Jerry's ongoing system blog

[29mile]

Personally, I'd recommend the unit very strongly - it was clearly and obviously superior to my previous PS Audio PPP - although that was dead silent, as the internal fan never came on except at power up for about 5 seconds.

Sounds like extremely good VFM Jerry. How much was the PPP new - £2k+ ? I think the current models start at £2.5k up to £5k+ for the P!0. Objectively speaking of course the 'numbers' clearly show the AG1500 inferior to the PPP. I recall an AOS thread getting a bit snobby about how superior the PS Audio were number wise ! But hey I just enjoy listening to music and let my ears do the subjective measuring

[stormfriend]

Thanks for the feedback Jerry, I've placed the order and got the battery pack as well as it was discounted in the bundle. I won't get it until late next week though, so I shall have to put up with my current mains for a little longer. I spoke to PI earlier and they confirmed there were no toroidal transformers in the unit, which is probably why it doesn't hum.

I'm trying to decide between an ex-dem The Octopus mains extension/filter, whch I'm borrowing at the moment and seems pretty good, or to get something like the Wireworld Matrix, which I've not tried. What extension cables/adaptors are people using with the AG1500?

Edit: I went with the Matrix block and Aurora power cables and they should turn up around the same time as the AG1500. They have 60 day returns on them, so I figured what the hell. I'm still curious no know what other people are using though.

[jandl100]

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

I used to build pro Graphic Equalisers in the Tresham Audio days. The musical difference between on and bypass even though none of the controls were changed was very apparent, so honestly they are pretty horrible things in terms of absolute fidelity. BUT they are a tool that serves a purpose and the purpose you are using them for is what they are designed for. That is when the problem from not EQ-ing is worse than the problem from applying EQ. It should never be used all the time for effect or room correction etc, which was the problem hi-fi had with them in the 80's, especially as they were often just used to increase the knob count on cheap rack systems. The other problem is they always add thermal noise into the system.

Anyway you obviously have a good one that you are using for its design purpose so you have my approval if that helps, as long as you can get it completely out of the system when not needed.

[Daniel Quinn]

I think the docs being kind cause you got a pioneer :D

MBL speakers and a £40 graphic equaliser that is the best juxtaposition of equipment I ever seen, congrats Jerry :D

Seriously though i do think you make a valid point vis-a-vis vinyl recordings. I am obessed with the first 5 genesis albums, but the recordings, especially drums and lower frequencies is woeful compared to the best - especially on foxtrot and selling england. So if you can find a way to augment why not, either that or you just have to get on with listening and forget that it is no way as airy, spacious or real as the previous record you were listening to. I'd be slighty concerned the EQ effected the rest of sound but I confess I've never tried it.

p.s - if anybody has good things to say about the audiophile remastered pressings of Genesis albums please start a new thread in the music section, I would be very interested.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Jerry is talking about gross tonal imbalance, yours is just bad recording problems, no amount of EQ will help that.

[Theo]

I am obessed with the first 5 genesis albums

You are my new best friend Original pink scrolls of the 1st two sound good. I have no problem with original copies in general: however the new masters sound 'impressive' but somewhat odd. But I digress - back on topic...

My friends had graphic equalisers in their 70s systems. It's amazing how often the sliders were pushed to near their maximum, like a loudness control gone mad Only ever heard one that wasn't better set to 'flat' and that was a system with Wharfedale Dentons in them. A ghastly speaker, marginally made listenable by maxxing out the tone controls.

Jerry's must be a special model :D

[jandl100]

Hee hee - I thought I might get a few Jerry's-gone-barmy responses.

Feeding my £22k rrp MBL speakers through a £40 graphic equalizer.
Actually, Dr BH, it's in-circuit all the time. I tried a few others (you can see a Yamaha under the in-use Akai) and all the others screwed up the sound good & proper. But for whatever reason - good design, or more likely, blind luck! - the Akai seems to be very transparent when in the flat position or turned off. No, I wouldn't believe it if I didn't hear it for myself, either! :?

I've had had some very high-priced digital front ends in my system (I think the most expensive was a £6k DAC) - and the LP front end fed thru the Akai graphic equalizer does not fear the competition!

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

You have been treated very gently (so far), no one has said you are bonkers.

It all begs the question as to if all the recording had been like early Decca's would you bother with the unit - I think not. A lot of the problems were caused by early solid state mixing desk, they were disgusting things full of cheap op-amps that we wouldn't let near good hi-fi gear now, and Serge type engineers wanted to use them because they were too deaf to tell the difference , which resulted in a lot of golden age recordings of the early 70's being basically crap. Where as the late 50's and most of the 60's way of the simple fig of 8 ffss of Decca or the same with infill adopted by Abbey Road or the left - right - mono 3 mic system used in the US developed by Capital, created some of the best recording you can find and musically head and shoulders ahead of the majority of our more recent digital fare.

[jandl100]

MBL speakers and a £40 graphic equaliser that is the best juxtaposition of equipment I ever seen, congrats Jerry :D

Werll, for a couple of months I was using the MBLs with a £55 rrp "Mini-T" 8wpc t-amp.
... and they sounded great!