Big Dog RJ wrote: ↑Tue Dec 06, 2022 9:00 am
Ah! The good old IRS Gamma, by the legendary Arnie Nudell. I've met Arnie a few times, and whiles he was the chief at Infinity Systems, and then very briefly during his stint at Genesis Advanced Technologies. Always a learning curve talking to Arnie, his eyes would light up and there goes another 45mins talking all about the IRSV's.
Cheers mate, and enjoy those Gamma's! That deserves a big WOOF!!!
RJ
You are very right in what you write. I am just completing my friend's first stereo equipment based on Ren 90 + krell KSA100S
Consider that IRS Gamma cost me as much as $6,000
And REN 90 equals $1,100
It is difficult to find a loudspeaker at this price, or even several times higher, that will sound as good as these Infinity.
I was at an audio show recently and all the speakers costing less than $30,000 I heard there - they didn't stand a chance with the IRS Gamma. I could easily sit down and listen to $100,000 speakers, and if I were to feel a significant improvement, I would have to aim for that price range (I'm talking about new equipment).
It is true that the lowest bass section has evolved quite a lot in the new constructions, but from the middle up IRS Gamma is already a very high level.
The music is played live, you get the impression of playing live music - especially on vocals, dental instruments, harmonica.
Bass without a servo is two worlds - I played without for a while when I serviced the servo. Bass servo is kicking more precise - the difference is audible from the first seconds.
As for the DSP in my system - DSP is not there to bring the sound to another level - it's like orthopedic crutches - sometimes you need it and then you walk better.
I agree that the simplest system should sound the best, provided that it is in perfect conditions.
The Infinity Gamma actually requires a bi-amp - now it's done differently
For me, in the 50 Hz range, due to the resonances of the room, the gain was within a dozen or so dB - some songs could not be heard louder. In this house, I do not want to invest in acoustic systems, because I hope to move into a place soon, with a room dedicated to the stereo. I don't know if each of you is aware of it, but the acoustics are no less important, if not more important than the equipment itself. For me, ordinary slats on the wall changed so much in the sound that you could do WOW.
As you can see in my previous posts - I pasted a photo from the REW program before applying DSP and after applying DSP for the bass section.
The IRS Gamma is just so good, because the bass is cut off from 120Hz, what is above is untouched and flows directly from the tip to the ribbons. The rule with such tuning is that if you raise, do it minimally, and lowering should also be done with reason. 3db more = 2x more power.
It is always the case that if we improve one thing, something else will deteriorate, but the point is that the final effect should be satisfactory.
Playing with the equalizer and looking for the perfect sound with a microphone for frequencies higher than 200-400HZ is pointless, because if you slightly turn your head or move 10cm - the measurement result will be completely different.
In my room, the type of amplifier used in the bass section is a minor problem, and the acoustics are the biggest. With small bookshelf speakers, the problem would not be so noticeable, but the Gammas are big, powerful speakers that need meters to sound good. I tested the Krell KSA100S yesterday and it confirmed my belief that it doesn't matter whether the tube or the SS plays, what matters is the specific amplifier in the system and I seriously wonder if I should leave it as well. This is the first amplifier in my SS speakers that actually plays music and I want to listen to it.
In my system, the quality of the bass is not the highest, because unfortunately I have a reference point for how bass can sound, but until I move to a new house, I will not look for improvement in the equipment, because it is a matter of proportions of the room, which has ugly mods.
I agree that the ears are the best measurement device - but if you feel the bass rumble at a certain frequency - then if you are an experienced acoustician you will immediately know which frequency is rumble, and if you are not, plug in a microphone and read it from the graph. You can take a few measurements and find the best listening position or find the optimal distance between the speakers and the wall in a few minutes without having to listen to the songs every time - I mean only bass, because at higher frequencies relying on a microphone and simple measurements is pointless
Anyway, the road to the perfect sound is long, and it's all about hobby and fun, and also about being surprised by something, experiencing and having something better than you had so far, and it doesn't necessarily have to be the best possible achievement, because that would probably mean the end of the hobby