Fidelity Research FR-64 vs. FR-54

The location of your equipment between your speakers and the proximity of the speakers and subwoofers so close to the walls is a severe restriction on performance.

Hi Dover, I agree completely with you assessment on Raul’s room / treatment, especially the problem of putting all those turntables so close to the speakers. The airborne vibration, feedback to the turntable system when music is playing, is more than enough to wipe out all the so call low distortion measures of the equipment.

Yes, most audiophiles do put their turntables in the same room as the speakers for convenience purpose, but for someone like Raul, who claims to have pull all the stops on eliminating distortions?!!!!

I'm still laughing from Syntax's post.

Dear @dover / @thekong : As always you only looking for an " error " in what I posted here and elsewhere. I can’t remember you any single post in reference to mines where you really enriched/enhanced the ignorance level of audiophiles that reads the threads/posts. Always looking for an opportunity to " attack ". Fortunatelly with no success and this only increment your frustations.

Anyway, here my answer to your post:

as a very good student you repeat what the AHEE teached to all of us but that is not real rule because each " stage/enviroment " is diferent. Let me explain mine:

my subwoofers are not close to walls or in the corners, as a fact one of it is located in a " free " space and the other has the only wall damped, I still use, behind it. The main speakers that works 87 hz to over 25khz has no wall behind it but windows where in the center of the window ( floor to ceiling ) I have like 1m. wide damping. One of the main speakers is almost in a " freee " space. My in purpose room damping I’m using are ( mainly ) diffusors by RPG.

The furniture in the room are mainly wood/wool/cotton fabrics that are very good difussors and with some damping too. The rugs fabrics is all wool.

I have to say that I don’t live in my " island " of audio/music only environment/stage.
My system was and is enjoyed by several audiophiles and I listened " hundreds " of home audio systems here in México and USA. Lisneted systems from 25K-30K to over 350K prices. I did and still do that listening other system " lessons " to have true references against my system other than live MUSIC events.

So, it’s not only me who think my system distortions are really really low but other gentlemans including musicians that can attest it.

As you know and through the time I developed my own test/evaluation in deep proccess where through the years I received a deep training that permits me to identify several kind of distortions you just can’t imagine exist in your system. That bullet proof evaluation proccess is repeatable anywhere and I can identify advantages and disadvantages in any home system in no more than 1 hour.

Other that what I posted here about part of my system you can read too my latests posts in the subwoofer thread. I can’t give you all the information of my system here, it’s full of very fine details.

Due to your post I took some part of my evaluation proccess that normally I don’t use it very often becfause I know very well my system and the results/success of my up-grades/up-dates/tweacks but I did it these past two days because your post:

fist is to compare through my Stax headphoes the quality sound level against my near-field seat position. Nothing here confirm or even approach nothing of what you posted: there are no higher distortions, phase problems, colorations, time errors, distorted soundstage or fundamentals/harmonics: CERO CERO.

second, I use ( first ) a stetoscopyc not only at the TT/tonearm under evaluation/playing but at the other TTs that were in static way and through the racks too. I did it using Telarc 1812, Dafos and Firebird tracks not at 83db normal SPL but at 97dbs ( at seat position. ) with 109db on peaks and you know something: I can’t detect any vibration/resonance because that air borne.

Finally my water glasses test, with different glass sizes and different water quantities on each one. Where I put those glasses all over the system items that are inbetween speakers/subwoofers and you know something: NO SINGLE WATER MOVEMENTS at that very high SPLs.


On my posts here and in the Do you think you need a subwoofer? latest ones I posted: SYSTEM/ROOM NOISE FLOOR GOES LOWER AND LOWER WHERE THE ROOM ALMOST DISAPPEARED.
That is an experience where you can’t even dream with when you are living on and with those terrible 30’s.

When you listen my system you just can’t be aware of those subwoofers thank’s to system near " perfect " system/room integration that achieved a fenomenal system/room BASS MANAGEMENT as you can’t even dream with. You just can’t know what I’m talking about but my friends here can.
The level of resolution of my today system/room is second to none of all the systems I listened through my life.

No, it’s not a " fantasy " as you say trying to diminish my posts. The blend of whole circumstances/environment in my system/room made it that performs with that kind of quality level .

Btw, I did all my latest system/room evaluation with both alternatives: digital and analog one and I can say you and every one that digital is way superior to analog and I posted this not in the last month but for more than two years now.Btw, I’m not against the analog alternative, I like it too but can’t even the digital one.

Only whom his ignorance level is so high can today think that analog is superior to today digital

NO WAY MY FRIEND.

I can enjoy both alternatives and I will do in the future.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC not distortions,
R.

I did it using Telarc 1812, Dafos and Firebird tracks not at 83db normal SPL but at 97dbs ( at seat position. ) with 109db on peaks and you know something: I can’t detect any vibration/resonance because that air borne.

Really Raul? No vibration/resonance because that air borne? Why use a stethoscope when you have all those turntables setup, which is probably way more sensitive.

It was nice that you mentioned you were also using a Stax headphones, I hope you (and anyone who thinks he doesn't have feedback problem), wouldn't mind doing the following simple test and let us know what happens.

1. Play music (your Telarc 1812 would be great) using your CD/digital system through the speakers at normal listening level (yes, that 97dbs ( at seat position. ) with 109db on peaks)
2. Lower the cartridge on a stationary platter / LP (i.e. motor off, platter not turning)
3. Connect the cartridge to the phono / preamp as usual,
4. Listen to the phono system with a headphone, preferably in another room.

I doubt that you could have complete silence (or faint noise from the phono) at the headphone. I am pretty sure you could hear faint music through it (although it could sound funny as it has gone through the RIAA stage).

If that is true, that means your turntable system is suffering from continuous feedback when you are playing LP, and you can throw all those 0.00002% distortion figures out the window!

Oh Raul, if you perform the above test and come back telling us you really hear complete silence through the headphone, I would be very interested to learn how you / your system could achieve that!

You were, maybe still are, trying to develop a tonearm, so you must know a lot about how the tonearm / cartridge system works, and have specific scientific knowledge about it.

1. Music, or sound, is basically a vibration of the air. So, the music playing through your speakers will certainly transmit the vibration to your tonearm / cartridge system, as there is nothing blocking its path.

2. As in your example, I suppose if you play the Telarc 1812 at 109db peak, you probably could feel the pressure on your chest. If there is so much energy transmitting to your chest, then how can the tonearm / cartridge be immune to it ?

3. A cartridge is designed to pick up the exact frequency range of the music, i.e. those coming through your speaker. So, even if your tonearm has absolutely zero resonance, how could it block / dampen the air-borne vibrations directly hitting the cartridge body.

Like you, I always try to learn, so I would much appreciate if you could give some answers with scientific prove to the above.

Thanks!