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Yesterdays Experiment Was Truly Refreshing

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As I was rummaging through the attic searching for my old Carver tuner to try out after a few years of CD only I ran across my McCormack SS preamp and thought, what the heck, try it out. I had used my Foreplay with my Adcom amps and really liked the sound before I got the Paramours but I had never tried the McCormack with the Paramours. So in goes the ss pre and the usual test tracks. Larry Coryell's Ovation guitar("Ovation" 1978) sounded quite nice and fast but with a bit less warmth and body. Joao Gilberto's voice(Getz/Gilberto#2) was full and articulate with out any undue chestiness and his guitar was in good form. Duke Ellington's band at Newport ("Ellington at Newport 1956") really smoked and held together quite well. All in all the pre sounded quite good. I thought, OK, I'll leave the McCormack in for a few days. But first I want to try the Foreplay just for an immediate point of reference. So...Foreplay back in, power up, laser hits the groove of the same Ellington track just played and ..."Holy S--T!!!" All I can say is that yet another SS music sqasher is soon to end up on E-Bay! The Foreplay is just so damn much better: more open, dynamic, detailed, thrilling and the "you are there" quality which is what drives my own quest for musical/HIFI experience is evident in Spades!
I highly recomment that people who came from the miasma of SS musical misery to the magic of our "lowly" flea powered, "budget" Bottlehead components occasionally switch back for a few brief moments to remember from whence they were delivered!
Happy Labor Day!
Garland

Follow Ups:

Oddly enough.... - RJeff 07:23:52 09/03/02 (4)
Oddly enough, I recently did the same thing, replacing my Foreplay (stock, no mods) with my Parasound pre-amp, and preferred the Parasound. I'm holding on to the Foreplay, and when the Paramours eventually get shipped (summer vacation is over, so who knows when they'll get built) and I get around to building a pair of Pi speakers, I'll try it again. But for now the Foreplay is out of the loop.
Jeff
- So tweak it, baby! - badman 17:40:38 09/03/02 (1)
  Tweak the hell out of it. Get some Audience Auricaps, put in s5 attenuators, and then give a listen. $50 and a little time can really make it sound a hell of a lot better. VoltSeconds PDMPS is great, and Anticipation is no slouch either. Do all this and it'll likely not just beat the parasound, but eat its soul as well Grrrr... yummy!
  - Tweaking - RJeff 13:12:49 09/04/02 (0)
    Good point. I was so surprised that it actually worked I was reluctant to take it apart again. Also, I thought I would wait until I built the Paramours, whenever they should come (hint, hint, Doc), :-) and while I was up to my ears in resistors and solder, start upgrading the Foreplay.
    Again, I am not discarding the FP, just pulling it out of the loop until I assemble a complementary system.
    Thanks
    Jeff
- Just curious what kind of amp you are using?(nt) - Garland 09:52:59 09/03/02 (1)
  nt.
  - Parasound Monoblocks <nt> - RJeff 13:44:50 09/03/02 (0)
Re: Yesterdays Experiment Was Truly Refreshing - DRCope 05:20:20 09/03/02 (0)
Listening to SS is like banging your head against the wall:
It feels so good when you stop!

Keep your ears and your mind open.
Re: Yesterdays Experiment Was Truly Refreshing - donut_guy 14:35:19 09/02/02 (6)
Hi Garland,
For "the miasma of SS musical misery", my doctor recommended daily shocks of vitamin "B+" ; I feel charged and glowing.
Are you the bottlehead with the Pi speakers?
DG
- Yes, Theater 4 Pi's live in my family room. (nt) - Garland 19:13:47 09/02/02 (5)
  nt...
  - Re: Theater 4 Pi's live in my family room. - donut_guy 15:02:31 09/03/02 (4)
    G
    I was wondering how they sound. Is your crossover point at 1.5k Hz?
    The 15" woofer is handling 20-1.5k Hz? I'm a little dense about this...that a 15" driver is fast enough to handle that high frequency.
    Any comment would be helpful.
    I am running foreplay/ Paramour.
    DG
    - Pretty darn good... - Garland 15:12:04 09/03/02 (3)
      ...though I can't say they are the fastest sound going. The micro and macro dynamics are very impressive so I think the woofers do a pretty good job up high. Many who have heard them want them if only they can fit them in their listening room and decor. They are fairly large and are not everyone's cup o'tea!
      G.
      - decor... LOL - donut_guy 15:56:45 09/03/02 (2)
        
        In Reply to: Pretty darn good... posted by Garland on September 03, 2002 at 15:12:04:
        
        The common questions about my 'decor' are
        "what are those speakers in the corners?" (tube traps)
        "why is foam on the walls and ceiling?" (to stop slap echo and 1st reflections) "huh?"
        Most don't ask about the little bags of sand!
        Do the 4Pi seem bigger in your room than on the website?
        
        Size matters! - Garland 09:44:21 09/04/02 (1)
        
        In Reply to: decor... LOL posted by donut_guy on September 03, 2002 at 15:56:45:
        
        Well, that depends! When I started I had made a white foam board mock up and they seemed huge but I suspected that a dark wood finish might seem smaller so I went ahead and built them up. The idividual panels seemed reasonably sized but the assembled cabinets were pretty darned big; all my co-workers asked if my wife knew I was building these. After they were finished they looked good and I was getting used to the size. They grew again when I went to put them in my van to take home. And then again, when they had to go through the back door to the house. Finally sitting in the family room waiting for my wife to come downstairs to see them for the first time they got so large I got pretty anxious but when my wife came in and said "hey, these look really nice!" they shrank back down to a more respectable size - one I've lived with since. So, to answer your question, "yes and no!"
        Garland
        
        Re: Size matters! - DRCope 21:17:22 09/04/02 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Size matters! posted by Garland on September 04, 2002 at 09:44:21:
        
        Gary,
        A veritable Alice Through the Looking Glass - or Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit - depending on your favorite frame of reference. (One pill makes you(r speakers)larger, and one pill makes them small . . .)
        They are physically large to folks used to bookshelf speakers as the norm. If one stares at VOT's long enough, anything else looks small. I think the custom work you did on the front panel & grille probably saved your bacon on the home front. Very, very nicely done.
        Of course, not all 15" drivers are created equal. Getting 'em in the right box and blending them with a horn tweeter is a can of worms . . . but in the end they sound really terrific and get the music across very well indeed. (I'm not telling you anything you don't know - just an independent view from some guy who happens to have heard 'em. ;-)
        Keep your ears and your mind open.

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