Our 25th Meeting

OK, fellow audiophiles in the Las Vegas area and everywhere (really, this is the worldwide web after all), the first official audio society ever in Sin City, has now completed its 25th meeting!

We had our 25th meeting on 9-19-15.

This time LVAC member Les hosted. This was Les’ second time hosting in 2015 – the first time was in January, 8 months ago. In the interim, Les had moved from a condo to an apartment and re-installed his audio and video system.

Les had also taken his speakers from the prototype stage (or, as I called it in January, “a DIY project”) to a finished furniture quality system. Both the appearance and sound quality (which was good to start with) have improved. Les credited part of that to the assistance he received from LVAC member Barry, who spent several hours in Les’ living room Thursday evening tuning the system with Barry’s TEF system to prepare for the meeting.

As he did in January, Les presented a wide range of vinyl, CD and video source material. He contrasted the differences between those media. The music ran the gamut from classical to jazz to rock including vintage and current recordings. As was the case in January, all of the different genres of music sounded great on Les' system. The system does not discriminate on recording quality, either. It features several octaves of “lower mid-range” often missing from other systems which highlight the full sound range of pianos,guitars, many other musical instruments and male and female vocalists. The system was very neutral without sounding thin and bright as many audiophiles would think that horn speakers with solid state electronics would be.

Les also played selections submitted by other members. One of them, "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens, which member Jonathan brought on both vinyl and on CD, proved that CDs don’t wear out but records do.

Thanks to Jonathan as well for loaning Les a Musical Fidelity V-DAC for the demo. It “Plugged” and it “Played.”

Les presented two separate speaker systems using the same “front end” starting point in a form of an “A – B” comparison. He is obviously a big JBL fan, so all of the drivers are by JBL. Les called the systems “The Big Horns” and “The Black + Whites” – looking at the photo it is obvious why. An equipment list and photos from Jonathan and Les follow.

During the meeting, Les mentioned that he would like to sell any or all of his equipment to any interested party.

So, once again, there you have it - yet another successful LVAC meeting. Thanks again to
Les for hosting, the various members for showing up, and you for your support.

Equipment for Les' September 19, 2015 LVAC Demo

System 1 - The "Big Horns"

Speakers
  

Bass
  

1 Pair
  

Vintage JBL Apollo Cabinets with JBL LE15A woofers (refoamed by OC Spekers)

Midrange/HF
  

1 Pair
  

Custom 36in Smith Horns In Walnut And Maple with JBL 2451J drivers and Truextent BeX

diaphragms.

Electronics
  


Amplifiers
  

2 JBL UREI 6260s - 150 watts per channel each at 8 ohms

Crossover
  

Rane AC23 three way electronic crossover (set for two way at 350 Hz)

Equalizer
  

SAE Mark 17 (restored 2014)


System 2 - The "Black And Whites"

Speakers
  

Bass
  

1 Pair
  

Custom LaScala replicas with JBL D140F woofers

Midrange/HF
  

1 Pair
  

Custom 24in Smith Horns with JBL LE85 drivers

Electronics
  

Amplifiers
  

SAE Mark 3 - 120 watts per channel at 8 ohms dual monoblock


JBL UREI 6260 - 150 watts per channel at 8 ohms

Crossover
  

Rane AC22 two way electronic crossover (at 750 Hz)

Equalizer
  

SAE Mark 17 (restored 2015)


  
Other Electronics

Pre-amplifier
  

SAE Mark 9b

Equalizer
  

SAE Mark 7

DAC
  

Musical Fidelity V-DAC (loaned by Jonathan Meyers)


  
Play Vinyl
  

Turntable
  

SONY TTS 3000 (restored 2014)

Tonearm
  

SONY PUA 237

Cartridge
  

Stanton 681


  
Play CDs
  

DVD player
  

SONY SR210P


Video
  
Projector
  

EPSON 8350


Photos are below. Photos by Les and Jonathan:

Our Eighteenth Meeting

Ok, fellow audiophiles in the Las Vegas area and everywhere really (this is the world wide web after all,) the first official audio club ever in Sin City, has now completed its eighteenth meeting.

We had our eighteenth meeting on 2-21-15.

For a list of equipment, check out the blog post here:

http://lasvegasaudioclub.blogspot.com/2014/10/october-meeting-place-and-time-set.html

However, there have been some interesting additions to the system. Instead of the McIntosh 225 amp, in its place is a fully restored Marantz 8B! Also, the speaker setup has changed. Gone are the JBL Studio 590s (they weren't really very good in this system anyway.) In it's place full time are the Klipsch La Scalas. Plus, very interesting horn tweeters from Altec (805Bs on top) and Eminence (APT 200 with bi-radial horn in the middle). As well as Crites A/4500 crossovers. To round it off, 2 Velodyne subwoofers are used.

The meeting took place at LVAC member Todd's place. This was Todd's second time hosting. He was very professional in his presentation. And as you can see in the list of equipment via the link above, most of his components are vintage. You can't judge book by it's cover, and the vintage components put out a sound that was on a par with today's top stuff. It was dynamic, transparent, and had a visceral quality. Compared to last time 6 months ago, it was even better, if you can imagine that! So, it was a very enjoyable experience to say the least, and all genres of music were played, especially classic jazz from the Blue Note label of which Todd scored an entire collection of last year. Overall, a very successful meeting, and the food and drink Todd provided (pizza and soda pop) was nothing short of excellent. So basically, once again good times were had by all. No one was disappointed. And that's the way it should be! That's how we roll here at the LVAC!

Photos are below. Photos by LVAC member Todd.

January meeting place and time set

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, Jan. 17th, 2015 from 2pm-5pm

The meeting will be at LVAC member Les' place. Les' system is very unique to say the least. A list of equipment is below.

Speakers    
Bass    
1 Pair     *Custom LaScala replicas with JBL D140F woofers
1 Pair     JBL 4502 Studio Monitors with JBL 2226J woofers
Midrange/HF    
2 Pair     *Custom 24in Smith Horns with JBL LE85 drivers
2 Pair     *Custom 36in Smith Horn prototypes with JBL 2451J drivers and Truextent BeX diaphragms

Electronics    
Pre-amplifier     SAE Mark IXb
Amplifiers     SAE Mark III

    SAE 2200

    4 JBL UREI 6260s

Equalizers     2 SAE Mark 7s

    SAE Mark 17 (restored 2014)

Crossovers     Rane AC22 two way electronic crossover

    Rane AC23 three way electronic crossover

Play Vinyl    
Turntable     SONY TTS 3000 (restored 2014)
Tonearm     SONY PUA 237
Cartridge     Stanton 681

Play CDs    
DVD player     SONY SR210P

Video    
Projector     EPSON 8350
Screen     120in (generic)

Footnotes
* Unique equipment you would not be able to hear anywhere else.

Photos by LVAC member Les.

Both analog and digital recordings will be played, evaluated, and enjoyed. Pizza and drinks will be served to satiate the appetite.

So, as with any of our meetings, you don't wanna miss this!

Any questions or comments, and details regarding this event, feel free to contact us at:  motorcitydeadman@gmail.com or dave_a_2005@hotmail.com

Our Sixteenth Meeting

Ok, fellow audiophiles in the Las Vegas area and everywhere really (this is the world wide web after all,) the first official audio club ever in Sin City, has now completed its sixteenth meeting.

We had our sixteenth meeting on 12-13-14.

At this particular meeting, we had the great opportunity to evaluate the excellent First Watt J2 amplifier designed by the legendary Nelson Pass. This is a single-ended 25Wpc into 8 Ohms running in pure Class A. The retail price is $4000. Click on the link above for more info.

We had a great time evaluating this amp. It was a fun listening session augmented by New York style pizza and soft drinks. Everything from classical to jazz to classic rock was played, and no one left disappointed. Once again, as par for the course here at the LVAC, it was good times indeed.

Without further ado, here are the panel's findings of this amp. Remember, these are only subjective opinions, and as they say, your mileage may vary.


LVAC President and Founder, Dave: The amp is very clean and pure in the mids and highs. High and mid frequency instruments such as cymbals, voices, and acoustic guitars are spot on. Imo, it would be better served as a HF/MR amp in a bi-amped configuration rather than run it full range. At high or higher volumes, the amp tends to clip and tends to run out of gas. The dynamics and bass are a bit restricted on the JBL S4700 speakers. This is not really the amp for headbangers and 1812 Overture freaks. The JBL S4700 speakers are 94db efficient with a 6 Ohm rating. You might think that's enough efficiency, but it seems they actually need more power to wake them up, especially the woofers. The higher wattage (and current) Class A and A/B amps from Pass Labs (like the X350.8) would be a better choice for the S4700s. Now with something like a Klipsch Cornwall or Klipschorn, the J2 would be all you need really. Those are even more efficient and have a higher Ohm rating than the JBLs I use. Overall, an excellent amp that is transparent and has a very organic feel. At $4000 retail, it is a pretty good value as well relative to high end pricing.


LVAC member Les: This is an excellent amplifier when used in the context for which I believe it was intended. At 25 watts into 8 ohms, it was clearly not designed to be over-driven into clipping 25% of the time or more by listening too loud. Played at more reasonable volume levels, I felt that it sounded extremely clean and pleasant.

I appreciated the opportunity to listen to a Class A FET amplifier for the first time. It seemed to exhibit the characteristic smooth clipping of a tube amp.


LVAC member Mike: The J2 is a quite nice sounding amp within its limits.  I really enjoyed the naturalness of the vocals as well at the articulate high end.  The live tracks we played had that "atmosphere" you don't often hear.  The bass is solid and not at all bloated.  The amp kept up with all we could play though it at reasonable sound levels.  If pushed to hard, it would pay the price, however.  I believe the J2 is on par with many high-end SET amps that I have heard.  You also don't have to worry about the added expense of tubes.  I'm sure the target audience with straightforward, high-efficiency speakers will be quite happy with the J2.  It can rock with satisfactory volume for most of us.  I enjoyed the listening session.  Thanks for the demo!


LVAC member Jonathan: Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a listening session which was highlighted by the use of First Pass’ J2 power amplifier.  This amp was designed by Nelson Pass, best known as the inspiration behind Pass Labs and a renowned engineer in the field of audio signal amplification.

The J2 is a two-channel 25 watt Class A amplifier which uses silicon carbide-based power J-FETs manufactured by SemiSouth Laboratories; unfortunately, that company shut down in late 2012, and those J-FETs are no longer being made.  The amplifier’s MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) is $4,000 (USD).

Since I  was unfamiliar with the capabilities of the other components used in the system (JBL S4700 speakers, Bryston BP6P preamp, Onkyo DX-7555 CD player, FM Acoustics interconnects and Bryston SC4 speaker cables), I focused my evaluation effort on discerning – to the extent to which I am capable – the impact of the J2’s power amplification on the sound being reproduced.

Not surprisingly, when music was played at an apartment-friendly volume, what I heard was excellent low-level detail that was both accurate and spatial.  Absent were the “clinicality” of some solid-state amplifiers and the pleasing warmth (aka distortion) of their tube counterparts; the J2 is most definitely neutral in terms of a sonic imprint.  However, when the volume was raised and the amplifier was called upon to drive high level transients, the result was far less pleasing.  Clipping occurred frequently.

My conclusion is that the First Pass J2 amplifier should be seriously considered by anyone whose listening preference is overwhelming oriented towards chamber music and who seeks to avoid raising the volume of his music to a level that might impose upon his neighbors due to thin apartment walls.  Everyone else will likely find more versatile, and equally fine sonically, power amplifiers readily available for a similar price. 


LVAC member Terry: I thought it sounded fine, particularly on "simple" passages. I thought when music got more complex or loud it did not hold up well.


The LVAC would like to give special thanks to Desmond Harrington, President of Pass Labs for making all of this happen.

Photos are below. Photos by LVAC member Barry.

the system

The First Watt J2 in all its glory

The listening panel

Our Fifteenth meeting

Ok, fellow audiophiles in the Las Vegas area and everywhere really (this is the world wide web after all,) the first official audio club ever in Sin City, has now completed its fifteenth meeting.


We had our fifteenth meeting on 11-15-14.


Here is a list of the equipment used according to our host for the afternoon, LVAC member Barry:


  "The CD player was one of the Tascam CD 500's from the house.
  The pre was the Nakamichi CA-5 from my office
  The DSP, a DBX DriveRack 260
  The HF amp Crown CE1000 -- 275 Watt per channel into 8Ω or about 150 into the  16Ω 2441
  The mid amp, Crown CE2000 -- 400 Watt per channel into 8Ω
  The LF amps, Crown CE4000's. One per bass cab. -- 600 Watt per channel into 8Ω. Power dependent they will drive up to 3600 Watts bridged in to a 4Ω load but they sound better to me driving each 2226 with a single channel at 8Ω and they get plenty loud anyway."


  "The HF horn is my favorite large format HF horn,  Community 60° radials with a JBL 2441 drivers loaded with proper JBL D16R2441 aluminum diaphragm's."


  "The mid horn is also a Community, an M80 with a JBL 2020H in them."


  "The bass horns are RCA 9462's loaded with JBL 2226H's. These horns were made in about 1953 and they slay the JBL 4550's sorry to say."


The meeting took place at LVAC member Barry's place. This was Barry's second time hosting. He was quite gracious and accommodating. And as you can see in the list of equipment above, most of his components are vintage. For all intense purposes, this was a PA system. An audiophile PA system. Yes, that sounds like an oxymoron, but the results showed it to be true. Surprisingly enough, the sound was clear as a bell, but had the dynamic range that most home systems can't even begin to touch. Peak sound levels were way over 100 db, and even at those levels, the sound stayed clean and clear, not jumbled up or garbled in the slightest. It had the grace of a ballerina with the full charge of a bull elephant. It could easily convey the power and glory of a full tilt heavy metal band, a big band, or a full orchestra. This system is not for the weak of heart! It was quite the experience to say the least and everyone who attended walked away very impressed. Most genres of music were played, and all of the different genres sounded great. The system did not discriminate on recording quality. So overall, it was once again a very successful meeting, and the food Barry provided (subs, chips, cookies, and soda pop) was nothing short of excellent. So basically, once again good times were had by all. No one left disappointed and hungry. And of course that's the way it should be.


Photos are below. Photos by LVAC member Les and Doc Mark Rutledge out of Southern California.

Our Fourteenth meeting

Ok, fellow audiophiles in the Las Vegas area and everywhere really (this is the world wide web after all,) the first official audio club ever in Sin City, has now completed its fourteenth meeting.

We had our fourteenth meeting on 10-18-14.

For a list of equipment, check out our last blog post here:

http://lasvegasaudioclub.blogspot.com/2014/10/october-meeting-place-and-time-set.html

The meeting took place at LVAC member Todd's place. This was Todd's first time hosting. You couldn't tell by the way Todd presented. He was very professional. And as you can see in the list of equipment via the link above, most of his components are vintage. You can't judge book by it's cover, and the vintage components put out a sound that was on a par with today's top stuff. It was dynamic, transparent, and had a visceral quality. Interestingly enough, more members preferred the oldie but goodie Klipsches (with Velodyne subwoofer) to the new flashy JBLs. Of course it was apples to oranges, but the fact remained, the modified Klipsches were the clear winner here. So, it was a very enjoyable experience to say the least, and most genres of music were played, leaning heavily towards classic jazz from the Blue Note and Atlantic labels. Overall a very successful meeting, and the food Todd provided (pizza and wings) was nothing short of excellent. So basically, once again good times were had by all. No one was disappointed. And that's the way it should be! That's how we roll here at the LVAC!


Photos are below. Photos by LVAC member Todd.

Our Tenth Meeting

Ok, fellow audiophiles in the Las Vegas area and everywhere really (this is the world wide web after all,) the first audio club ever in Sin City, has now completed its tenth meeting!

We had our tenth meeting this last Sunday, (which was 5-18-14)

This time LVAC Founder and President Dave (who hosted our first and sixth meeting) once again hosted the affair, with his very good 2 channel system.

We had a wonderful time listening to a variety of tunes (CD and LP) on Dave's system. Including a first pressing of Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue' album from Dave's collection, an audiophile favorite. Something in the system was different this time around! Instead of Dave's usual Bryston gear, LVAC member Mike was kind enough to bring over a little firecracker of a tube amp, a modified Heathkit AA-151 integrated. To everyone's surprise, the system had plenty of that good ol' "midrange magic," much like most of the systems we've heard here at the LVAC! It was mesmerizing and grabbed your attention completely. So much so that the intended shoot-out between Dave's Bryston gear and the Heathkit was scrapped because the Heathkit was that damn good! It sounded and played very well with Dave's JBL S4700 speakers, a amazing feat for a 7 Wpc integrated! As par for the course, pizza (which Mike graciously brought over from Naked City Pizza here in Las Vegas) and soft drinks were
served. And yes, once again a good time was had by everyone.

Right now we have 12 members, and we're looking for a few more good audiophiles in the Vegas area and beyond.

Again, meetings will be once a month.

So, don't be shy, we'd love to have you for the next meeting, and as of now it's still free to join!

Any questions? email us at: dave_a_2005@hotmail.com or motorcitydeadman@gmail.com

Photos of the system are below. Photos were taken by LVAC member Des.

Links:

JBL Synthesis S4700: http://www.jblsynthesis.com/Products/Details/149 

The gang's all here! From L to R: LVAC Founder and President Dave, and LVAC members Todd, Nick, and Mike. Not pictured, LVAC member Des.

Whoops! Sorry about the dirty plate!

The Heathkit integrated in all its glory!