On Sun, 13 Apr 2008 07:00:19 -0700, Codifus wrote
(in article <ftt3lj019vo@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>):
> 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 Air****t Express.
> The Air****t 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
>
I can't give you any recommendations with regard to specific speakers, but
I
do have a suggestion: Whether you get your current speakers fixed again or
buy new ones either put a fuse in-line with the speakers or get a bigger
amplifier, or better yet, do both!
Yes, you heard me right, a BIGGER amplifier. You are likely clipping your
Yamaha and clipping amps will fry speakers a lot quicker than will
too-much
power. As long as the amp isn't clipping, your speakers will tell you in
no
uncertain terms that you are overdriving them long before any damage
occurs
(the cones will rattle and the voice coils will bottom-out), but clipping
amps exceed the duty cycles of voice coils and crossover inductors and
they
get hot with no chance to cool down between waveform peaks (a clipping amp
is
turned on-HARD for all the time it's clipping essentially dumping lots of
current into the speakers non-stop. This is a gross simplification but
essentially, when these components get their duty cycles constantly
exceeded,
they burn-up. A bigger amp will alleviate this problem. I can't imagine a
100
W/channel amplifier damaging any modern, decent speaker. Especially the
crossover - unless its clipping and clipping a lot!
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