guido
Well-known member
1. Guido Francescato
2. Potomac, MD, US
3. Martin Logan SL3s
4. Purchased in 2000
5. No mods
6. Associated Equipment:
Front end: Marantz TT-1551 Turntable with Clearaudio Satisfy arm and Virtuoso Ebony Wood Cartridge; Cambridge Azur 840c CD player; Panasonic DVD-S47 DVD (video and audio) player [< $70.00 !! and works great, digital output goes to the upsampling DAC in the Cambridge CD player]
Preamps: Conrad-Johnson Motif [phono section only]; Adcom GFP-750; Home made stepped resistors attenuator for Hafler Matrix control [rear speakers]
Amps: Music Reference RM-200 [front]; SAE Mark XXXIB [rear]
Speakers: ML SL3s [front]; Spica Angelus [rear]
Interconnects: Home made, braided, Teflon insulated, solid silver interconnects to front gear; Radio Shack generic to rear; Home Depot [GASP !!!] heavy duty outdoor orange/gray chord for speaker cables (by-wired). All electronics, except the phono section and the rear Hafler Matrix, run in balanced mode with XLR terminations.
Room treatment: RPG foam panel on front wall hiding the Toshiba TV (used for DVD viewing only) and tall foam panels on side walls at the speaker locations (theoretically this should not be necessary with dipoles, but I found it makes a significant difference). RPG Skyline diffusers on side walls midway between speakers and listening chair. Home-made diffuser about 2 feet behind listening chair (see below).
7. Comments: The rear "channels" are a modified Hafler Matrix, i.e., the signal is taken from the preamp's output, not the amp's. It then goes through the attenuator, the SAE amp, and from there to the rear speakers in the Hafler L-R mode. the level of the rear speakers is set so that is barely audible at normal listening levels with the front speakers disconnected. This does not create the "Hafler ambiance," with its weird phasing artifacts. Rather, it lends greater three-dimensionality and believability to instruments and voices and, strangely enough, it also enhances depth and control in the bass.
The Hafler Matrix "is not for everyone" as they say in drugs ads. I only use it with small groups or individual instruments. With large ensembles or choral music it overwhelms the front speakers with distortions: Not recommended for Mahler's "Symphony of One Hundred."
The flat black boxes you see on some of the electronics are filled with lead shot. I also have them on top of the SL3 woofers.
2. Potomac, MD, US
3. Martin Logan SL3s
4. Purchased in 2000
5. No mods
6. Associated Equipment:
Front end: Marantz TT-1551 Turntable with Clearaudio Satisfy arm and Virtuoso Ebony Wood Cartridge; Cambridge Azur 840c CD player; Panasonic DVD-S47 DVD (video and audio) player [< $70.00 !! and works great, digital output goes to the upsampling DAC in the Cambridge CD player]
Preamps: Conrad-Johnson Motif [phono section only]; Adcom GFP-750; Home made stepped resistors attenuator for Hafler Matrix control [rear speakers]
Amps: Music Reference RM-200 [front]; SAE Mark XXXIB [rear]
Speakers: ML SL3s [front]; Spica Angelus [rear]
Interconnects: Home made, braided, Teflon insulated, solid silver interconnects to front gear; Radio Shack generic to rear; Home Depot [GASP !!!] heavy duty outdoor orange/gray chord for speaker cables (by-wired). All electronics, except the phono section and the rear Hafler Matrix, run in balanced mode with XLR terminations.
Room treatment: RPG foam panel on front wall hiding the Toshiba TV (used for DVD viewing only) and tall foam panels on side walls at the speaker locations (theoretically this should not be necessary with dipoles, but I found it makes a significant difference). RPG Skyline diffusers on side walls midway between speakers and listening chair. Home-made diffuser about 2 feet behind listening chair (see below).
7. Comments: The rear "channels" are a modified Hafler Matrix, i.e., the signal is taken from the preamp's output, not the amp's. It then goes through the attenuator, the SAE amp, and from there to the rear speakers in the Hafler L-R mode. the level of the rear speakers is set so that is barely audible at normal listening levels with the front speakers disconnected. This does not create the "Hafler ambiance," with its weird phasing artifacts. Rather, it lends greater three-dimensionality and believability to instruments and voices and, strangely enough, it also enhances depth and control in the bass.
The Hafler Matrix "is not for everyone" as they say in drugs ads. I only use it with small groups or individual instruments. With large ensembles or choral music it overwhelms the front speakers with distortions: Not recommended for Mahler's "Symphony of One Hundred."
The flat black boxes you see on some of the electronics are filled with lead shot. I also have them on top of the SL3 woofers.
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