Click pics to enlarge. JBL C60 against the wall. Citation IV atop the center pile driving McIntosh MC240, next to which was the Citation I.Note the huge Kronzilla to the right.
Letter from NYC (23-11): Labor Day Weekend+, Part II (Sunday), The Longest Day
Written in Shenzhen
(Continued from Part I (Saturday)) MJ came by in the morning and listened to my systems a bit. He was particularly taken by the deep airy soundstage produced by the LS3/5A in my LR (Yamamoto; Elekit, here). I packed some of the food I cooked on Saturday and we went over to Kevin's place, where he in short succession demonstrated his Altec 604E, B and W Matrix 801, Infinity RS-1 and Altec A7 (I have profiled him extensively in many articles; will have an updated article somewhere down the line). We had lunch there with the stuff I brought over, supplemented with some nice Chinese chives (grown in the backyard) sauteed with bean sprouts. Andy was waiting for Godot in the morning. By 1 pm, Godot had not turned up and we were very happy to have our group leader join us. We picked him up and headed to Roslyn Heights.
Chez MJ We first hit his basement, and were immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of large vintage loudspeakers and gear. It is an L-shaped basement (see diagram). We enter first into the long-stroked arm. At the Tip of the Letter were the Altec 604E and a pair of EV, driven by very simple disc player and an old Sansui Receiver. The Altec cabinet is a little larger than Kevin's and I thought it also sounded a little richer. Not bad at all for the very difficult to get right 604E (like the bigger A series, most suffer from crossover woes). The EV Fullrange was also surprisingly organic.
Like soldiers going through landmines, we advanced inch by inch and sat down on the sofa and listened to the JBL C60. Wow! It's like the big brother of the 4320 the day before! Significantly larger with an extra passive 15" woofer. Driven by Citation IV and McIntosh MC240 the sound was utterly engrossing! And the LP was played on a humble Technics SL-1200 with a Denon DL-103 (rare variant D), Denon Step-Up but a cheap "professional" DJ phonoamp! Streaming through a Marantz, much like Sam. As you can see in the pic, the C60 is propped up on a dolly. Andy raised the question of listening to them in the original state, on the floor (though the tweeter would be quite a bit below ear level. And then there is the question of taking the mid driver and tweeter out and putting them on top - something many JBL users do to improve the sound.
How good is the C60? Near the top, for my taste. Incidentally, I had written a brief JBL Overview before, so you know where I stand. Looks like I have to update it! As I mentioned in Part I of this series, my hitherto favorite has always been the L300. But the C60 has mighty attributes of its own, like an extra, albeit passive 15" woofer. The sound of the C60 (as of now) tilts towards the bass, whereas the L300 likely has a more evenly sorted sound. It hardly matters - we are smitten! Kevin is already on the lookout. Andy and I have no more space.
And then we turned the corner to the short leg of the L. At the end was a pair of Altec A5, with Wood Horns! It was being driven by a pair of Acrosound EL34 monoblocks to good effect. Of course, this wing of the L shaped room is just too confining for the A5. Source was classic half-size Esoteric VRDS Transport and DAC. Preamp was a DIY by one of their friends. Beneath are some Stromberg Carlson integrated amps. I asked to substitute the Oliver Sayes 43 SE amp (this one had 1x 6SL7 and a 5Y3). I heard much the same mellifluous sound as the 71A amp I had at home (although the 43 is indirectly heated pentode and 71A DHT).
One thing I learned recently is, much to my surprise, Altec's can be less efficient than I thought. With my YL horns (YL drivers and Altec 416A woofer) the Oliver Sayes 71A (0.7 watts) was more potent than here with the 43 driving the A5. Similarly, at Kevin's my Conar SE EL84, though tonally excellent, was not that powerful with the 604E (article to come).
Flanking the Tannoys are the Klipsch Forte's used in HT. Pair of Chartwell LS3/5A on stands. Pair of Spendor SP-100 idle on left.
Chez Philip Phil lives across the Street and came over to MJ's for a while and we all followed him back to his VERY large basement. Aside from the speaker change, the room looked much as before. Unlike Sam and MJ, Phil maintains a more minimalist outlook. The Tannoy GRF Memory is earlier than Sam's, with Cork face. We're not sure if they are TW's, Alnico or Ferrite. Phil still uses the McIntosh MX110 tuner-preamp (hidden in cabinet), a great bargain in my book, which drives a pair of McIntosh MC-60 (atop cabinet). Streaming was through a Gold Note two-box (in open cabinet). Sound was decent and much like at Sam's, though here due to the wide separation and heavily carpeted and large space less focused and softer. But it was still very musical. However, with old Jazz, say a Trio, it's ridiculous - there is too much of a ping pong effect with one player far away on the right and another on the left. Many of these old stereos have weak centers to start with, so this is a problem. After giving it thought, I recently told Phil mono jazz small combo albums will likely play better in this system, though we didn't try it that day. With classicals and orchestrals, the wide span was not so much a problem. We also tried out his humble analog setup of Pioneer PL-12 TT and AT95 Cartridge. Through the MX110's excellent phono section. sound was decent. There was however significant imbalance between the levels of the 2 channels, which I balanced by using the MX110's convenient Level Controls (tubes need to be checked). The tone of Michael Rabin (Seraphim LP) was surprisingly opulent, but the orchestral part was kinda grey. We tried to play CDs but the player was unresponsive.
This room is really too large. If I had known years ago, I'd not have recommended the SP-100 for him. In the plan below I show my idea of how to improve placement, but of course I understand everybody has constraints. I know some upgrades and a rack are in the works but re-positioning will have even more decisive impact. just brainstorming.
The highlight of the evening was an outdoor BBQ. What's a Labor Day Weekend without one? The food was simple but high quality, washed down with good wine. We were joined by the two wives (delightful) and another audio friend Johnny, a seasoned vintage veteran whom the mosquitos zoomed in on. Andy and I were completely unscathed. The only regret of the day was that Sam could not have joined us, as he was having too much fun laboring in Las Vegas.
Below a clip of Phil's, all from a cheap cheap TT!
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