Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site hou4b.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!harvard!godot!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!harpo!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!vax135!ariel!hou5f!hou4b!mat From: mat@hou4b.UUCP (Mark Terribile) Newsgroups: net.audio Subject: Re: audio techniques/equipment questions... Message-ID: <1299@hou4b.UUCP> Date: Sat, 26-Jan-85 04:04:44 EST Article-I.D.: hou4b.1299 Posted: Sat Jan 26 04:04:44 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 2-Feb-85 22:50:35 EST References: <383@bonnie.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ Lines: 90 Xref: seismo net.audio:4200 > ... comments on topics such as the advantages/disadvantages of: > ... > 3) sonic holography? > 7) Carver C-4000 pre-amp -why don't stores demo this unit? Ok. I'll jump in the fray on this one, since I've got a couple of Carver's boxes. Sonic Holography does work ... and sometimes it is even a bit spooky. I'll be reading the newspaper, and I'll hear a sudden noise about six or seven feet from my elbow. All of a sudden I realize that WNCN played another oldish record wth a pop in it. Why isn't it demo'd? Well, it is considered to be a bit of a stage trick, not honest to goodness audio. Also, hearing it requires very good room geometry and cooperative recordings. And finally, given VERY well miked recordings and REALLY great speakers, you can do even a little better than you can with the Hologram. Room geometry: You MUST be equidistant from the speakers ... Carver recommends that you center your ``prime listening chair'' to within 1/2 inch of that centerline. This allows your head to move a little bit without destroying the effect. You can turn your head up to about 55 degrees before you lose it. You also have to work to reduce or remove room reflections. Many audio ``salon''s won't go to the considerable effort of setting this up. Recordings: It's hard to tell which ones will work well. For me, the bell sequence on the Telarc 1812 is a trip ... the bells are ringing in midair in front of me. The alarm clock sequence from Dark Side Of the Moon is another. The grandfather clock is in my front hall, about five feet to the left of the left speaker. And the early sequences that were designed to demo the quadrophonic discs actually give me the wraparound -- to about 55 degrees behind me. This isn't supposed to be possible. I've got some old ones that work well too, including some poorly miked Musical Heritage Society recordings. Stage Trick: As I said, this thing can be a trip, but it works via mechanisms that require the human ear to adjust to the magic box's inability to perfectly correct the binaural acoustic crosstalk. Also, while the Carver boxes look really good and feel pretty nice to use and do a lot for the money, there are corners cut in construction. They are where you will almost never notice them, either mechanically or audibly, but they are there. Really great speakers: This is the weak spot. As Phil Rastocny is so fond of pointing out, a genuine super setup will beat out almost anything else. (If I ever get sent on another Denver factory visit, I WANT to hear his system!) But this may require speakers that correct one aberration (imaging) at the expense of another, or that cost an arm and a leg, have their own geometry problems, and will melt down the first time you play massed strings a'la Mahler just a little too loud. While Carver's preamps sound good, there are others that sound very good too. Before I bought mine, I took a friend along to tell me if I was just hearing what I wanted to hear or if there WERE differences. The salesman had a pet preamp he wanted to sell ... a little box that had no tone controls (a seperate box for $300 or so) and had its power supply on the end of a cord. We listened to things without talking, and then discussed the matter afterwards over pizza. We had come to the same conclusions ... WITHOUT the Hologram the Carver box had better imaging, but slightly worse response to extreme transients (the Telarc OmniDisc ``Good Vibrations'' cut). We didn't hear it set up for the Hologram. Like any other exotic piece of equipment, you have to decide if YOU like it. The saleman I bought my C-4000 from wouldn't sell it to me without me giving it a home trial FIRST. Your best bet is to see if you can do the same, and see if you like it. The C-4000 has a lot of stuff on it besides the Hologram and you should also see if you like that. If it doesn't do anything for you, you can get the hologram in an add-on or in a smaller and cheaper pre-amp. Me? Only my budget is sorry. My system: Yamaha P350 turntable (needs replacement!) with Dynavector cartridge (don't remember the number right now ... It's 04:00 and I'm STILL at work) Carver C-4000 preamp. Carver M400 amp. Boston Acoustics A100 speakers (original model). Time delay speakers are Boston Acoustics A40 s. (Nice speaker for $150/pair!) Original model Phillips/Magnavox CD player. Phillips receiver used for tuner (needs replacement!) Onkyo cassette deck (about 4 years old, model # at home.) SAE impulse noise quieter for REALLY bad records. -- from Mole End Mark Terribile (scrape .. dig ) hou4b!mat ,.. .,, ,,, ..,***_*.