shellylh

[This post is too long.] As you may know, one of my Quad 12L actives died. RIP. I have a pair of Audioengine A5 actives to use for now and maybe they will be good enough (I don't use speakers very much - usually headphones) for my limited desktop use. I was thinking that I wanted to get a pair of Adam A3X and I think this is probably what I might get if I went the studio monitor route. Then I remembered how much I liked the Ascend CMT-340 when I owned them (which I only sold because they were way too big and loud for nearfield listening). So I was thinking of going Parasound Zamp + Ascend CBM-170SE instead. (The Parasound ZDAC, Zamp and GS-1 would make a nice little desktop stack.) I really liked the neutral but still musical sound of the CMT-340 and the CMB-170 is supposed to retain this "house" sound. They should be easy enough to drive with Zamp (45W into 8ohm, per channel). They are rear ported but Ascend recommends 4 inches from the wall when wall mounting so I wouldn't have to have them too far from the wall. CBM-170SE: Typical In-Room Frequency Response 53Hz - 20kHz +/- 3dB In-Room Sensitivity 91dB @ 1 watt / 1 meter Frequency Response (Anechoic) 58Hz - 22kHz +/- 3dB Sensitivity (Anechoic) 89dB @ 1 watt/ 1 meter Average Impedance 8 ohms Pros: I will most likely like the sound, easy to drive with Zamp, I like the bare bones look, at least partially made in the USA, good price $350 + shipping Cons: A little bigger than I would like, rear ported. The other bookshelf option I was entertaining was NHT Absolute Zero mostly because they are not ported and so I can put them against the wall. I have never heard these but I remember people saying that they were fairly musical and neutral. In general, I think I remember that internet people preferred the 170SE (whatever that is worth). I seem to remember some members of HC recommending them so I am hoping some people have owned or at least heard them. The problem is that I am not sure if the Parasound Zamp would be able to drive the NHT since they aren't very efficient (86dB sensitivity, 6ohm). Also, I think they look a bit ugly without the grills on because of the metal tweeter. NHT Absolute Zero Pros: Smaller than Ascend 170SE, no ports Cons: Haven't heard any NHTs before, lack of bass? ( I don't want to get a sub), inefficient, ugly? Note: This is all for desktop use. They will be 4-10 inches from the wall, a few feet from me and probably about 5 feet apart - not optimal but this is what I have to work with. I'd appreciate any thoughts people had, especially if they have heard the NHT with a low powered amp or the NHT and the Ascends. Is there some smallish bookshelf that is front or non-ported that I should know about - not too pricey? The other question is whether I should really be using bookshelves + amp instead of powered studio monitors for nearfield use.

Probably not going to get a bass amp (combo or head/cabinet) right now since I have a really crappy bass guitar and haven't played it in forever (not that I ever really played). I gave away my really crappy bass combo amp to a friend's kid since I wasn't using it.

It didn't squeal, there was just no noise coming out of the tweeter when I put my ear up to it after I turned it on. I guess you are right that it could be a bad connection but I am not so sure I want to go shipping it all over the county trying to figure it out (the speaker is heavy and I'm sure it will be at least $30 each way to ship it). I'm also a little worried about opening it up and looking around in it too much myself for risk of electrocuting myself. Unfortunately, no DIYers in Houston. Uh oops, I already hooked up the bass guitar to the bad amp and speaker to test it. I didn't have a preamp hooked up (just bass guitar directly to RCA input) so the input level was really low. Think I might have broken it more? I know that you are not supposed to do that in general but I thought why not since it is broked already. The good news is that guitar center has a $100 off $500 right now and they have the A3x in stock here.

^This.

I'm going to use my Audioengine A5 for now and probably get some Adam A3x or F5 in the future to replace the Quads. I've wanted to get some front ported speakers anyways. I could use the single working Quad L2A in our guest bedroom in mono (with a stereo to mono adapter and it would sound pretty damn good) but pretty much nobody uses that room so it seems like a waste. I was thinking of selling it on ebay or audiogon or HF? Which do you think would be less of a hassle and which do you think would be more likely to find a buyer (could be someone who needs one because one of theirs broke or someone to use it in mono). How much do you think I should try and sell it for? [i bought the set from lanemart for $645 + 50 shipping 2.5 years ago.] Don't know what I'm going to do with the broken one except I do have a cheap bass guitar and no bass amp... so there is that.

Yes. But they are way out of warranty. I think the warranty is 1yr and I've had them for ~2.5 years.

Fuck, just found out that one of the tweeters on my Quad 12L actives died. These speakers have been nothing but trouble since the beginning. I wonder if these were originally refurbs. One of the first ones I got was so noisy I had to switch it out with another one (the one whose tweeter died). Sigh. Does anyone perhaps need one working Quad 12L active (cherry wood).

Your cube?

Brent: Peyton Manning seems to be sending you a hope you get well gift tonight!

Sorry Brent. :(

You mean, as long as you don't use your phone.

I'm confused. I should get the Galaxy Nexus (and free extended battery) or wait for the next google phone (after Galaxy Nexus). I only have the Nexus S right now I am ok with my phone right now. Just wondering if I might see major improvements going Nexus S -> Galaxy Nexus or Galaxy Siii.

Just upgraded to Jelly Bean on the Nexus S. It is quite a bit faster than Ice Cream. The only thing I don't like so far is that they changed the search. Also thinking of maybe upgrading to Samsung Galaxy S III (although it may be too large for me to use). Would it be worth it (Brent or others)? (I have Sprint so I am limited to their phones.) I like having a pure Android (no extra crap from Sprint) but battery life seems better with the Galaxy S III than the Galaxy Nexus or Nexus S. I was originally going to get an iphone 5 but I like the way gmail works on Android better than ios and I cannot live without Swype I think.

Happy Birthday Stretch!

Excellent idea, I never thought about doing this.

They are mostly Texas live oaks. We have the hepa filter (this one) and dustmite covers for the bedroom so perhaps I need to go to sleep immediately after drinking? And who only sleeps six hours a night? edit: I just ate lunch outside on campus... no beer but now I am a bit congested so beer is definitely not the only thing to blame.

I didn't hear this.

I'll have to just limit the amount of beer I drink in a single day. It seems ok if I have a half a 12oz bottle and not ok if I have a bomber. It also depends on the beer - some tend to be much worse. I thought it was hops but I didn't have any hoppy beers on Friday. Now that you mention the outdoor allergies, it is true that I always drink beer on Fridays outdoors under a lot of trees (over a several hour period) and that is the time that I get my biggest allergies (but also the time that I drink the most beer). I wonder if outdoors+beer is the problem. I still have a tiny bit of a headache. Seems like it takes the whole weekend to totally go away. Sigh.

We have a HEPA filter in the bedroom. I should have taken a Benadryl OTC, that was dumb.

Saint Andre is pure creamy goodness.

Happy Birthday Deepak!!!

They love it, they just won't admit it.

Who doesn't love cheese. Nothing too fancy - just some good yummy american cheddar.

^This! Last night I drank beer, not too much but enough to get my beer allergies on overdrive. Then I got to put up with a stuffy head and congestion all evening and woke up to a horrible congestion headache. It is almost gone now but I think I'll stick to cocktails, whiskey, and wine for a few days. Having allergies to (some) beers is really annoying if you like beer.