Hi, everyone! I have had a rollercoaster last couple of days. I had noted a very faint sound, only heard with your ear right up on the rear Klipsch Heresy’s in the rear, and that got me posting on the Klipsch site. So, I ended up buying new crossovers and tweeter diaphragm replacement from Bob Crites. For fun, not to solve my issue, which is slight, but irritating. Well, The project became much harder than it needed to be when I had to learn to un-solder, having never known how to solder, solder! And one of the woofers had a totally foreign type of screw in it, that even Bob Crites had never seen before, and that necessitated me installing the crossovers through the mid range hole instead. It all worked out fine - that was just another wrench in the process. And I will say, they were worth it! The Heresy II’s have come alive! And I don’t mean bright. I mean just clear, clean, good quality sound. So, I decided to go ahead and order speaker wire for the rears and a ton of RCA cables so that I can re-cable everything since I obviously have something going on that’s making that sound. Also I have the Technics deck in that I swapped recently for the Akai, while I opened it up to use the Han-D-Mag. I left the Technics deck in while I was finishing about the last 45 Q8’s I needed to check the foil on, because it spits those suckers out like nobody’s business if I don’t get to the deck in time to do it myself. But, alas, it now seems to be failing because it will not play a single black Columbia Q8, or any that are the same cart type, without dragging horrendously. So, Right off the bat, if you know what would cause such behavior in that tape deck, please let me know because I may open it up and do something if I’m able to fix it. Just because I like things to work. I hope the Akai will be in tip-top shape when I put it back in! So, finally to the thread title . . .
I know the speakers are picking up something that could even just be other wires that they’re lying across, but every time I come back to my quad set up, I have to go through the pushing buttons and trying things out so that all four channels or heard properly. I have the two sets of DBX 200s as switchers, and now I feel certain that I must’ve installed them wrong because when I went to play a tape after putting the Klipsches back in, I found that on the sound processor switches where you select what you are listening to, that by-passes or not, for all three “sources,” the sound from the tape would play. All this time I thought I needed to push the bypass for “tape 2” for the Q8’s to play. I even wrote that in my cheat sheet that I keep on hand so I can select sources easier. So then I just decided to play an album. I also have the SNR-1’s by DBX that I still am not sure even make a bit of difference. So I would prefer to simplify and do without the DBX’s (both SNR 1’s and 200x’s) in order to reduce the number of variables at any time that can cause these quirks. But I do want to be able to use a Universal disc player for dts’s and SACD’s and DVD-A’S and one Q8 player, plus I have the Technics SH-400 I have been using in place of my trusty Marantz demodulator. The Sansui, though, is limited on the number of components one can connect through it. The Marantz 4400, un-restored - just in it’s natural glory, that I just brought home from storage (and my 55 year old self is not as strong as she used to be!), it seems to me, was able to have these sources run straight from it. I have no idea if it is still holding up, but I like having it home if I do troubleshoot and put it in for the Sansui (QB-restored first, and then the late great, Jim Showker fixed 4 cards for me) in case it is still the Sansui having its own quirks, and that does not want to send nearly as much volume to the rears. But, I digress because I think that issue is the Q8 player and I am close to making that switch back to Akai. So, if you have stuck with me through the color commentary, here are the questions I pose to you, my favorite people in the world -no joke!
1. Do these DBX’s go bad (I think Mike - Quadzilla - once told me they do)? And, if so, are they worth servicing? And does anyone here do that?
2. Is there another way the early quad adopters found to incorporate multiple sources? I think there is a a switch box called Zector or something like that? Is there something else I could try, brand-wise, or would they, too, suffer age-related failures?
3. Is there a way to hook up my stuff using just the Sansui? I do not think so, but thought I would ask.
4. Does it matter that there is a tiny buzz/hum in rears (only if you get your ear right on the grill cloth and listen hard)?
5. I have a Brick Wall power thingy where I plug most of the vintage stuff in, but I guess the sound could be from anywhere the speaker wire passes? It does go behind home theater speakers (not same as quad system) and all that equipment and my amplified cord-cutter Mohu indoor antenna. Maybe the Heresy’s pick up stuff from there. When I re-do the speaker wire, I can try to control for that.
6. So, mainly this is about reducing the numbers of things with little issues at times. Now that I am a week into my official retirement from teaching, I should have more quad time and maybe more time used will equal less issues. I just want it as close to being as easy as picking the album or tape and turning things on and setting QS or whatever, and listening rather than working in de-oxit and pushing that odd button, maybe “record” on the Q8, that all of a sudden frees the music to blare where it had been there, but too, too quiet and sort of muffled. I guess I will always wonder if there is more tweaking needed in the beloved 9001 due to its early life with me, and catching QB at a time where he was probably overwhelmed. But I sure paid a fortune from my salary of those years to try to future-proof my quad system, so I full-well meant to enjoy this hobby until my dying breath. And, of course, it is no hobby - it is a quality of life!
So please chime in on anything pertinent or random! Removal of DBX stuff or not? Another brand of switcher box or not? Restore these boxes, or not? Swap in Marantz, or not? Well that is my short novel for today. I am tired from the learning curve of crossover stuff, but so pleased to have been able to do it, and for the new life in these Heresy’s, but I want to work in these next few weeks to make this system as good as my competence will allow - Then I intend to relax while I attract my next work that will be more fun and less stressful, whatever it might manifest as! Thanks, as always, for keeping our various dialogues going, even as we all move in and out of QQ while we go about Life and its other details. I remain grateful for this consistent aspect of my own life. Y’all are wonderful!
Laura
I know the speakers are picking up something that could even just be other wires that they’re lying across, but every time I come back to my quad set up, I have to go through the pushing buttons and trying things out so that all four channels or heard properly. I have the two sets of DBX 200s as switchers, and now I feel certain that I must’ve installed them wrong because when I went to play a tape after putting the Klipsches back in, I found that on the sound processor switches where you select what you are listening to, that by-passes or not, for all three “sources,” the sound from the tape would play. All this time I thought I needed to push the bypass for “tape 2” for the Q8’s to play. I even wrote that in my cheat sheet that I keep on hand so I can select sources easier. So then I just decided to play an album. I also have the SNR-1’s by DBX that I still am not sure even make a bit of difference. So I would prefer to simplify and do without the DBX’s (both SNR 1’s and 200x’s) in order to reduce the number of variables at any time that can cause these quirks. But I do want to be able to use a Universal disc player for dts’s and SACD’s and DVD-A’S and one Q8 player, plus I have the Technics SH-400 I have been using in place of my trusty Marantz demodulator. The Sansui, though, is limited on the number of components one can connect through it. The Marantz 4400, un-restored - just in it’s natural glory, that I just brought home from storage (and my 55 year old self is not as strong as she used to be!), it seems to me, was able to have these sources run straight from it. I have no idea if it is still holding up, but I like having it home if I do troubleshoot and put it in for the Sansui (QB-restored first, and then the late great, Jim Showker fixed 4 cards for me) in case it is still the Sansui having its own quirks, and that does not want to send nearly as much volume to the rears. But, I digress because I think that issue is the Q8 player and I am close to making that switch back to Akai. So, if you have stuck with me through the color commentary, here are the questions I pose to you, my favorite people in the world -no joke!
1. Do these DBX’s go bad (I think Mike - Quadzilla - once told me they do)? And, if so, are they worth servicing? And does anyone here do that?
2. Is there another way the early quad adopters found to incorporate multiple sources? I think there is a a switch box called Zector or something like that? Is there something else I could try, brand-wise, or would they, too, suffer age-related failures?
3. Is there a way to hook up my stuff using just the Sansui? I do not think so, but thought I would ask.
4. Does it matter that there is a tiny buzz/hum in rears (only if you get your ear right on the grill cloth and listen hard)?
5. I have a Brick Wall power thingy where I plug most of the vintage stuff in, but I guess the sound could be from anywhere the speaker wire passes? It does go behind home theater speakers (not same as quad system) and all that equipment and my amplified cord-cutter Mohu indoor antenna. Maybe the Heresy’s pick up stuff from there. When I re-do the speaker wire, I can try to control for that.
6. So, mainly this is about reducing the numbers of things with little issues at times. Now that I am a week into my official retirement from teaching, I should have more quad time and maybe more time used will equal less issues. I just want it as close to being as easy as picking the album or tape and turning things on and setting QS or whatever, and listening rather than working in de-oxit and pushing that odd button, maybe “record” on the Q8, that all of a sudden frees the music to blare where it had been there, but too, too quiet and sort of muffled. I guess I will always wonder if there is more tweaking needed in the beloved 9001 due to its early life with me, and catching QB at a time where he was probably overwhelmed. But I sure paid a fortune from my salary of those years to try to future-proof my quad system, so I full-well meant to enjoy this hobby until my dying breath. And, of course, it is no hobby - it is a quality of life!
So please chime in on anything pertinent or random! Removal of DBX stuff or not? Another brand of switcher box or not? Restore these boxes, or not? Swap in Marantz, or not? Well that is my short novel for today. I am tired from the learning curve of crossover stuff, but so pleased to have been able to do it, and for the new life in these Heresy’s, but I want to work in these next few weeks to make this system as good as my competence will allow - Then I intend to relax while I attract my next work that will be more fun and less stressful, whatever it might manifest as! Thanks, as always, for keeping our various dialogues going, even as we all move in and out of QQ while we go about Life and its other details. I remain grateful for this consistent aspect of my own life. Y’all are wonderful!
Laura
