Steve, what speakers do you use in your work?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Angel, May 9, 2002.

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  1. Todd Fredericks

    Todd Fredericks Senior Member

    Location:
    A New Yorker
    Steve, I'm glad you love the Blue Herons. So, how would you describe their sound (especially the ‘gas piezo’ tweeters)? Also, what do you have them connected to and how are you placing them?

    Todd
     
    Todd Fredericks, May 10, 2002
    #26
  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Todd,

    Our buddy Jim Ricketts of TMH Audio (who's idea it was to have me try the Blue Herons) asked me what I thought this morning. Here are Jim's questions and my answers:

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Jim: Can you ascertain if the overall tonal balance is neutral or on the warm or cool side of neutral?

    STEVE: Well, I've only listened for about two hours, but here goes. To me, the Meadowlarks playing with the Push-Pull VAC 70/70 Renaissance Signature Amp, VAC Preamp, and good old Sony ES-77 CD player, the tonal balance is fairly neutral. In my living room there is a slight midbass hump, which would throw the sound on the warm side, but other than that, neutral. And I think the VAC amp is slightly on the cool side itself (at least with the stock 300B's that are in there right now).


    Overall, is the sound fast and detailed? Bass fast and tight?

    STEVE: The sound is VERY fast and detailed. Bass is great, fast, tight, and I can hear the bottom octave (which is unusual for my living room). Neat! Also, these speakers reproduce the most natural sounding PIANO sound I have ever heard. As you know, Jim, piano is a bitch to get right. But these do. That makes me happy!


    How is the Audax aerogel midrange (vs. Legacy Kevlar midrange) and especially that Audax gas piezo super tweeter (vs. Legacy ribbon)?

    STEVE: My Legacy Focus speakers are an early pair, before Legacy went crazy with a leaner sound. In fact they are the best pair of Focuses I've ever heard. I don't really have a handle on the exact sound of the Audax midrange unit yet, but I do get a kick out of the Audax gas piezo tweeter. It's very smooth, but detailed. Makes everything sound very "natural" which I love of course. The Legacy Ribbon is nice too, with more of a percussive sound. However, my Legacy's (which have an overall warmer tone) are up in my much smaller mastering room and the Blue Herons are in my big, open living room. Different spaces. I'm going to haul the (120 lbs each) Meadowlark speakers up to my mastering room and try them with the WAVAC HE-833 100 Watt SET monos next week.


    Does the VAC 70/70 drive them easily? (Wondering how the 45 watt WAVAC MD-805 monos will do with them?)

    STEVE: Yes the VAC drives them easily. I have the Blue Herons on the VAC 8 ohm tap for the moment (the VAC always works best that way). I'm sure 45 single ended WAVAC watts will do fine. I must say that the preamp needs to be cranked up a good deal to get any authoritative volume out of the Meadowlarks.


    Good separation of voices and instruments?

    STEVE: Yes indeed. But, placement of speakers is CRUCIAL. One bad placement mistake and the soundstage collapses utterly. So, one must place with care. One nice thing, is that I can walk around in the kitchen (which the living room opens up into) and still hear the CORRECT TONALITY of the music. No soundstage of course, but it still sounds amazing. The Legacy Focus speakers on the other hand, have so many drivers that one has to sit in the exact sweet spot or the tonal balance just goes to hell.


    Good imaging, sound staging?

    STEVE: Oh, I guess I covered this. Great imaging, if the speakers are placed correctly. They speakers need to have their interconnects and cable carefully matched. The Blue Heron's are neutral, but wacky wire can throw that off.

    Over all Jim, these are beautiful speakers. BTW, the first thing we played (for no good reason) was a quick mix I did of Francis Albert Sinatra/Antonio Carlos Jobim. Karla loved the sound immediately, even when the VAC was cold and rather thin sounding. After an hour, when all of those 300B triodes were warmed up, things really started to happen. I put on a bunch of "oldies" dubs I have (and of course the special "test" CD that I made for us) and everything sounded great, dynamic, easy to listen to, musical and just plain fun. I hated to turn the thing off and go to bed.

    My next goal is to get the WAVAC HE-833 single ended triode amps together with the Meadowlark speakers. THAT'S going to be a match made in heaven!

    (later):

    Jim: Real glad the BH speakers are sounding good. I have experience with most of the drivers and xover components and thought the BH's could be very good for your mastering AND work extremely well with the WAVAC HE-833 SET's. The internal wire in the speakers from Tara is copper and I find that normally has a soft, warmish sound. Obviously, i had no idea how much cabinet/box colorations the BH's would have, if any. Based on your comments, I would assume they have very low box colorations?

    STEVE: Regarding colorations, I don't think the box has ANY! That's a first. Very tightly packed and resonance free.

    http://www.meadowlarkaudio.com/pow/bhbirdseye.htm
     
    Steve Hoffman, May 10, 2002
    #27
  3. Todd Fredericks

    Todd Fredericks Senior Member

    Location:
    A New Yorker
    Steve,

    Very, very nice Q&A. Thanks for posting it. I'm glad the Blue Herons are giving you so much pleasure (you sound very passionate about them/they look great with that finish). I find a lot you said is kind of true for the Heron Hot Rods (I'm really enjoying them too). I also have found that the slightest adjustments with placement have major effects on soundstage, depth, etc. Their reproduction of vocals is totally amazing (wow). I also get a strong sense of realism with instruments, etc. A few nights ago I listened to my vinyl copy of 'The Travelling Wilburys' (an album I've heard millions of times) and it was like listening to it for the first time. There is so much detail and stuff going on that I never knew was there (it was like a new mix). Also, the vocals were incredibly lifelike and I can place how close and far away the singers were from the mikes (very eerie). Wednesday night I bi-wired them to the Dynaco ST-70 (4 ohm taps/no trouble driving them with it's 35 or so watts). I'm using my DIY Beldon CC speaker wire (very neutral IMO) & "crap" 12g zip chord (until I make another CC pair/I know. I know). Despite the crappy zip chord (driving the bass), the Heron's still sound better than single wired with jumpers (much more definition/space). I also have to really "push" myself to stop the music and go to bed. I just want to keep listening...

    Todd

    P.S. Also, they look great in my living room (Classic Mahogany finish). Meadowlark Audio is a class act!


    **Insert addition**: I've been thinking it over and I'm going to go back to single wire until I make the additional Beldon CC's. The thought of using "zip chord" is not settling well with me today. Experiments, experiments...
     
    Todd Fredericks, May 10, 2002
    #28
  4. Pat

    Pat Forum Detective

    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Steve had commented:
    "The $50.00 I paid for them in a junk shop was well worth it (thanks to Robert Pincus for the phone tip)."


    Well,
    I guess I'll get no help from the Peanut Gallery on my speakers,aay?
    Anyway, I paid $20.00 for the pair of AKAIs similar to those pictured in this link!

    http://home.freeuk.com/kenbrand/page11.html

    Did I do Okay?
     
    Pat, May 11, 2002
    #29
  5. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    If they sound good, yes!
     
    Steve Hoffman, May 11, 2002
    #30
  6. Pat

    Pat Forum Detective

    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Yes, Steve, they do sound pretty good to my ears. They definitely have a "dated" look to them, though. Maybe early 70s vintage (for this pair)?

    They also weigh a lot more than my previous speakers and I believe my DCC, and other discs, sound better!
     
    Pat, May 12, 2002
    #31
  7. Mal

    Mal Phorum Physicist

    Location:
    Manchester, England
    Gary,

    they have their own power supply (electrostatics need to be able to generate high voltages) but did not come with a switch on the back (maybe someone modified yours?) - there's a red light on the back to indicate whether they are connected to the mains or not.

    I've not had any problem with amps - I've only tried a couple of 50 W transistor amps on them though so I may have just been lucky so far.....

    Overpriced? I picked up my pair for £150 - they were in need of repair. A few pence on diodes and a few hours of work and they were fixed! (I say a few hours but I spent many days researching/reading before I opened up the mothers). My brother managed to pick up a pair that were said to be faulty for just £50! Once he had got them warmed up at home they worked fine.

    It is my opinion that these speakers can rival ANYTHING in terms of transparent reproduction. The ESL "57" is the most musical speaker I have ever heard - by miles. I would call them an incredible bargain - even at full asking price (~£600).

    Check out Sheldon's great site for more info on amp matching and refurbishing (along with some great Quad ESL links):

    Quad site


    Not only do they sound great but they look cool too :D:

    [​IMG]
     
    Mal, May 12, 2002
    #32
  8. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Those do look cool. Hard to drive though...
     
    Steve Hoffman, May 20, 2002
    #33
  9. Mal

    Mal Phorum Physicist

    Location:
    Manchester, England
    Lightning warning system!

    I just discovered a new feature of the ESL "57" - they warn you of imminent lightning strikes!

    Last night I noticed a little crackling sound coming from one of the speakers. This is not that unusual, although it normally occurs after you've just turned them on after leaving them off for a couple of days [I normally leave these speakers on all the time] - the crackling sound occurs for a few hours while the charge on the diaphragm settles down. On this ocassion, however, the speakers had been on for months!

    Shortly after I noticed the crackling sound, a big lightning flash occured followed shortly by a big clap of thunder. I didn't make any connection between the two at the time but a few minutes later I noticed that the speaker was no longer making the crackling sound!

    One conclusion is that the potential build up between the overhead cloud and the earth in the viscininty of my local power generator must have caused there to be a higher potential in my supply causing exsessive charge build up on the diaphragm. Alternatively, maybe the crackling was caused by the leakage of charge to the surrounding humid air that was at a different potential to usual - I'm not entirely sure.....

    Unless I am missing something, my speakers seem to have another great feature - on top of being "the finest speaker in the world"[size=0.5]TM[/size], they also warn you of imminent lighting strikes. This speaker never ceases to amaze me :D.
     
    Mal, May 21, 2002
    #34
  10. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Yeah, but don't stand too close to them during the discharge...:D
     
    Steve Hoffman, May 21, 2002
    #35
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