Small Cannons

[mulester7]

.....I talked to a guy at Earthquake today....he was not a lab technician in the home audio side, but was a lab technician in the auto audio side....anyhow, he took my question and called me back....after checking with a lab person on Earthquake home amps, he told me the damping factor of either the Earthquake 5 or the Earthquake 3, were it included in general specs and arrived at by industry standards, would be over 1000....my tail immediately began to wag....he asked me what I was using for a pre-amp and I told him a McIntosh C-26....he said that was VERY good, and I should enjoy the Earthquake 5 coming to a large degree....he asked me what I was using for amps presently....I said Crown K2's....he said they are very good amps for presence and cleanness, but also said they have a tendency to have a slight raspiness at the very top of the frequency response when used full-range....I have noticed this amplifying cable TV, but CD's and DVD's are pretty much "right on" in my view....he said I would love the Earthquake for full-range, and moving the K2's to the low-end would delight me....am taking this thing day by day, and the Earthquake hasn't shown as of yet....amp shootout comin'....like I ain't got enough goin' on......

 

[majorloser]

.....Walgreens, $1.95....sorry, Major, I just try to be descriptive, in case someone in radioland wants to try something along with me....

I'm a product of the Florida school system. You have to go slow with me and use small words.

 

[mulester7]

......Earthquake no'um show'um today'um.....signed, old Indian....

.....also killed the Nikon digital camera deal....I was getting raked over the coals with the price....I called my credit card company and put a stop on the deal.....regrouping on the camera purchase....like somebody here cares....oh well....I see no way around working this weekend....will probably lay low for awhile.......

 

[mulester7]

.....since killing the Nikon deal, I have been PM'ing with WmAx over the digital camera situation....guys, WmAx evidently has exceptional knowledge in areas other than audio....I'm sure he won't mind, I am going to copy-and-paste a PM from him, as it could possibly help someone here also looking for a certain digital camera....




Oh.. well... then what cameras are you currently considering? Another D70? I don't have any specific information on your requirements, but I'll throw out some unsolicite general information on current products.

If the lowest absolute noise is not a concern, then perhaps consider the new 4/3 DSLR system by Olympus. The advantage is smaller physical size premium quality glass with equivalent focal lengths of standard 35mm format or APS sized sensor DSLRs such as the D50. Here is the most recent unit, the Olympus E500:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/EV500/EV500A.HTM

Of course, for all I know, you have pre-exisint extensive Nikon F mount lens collection that you want to continue to use, thus the reason for the Nikon body you purchased initially. Then of course, the only feasible options for you are Nikon, Kodak(no longer manufactured, but still availble used) and Fuji models that accept the lens mounting format of Nikon. The Fuji S3 body is a little pricey, and is not optimal for fast action photography, but it is the best option for lowest noise at high ISO in the APS sensor size DSLR bodies. The most unique function this camera has is if you will use the RAW image format in conjunction with Adobe PHotoshop. The camera has sets of sensors that work simultaneously. Each one is exposed at 2 stops differerence from the other. The result is that when digitally developing the images with Adobe Photoshop, you can precisely mix/combine/exclude these sensor sets so that you almost never have a blow out, even in extreme high constrast sunny conditions. It has the widest dynamic range of any curent DSLR body as a result.

Again... just some random info....

-Chris

 

[mulester7]

....."HOUSTON, DO YOU READ?, HOUSTON, DO YOU READ?"...."THIS IS MULESTER7 OF THE CONSTELLATION ARKINSAW, CONFIRMING, TOUCH-DOWN, OF AN EARTHQUAKE NUCLEAR WARHEAD, ON THE SURFACE/FLOOR OF PLANET DUNGEON, 47* WEST, BY 267* EAST".....the thick hardwood crate has thick rope handle-loops on both ends, and metal banding I'll have to break, to get to the top of the box, did I mention the banded box is made out of thick hardwood?....I took holt of the rope handles and dead-lifted it standing straight up....after slowly lowering it back down to rest barely touching the carpet, I may never be the same again physically....good grief....yes, my Son-in-law will come help me set it on the cabinet if the time comes....all four K2's were growlin' when the thick hardwood banded box got rolled in the backdoor by two UPS guys who were pan-faced by that point, haha....truth....amp shootout comin', best go on a picnic with the family up in the hills......

.....I ain't even gonna' break it out of the box at this time....I'm going to try to get some cheap 2x4 studs in the morning, and rip them longways for 2x2 nailer for the rugs....I'll work for sure tomorrow night or early Saturday morning....for sure....and, I'm glad young guys on the regular turns, and the extra-board of the West End, will layoff to be with their young families on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day....ya'll think about ole' mule on Christmas Eve and Day, ridin' on that freight train to Fort Smith/Van Buren....Kris Kringle, I've got a horn button on my side of the cab, I just may blow at ya'......

 

[mulester7]

.....the K2's were strangely low-growling all morning, when about noon there came a GROWL from that hardwood crate on the floor that was looooooow, and had a couple of pops on the end of it like a 800 pound male lion growling does....yeah, you've heard it....anyhow, the K2's the rest of the day, have been huddled and quiet....amp shootout comin', ya' best reinforce the outhouse.....Merry Christmas, Guys.......

 

[mulester7]

.....got back early on a loaded coal train....amp shootout report could be tonight....I've got the top off the Earthquake wood case, the sides bent down, and the back completely off to get to the posts of the amp and inputs....used a big framing hammer, truth....the amp is now sitting on a flat floor of wood with the sides down and the back gone, and is slid back to the back of the wood floor, so the rca's from the pre-amp will reach....after thanking the six professional wrestlers living next-door for helping me slide it back two inches, I just stood and stared at the thing and thought....I am now going to give the K2's every chance to push my four main's regiment speakers on selected material I have listened to a bazillion times that thrill me....and, I will be listening for certain things from the floor-standing fronts by themselves, as well as certain things from the rear bookshelves by themselves....ok, you advocaters of blindfolds, listen up....I have always, when listening critically, had my eyes shut, my head leaned back a little, and my hands cupping my ears....and, stand or sit, motionless....ya' happy?....huh?......

.....I fully expect the Earthquake to send the K2's to the basement of the system....but, I will give a channel of Earthquake a shot at shooting 2 ohm bullets at my mini-barns paralled at the posts just to see what I get....I believe that would be the best chance for Earthquake to kick the subs since you can't strap two channels of the Earthquake, and that's where I'm thinking the K2's will kick the Earthquake's butt, with one K2 strapped to each mini-barn and possible small cannons....possible?....I know nothing until I hear the Earthqake....I will also give both mini-barns single channel power and see what I get....if it's any good with two channels of Earthquake pushing two mini-barns with no paralleling, I will put them with the fronts, and then the rears....with the main's regiment, I'm not going to think in terms of AB'ing the amps by one amp on the fronts, and a different one on the rears, I want to hear all four speakers with k2's, and all four speakers with four channels of Earthquake, and I'm pretty sure I will know....it's all about realism through transparency, and clean....and, a forty pound transformer will surely, not be restricted, in ANY way, of delivering current to five draws, all the way up to your head exploding, haha....amp shootout report coming later, too late to hide the horses, set 'em free and they'll be back to eat.....

.....not sure how long I'll listen to the K2's to set the stage here, but I'm tempted to just hook the Earthquake up to the four speakers, swing the inputs, and see what I just got....speaking of eating, I'm gone for cheap Chinese and I'll be back in about an hour....no proof, and probably could have organized this long mess better, but I'm hungry....

 

[mulester7]

.....Gentlemen, now I'm full and fadin' fast....will hook it up tomorrow....the reason I got back early, is because we left early, and I didn't get all the sleep I usually get at the motel over the river in Fort Smith.....tomorrow, I promise....(like somebody gives a crap).....

 

[mulester7]

.....well, I've been listening to the Earthquake amp for about an hour now pushing my four main's regiment speakers using four channels of the Earthquake....I've had it at the levels of soft, moderate, loud, and !!LO!UD!!....I'm noticing violins sticking out more in a good way on internal runs, and trumpets sticking out more on staccato passages with the staccatoness of the trumpets being more impressive than using the K2....I notice more of what I call, realism, about the total package from the speakers....the low end is much better as per being more full, but clean and defined in the oscillations at the same time....the low end uses more watts....more watts mean more current....the transformer being just big enough to get the situation by, like in most receivers, will limit or be stressed delivering the flow of current at some point of turning the music up....this Earthquake amp has a 40 pound transformer.....I've cranked it pretty hard for about an hour, and it's top is barely warm....I've noticed a change in the realism, especially in the highs, with no trace of raspiness or anything offensive whatsoever at loud levels, using about 6 different CD and DVD sources so far....but....it's going to take some getting used to, or the K2's thrill me better, I'm not sure....I'm going to listen to the Earthquake for a couple of days, and then go back to the K2's and see what my ears tell me....I honestly think at this point, there's a brilliance to the low-mids-up with a K2 that I'm missing, I don't know....may end up adding a little brilliance to the Earthquake with the rear presence speakers in series being kicked by a K2, not sure....the Earthquake really is amazingly clean and bright and realistic of sound reproduction at any level....I'm quite glad to have it for 5 channels somewhere....and that's all I can say at this point of the ampshootout....TDeluce, you have any comment about your 3 channel?....does it ever get hot?....

 

[mulester7]

.....system completely tore down....had to....had to get the old piano out of the room, and am assured now of the soundstage end being open....old pre-amp going to the shop tomorrow for a going-through it hasn't had for probably 40 years....will check if cheap mods are available on the pre-amp....hooray....now listening to 36 inch tv speakers with choice of only cable TV....gag....oh well, time to get this theater going....have decided on a different camera thanks to WmAx....cheap one to get me by until I can get a better one....it's time for a camera, but even with a cheaper one, it will take a bit to have the cash....will hang 5 of the 63x91 inch rugs in the theater....have old black grills to be used for damping on the sheetrock ceiling up front....after the first of the year, when I can count on not working real often, I'm gonna' get some 2x4's and rip them long for nailer, and here we go....we could do the carpet after the walls......

 

[MacManNM]

Like sands through the hourglass, so go the amps in our lives!

 

[majorloser]

Been seriously thinking about replacing my B&K Ref 7270.

You're giving me expensive thought, Mule!

 

[mulester7]

.....Major and Mac, I now see from the Earthquake why I liked the BXXX 1801 amp so much for the low end the 901's were reflecting off the walls....and, now from the Earthquake, the low end my current main's regiment is putting right in my face....instantly delivered watts from a weighty LARGE transformer, for the main drain, the low end, with the big cones of the woofers to move....Mac said it best a couple of months ago...."if you can find a used BXXX 1801 amp, I'll buy it decently priced".....

 

[Tomorrow]

.....if you can find a used BXXX 1801 amp, I'll buy it decently priced".....

You can run, Mulie, but you can't hide. BXXX indeed.

 

[mulester7]

You can run, Mulie, but you can't hide. BXXX indeed.

.....RJ, the 901 Super Bose System with Bose 1801 Amp sounded great, I still proudly assign it capital letters, but it didn't have surrounds, ya' know?, RJ?....end of story, and era.....

 

[mulester7]

.....I couldn't stand it no longer....I hooked back up the Earthquake to the four speakers and got the Mac pre back involved....have had CD and DVD and good TV sound since about six this morning.....oh yeah, the mistique of hearing the Earthquake for the first time wasn't there this time....and, oh yeah, there will be another one, asap....the realism and low end are staggering....that spec of 110 signal-noise at 10k seems correct....no raspies at any level....the low end is instant and intense, but clean....magnificent amplifier....K2's to the basement, but the small cannons may get hit with two channels of Earthquake.....

.....oh yeah, for some of you guys who wonder if I'm just making all this up, and want me to post photo snaps of my theater and room.....sorry, but I'm probably going to put off the camera at this time....the one I want would take the place of too much home theater.....you'll have to trust me, haha.....

 

[mulester7]

....guys, you should be here and hear one channel of Earthquake kick both mini-barns paralleled on the one channel for a two ohm load and two ohm bullets.....absolutely knocking the bottom out really smoothly....may not have quite the punch of a K2 strapped though....the mini-barns really sound good....it may come to about 12 channels of Earthquake and a K2 sale....I am very impressed with this amp's performance top to bottom including a 2 ohm load....the thing is just idleing and never gets hot....barely warm is all it ever gets.....

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Mule,

Are you telling me you couldn't find a larger 5 channel amp? Congrats on your purchase.

From HT Magazine:
"the Grande's left amplifier channel, with two channels driving 8-ohm loads, began clipping at 0.0037% distortion and 245.3 watts. The amp reaches 0.1% distortion at 294.4 watts and 1% distortion at 328.9 watts, as shown above. Into 4 ohms, the amp began clipping at 0.0082% distortion and 478.6 watts and reaches 0.1% distortion at 604.4 watts and 1% distortion at 661.1 watts. The amplifier's frequency response was +0.06 /-0.19 decibels from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The response rose to +0.1 dB at 10 Hz and to -0.78 dB at 50 kHz. THD+N from the amplifier was less than 0.013% at 1 kHz, with 2.8 volts output.—CW"

 

[mulester7]

Mule,

Are you telling me you couldn't find a larger 5 channel amp? Congrats on your purchase

.....thanks, Buck, this thing is the best amp I've ever messed with....it doesn't matter what it's pushing, you can go as loud as you wish with no loss of sound quality....

 

[mulester7]

.....report....the Earthquake is so radically clean up high, it seems too bright for what you're used to....my Mac pre-amp has a high cut that is probably around 10K....I pushed the cut in, sparked the treble one click from flat, and I wish you could have been here with me to watch the pod race....good grief, the mini-barns were magnificent, but not to short the mains....the width of the mains and the imaging between and outside of them is staggering....I'm still pushing the mains and the subs with four channels of the Earthquake, and I really see no need to AB the subs with a K2, but I will....what I'm getting from the Earthquake is impressing me huge.....