I sent my little Fulton speakers out to get the surrounds redone and Orange County Speaker did a real nice job and they were reasonable too. When I got them back I remounted them and after adjusting and playing them I was reminded of how much info they add to the sound. I have had a Niles SVC-4 speaker switch for a while and figured one day I would find a use for it. Well I have two pairs of small Mission speakers that I don't use anymore and had a idea;What if I added them to my psycho acoustics circuit? I set it up and have spent the last few days re positioning all the speakers and I must say the quality of sound in my room has jumped to a new level. Now,my system is probably not at a level of the best possible but it has a very intimate quality to it and I think can sound amazing given the right recordings.
The middle psycho speakers can be adjusted for volume level with the Niles switch and the Fultons can be adjusted with the Accuphase P300 output levels on the amplifier. This enables me to tweak the system to a fine level.
I have the middle circuit at about 50 pct and the top circuit at 85 pct. The original circuit is designed to be at 100 pct. The circuit device is passive and corrects the time domain in the room,enabling any room treatments to be unnecessary except for bass traps. The circuit works exceptionally well for how simple it is.
The effect of adding the middle psychos has been to increase midrange focus and add nuance and detail that is very positive overall. I now have what sounds like a very balanced complete wall of sound,very open,natural,and intimate as well as very dynamic when called upon. The soundstage is and can be extremely layered and unlike some speakers systems portray a very good reproduction of the physical setting a long with,what I think is essential,the ambient information in the recording. It is not unusual to get a feeling of being there,especially in live recordings.
Last night I played a CD from the EMI Centenary edition. The disc was the 1968-1977 period and what a beautiful disc it is. Luciano Pavarotti,Izhak Perlman,and Victoria De Los Angeles never sounded better in my system.
Just thought I would share my latest adventure and hope that some find my experiment interesting.
"From the very beginning, Dolby technologies have been rooted in the science of*
psychoacoustics—that is, understanding how humans hear. As a result, we’ve been*
able to reduce background noise in analog media without introducing audible side*
effects (Dolby noise reduction), dramatically lessen the data rate necessary for highquality multichannel digital audio (Dolby Digital), and deliver convincing surround*
sound over just two speakers (Dolby Virtual Speaker), among other achievements.*
Dolby Volume takes advantage of all the lessons learned in more than 40 years of*
researching the science of human hearing and creating audio technologies that have*
been accepted as standards throughout the world." Dolby Sound Labs
http://www.dolby.com/uploadedFiles/Assets/US/Doc/Professional/dolby-volume-tv-techpaper.pdf
Why psychoacoustics have never really been pursued for home audio use I will never understand. For absolutely a pittance compared with what some spend for a small percentage of improvement in sound quality,double digit percentage increases can be had. IMHO
Update 09/16/2013: My Blackgate teflon 440B record cards that I use and listen to as my solid state preamp absolutely blows my 350 preamps out of the water............but I get the MR70 preamps on 09/18 so this should be very cool to hear the comparison.
9/22......The MR70 without a doubt in my mind is the greatest audio preamp ever made.
10/12....It's been 24 days and about 380 hours logged on the MR70...I hope to have a video posted with decent sound in the next 2 weeks. By then the system will have 500 hours and should be fully up with the gain stabalized. Then I'll see how a video sounds and if that will show what nuvistors and my version of a high resolution, low noise,psychoacoustic system can sound like. Of course this is my idea of what this level of sound can be heard and may not meet other's expectations,but it meets mine and that is all that matters.
10/13....The system has really opened up....2 channel enhanced stereo at it's best. After listening tonight,another 100 hours and things should be good. I have purchased a NBS Statement IC for the MR70 and I'm almost scared to use it,but I think it will really be exceptional,even more so.
10/14....I have to ask myself a few questions, how good is the nuvistor and how good is digital? I was listening to the redbook copy of "the voice that is Johnny Hartman" cut #9 which is "Joey" and in two spots I heard some kind of feedback. My brother heard it first and on replay i then clearly heard it. Now I doubt even the mastering engineer could hear it! So anyway the MR70 continues to improve and it is the only piece of electronics I can say...I wonder if this has any distortion and how good can it get....amazing piece of gear.
10/18....About 500 hours which is usually where everything becomes extremely coherent and it has. The gain looks to have stabilised and every note & chord is fleshed out....the best I personally have ever heard. This MR70 has tremendous headroom.
10/22.....With 520 hours this preamp for the most part is voiced and will not change anymore. With the increase of headroom and I'm guessing +6db....I have cut back the psycho mids to 50 pct and the outboards to 70 pct as the MR70 effects that part of the system a lot more then my other preamps both tube and SS. The sound signature that stands out is the increase in presence,dynamics,tonality and overall musicality. I have never heard anything close my self,but I know that there is better out there I am sure. For the funds invested though I am extremely content at where the system stands now. I will add a NBS Statement IC to the MR70 and will be anxious to hear it then.
10/30.......The Nuvistor is no doubt in my mind the best device ever made that I know of. I think it is up to solid state devices to close the gap here. With the nuvistor you get all the qualities of the vacuum tube and the speed and crispness of the transistor. To hear it noiseless is truly stunning.
http://www.soundfountain.com/mercury/trinaural.html