Hi Roger,
Very intriguing! Could you explain the use of the small speakers?
TIA
Jack
Hi Jack,
The small speakers are FMI Fulton little maestros just for the record, great small speakers. I use those for my psychoacoustics circuit that a audio engineer friend designed for me back in the early eighties.
It is a black box with 4 connectors, they are marked "main" and "psycho" . I currently run a dedicated stereo amplifier to the "main" side. Originaly I did power the circuit off my satellites, which worked well, but i was concerned with the impedance so I switched to the dedicated amplifier.
I am not really a techinical person so my explanation of what the circuit achieves will just be what I hear. First off, it is really addictive,because it enhances those things that make the music sound "live". It is not exaggerated in any way though, but the highs,midrange, and upper bass are amplified slightly,along with what sounds to me like mostly "spatial ques" that one would associate with live music. The simplist way to replicate what it sounds like is to cup your hands behind your ears when listening. But doing that is not as subtle as what this circuit does. A very panoramic soundstage is produced with great depth and layering.
If the information is in the recording you will hear it. A great recording is clearly evident ,on the flip side a bad recording is certainly revealed for what it is.
IIRC my engineer friend said that it corrects the faults of the room by correcting the time domain aspect.
I did not use the circuit for a long time as this system was stored at my dad's place for quite a while. About 2 years ago I finally moved this equipment into my condo and a week ago I put the psycho circuit back in the loop. I always felt something was missing and I was right, the circuit to my ears makes that much of a difference.
Roger
Speakers: ParAcas Satellites
Subwoofer: ParAcas stereo dual 16" drivers w/custom ParAcas crossover
Tape Subwoofer: Velodyne 18
Preamp: Accuphase C200 main control preamp / Ampex 350's as slave line preamp(tube) and Ampex 440B as a slave line also. Will be adding a Ampex MR70 Nuvistor preamp soon.
Main Amplifiers: Agtron Platinum Model One mono blocks
VAC 140 300B mono blocks
Psycho: Fulton speakers,Mission speakers:amplifier: Accuphase P300
Sub amp: Accuphase P300
Cables: NBS,Nirvana digital,Acoustic Zen
DAC: Monarchy NM24 modded
Transport: Sony ES9000
Tape: Ampex,Crown,Studer
Vinyl: Linn Sondek/Grace, Technics
Tuner: McIntosh MR 78
Psychacoustics Circuit: Custom by Carl Staub
RTR's
Crown CX824 restored
Crown CX844 restored
Crown CX844 NOS
Ampex AG440C/B 2T4TPB restored DC servo multi speed custom record / playback electronics
Ampex 350-2/351 AG440C transport for 2T4T Playback only DC servo multi speed custom playback electronics
Ampex MR70 2T 1/4 inch deck custom electronics and transport (main slave preamp for DAC,Tuner,Phono)
Ampex MR70 3T 1/2 inch deck 15-30 ips Master Recorder 4020236-19 adjustable
Ampex MR70 4T 1/2 inch Master Recorder 4020236-21 adjustable
Ampex MR70 2T 1/2 inch deck w/ME heads, custom electronics and transport
Ampex MR70 2T 1/2 inch deck Tim Deparavicini headstack w/triad input transformers "The Jack Mullin Special"
Ampex MR70 2T 1/4 inch w/ME heads and 1/4 inch full track headstack 4020236-15 adjustable
Studer C37 1/4 inch 2 track with new butterfly head stack & new NAB headstack U.S. version. 1 of 6 imported by Gotham Audio,NY,NY
Custom electronics
"What I remember was an English translation by Gotham Audio who distributed the C-37 in the US. They were very unusual. We had 4 at Motown and RCA had a few but I never heard of anybody else other than people who bought them second-hand from us or RCA." Bob Ohlsson
IC's Gepco X Band low impedance double shielded cable. I use it on all my long run IC's (RTR's and Subs).
Power: 4 dedicated lines installed with Cryoed Hubbel hospital grade outlets. Voltage is 126.7 and all are in phase
Tweaks: Added snap on ferrites to my Nirvana SPDIF cable, my digital sound was good,but now I would say that it gives my analog sources a run for their money,simply a jaw dropper.
03/23/2012 I removed all the snap on ferrites sans the digital cable. I wanted to see what the system sounded like with the nuvistor preamp in place. Not much changed except the highs are more extended. I will keep replacing the last two cables with Gepco X quad double braid cable as it sounds very good,neutral,and nuanced. The ferrite experiment is ended and while it seems to increase focus there are tradeoffs,they will remain off.
NBS Cable: Speaker...Master IV,DAC and Crossover PRO IV, Ampex 440 and tuner Master IV, Preamp to Amplifiers and Ampex MR70 Statement Original : PC's Statement and Master Originals
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2nd System
I and my brother am going to build a 2nd system with the equipment I have left over from collecting for several years. My brother has always wanted a horn based system,so what we have learned will go into this system.
Speakers: JBL 5732 horn loaded system or Klipsch KPT-MCM-4-T Grand or KPT-Jubilee 535
Amplifiers: VAC Rennaissance 140 monoblocks and VAC 70/70 300B driven,class A
Preamp Ampex MR70 version 2.1 coupled with Accuphase C200 control amplifier
Digital: Monarchy NM24
Tape: Ampex MR70 1/4 inch 2 track and Ampex 440C 1/2 inch 2 track with custom electronics
2 CX844 Crown 4 channel w/ marantz 4400 and 2 pair FMI 100 Speakers
CX824 Crown 1/4 inch 4 track deck
Phono: Audio Note L3 preamp with Pioneer turntable
Cables: Gepco IC's and speaker cable
Psychoacoustics: Custom circuit,speakers FMI 80's 2 pair with Accuphase P300 amplifier....custom