HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: brad@baby.viewlogic.com (Bradford Kellogg)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Cambridge SoundWorks?
Date: 28 Jul 92 22:44:09 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Viewlogic Systems, Inc.
Originator: brad@baby


In article <1992Jul27.150354.29071@titan.tsd.arlut.utexas.edu>, colby@tsd.arlut.utexas.edu (Colby Leider) writes:
|> 
|> Does anybody know anything or have any input regarding Cambridge SoundWorks?
|> I'm looking at Ensemble II in particular.
|> 
|> 
Cambridge Soundworks is literally right down the street from me, and I
went in one recent evening to listen to the Ensembles (I and II). In their
listening room, they both sounded very impressive, but the original 
Ensemble I sounded better (better low end, in particular). 

They have a satisfaction guarantee, which means if you get them home and 
listen for a week (or something like that) and you don't like them, you
can return them for a full refund. 

I think the current prices are $300 for the II and $400 for the I. For the 
money, I think you can't beat either one of them, but I would say the extra 
$100 for the I is probably worth it.
From: acgd@cbnewse.cb.att.com (andrew.charles)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Advice on ordering from J$R Music World
Date: 23 Jul 92 21:55:05 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: AT&T

In article <1992Jul23.144859.7571@scic.intel.com> sbradley@scic.intel.com (Seth Bradley) writes:
>Another thing to keep in mind is that J&R has a 30 day "lemon" policy
>(if it breaks within 30 days, you get a new one - no hassles with
>getting service).

My wife and I recently discovered that a videotape we ordered in March has
a manufacturing defect (nevermind why it took 4 months to find this out).
Even though we knew about the 30 day limit we went ahead and called their
customer service line.

They asked us to send the tape in and they will test it. If they agree that
it is defective, they're going to send us a new copy. This seems more than
fair to me.

Andrew Charles
acgd@ihlpl.att.com
From: scott@psy.uwa.oz.au (Scott Fisher)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: need advice for buying a cd player
Date: 29 Jul 92 05:28:48 GMT
Organization: University of Western Australia

andrewb@suite.sw.oz.au (Andrew Bettison) writes:

>In <bigstar.712281121@milton> bigstar@milton.u.washington.edu (Paschel) writes:

>I recently purchased a Rotel 955 AX.  It's got conventional dual
>16-bit D to A converters, and sounds pretty good, really.  It has
>a minimum of front-panel gimmickry, but does have a remote control.
>I reccommend it.

>I also listened to the equivalent but more expensive "bitstream
>converter" model (955 BX or 965 or somesuch).  Urgh!  A pure tone
>about 7 or 8 kHz at about -75 dB (where 0 dB == max output) was
>audible while the motor was spinning; I could hear it slide up the
>frequency scale as the motor started, so I presume it was some kind
>of motor sync signal finding its way into the audio output.  Bletch.

>Andrew Bettison - Softway Pty Ltd

Well spotted Andrew...have a biscut :-)  

Obviously you turned up the volume and listened to "no signal".

The fault is actually Plillips (IC SAA7321) "Bitstream Whistling", which 
normally occurs around 7kHz but sometimes on nearby frequencies.  This
is an inherent design problem with the Philips PDM bitstream D/A.

Apparently the quoted measurments S/N ratio and Dynamic range do take this into
account, which should not be greater than -100 dB noise level.

Regards Scott.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Scott Fisher [scott@psy.uwa.oz.au]  PH: Aus [61] Perth (09) Local (380 3272).                
                                                             _--_|\       N
Department of Psychology                                    /      \    W + E
University of Western Australia.                 Perth -->  *_.--._/      S
Nedlands, 6009.  PERTH, W.A.                                      v       

    *** ERROR 144 - REBOOT? is a registered trademark of ENSONIQ Corp ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: geno@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Geno J. Baruffi III)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Mirage Speakers
Date: 21 Jul 92 17:57:32 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Hawaii at Manoa

I'm considering purchasing some new speakers for my front channels
(I have a Technics SA-GX710, dolby pro-logic receiver), I need something that 
will have a lot of bass, since my main interest is in watching videos.

The audio store I went to recomended Mirage M-490s both for their size and for
their sound quality.  I've listened to them, and they sound great,
What I would like to know is, do any of you have another suggestion (BTW
these speakers are $600/pair, so that would be my range), or any comments 
regarding the Mirage speakers.  I also need to buy a speaker for the center 
channel, and of course the MCC by Mirage was also recommended.  

I've heard about the Mirage M-1,M-2, and M-3. My question is how do
the lower end speakers from them rate.

Thanks for any assistance

Geno
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: gfl@hera.uucp (22402-lenahan)
Subject: Re: need advice for buying a cd player
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 14:35:20 GMT
Summary: 955- OK

(peter d. mark) writes:
> 
> i would like to buy a cd player but i am not up on all the
> latest features and technological issues that are currently
> important deciding which to buy.  aside from how it sounds,
> what are the most desirable features in cd players?

That depends on what you want, I guess.  Digital outs let
you add an external processor later...
 
> my main concern is with good quality sound, and hopefully
> to keep the price below $500.  do some cd players have 
> something called "digital output" while others don't?
> what is it, exactly, and is it important?  how about
> "oversampling" multiples?

As others have suggested, I love the Rotel 955 (not the 965).
The NAD gets good press as well.

Digital outputs are just that; they bypass the D => A stage
and analog stages/filters, and give you access to the bits,
so that a better quality processor can be added as a seperate
component at a later date.  Of course, this involves $500 =>
$5000 someday.

Oversampling is only a means to an end.  It allows reconstruction
filters to either a) work better or b) be cheaper.  If you like
the soudn and the price, go for it.  In general 4X or 8X are 
preferable to lower oversampling rates: more is often marketing
hyperbole, except in the case of 1-bit designs, but this is a 
different method entirely.

Another strategy might be to buy a cheap player with an
digital output, and add an audio alchenmy (tm) DDE (processor)
later.  The DDE is $450 and gets consistent good reviews.
Your mileage may differ.

I love my rotel to the point where I put it in my good system
(big $s) when my processor went to the workshop for, ahem,
improvements.  Remarkable sound for a product thats about
20% of any other component in the system!

Grant
From: kim@Software.Mitel.COM (Kim Letkeman)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: 20 or 24 bit digital recording?
Date: 23 Jul 92 16:59:39 GMT
Organization: MITEL Public Switching, Kanata, Ontario, Canada
In-reply-to: wgd@ukc.ac.uk's message of 22 Jul 92 09:32:38 GMT

In article <1353@eagle.ukc.ac.uk> wgd@ukc.ac.uk (W.G.Day) writes:

| Current vinyl is apparently about twice the resolution of CD (assuming
| you've got a clean record, but we've talked about that).

I believe that you mean "current vinyl opinion is apparently about
twice the circumlocution of CD".
--
Kim Letkeman	kim@Software.Mitel.COM
From: bigstar@milton.u.washington.edu (Paschel)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: need advice for buying a cd player
Date: 27 Jul 92 23:52:01 GMT
Organization: University of Washington

pdm@majestix.cs.uoregon.edu (peter d. mark) writes:

>In article <1992Jul27.223829.2406@cs.uoregon.edu> pdm@majestix.cs.uoregon.edu (peter d. mark) writes:
>>
>>i would like to buy a cd player but i am not up on all the
>>latest features and technological issues that are currently
>>important deciding which to buy.  aside from how it sounds,
>>what are the most desirable features in cd players?
>>
>>my main concern is with good quality sound, and hopefully
>>to keep the price below $500.  do some cd players have 

>one more thing i forgot to ask before:

>please feel free to suggest particular brands and models.
>how do denon, harmon-kardon, and adcom stack up against
>each other?  (these are available to me locally.)  are
>there other brands i should consider buying through mail-
>order?

I would strongly suggest listening to both the Rotel 955 and the 965.
The 955 is ~ $450 while the 965 is ~ $550. I have sent several people
to listen to these and all were equally amazed. Not to sound snobbish, but
the Denon's HK's and Adcom's really don't sound as musical as the Rotel's.
I have a friend with NAD stuff and we've done some double blind listening.
Rotel won on all counts.  Granted this is merely one data point and is based
entirely on an informed opinion...but at least go listen to the Rotel stuff!


-- 
*************************************************************************
* Reply to >> bigstar@u.washington.edu............It's okay if you      *
* hate your life...We have an answer for you. It's called 12 steps to...*     
*************************************************************************
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: 20 or 24 bit digital recording?
From: stuartw@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz (Stuart Woolford)
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 04:36:05 GMT
 <1992Jul23.212018.16396@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz> <1992Jul24.011417.10677@lugb.latrobe.edu.au>
Organization: University of Auckland, New Zealand.

MATGBB@LURE.LATROBE.EDU.AU (BYRNES,Graham) writes:

>In <1992Jul23.212018.16396@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz> stuartw@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz writes:
>> >20 bit recording is only begining to appear in recording studios
>> >producing the master copies.  The 20bit master MUST transfered to a 16
>> >bit format as in the case of a CD.  The current technology (DCC omitted)
>> >CANNOT handle the 20 bit format.  However the accuracy of the 16 bit
>> >information on the CD may be truer to form when originating from 20 bit
>> >master than from a 16 bit.
>I dont know about accuracy, but consider taping with 20 bit. You don't
>know precisely how loud things are going to get, so you set your max level
>(say) 2 bits down from 0db (ie -12db). This should keep you safe from
>clipping the adc. Even if you were wrong in the other direction (quieter
>than expected), you still get 16 bit reolution. When you come to mastering
>to 16 bit, you can transfer at a level that makes use of the full 16bit
>range (which is enough, IMHO).

>If you are recording direct to 16 bit, you either end up with less
>than full dynamic range, or clipping on the recording.
>                                                      
>> ( ie:on audio data, you can EASILY get 1:8 compression NON-LOSSY ..
>> anyone for an 8hour CD format??? )

>News to me: Why is DCC so contentious at 1:4, and mini-disk admitted
>(by Sony) to be inferior to CD at 1:5????
>Graham B

because:
	1) audio people LOVE to think that it is HARD to do these things, 
		and that compressed data MUST be inferiour..
and ( even more important.. )
	2) audio companies do not want to shell out to design the hardware
		to do this at audio rates ( ie: it can be done, but I did not
		say easily.. B-)
remember MOST audio data ( excepting perhaps some SPEED METAL ... ) uses a
VERY SMALL FRACTION of the 20kHz bandwidth available at any one time...
( yes, many people will disagree, but I write compressors, and listen to/
analyze much music... )
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
stuartw@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz


			>>>>In VI Where Available<<<<
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: optikhog@camelot.bradley.edu (Jeffrey Laird)
Subject: Amplifiers, 2 Preamps FOR SALE <=$375
Summary: stuff for sale
Organization: Bradley University
Date: 25 Jul 92 00:56:06 GMT


	FOR SALE: AUDIO EQUIPMENT


I have 3 pieces of equipment for sale.  I will be upgrading to some very nice
equipment soon and would like to find a good home for this stuff:

Yamaha MX-800U AMPLIFIER:  A great piece of equipment that I wouldn't be
getting rid of save the fact that I'm buying a Threshold.  This unit is @1.5
years old, puchased new.  I've taken very good care of this (ask my old roomate,
who seemed obsessed with trying to turn it up louder than I wanted it).
It has 3 switchable speaker outputs and is very stable down to a 3ohm load.
It has great bass and a very respectable current output.  It's rated at
170 watts into 8ohms, 240 into 4ohms.  It's a very natural sounding amplifier,
IMHO one of the best for under $1000.  I auditioned this one against the ADCOM
555-MKII and was taken with the Yamaha's better presentation of mid's and
high's.  My old roomate (the proud Aragon owner that he is) quite agrees with me
about this amp sounds better than any ADCOM (not having heard the
monoblocks).  	
			See (hear) for yourself for $375 o.b.o.


Superphon SP-100 PREAMPLIFIER:  One of THE bargains in hi-fi pre's, This unit
is brand new!  I purchased it in May, used it for 2 weeks, then put it back in
the box.  You see, the guy I live with presently has a Sony T1000ES pre and
refuses to accept that anything costing $400 could sound better than his pre.
So, I lived with that and haven't used the Superphon since.  I'm replacing
this in a few weeks with an ARAGON 24K, so I don't much need it anymore.
So, what you get is a nicely burned in pre for:     $210 o.b.o.


Onkyo P-3200 PREAMPLIFIER:  A remote controlled workhorse that I used before
the Superphon for about 3.5 years.  A reliable, descent sounding unit that is
like new.
						     $75 o.b.o.

Contact me via e-mail at optikhog@buhub.bradley.edu or call me at home at
(309) 674-3258 (Ask for Jeff or leave a message).
--
 _____________________________________________________________________________
|optikhog@bucs1.bradley.edu| "Look inside and you will see                     |
|optikhog@buhub.bradley.edu|  The words are cutting deep inside my brain       |
|                          |  Thunder burnin' quickly burning                  |
|    Bradley University    |  Knife of words is driving me insane, insane yeah"|
|    Peoria, IL  61606     |      -Budgie, 1974; Metallica, 1987               |
|__________________________|___________________________________________________|
From: mdlawler@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Michael D. Lawler)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Surround Sound questions
Keywords: need advice
Date: 28 Jul 92 06:34:16 GMT
Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana


I have a pair of Pioneer HPM-100 speakers and I have been offered a
pair of JBL-2500 speakers to use as rear chanel speakers.  How well
will these speakers work as rear speakers?  Also do I need a subwoofer
or is the base output enough from my Pioneer speakers?  It seams like
deep base to me, but I've never played a pipe organ through them.
How much would a center speaker help with these speakers and what
would be a good model to match their tone quality?  Finally I need
comments on the following surround processors that I have seen.
They are the Onkyo ES-300 and Onkyo ES-600PRO.  I don't want to spend a lot
of money and I want to know how these processors rate compared to
other models from other companies.  Thanks for the help!

mdlawler@bsu-cs.bsu.edu
00mdlawler@bsuvax1.bitnet
00mdlawler@bsuvc.bsu.edu
From: gt5606b@prism.gatech.EDU (PATSIS,PETER ANGELOS)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Sony TCDD3 Portable Dat 4sale
Date: 30 Jul 92 15:38:18 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology
  I am selling my portable TCDD3 Dat. The warranty is fully transferrable,

hit some unforseen financial difficulties. Looking to unload at mid 500's



-- 
PATSIS,PETER ANGELOS
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp:	  ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!gt5606b
Internet: gt5606b@prism.gatech.edu
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: jacob@max.cc.brandeis.edu ( )
Subject: discount mail order places was Re: Mail order experience with J & R Music World?
Organization: Brandeis University Math Department
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 02:47:26 GMT

In article <1992Jul22.215132.883@portal.vpharm.com> dap@portal.vpharm.com (David A. Pearlman) writes:
>They are reputable, reliable, and honest (based on all the interactions
>I and people I know have had with them).
>
>They are also one of the more expensive "discount" mail order places.
>
>If you are satisfied with their prices, I wouldn't hesitate to order
>from them.

Interesting. For the one item I did a thorough comparison on, J&R
*were* the cheapest. If there are cheaper places out there where the
heck do they advertise. My comparison included about all the places
that advertise in Stereo Review...

Some examples of generally cheaper places would be interesting. And,
even more interesting, how you got to know about them.

Thanks.
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: mgr@iti.org (Mike Rother)
Subject: Re: Cambridge SoundWorks?
Organization: Industrial Technology Institute
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 13:53:31 GMT

jayb@hpgrla.gr.hp.com (Jay Brown) writes:

>I recently purchased Ensemble I's from them.  

>I bought the speakers for space reasons and they are replacing some
>Boston Acoustic 100's.  They are noticeably less brilliant on the high
>end and less boomy on the low end, even when I "optimize" the placement
>of the two subwoofers.  I'm not sure my BA 100's weren't a little
>overagressive in the extremes (makes them sound more impressive in a
>demo), but less "accurate".

Doesn't Cambridge have the print ads featuring a photo of an
elderly-looking Henry Kloss listening carefully to some speakers?
Your comments above about "less brilliant" sound reminded me of that
picture.  As humans get older, our ability to hear high-frequency
sound deterioriates.  The Cambridge ads imply that Henry's
experienced ears were used to help design their speakers.  Makes you
wonder.
From: chrisk@hercules.esd.sgi.com (Chris Kotsiopoulos)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Rodel and Ad-com amps
Date: 28 Jul 92 23:26:31 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.

In article <1992Jul28.184622.4765@gw.wmich.edu>, 92marsh@gw.wmich.edu writes:
|> 
|>          Greetings,
|>            I am looking to purchase a new amplifier.  I spent half of
|>          today comparing adcom to Rodel.  I found Rodel to be
|>          excellent, and I lean towards such a purchase at this moment. 
|>          The specific Rodel is the 100 watt integrated amp.  Does
|>          anyone have it?  How do you feel about it?  The ad-com was a
|>          60 watt appliance which sounded excellent, but pricy.  I will
|>          be playing the new unit (whatever it happens to be) through
|>          Kef C-90 speakers.  If anyone has advice for something else
|>          to look at, please get in touch with me.  Don't mention
|>          Carver though: the sound is HARSH!  Carver seems to be for
|>          poeple who want to be attacked by their music.  Plus, those
|>          analog needle readouts may be cool, but I'd rather not pay
|>          for a gimick.
|> 
|>          Charles Marsh
|>          92marsh@gw.wmich.edu

You should tell us what your price range is.

By the way, that's spelled Rotel and Adcom. 

Always remember your ABCs: A nything B ut C arver !

CK
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: DPierce@world.std.com (Richard d Pierce)
Subject: Re: Good Quality Speakers?
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 22:35:26 GMT

In article <1992Jul24.083429.8356@cco.caltech.edu> newell@cco.caltech.edu (Stephen Scott Newell) writes:
>Oh, come on.  Comparing a classic like the K-horn to Cerwin Vega?
>You must be kidding.  Don't even mention in the
>same breath together.  I have heard both. One is maybe worth the
>money, one isn't.  At least to people interested in bass.
>
>(Yeah, I admit the K-horn ain't the most uncolored speaker
>out there.  But Paul Klipsch did claim it had about the lowest
>FM distortion (??).  Long time ago, in JAES.)
>

Dick Pierce's 2nd law of Acoustics: "You can say anything you want, who's
to prove you wrong."

Yeah, Paul Klipsch did CLAIM that, he really did!

So?

He also claimed that a bunch of direct radiator speakers had whopping high
FM distortion, and was later unable to substantiate the claim when challenged.

-- 
|                Dick Pierce                |
|    Loudspeaker and Software Consulting    |
| 17 Sartelle Street   Pepperell, MA  01463 |
|       (508) 433-9183 (Voice and FAX)      |
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: yclg8856@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Yung Chien Lou)
Subject: mini system and mail order suggestions
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 22:34:57 GMT

   I am planning to buy my first audio system with a budget around $800.
The first question I have is that whether a mini component system is a 
good alternative to the usual full system? Is there any mini system 
which has surround sound capability? I currently consider Technics SCCH-900
Sony MHS3600, and AIWA NSX-D9. Any experience of these systems or suggestions?

   Also, I'd like to know where to get the system by mail. Electronics 
Wholesaler in N.J. offers a good price. Any good or bad experience with it? 
Any suggestion is certainly welcome and I will try to summarize if possible.
Thanks in advance!

                                                   Lou

Xref: sparky rec.audio:10855 alt.folklore.computers:11183
From: phil@adam.adelaide.edu.au (Phil Kernick)
Newsgroups: rec.audio,alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Life after CDs
Date: 27 Jul 92 00:37:03 GMT
Followup-To: rec.audio
Organization: University of Adelaide, South Australia

smckinty@sunicnc.France.Sun.COM (Steve McKinty - Sun ICNC) writes:

>There is a story (probably apocryphal, anyone know?) that the 74 minutes
>time was chosen because it was just long enough to hold the Sony MD's wife's favourite piece of classical music...

The story I heard was that it was just long enough to get Beethoven's 9th on
in full (I don't know who's rendition), but this leads to the next question,
what is the actual maximum that you can get on a CD?

Changes - David Bowie > 76 minutes (I will find out exactly tonight).



Regs,
Phil.

P.S. sci.electronics has been removed from the Newsgroups line.


-- 
   _-_|\    Phil Kernick                E-Mail: phil@adam.adelaide.edu.au
  /     \   Departmental Engineer       Phone:  +61 8 228 5914
  \_.-*_/   Dept. of Psychology         Fax:    +61 8 224 0464
       v    University of Adelaide      Mail:   GPO Box 498 Adelaide SA 5001