Viewing 15 posts - 41 through 55 (of 55 total)
  • LOUDNESS (HiFi content)
  • chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    I did an audio engineering module at university and the lecturer said the loudness button was to compensate for less bass at low volumes due to the physics of speaker design

    Bad lecturer or memory fail! 😉 Speakers are great at low volumes, it’s when playing loud that non-linearities become a bigger problem. Ears are rubbish at low volumes and very high volumes.

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    When designing an amp you need enough gain to be able to turn poorly mastered sources up loud enough, hence the unused pot rotation.

    It’s also a marketing trick – people often compare amps with the knobs in the same places and then declare the louder one to be more powerful. And if they don’t realise there’s a volume difference they’ll usually declare the louder one to be better sounding.

    CountZero
    Full Member

    When designing an amp you need enough gain to be able to turn poorly mastered sources up loud enough, hence the unused pot rotation.

    “Everything louder than everything else!”

    😀

    Do like them on portables though, which usually need all the help they can get.

    Not entirely sure they work all that well on portables, TBH; maybe boosting the top end a bit helps clarify things, but putting up the bass usually just causes it to boom, or just distort.
    Putting the device against a wall usually helps more, like putting bookshelf speakers against a wall.

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    wwaswas
    Full Member

    then you factor the ‘radio mix’ of a song into the equation where they boost bass and treble as well and it sounds very odd.

    reluctantwrinkly
    Free Member

    I’m looking for a quality amp with balance control due to room asymmetry, the only ones I can find are Croft which have separate l/R volume controls or Luxman. I’m sure I’m not alone in this requirement. Both sound superb though even with so called non purist features.The Luxman amps also have loudness button and defeatable tone controls, very rare these days

    lazlowoodbine
    Free Member

    I had an old Philips amp with a handy “lift” control. It seemed to be basically a variable loudness function. It wasn’t high end kit by any means but worked as a workshop amp.

    Currently running a Marantz 2226b from about 1977 with tone, balance, hi filter and loudness controls, that seems to be considered hi-fi.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    I’d never had my hi-fi (well medium-fi, a 90s Kenwood amp with 70W a channel) flat out till junior listened to some techno or metal while I was out. On return one speaker had lost its bass. The driver showed 8ohms so he hadn’t burned out the coil, I took it back to the shop and got a call not longer after “it’s fixed now and sounds fine, the speaker cone had gone beyond its normal range and got stuck”.

    “It wasn’t that loud” protested junior. Compared with band practice (150W guitar amp, 300W bass amp, keyboads and voice through a 400W PA and drum kit – all in a small room) I’m sure it wasn’t that loud.

    lazlowoodbine
    Free Member

    My Dad has a Wharfedale/Lenco setup he bought new in the early 70’s. He said he packed it away when I got old enough to climb on stuff and didn’t get it out again until my youngest brother could be trusted around it. I argue that he still can’t be at 28..

    neilthewheel
    Full Member

    Loudness is so that you can listen to Beatles albums and hear Paul McCartney.

    zokes
    Free Member

    My Naim apparently goes to 100. Had it at 75 last night. Seems one of my 20 year old castles didn’t like it (despite them being rated far higher than the amp). Thankfully, the other one had this symptom a few months ago (it disagreed with Leftfield) and it cost the grand total of $45 to fix. Turns out 20 year old glue falls apart eventually.

    I do like having a decent sized room at last. I just think after 20 years of being stuck in small spaces my speakers aren’t quite so thrilled at the prospect. Hey ho, same guy that fixed it last time also makes his own, and they’re rather good. Time for an upgrade, perhaps…

    lazlowoodbine
    Free Member

    It’s actually a lack of power which often knackers drivers. As the amp starts to run out of puff it can’t properly control the coil and cone letting it flap and be damaged.

    It probably didn’t make your glue fail though.

    zokes
    Free Member

    It’s actually a lack of power which often knackers drivers. As the amp starts to run out of puff it can’t properly control the coil and cone letting it flap and be damaged.

    Yeah, I know that. These are buggers to drive. I had an Alpha 9 that could handle them but that in true Arcam fashion for amps of that era gave up the ghost. It was then replaced for a few years by an old Alpha 3 that was previously in the study, but at 35W that really struggled, so if it’s not old age and historical abuse from student days, I could probably blame their stint on the A3. But really i think it was the somewhat antisocially loud volume I was enjoying whilst the neighbours are away 😆

    The Naim on the other hand is effortless, barely gets warm at anything but ludicrous (i.e. last night 😀 ) volume.

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    It’s actually a lack of power which often knackers drivers. As the amp starts to run out of puff it can’t properly control the coil and cone letting it flap and be damaged.

    This isn’t true at all. The only things that damage drivers are too much peak low frequency power (over-excursion) or too much longterm power (overheating).

    Qualifying statement – I design (very) loudspeakers for a living. 😉

    Stoatsbrother
    Free Member

    The only things that damage drivers are too much peak low frequency power (over-excursion) or too much longterm power (overheating).

    says the man who has never had his speaker cones eaten by mice…

    stever
    Free Member

    …or said “No, it’s fine” through gritted teeth as a good friend’s toddler pokes the tweeter inside out 😉

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