Article: The Audio Value Proposition Special Topic: Downsize To Upgrade

[bluesman]

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[bluesman]

1 hour ago, firedog said:

And as far as bass: I understand what you wrote and can't argue with any of it. But subjectively, my experience is that speakers that do fairly low bass without rolloff (say 30hz; we won't even talk about those that go significantly lower) sound much more realistic and convincing in music that needs bass reproduction (organ, orchestral) than those speakers that "only" do 40 or 50  or 60 hz. And they even sound better than those speakers reproducing rock and jazz where, I agree, there is probably little sound below 40 hz. I'm not sure why that is: maybe they just have better quality of bass reproduction, or saying it another way, they do it more easily, with less strain, and therefore sound better when doing it. 

 

Thanks!  I agree that there's often something "extra" from speakers that stay flat below 30, and it seems associated most strongly with larger drivers.  I think it may be in some part related to the volume of air being moved with each stroke of the cone.  A small woofer has to travel much further (and therefore faster) than a large one to move the same amount of air at the same frequency. Air is compressible, so I suspect that a smaller cone that's moving further, accelerating faster, and "punching" harder generates a slightly less precise pressure wave because it has to move the air molecules around more rapidly.  This probably compresses them a bit more at the beginning and separates them a bit more at end of each excursion of the cone than they should be.  The hysteresis curve of their repetitive motion is aggravated by this nonlinearity, and it's probably audible.

 

If this is correct, it would be causing mechanical distortion of the waveform that would slightly blunt the attack and smear the decay of each cycle. Maybe that's why big cones tend to generate more natural sounding deep bass fundamentals.  And using EQ to push small cones harder would compound this problem, although true DSP could theoretically correct for much of the problem.

 

I've also previously offered (and been criticized for) my theory on natural intermodulation among the instruments in an ensemble.  A performance generates IM among all the tones and overtones being played.  As this IM is part of the performance, it's captured in the recording unless each instrument is acoustically isolated and individually mic'ed.  If the basses are bowing an A at 55 Hz, and the cellos are playing E above it (82 Hz), the sum and difference tones are recorded along with the notes being played. This adds a 27 Hz component to the source signal at several dB below the notes that generate it.  A speaker that's already down 6 dB at 40 will simply not pump out much of that 27 Hz tone.  As the same intermodulation is again generated on playback, it's reinforced by the intermodulation on the recording.  I suspect that it's part of the sonic richness we're discussing.  I also strongly believe that this phenomenon is a major reason for the inability of reproduced music to sound truly live, but that's a different story for another time.

[bluesman]

2 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

Thanks!  I also like your taste in Barolo, but you did not include space competition effects between the HiFi and wine aging & storage space in your article...

 

Ahhh - that's yet another downsizing adventure! We had a wine cellar in the house that held about 10 cases on display racks and about 100 unopened standard 12 bottle cases. My life plan was to rotate the stock, laying up fresh ones as we drank a perfectly aged bottle about once a week.  When we decided to downsize, I planned to convert the closet next to the front door into a climate controlled glass enclosed storage area for about 50 cases, assuming the cooling unit could be vented and drained into the building's vent and plumbing systems.  It turns out that there's no way to do that from any usable location in the apartment.

 

So I now have a pair of commercial 10 case storage units in the kitchen -

 

 

and a pair of 3 case open racks in the dining room -

 

 

With our newly reduced capacity, my plan is to have one properly aged bottle a month until I die. It is what it is.....

[bluesman]

4 hours ago, Bill_G said:

I can and have put together a verified nice system - verified as its had a performance analysis run on nearly all the components and they all perform well  - for under a $1,000USD. Just add an inexpensive computer, with storage and WiFi, and away you go... 

 

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!  You've found and combined great sound and great value in nice looking, space- and power-efficient, user friendly components with serious capabilities.  The Yamaha also has a traditional vibe for those who like having a "stereo system".   And using their app for all control functions (which I believe it can do from the description on the Yamaha product website - I haven't had my hands on this one yet), the electronics can also be hidden (with proper ventilation, of course) for those who lack the desire and/or the space to keep it in the open.

 

Wifi, BT, ethernet, DSD, analog in / out, digital in (including USB despite what appears to be an erroneous statement in the review you linked, if I understand the Yamaha spec sheet correctly), adequate power for many excellent speakers, etc etc etc - many if not most audiophiles could live very, very happily with your system.  A headphone amp is the only potentially serious design omission I see - but that's workable, e.g. drive a headphone amp from the line out jacks. 

 

I've always loved the serious Yamaha audio pieces - my B-2 power amp was one of the best sounding amps of its day, my 12" NSW-1 was a stellar sub (sadly sacrificed to downsizing), and the 8" Yamaha sub in our living room now is tight as a drum.  I agree completely with the review you linked (except for the USB error, if in fact I'm right): "It won't provide competition to state-of-the-art separate products but it also doesn't embarrass. As such, I am going to put the WXA-50 on my recommended list."  Enjoy it!!

 

[bluesman]

2 hours ago, Bill_G said:

Yeah, the lack of a headphone jack, and USB input from a computer, I found a bit odd as well. 

 

According to the "specs" page on the Yamaha product site for the WXA-50, there is a usable USB input. 

 

 

There's no breakdown of supported formats by input, but it does say that the USB port is a usable input. Have you tried it?  As for headphones, you can also drive a wireless DAC / headphone amp, e.g. the $200 Audiolab M-DAC.

[bluesman]

10 hours ago, Bill_G said:

That input is for USB storage devices only, though.

 

Interesting - Yamaha’s description and placement of it adjacent to the other inputs in the spec list is really misleading. They should either change the specs to clarify that it’s not a signal input or change the electronics so that it is.

 

All I can think of to say is....”Yamaha, if you’re listening, find that missing input!” 😝

[bluesman]

20 minutes ago, photonman said:

Great and interesting perspective.  But on the flip side, there are ways to make a "big" system fit in small spaces.  I live in an 1100 sf single story home where I have to be very efficient with the space and the floor design wastes nothing.  When I redid the kitchen/dining area I made sure to leave a 7' wide area where I could squeeze in my system consisting of tower speakers, Pass Labs amp, dac and Mac source.  The room acoustics may not be optimized as I am sure I am breaking many room treatment rules such as marble surfaces being adjacent, tile floors and wood furniture in front.  But I would gain nothing by going to a smaller system.

 

No question about it - you’re another great example of one who understands and accepts compromise consistent with your own values and expectations.  Moving to an apartment means I can’t crank it up any more. In fact, I don’t play our grand piano early or late in the day and instead use my Kurzweil through ‘phones at off hours. The grand is a similar accommodation to your larger system, in that it takes up enough available space to be useful in other ways (eg wine storage), yet I can’t really get the most out of it. But my wife knows how much I love it & we’re both OK with the compromises we have to make to keep it.

 

As I said in the downsizing piece, the key to successful right-sizing is to know what’s most important to you and to let go of lesser concerns happily and without looking back. It’s great that you and I could do that, and I hope we’re helping others to learn how. Happiness and contentment are essential to a good life for us all, especially as we advance to later stages of life or must accommodate unexpected and undesired change.

 

Audio enjoyment has the power to enhance our lives at every turn, if we pursue it thoughtfully.