Ask a designer

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

We offer two alternatives to our cables 4mm z plugs or prepared and tinned bare ends. They cost the same to do. Also with Z plugs they crush so they can be used in the spring clip as well.

[Lazmo]

The tinned option would be the better option for more clearance but as i have pretty much decided the speakers are a definate keeper and wont be going anywhere curiosity may get the better of me and i may just whip a speaker out to see what i find inside the cabinet just in case i do decide to replace the speaker connections at some point

Thanks Doc .

[Classicrock]

I am looking at a passive pre that might work with Albarry monoblock amps. Would like to know output impedance of the NVA preamps. The Albarry has a 5.1Kohm input impedance so lower than the norm.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Its a solid state amp so it means ferk all. Plus you must understand that a passive pre-amp doesn't have a fixed output impedance it changes according to setting on the control. I don't use valve amp but I am told by Nick at Hi-Fi Collective that overall load of pots and stepped attenuators is audible on valve amps so I take his word, but it is not audible on solid state unless the amp is just not suitable for passives (like Naim amps) then all values sound bad.

We used to use 47k and now use 10k but I can hear no difference with NVA amps. What makes a difference is capacitance in the input to the power amp and the connection lead. Albarry to my knowledge have normal to low cap on the input so just make sure you use low cap interconnects.

[Classicrock]

Thanks Doc. I was concerned because I have heard a bad mismatch with these amps using a Croft derived valve pre (by Danish company and modded by croft). A certain dealer continues to claim they are a good match. Assumed high gain and impedance. Also an AOS member is using a second hand NVA with an XTZ power amp and claims it has too much gain !!!????

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Now you are talking about gain, that is a totally different thing, nothing to do with impedance. Macca has that pre-amp. In his case it looks like it was modded by someone before he bought it using Sfernice linear ceramic metal pots which being linear law instead of log law brings in the volume earlier on the travel of the pot, again nothing to do with gain. A passive doesn't have gain because it is passive it only has attenuation to the signal that goes into it. Also it looks like his power amp has higher input sensitivity than normal and his CD player higher output than normal. Normal line level input sensitivity is 1v for full output, but some companies mess around with this.

Can you see how so much misinformation or misunderstood information causes so much confusion.

EDIT - another way to avoid confusion is don't believe anything a dealer tells you. Things are just made up to create a sale.

[Macca]

Thanks Doc. I was concerned because I have heard a bad mismatch with these amps using a Croft derived valve pre (by Danish company and modded by croft). A certain dealer continues to claim they are a good match. Assumed high gain and impedance. Also an AOS member is using a second hand NVA with an XTZ power amp and claims it has too much gain !!!????

That would be me. Although I never said the NVA had too much gain - as it can't - but the system with CD replay did even at almost full attenuation on the pre. That issue has now been resolved by replacing the attenuators. I did wonder if the pots on it when I bought it were after-market. They didn't feel quite right.

[Macca]

Open Baffle loudspeakers - I don't understand how they get around the issue of cancellation in the bass. I have read you need a baffle 12 feet wide to get down to 40 Hz. So without that surely no matter how big the bass drivers, or how many, they will still cancel? So can they really reproduce deep bass or is it just that there is a lot of mid bass to compensate? I have only heard one pair which were comparatively small and it was at Scalford show so not set up ideally I imagine.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Because in a normal room bass is attenuated anyway (or doubled in frequency due to reflection, which creates the boom). A 50hz wave is 22ft long, so how many of you have 22ft long rooms. So you never hear the fundamental of that frequency anyway.

[Macca]

29 feet long here... So an open baffle will work in a smaller room better than one with at least one long dimension? Or will sound the same regardless?