Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by James Perrett »

Arpangel wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:11 am
James Perrett wrote: I've also found out recently that mine have some history. Some people will probably know that I've been working on some of the Toyah re-releases over the last few years but in the late 70's my speakers belonged to Tony Arnold (of Arny's Shack) and were apparently used back then to mix an album by Toyah's husband, Robert Fripp.

James! this is more than coincidence, I bought a BEL BD80 from that studio, I know it well, they had a big old desk, Raindkirk?

Tony Arnold used to buy and sell quite a bit of stuff though I never actually bought anything directly from him so never saw the studio. I would guess most studios in the south of England would have bought at least one bit of kit from Tony.

Arpangel wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:11 am
It’s amazing to think that our stuff may have been used on Fripp's music, I think the album that was recorded there was a Fripp/Summers collaboration "I Advance Masked"
Re-coning any speaker fills me with horror, it’s a bit like asking me to make a pair of hand made shoes, it’s an incredibly skilled job, I’ve seen videos, and it’s just beyond, I couldn’t imagine doing it, thankfully, there are still people out there doing it!

I think Robert Fripp recorded a few albums there - it was fairly local to him in those days. There are manufacturing date stamps from late 1976 on the cabinets of these speakers so I would guess that they were first used sometime in 1977.

They are remarkably easy to recone provided you follow the instructions properly. There's no gluing needed because everything is clamped down with bolts. The most difficult part of the process was centring the coil in the gap which took a couple of attempts.
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by Arpangel »

There’s a great article about Arny's Shack, and Tony, in Studio Sound magazine, a 70’s issue, you can view it on the American radio history site, which you probably already know about.
I have a copy of that magazine, I’ll get the month and post a link to the issue.
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by James Perrett »

I think I've found it

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-A ... 984-02.pdf

Interesting to hear about his converted Ampex machines - I think I may have used one of them back in my early days of recording.
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by ef37a »

"I'd mainly agree with Wonks BUT the big difference with the dual concentric design is that you can work with them much closer than you can with a traditional multi-speaker design. In one temporary setup I had the Berkeleys less than a metre away from me which meant that the proportion of direct to reflected sound was far higher than usual. Many people would find a pair of huge monitors directly in front of them too oppressive but it worked for me."

Very interesting James. Can I ask what amplifiers you were driving them with? (apologies if you have already said!) I am interested because many active monitors get reported as having audible self noise at nearfield distances although I will say the problem seems better than it was a few years ago.

Those Tannoys are noted for their sensitivity and so the amplifiers must have been PD good if noise was not a problem.

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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by James Perrett »

At that time I was using a Quad 405-2. It wasn't a treated room but it was reasonably quiet and, while there was a little hiss from the speakers, it wasn't really noticeable. However, the Hypex amp that I now use with them is even quieter - you have to have your ear right up to the speaker to hear anything and that's in a properly soundproof studio.
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by RobinC »

RobinC wrote: Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:10 pm
jaminem wrote: i have to say that if I was buying now i'd probably be looking at the KH150/KH750 combo.

After more pondering that's the conclusion I've come to. I do use Sonarworks and having spent some time moving my speakers around, measuring then moving them again I think some level of DSP processing is needed in addition to the treatment that I have in the room.

As a follow up to my original post. The KH150s arrived earlier in the week. Very impressed with what the MA1 software does with them. There low end in these is also a step up from my Adams
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by Nazard »

I'm glad the KH150s are going well. Phil Ward also wrote a bit about them on his website as well as the SoS review.

James, which Hypex modules did you use, please?
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by James Perrett »

Nazard wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 10:51 pm James, which Hypex modules did you use, please?

2 of the UcD180HG and an SMPS400 which I put into a Quad 405 case. Both of my 405's had issues so I took the good parts from each and made one good 405 and used the spare case for the Hypex modules.
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by Arpangel »

James Perrett wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 2:30 pm I think I've found it

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-A ... 984-02.pdf

Interesting to hear about his converted Ampex machines - I think I may have used one of them back in my early days of recording.

That’s the one, there’s also another article by Tony in another issue, all about studio maintenance, I’ll dig it out.

James Perrett wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 7:35 pm At that time I was using a Quad 405-2. It wasn't a treated room but it was reasonably quiet and, while there was a little hiss from the speakers, it wasn't really noticeable. However, the Hypex amp that I now use with them is even quieter - you have to have your ear right up to the speaker to hear anything and that's in a properly soundproof studio.

I’ve been using a 405-2 for a few years now, I can’t say I really like it, it’s a dry, slightly hard clinical sound.
Hypex? I need to investigate something else, at the very least.
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by Nazard »

Many thanks James for the info. Tony, the Hypex range of modules and DIY kits is a route I am planning on taking (I also have a 405). My only question is the possible longevity of SMPSUs......

Bruno Putzey, the designer of UcD, NCore and all round audio genius, was associated closely with Hypex but has set up Purifi Class C, with others and Purifi seems to be state of the art for Class C at present. Which is why I think Hypex have developed the Nilai range. In fact I was in touch with Hypex sales last summer to order the first Nilai kits, but they sold out instantly. Will be quicker off the mark this March....
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by Nazard »

Correction: for Class C, I meant Class D :bouncy:
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Re: Monitor upgrade from Adam A7X

Post by ef37a »

Nazard wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 10:21 am Correction: for Class C, I meant Class D :bouncy:

AhAAA! You had me going for a moment there! I thought, "has some beardy tweak amp developer found a tiny design twist on established class D techniques and given it a fancy, silly bloody name?"

Now, I don't want to start a cow but a quick shufty at those class D amp's speccs shows me that they are about an order worse for THD than the very best class B* stuff that was designed over a decade ago. I am pleased to see that at least one monitor designer has moved on to 'linear' class G.

*Yes, I do mean "B".

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