Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 16, 2020 20:46:31 GMT
Well, they have and they haven't. I spent an hour with them this morning and did some very critical listening. The notes (i can remember) looked a bit like this: - Great width to the soundstage. Lacks depths. flatter than the Quadrals and the KEF Q1. Totally as expected. Non-issue.
- Speakers are totally invisible at times.
- Tonally - very true to life
- Bass - Somehow feels a little like an after thought at times and i am pretty sure i can hear the PIO caps. Upgrade?
- Vocals - Almost the perfect embodiment of "human" in their replay. Awe inspiring.
- Elton Johns - Rocket man....Wow, development of notes from the piano seems to linger forever. Superb decay
- Treble - Wow...Cymbals have never sounded like this. Like they should sound
- Balance/Scale - Seems to be a small characteristic change between the 12" driver and the mid and treble. Fuller..fatter? Not sure yet. Still think better caps (PP) will help, and a rewire. Good scale though and go much deeper than i expected. Good overall.
- Room interaction - Meh...who gives a Sh#t. Seriously, the bricks are conductind the energy too well. Need to fix but not anywhere near as bad as the 880's
- Looks - Never gonna win a beauty contest, but they dont impose. I'm ok with them
There is a huge grin abound when i listen via the Yam's and they are totally my kind of speaker but the concern i had over soundstage depth has been reinforced. It's not a huge problem for me as tonal quality, transparency and communicative quality are what matter most, but having heard it, it's hard to ignore that it's now missing. I also won't rest until the Xover and the wiring is changed. I think those PIO caps are softening things a little. Ithink they can be crisper and more revealing with the right components inside. Iwould'nt be looking to alter any values, so it's fairly simple. The KEF's are in with a real shout. The sub will give them precense, scale and authority. The big battle hear will be transparency, tonal quality and communication. I have high hopes that modern day speakers will prevail as the NS1000 will be easier to recoup my money on lol before you start changing caps and wiring i would spends a few days with speaker placement first,they also benefit from being toed in and also tilting back a degree or 2. the standard yamaha caps are known for being in spec even after 30 odd years. also its worth playing around with the mid and treble attenuators. mine ended up about an eight of a turn below -3 on both. i then removed them from the circuit which made a noticeable difference. Top tips....thanks, Jamie. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 16, 2020 20:50:34 GMT
Oli, is there no way that you could wall mount your amps on a shelf and shift that piano? You'd probaly gained another 0.75m distance between the speaker, surely this is having a massive impact on what your hearing?  ?? It's all in hand mate. Piano is leaving, as soon as I can think of a way to store it without killing it |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 16, 2020 20:50:47 GMT
When no one's in play The Race by Yello full tilt. Not the remix version. Itll blow your mind. I will |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 16, 2020 20:52:07 GMT
Quick listen before lights out for the kids  |
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Post by jimbo on Nov 16, 2020 22:19:20 GMT
Look tiny compred to the yammies
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 16, 2020 22:34:34 GMT
Look tiny compred to the yammies Yes they do.. I'll give them a listen tomorrow and form an initial impression then go from there. Early indications are promising. |
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Post by macca on Nov 17, 2020 8:17:54 GMT
Oli, is there no way that you could wall mount your amps on a shelf and shift that piano? '' Mister Shifter, do you know the piano's on my foot?'' ''You hum it son and I'll play it.'' |
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Post by macca on Nov 17, 2020 8:21:48 GMT
The KEFs look ace and no doubt sound it too. Time to move on those crappy 1970s Raleigh Chopper speakers to someone with more money than sense.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 8:43:49 GMT
The KEFs look ace and no doubt sound it too. Time to move on those crappy 1970s Raleigh Chopper speakers to someone with more money than sense. I was blown away by the solidity of the cabinets, yesterday. For a small speaker they weigh a ridiculous weight. the finish is exemplary too. In fact they really shine out as a high quality unit. I never got the drivers going on them yesterday at anything other than background levels, so i can't speak to the sound quality just yet. The difference in gravitas to the LF and scale certainly showed itself so i suspect a sub will be a mandatory requirement rather than an accessory. However, the imaging....wow....just wow. Smaller speakers are doing a great deal of interesting things in my room at the moment and whilst the familiarity of having a speaker like the NS1000 made me smile and fawn for their quality, the KEF's I think, will present a lot of other aspects i hadn't considered as being of the utmost importance. My feeling to try them out based on what the KEF Q1 did, suddenly felt like a smart move last night. Ill let you know how it goes, but don't spend any more of your budget just yet as i think this may be a lot closer than people think, and i think (thanks to Tony's experience and demo gear) that i may be able to get a better speaker/room compromise with the KEFS &sub, than the NS1000's alone. The KEFS are probably now at room temp, so i am gonna message the gaffer and ask her to warm up the amps and PecanPi at about 11:00, So it's ready to go when i get home from work. There will be no rushing this as i don't want to let either pair go before i am totally convinced of what i have decided. |
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Post by jimbo on Nov 17, 2020 8:51:47 GMT
The KEFs feel like they are hewn from granite dont they?  |
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Post by macca on Nov 17, 2020 8:55:31 GMT
The KEFs look ace and no doubt sound it too. Time to move on those crappy 1970s Raleigh Chopper speakers to someone with more money than sense. Ill let you know how it goes, but don't spend any more of your budget just yet Sh#t, I better cancel the order for that D'Augustino power amp then! No seriously, take your time. There's no danger of my offer being revoked short of death. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 9:17:45 GMT
Ill let you know how it goes, but don't spend any more of your budget just yet Sh#t, I better cancel the order for that D'Augustino power amp then! No seriously, take your time. There's no danger of my offer being revoked short of death. lol....ok matey...Stay tuned |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2020 10:10:11 GMT
I still think the R3 would be interesting. The only issue may be that they are rear ported.
These might mean you don't need a sub in youtmr system. £1300 new, so have to be worth a try?
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 10:38:52 GMT
The KEFs feel like they are hewn from granite dont they? Yes they do! They are seriously well built. I already love them lol Still havent played them properly. At work untill 13:00 |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 10:42:22 GMT
I still think the R3 would be interesting. The only issue may be that they are rear ported. These might mean you don't need a sub in youtmr system. £1300 new, so have to be worth a try? Bass frequencies (in my experience) are never as convincing through a small speaker and i don't expect the R3's to be any exception to that rule. I do see what your are saying but i think a sub is probably a must have |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2020 11:50:11 GMT
I think a sub will drive you mad. Look what happened with tbe Quadrals. You did not stop playing with it.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 11:54:55 GMT
I think a sub will drive you mad. Look what happened with tbe Quadrals. You did not stop playing with it. yes, but thats because the quadrals were too lean and i was trying to fill the mids with the sub. Which did work on one track and not on the next. The KEF's may be a bit fuller sounding so this would mean i could use the sub as intended. |
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Post by iceman16 on Nov 17, 2020 12:31:00 GMT
Oli, I used to own a pair of KEF LS50’s for a few yrs. and I really liked them a lot. Exceptional build quality and sound for their size but need a sub in some cases with larger rooms. A solid stable stand is a must for you to hear them at their best. They need a bit more “power and torque” from an amp ime.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 12:33:48 GMT
Oli, I used to own a pair of KEF LS50’s for a few yrs. and I really liked them a lot. Exceptional build quality and sound for their size but need a sub in some cases with larger rooms. A solid stable stand is a must for you to hear them at their best. They need a bit more “power and torque” from an amp ime. Thanks Jayson, Yes, they need a sub, no doubt and the amplifier is more than capable of driving them i think, so seeing as there is a sub spare here, i will get it hooked up after i have done some listening to the KEF's in their natural state. The Stands weigh about 20kgs each and i have some isolation pads to stick on the top. I have no concern about them either. there is also a rather posh pair of stands in the garage i can pull out for more rigidity if required. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 14:45:53 GMT
macca Spend your money son.....the Yammies are staying put
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Post by dsjr on Nov 17, 2020 14:56:02 GMT
Never ever a single sub. Two at least will drive the room better and apparently a number of carefully tuned subs is best of all (I forget what it's called). NS1000's have a good taut bass which is great for small compromised UK living rooms. Mine sounded a bit 'synthetic' to me in the upper mids when I had them thirty years back (EEK!), but I have a sneaky suspicion the amp really wasn't up to it, which is not an issue with the Neurochrome. Would love to hear them again for old time's sake I have to say.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 15:13:34 GMT
Never ever a single sub. Two at least will drive the room better and apparently a number of carefully tuned subs is best of all (I forget what it's called). NS1000's have a good taut bass which is great for small compromised UK living rooms. Mine sounded a bit 'synthetic' to me in the upper mids when I had them thirty years back (EEK!), but I have a sneaky suspicion the amp really wasn't up to it, which is not an issue with the Neurochrome. Would love to hear them again for old time's sake I have to say. Well, they sound pretty sharp here matey. |
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Post by macca on Nov 17, 2020 15:26:14 GMT
macca Spend your money son.....the Yammies are staying put Didn't take long with the KEFs to make your mind up lol. I didn't think it would. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 15:27:26 GMT
macca Listening to the the Yams.....quite odd....the KEFs are faster, cleaner, quicker and make the yams sound a bit soft. I'm gonna have to give the KEFs a bit more time.... especially as the seller has just informed me that that haven't been used for months. To harsh, too quick. I'm gonna drag the sub in and set them up properly. Give them a week to open up
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2020 16:58:42 GMT
Keep them both, and change when ever you decide you wanted the other set you have just sold.
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Post by macca on Nov 17, 2020 17:23:48 GMT
macca Listening to the the Yams.....quite odd....the KEFs are faster, cleaner, quicker and make the yams sound a bit soft. Should be the other way around from my admittedly very limited experience of both. Weird. But looks like there is still hope for me |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 17, 2020 18:19:08 GMT
macca Listening to the the Yams.....quite odd....the KEFs are faster, cleaner, quicker and make the yams sound a bit soft. Should be the other way around from my admittedly very limited experience of both. Weird. But looks like there is still hope for me I'd put a black rag on top of each yam whilst I rested the KEFs on top. Didn't notice until after id posted that but I'd left the tweeter on the yams covered 🤣🤣 "That explains that" I thought |
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Post by macca on Nov 17, 2020 18:32:02 GMT
Doh!
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??
