 92 09:44:19 GMT
Organization: University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK. GU2 5XH

In article <1190761@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com>, kurts@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Kurt Strain) writes:
|> In rec.audio, M.Willis@ee.surrey.ac.uk (Mike Willis) writes:
|> 
|> 
|> >   60 pound interconnects are rather like green pens for CDs. Aimed at the gullible.
|> >
|> >   Mike
|> 
|> 
|> You are wrong.  50 pound interconnects are rather like green pens for CDs. 
|> If you bought 40 pound interconnects you are smart, but 50 is gullible.

I am not sure what you are getting at.

Mike
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: shiv@bnr.ca (Shiv Naimpally)
Subject: Re: SONY STRAV970 center channel Que
Reply-To: shiv@bnr.ca (Shiv Naimpally)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 92 18:07:02 GMT

The diff between the 970 and 1070 is that the 970 has no center
channel AMP. It does have a center channel output, but you need
to use a powered speaker (or amp + speaker) for the center channel.
I was helping a friend buy an AV receiver earlier this year, and he
ended up spending the extra $$$ for the 1070 because of the center
channel amp. The salesman reccomended it over other receivers because
he said the surround decoder was better than others (specifically JVC).
My friend had a JVC TV with built-in surround amp and had noticed that
the surround would cut in and out on some program material. 
JVC owners please don't get pissed, I'm only telling you what the salesman
said an what my friends experience was. He reports no problems wit his
Sony.
From: cc433336@LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Constantinos A. Caroutas)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Sony MD
Date: 2 Sep 92 17:09:08 GMT
Organization: Colorado State U. Engineering College

In article <1992Aug29.162532.16242@sdf.lonestar.org> mo@sdf.lonestar.org (Mohit Goyal) writes:
>Anyways, I am just curious as to when MD players will begin appearing
>in stores, and blank and pre-recorded MD's will begin appearing in
>stores also.

As of a few weeks ago, Sony did not have a working prototype to demonstrate,
but they insisted that they were on schedule and that MD would be
introduced this month in Japan and in December in the USA. A recent article
in Billboard suggested that they are indeed on schedule.
--
Constantinos A. Caroutas

"It's easy to make mistakes when others will be held responsible."
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: httse@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu (Herman T. Tse U.S.M.)
Subject: Toronto Audio Convention
Keywords: Convention
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 17:20:53 GMT

Does anyone have any information about the Audio Convention that is being
held in Toronto?
I think it is being held on September 22-23 at the International Center.

Is it open to the public?
Can I get tickets at the door and how much are they?
Is it worthwhile to go?

Thanxs in advance,

Herman T. Tse
httse@descartes.uwaterloo.ca

:
From: bruno@broue.rot.qc.ca (Bruno Majewski)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: speakers: NHT vs. Energy ?
Date: 28 Aug 92 14:51:21 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Groupe de Recherche Operationnelle en Telecommunication (ROT)
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

Hello out there,

I'll be upgrading my Energy 3.1e speakers in the next 6 mo. and
I'd like to know how do Energy products compares to NHT's (Now Hear This).

I'm wondering if NHT does not offer better quality/price - perforfmance/
price rations than Energy. They give, according to what I've seen so far,
a better feeling in terms of quality of construction, compared to Energy (
when I bought my 3.1e's, one of the midrange/woofers was not working - this
out of the box!).

more specifically, I'm comparing Energy 5.1e with NHT 1.8 - not only the
1.8 looks better built, but they're cheaper (995$ CAN vs. 1200$ CAN).

Any comments?

Oh, I almost forgot: I listen a lot to classical (organ, guitar, etc.) and
electronic (Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, etc.) and "new-age" (Enya,
etc.) music. The speakers must be able to deal with lower-freq. sounds as
gracefully as the price-range permits.

----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
Bruno Majewski        | Groupe de Recherche Operationnelle en               |
                      |   Telecommunication (R.O.T.)                        |
bruno@broue.rot.qc.ca +-----------------------------------------------------+
                      | also @: Synerlogic Inc, div. of Andersen Consulting |
There is good beer,   |         Voice: (514) 685-7575                       |
& there is bad beer;  |         FAX  : (514) 685-7692                       |
don't confuse them!   |                                                     |
----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
Organization: Sophomore, H&SS general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Date: Wed,  2 Sep 1992 22:26:41 -0400 
From: Shiv Swarup Pathak <sp3u+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Bose AM-7
	<92246.122545YKWON@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU>


I am YET ANOTHER VERY HAPPY customer of Cambridge Soundworks.  Except I
bout the $499 original Ensemble.  It, by far sounds better (in my humble
opionion) than ANY Bose, I ever auditioned (from the 901s, to the 10.2s,
to the AM-5).  With the two subwoofers, you can arrange them in your
room to suit your personal listening preferences.  Just depending on
placement the bass could be subtle or monsterously thumping (but always
tight and clean).  The thing Bose is best at is marketing-- not at
making speakers.  I don't know why anyone would by the AM-5s.  This is
just my opinion.


-Shiv
From: lihan@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Bruce G. Bostwick)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: How are speaker impedences specified?
Date: 2 Sep 92 01:12:12 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

In article <1992Aug31.181551.9911@bmerh85.bnr.ca> shiv@bnr.ca (Shiv Naimpally) writes:
>Impedance varies which is why you'll see impedance charts in some
>magazine reviews. Normally the speaker literature will say something
>to the effect that these speakers are nominally rated at 8 ohms (or
>whatever).                            ^^^^^^^^^
>
>This means that on the impedance chart, this is the minimum impedance
>the speakers have.

Bear in mind, too, that the change in impedance with frequency isn't
even roughly linear.  The voice coil is an inductor with a biased
core, yes, but the cone is a mechanical component, and so is the air
in and outside the box, and remember back emf?  That's right, the
resonances and responses of the speaker, the box, and even the room to
a tiny extent show up in the circuitry as 'backtalk' to the amp.  This
means small (and sometimes large) peaks and dips in the impedance
curve that change, often chaotically, when anything gets moved.

Better measure, in your room, playing your favorite CD, if you're
-- 
<BGB>
lihan@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu        /     "I can't complain,
(really Bruce Bostwick)        /   but sometimes I still do"
from the great state of TEXAS /         --Joe Walsh--
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: digdug@iastate.edu (Doug V Tran)
Subject: Infinity's ES-200
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 13:33:10 GMT

I have a chance to pick up a pair of Infinity's ES-200, but I would like to 
have some information on them first.  Could anyone tell me anything, like
price and quality.

From what I seen, they are about 3 ft high, and 2 feet wide.  They are planar
acoustic type.  For there size, they are pretty heavy, about 40 lbs each.

Thanks,
Doug

Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: miliu@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (zaphod beeblebrox)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: patch cords (questions)
Date: 26 Aug 92 08:26:12 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego

I have a question about patch cords.  I just bought some from Radio
Shack (no flames).  They were A/V; for video and monaural signals.
They are the "Gold Series," with 24k gold plated RCA plugs on each
end.  My question is that they look just like the regular "Gold
Series" audio patch cables, except that they are a bit thicker, and
on the package for the A/V cables, it says that they maintain the 75
-ohm rating, and the description of the cable makes it out to be
coaxial.  I have them in my car and they don't add in amy strange
noises or anything.  Will they do any harm to audio equipment in any
way?  What is the ohm rating for regular patch cords?  I bought them
over the audio ones because the audio ones were $11.95 and the A/V
ones were $6.49 (both for 6' pair of connectors).  If there really
isn't much difference, then we are being ripped off.  (Well, if we
buy the audio ones.)  Are the A/V cables as good as "regular" audio
patch cords?

Another, unrelated question.  I have a pair of KLH 3-way speakers
with 12" woofer and passive radiator.  One of the speakers has a
rattle in it.  It only rattles when the volume is turned up and the
piece I am playing has lots of very low frequencies.  If I put my
hand on the woofer _or_ the passive radiator of the offending
speaker, the rattle goes away.  Other than that, the speakers sound
good.  What gives?

Thanks

			Zaphod
From: avi@golem.apple.com (Avi Weiss)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: test
Date: 26 Aug 92 03:45:32 GMT
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.

test
-- 

- Avi 

--------------------
Avi Weiss 

email: (avi@apple.com)
phone: (408) 974-0582

Of course I don't speak for Apple...they don't pay me enough to do so.
From: uchuck@med.unc.edu (Charles Bennett)
Newsgroups: rec.audio,rec.high-end.audio
Subject: WANTED: Crown Output Control Center
Date: 3 Sep 92 19:28:14 GMT
Organization: UNC-CH School of Medicine
Originator: uchuck@pelham


I am looking for a Crown Output Control Center.  I believe it is a model
number OC-1.  It has meter(s) for montoring output power to speakers.
Must be in good working and cosmetic condition. 

Any help would be appreciated.

Chuck Bennett                       INTERNET #1: uchuck@unc.oit.unc.edu
Medical Sciences Teaching Labs      INTERNET #2: uchuck@med.unc.edu
CB# 7520  University of NC          BITNET:      uchuck@unc
Chapel Hill, NC  27599-7520         PHONE:       919-966-1134