Tivoli Model Two style - making more of it?

[chiba]

I was persuaded to temporarily abandon the "main" hi-fi at the weekend and join the family for a boardgame. We have a Tivoli Model Two next to where we set up, so as a novely I hauled out an old CD player and connected it up, so we could have some music while we played. How disappointing! What I mean by that is, how disappointing that my main system doesn't get the compliments that the little Tivoli gets! Somewhat scandalously the main rig was described as sounding "cheap" in comparison! Grrr...

So, given that I pretty much have to agree that it sounded pretty damn good, and clearly the family like it too, how do I take this fluid kind of Tivoli sound and replicate it on a larger scale? I'd want to lose some of the boominess, but keep the general flavour. Full frequency range drivers? Valves? The room is clearly making a difference, but where have I gone wrong?!

[Brian Ono]

The main rig consists of ?

[chiba]

The main rig consists of ?

Squeezebox 3, Arcam Diva A75+, Castle Pembrokes.

[Boris]

Nice amp, nice speakers, I'd look at source first. How does ye olde CD player sound in the main rig?


B.

[tkr001]

And I hope you aren't playing MP3s through the SB3

[chiba]

And I hope you aren't playing MP3s through the SB3

No, all self-ripped to Apple Lossless.

I'm off to plug the old CD player and Squeezebox in, with identical cables, to try an A/B test. I suppose the only variances left are going to be the amp potentially having different things in the circuit path for the CD and AV/DVD inputs, or output level differences between the CD player and streamer.

[chiba]

Nice amp, nice speakers, I'd look at source first. How does ye olde CD player sound in the main rig?

The CD player's a Pioneer PD-204 that's destined for Tardme when I get round to it.

Our brief A/B test had mixed results. The panel(!) gave a slight edge to the Squeezebox, and given their youth and clearly superior hearing, I'll go with that. I slightly preferred the CD myself, but have old ears.

[Luis]

I was persuaded to temporarily abandon the "main" hi-fi at the weekend and join the family for a boardgame. We have a Tivoli Model Two next to where we set up, so as a novely I hauled out an old CD player and connected it up, so we could have some music while we played. How disappointing! What I mean by that is, how disappointing that my main system doesn't get the compliments that the little Tivoli gets! Somewhat scandalously the main rig was described as sounding "cheap" in comparison! Grrr...

So, given that I pretty much have to agree that it sounded pretty damn good, and clearly the family like it too, how do I take this fluid kind of Tivoli sound and replicate it on a larger scale? I'd want to lose some of the boominess, but keep the general flavour. Full frequency range drivers? Valves? The room is clearly making a difference, but where have I gone wrong?!


Why be disgruntled? If the family says your system sounds 'cheap' , what better excuse to spend some $$$ on an upgrade.

[omegaspeedy]

chiba; how do I take this fluid kind of Tivoli sound and replicate it on a larger scale?

Hi chiba, yes some single full range driver speakers give that fluid open sound your after but it's not as simple as that. They do have there pro's and con's. Firstly most aren't full range or even close so if you love 30hz don't go there:), many but not all have an offensive forwardness/brightness in the upper midrange and most are in kit form where you would have to build your own. The good part is when you get it right, you'll end up with a spellbinding presentation that is hard to beat. Visaton B-200's are one such driver that make a great platform and I've never looked back. It did take a lot of sweet and blood though!

There are also other options available to you and there are a handful of multi-way speakers that have a reputation for being very open and fluid in their presentation. Harbeths, Spendors, the LS3/5a above to name a few but you'd just have to do your homework on that one.

As mentioned in this thread, see what you can do with what you have first and if you can't make it work, push on to the next step:)

Cheers James.

[chiba]

I have a brand new pair of Fostex FE168E Sigmas that I've never got around to putting in cabinets. Perhaps this should be the spur? I had ideas to put them in a double bass reflex design, but having looked at the simplicity and performance of the Bigger-Is-Better enclosure, will probably go that route. They calculate out at five foot four high (venting upwards). I have a high, sloping ceiling so they should have plenty of room to "breathe".

[omegaspeedy]

Hi chiba, the BIBs have a strong following but they are so massive! Sigma series Fostex are very good quality so you should have fun with those. There's plenty of good stuff around on the net and check out DIYaudio the speaker section for some ideas and a feel off whats good.

Cheers James.

[tamarillo]

No, all self-ripped to Apple Lossless.

I'm off to plug the old CD player and Squeezebox in, with identical cables, to try an A/B test. I suppose the only variances left are going to be the amp potentially having different things in the circuit path for the CD and AV/DVD inputs, or output level differences between the CD player and streamer.

When I went compute rbased I ripped many many CD's to apple lossless. I know that it is in theroy as good as real thing. But I also thne copied teh CD of one ove rto harddrive so no chages to format and bugger me it sounds better. Had both versions and played back to back many many times and always the lossless file sounded flater. Am now re ripping the lot - hard drives space is cheap!

[tkr001]

Yes I find wav sounds better but no tags bugs me. I am using aiff which to me sounds better than alac and flac