Hello all,
my beloved and economic audiophile system has experienced another
breakdown. This is the 2nd one in 4 months.
Who is the culprit? The EMU 0404 USB. Do I blame it? No. Not at all.
Why? I've been enjoying music so much now with the 0404 USB that there
have been periods that I would listen for several hours on end, at or
near rated amplifier power, no doubt stressing all components of my
system. I was never able to do this before, and I love the way the way
the 0404 USB improved the system.
My system:
Itunes based music server feeding an Apple Airport Express.
The Airport Express optically feeds the EMU 0404 USB a 44/16 signal. The
0404USB then feeds its line level output to a Yamaha AX-596 amplifier
rated at 100 watts/channel with a healthy abilitty to drive 4 ohms.
Speakers? Cambridge Soundworks Tower IIs. Power rating? I'm not sure.
Cambridge Soundworks has been very careful to keep the speaker power
handling spec, but from obscure data picked up here and there on the
web, I gather that they are rated in the 100 to 250 watt/channel range.
Anyhow, I have much respect for the late Henry Kloss, founder of
Cambridge Soundworks because I can see that he strived to produce very
good, audiophile type speakers at an economical cost. I've been an avid
fan for quite some time, starting off wiht his ensemble speakers.
Weaknesses of the Tower II? Something tells me that when Mr. Kloss built
the Tower II speakers, to keep his costs low, he chose a dome tweeter
which does have a "hotspot." There are frequencies in which it tends to
respond to a little to strongly. A slight annoyance, but not enough to
take away the enjoyment of the music. Also, the midrange is not quite
flat. There are probably undulations in frequency response here and
there. Despite its weaknesses, though, these speakers do not fail to
convey the life of the music.
Still, for a pair of speakers that relay the beauty of music, the
ability to reproduce a frequency range from 30 Hz to 20 Khz in a
respectable manner, all for the cost of about $500.00, I am totally in
their camp. Mr. Kloss kept his eye on the true prize: presenting music
in a natural, realistic manner. Even with the foibles metiontioned
previously, these tower IIs can really sing. There would be
times I have my amp pumping at rated power and the music just takes me.
With the recent addition of the EMU 0404 USB, the music would take me
for hours on end. I would just keep going. Songs that come to mind are:
"Rememberances" from the Schindler's List Soundtrack
"Arise, Clay", from the Gods and Monsters Soundtrack
"Die Another Day" - Pop star Madonna's theme to the James Bond Movie
"Shawshanck Redemption - End title, So was Red" Shawshank redemption
movie soundtrack
Oh, and by the way, my Yamaha feeds the tower IIs in a bi-wire setup. A
single point of contact on the amp goes to 2 separate connections on the
speaker. One pair of wires for the midrange/tweeter and the other pair
for the dual woofers.
Another thing: my amp's tone controls are always set to bypass; the
audio signal goes straight from the source to the amp, thru the volume
control, onto the speakers. That's it.
Problem: I cooked my Xovers. This is the 2nd time this has happened in a
5 month period. My woofers work fine for both melt downs but the mids
and tweeter are SOL.
To verify, I dis-connected the tweeter and tested it individualy to find
that it was ok, so I concluded that the problem was the xovers. Anyhow,
this is the 2nd time around, so I know:)
For this 2nd go round, just 1 of my speakers cooked the xovers. The
other one is fine. But who knows for how long the other one will last
given the history.
So now I'm at the point that I have to upgrade the speakers. Here's what
I'm looking for:
Audiophile quality speakers with these specifications:
3 dimensional soundstage, or least speakers with some depth.
Able to produce down to 30 Hz, to reach "down below," so to speak. I
look at 40 Hz as the breaking point. 40 Hz and higher is the fake bass,
whereas anything below is bass you can feel, rock your foundations.
These tower IIs introduced me to 30 Hz bass and I never want to go back:)
Economical price tag, in the $1000 to $2000 price range.
I've had my eye on the B&W range of speakers but would appreaciate if
anyone could point me to other options.
Thanks in advance.
I am truly hurting, here. How would you feel if 1 of your speakers lost
its xover, 5 months after being replaced?
Please recommend replacement speakers that will hopefully fill the
criteria I mentioned above.
Thanks
CD
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