Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site

I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get the new listening room checked out electrically and the new system ground installed, etc., but I finished this work yesterday, including a soldered-rather-than-clamped ground wire-to-rod connection.  While I was at it, I also changed my tonearm cable ends from female to male jacks so I could plug the arm wire right into my tranny instead of using jumpers; but that's another story.

The new room is smaller than the old one; in fact it's the smallest room I've used with the DEBZs, and I wondered if this might help the ML2s, if not overall sound quality.  I measure the new room at 20' 6" X 17' 2" X 8' = 2,829 cu ft.

The system was down for about 7 weeks for/from the move.  I had finally figured out just before I shut it down for the move (after futzing with my tonearm, looking for bass,  AGAIN!) that the 6N6Ps were going sour (again), after only 3 1/2 months, so I put in some new ones (again).

It took ~3 1/2 hours for the system to charge up and start working as a system again, and then I tried Romy's suggestion to try dropping current (and raising vlotage) on the ML2s.  I experimented again and stuck with the 16 ohm taps, and as I listened I moved the V/A points around, eventually deciding on 54 Watts as a pivot, and I settled on 29.5 mA and 183V.  I love pretty much everything with respect to the music at these settings.  Bass is not only harmonically richer and more articulate, it is deeper and amazingly strong with my non-greedy 15" BRs.  Oddly, overall timing improved quite noticibly, too; go figure.  Basically, there is no down side for me with this change, except you might say that the "image density" is somewhat lessened by it; but this is more than made up for -  in my system/IMO  -  by the much greater tonal variation at the "new" settings.  YMMV, of course, but this does mean the the V/A parameter can be used as a sort of tuning device.  I have to say, it changes things more profoundly than just tube rolling, although it is not like two different amplifiers.

I was afraid the DEBZs might overload the new room, but this was not the case  -  at all.  By the time I concluded today's session I was wearing the DEBZs like headphones, sitting darn near up between the speakers, which are presently about 6' apart and about 7' off the back wall, in this room.  I have not done much with speaker/room loading yet, but I quickly found the best bass, which spots will serve as my reference points.  If it goes like it did at the last place I will leave the speakers where the sound is most "interesting", then re-tune for bass and/or take a hit on that score, if necessary for the greatest tonal/dynamic range.  Last time the two spots -  "interesting" and best bass  -  were not far apart.  I am getting a nice sense of "immediacy" right now, which I like, and yet I can listen to crappy records again, too.  Perhaps the system has sounded more "clear" before, but it is as musically "articulate" as it has ever been, despite the apparent paradox.

The other day I saw an online photo of Wilson Wamm speakers sitting next to what may have been a pair of ML2s.  I sure hope they were 1.1s, or something.  Sure, I am enjoying myself mightily with the DEBZs; but it is already obvious that although the ML2s do better with tougher loads than doubters might suppose, they also continue to up the ante if you go to them, electrically.  I'm not looking for horn parts yet, but I am thinking about it more and more...

BTW, about 90 degrees out today, and all is well, or at least OK.

Best regards,
Paul S

Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site