Post by Bigman80 on Mar 7, 2023 15:48:41 GMT
The listening.
It’s not going to be possible to entirely attribute what i hear now to any specific part of the upgrade process. Too much has been done at once, and whilst both Jason and i would have loved to do one upgrade at a time, i am afraid the logistics prevented it from happening.
The aim for these mods (for me) was to remove the “what if” question from my mind. What if...the caps were all F&F, what if we had PC-CCC in the speaker...you get the idea.
The good news is that somewhere along this mad HiFi journey i have been on, i seem to have found a few choice materials that behave consistently when you install them. And this time is no exception.
The speakers have been on for 12hrs per day since Friday, and they are sounding better today than they have in all the time i have owned them. Crushing bass lines, better image organisation, cleaner, but more nuanced HF, which i have to say is now delivered with wonderful finesse and poise. In a strange sort of way, the sound is now even easier to listen to. There is no mental energy required at all, and even the Aqvox is no longer pushing things a little too far. It is a more even sound, better balance and control.
Listening to 80s tracks, some of which i heard recently here, are now a little more refined than they were. Listening to Eurhythmics, which i had previously found to be quite harsh and hot. It’s still hot, but it’s not AS harsh. Yes, it’s still far from the greatest recordings of all time, but its more refined.
The voicing of the speaker has remained fairly consistent too. Only slight shades of tonal thickening, which add a deeper level of realism to human voices, nylon strings and saxophones. The speakers were already very good at this, so to eek a little more is very pleasing.
In truth, i am feeling like i am getting details out of these that i wasn’t getting before. It may seem easy to say “you’re listening for upgrades” which i suppose is true, but these speakers are probably the most scrutinised part of my system for about 2 years. I have really studied their sound prior to these mods as i knew the upgrade was imminent.
The midrange is somehow more open, more spacious, free-er of constraint, and it’s wonderful to listen to. It’s created a greater level of air, reminiscent of when i swapped from a Japanese amp to valves, but with much, much higher levels of resolution. It’s now an effortless midrange. I felt the Ekta could push the mids a little, just a tad, but now, they are no longer pushing, they are free and flowing. I think this could be a characteristic of the wire that was used previously, as i have often found silver plated copper to be quite aggressive sounding, with a peaky HF. I could be wrong, but it's certainly delivered far cleaner and less peaky now.
The only downside i would say so far is the Lf. The LF was very detailed, tight and punchy. The move to PP caps seems to have loosened the Lf a little. It’s not a characteristic i have ever heard from PC-CCC or F&F caps, which have the opposite effect. They lift resolution.
The caps are large. Way in excess of 90uf, so it isn’t unreasonable to think that these may need a little bit of time to open up and settle in, but as of right now, it’s a little rounded, a little more bouncy and little less resolving. If they don’t sharpen up, I’ll take them out and try to see if i can wrangle something else.
In total, I am absolutely delighted to be where I am with these speakers now. They were amazing before, now they are even better.
Big thanks to Jason for his help on this.
It’s not going to be possible to entirely attribute what i hear now to any specific part of the upgrade process. Too much has been done at once, and whilst both Jason and i would have loved to do one upgrade at a time, i am afraid the logistics prevented it from happening.
The aim for these mods (for me) was to remove the “what if” question from my mind. What if...the caps were all F&F, what if we had PC-CCC in the speaker...you get the idea.
The good news is that somewhere along this mad HiFi journey i have been on, i seem to have found a few choice materials that behave consistently when you install them. And this time is no exception.
The speakers have been on for 12hrs per day since Friday, and they are sounding better today than they have in all the time i have owned them. Crushing bass lines, better image organisation, cleaner, but more nuanced HF, which i have to say is now delivered with wonderful finesse and poise. In a strange sort of way, the sound is now even easier to listen to. There is no mental energy required at all, and even the Aqvox is no longer pushing things a little too far. It is a more even sound, better balance and control.
Listening to 80s tracks, some of which i heard recently here, are now a little more refined than they were. Listening to Eurhythmics, which i had previously found to be quite harsh and hot. It’s still hot, but it’s not AS harsh. Yes, it’s still far from the greatest recordings of all time, but its more refined.
The voicing of the speaker has remained fairly consistent too. Only slight shades of tonal thickening, which add a deeper level of realism to human voices, nylon strings and saxophones. The speakers were already very good at this, so to eek a little more is very pleasing.
In truth, i am feeling like i am getting details out of these that i wasn’t getting before. It may seem easy to say “you’re listening for upgrades” which i suppose is true, but these speakers are probably the most scrutinised part of my system for about 2 years. I have really studied their sound prior to these mods as i knew the upgrade was imminent.
The midrange is somehow more open, more spacious, free-er of constraint, and it’s wonderful to listen to. It’s created a greater level of air, reminiscent of when i swapped from a Japanese amp to valves, but with much, much higher levels of resolution. It’s now an effortless midrange. I felt the Ekta could push the mids a little, just a tad, but now, they are no longer pushing, they are free and flowing. I think this could be a characteristic of the wire that was used previously, as i have often found silver plated copper to be quite aggressive sounding, with a peaky HF. I could be wrong, but it's certainly delivered far cleaner and less peaky now.
The only downside i would say so far is the Lf. The LF was very detailed, tight and punchy. The move to PP caps seems to have loosened the Lf a little. It’s not a characteristic i have ever heard from PC-CCC or F&F caps, which have the opposite effect. They lift resolution.
The caps are large. Way in excess of 90uf, so it isn’t unreasonable to think that these may need a little bit of time to open up and settle in, but as of right now, it’s a little rounded, a little more bouncy and little less resolving. If they don’t sharpen up, I’ll take them out and try to see if i can wrangle something else.
In total, I am absolutely delighted to be where I am with these speakers now. They were amazing before, now they are even better.
Big thanks to Jason for his help on this.
