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Yes, there certainly has been a revival or even a renaissance of mono in the hi-end hi-fi world of late. I wonder if the popularity of earbuds plays a role since the imagery from earbuds seems to mimic that of mono playback. :icon_mrgreen:

 

The sub-$500 cartridges from Grado and Ortofon are easy enough to swallow. The $2000 and below Miyajima Labs hurts a bit but acceptable still. But some of the esoteric hi-end Lyra's that cost upwards of $5k is getting absurd and the $14k Koetsu Coralstone Platinum mono is just lunacy! :shock: And chances are you'll need another turntable or at least another tonearm plus another set of cables to complement its stereo counterpart. And that's not counting the possible phono amp and/or the step-up transformer which would require yet another set of cables. Things would add up quick. :eusa_wall:

 

The vinyl stuff would be costly if you're trying to keep stereo capability within the same system. Absolutely.

 

As an added system, it's just another system. And in that respect it's cheaper.

 

The actual hardware, everything is cut in half.....drivers, cabinets, etc. Many of the mono setups I've heard have been open baffle. And then there's the practical part of not having to really setup the system - you just put it wherever you want as there's no stereo system to achieve (at least with one speaker....two speakers running mono might be different story). Big vs. small room not as critical either.

 

The listening experience is different and takes getting used to. It's not for every type of music either.

 

It will be quite awhile before I get to that level, but it's a cool thing to look forward to. :icon_mrgreen:

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The vinyl stuff would be costly if you're trying to keep stereo capability within the same system. Absolutely.

 

As an added system, it's just another system. And in that respect it's cheaper.

 

The actual hardware, everything is cut in half.....drivers, cabinets, etc. Many of the mono setups I've heard have been open baffle. And then there's the practical part of not having to really setup the system - you just put it wherever you want as there's no stereo system to achieve (at least with one speaker....two speakers running mono might be different story). Big vs. small room not as critical either.

 

The listening experience is different and takes getting used to. It's not for every type of music either.

 

It will be quite awhile before I get to that level, but it's a cool thing to look forward to. :icon_mrgreen:

 

This I am not too sure, my friend. Perhaps I am thinking too esoteric but I highly doubt anyone would "start" with a mono system. (unless, of course, the "system" consists of on an old tube radio or a 60-yr-old turntable console :) ) Most people will start will stereo since the majority of the products are in that norm. I don't think one can buy half a pre-amp and mono-block preamps are sold in pairs and it would be wasteful to use only half of it. I suppose you can buy pwr-amp channel by channel but interconnects and speaker cables are also sold in pairs. So logic would dictate that we play around with the existing system and splice the channels together to create mono using adaptors. I suppose we can move that one speaker around or buy one particular speaker. Using a pair of speakers to play mono works too. It would result in that ear-bud soundstage feel as afore-mentioned.

 

Mono radio is easy but obviously that's not going to be a very hi-fi experience. Open reel would work but there is no software; one would have to make one's own. So that leaves only mono LP's & EP's. I suppose the most economical approach is to add another turntable with an integrated tonearm; or add another tonearm to the existing turntable if it allows additional tomearm installation. That's assuming one already has a turntable set up so one can save on sharing the phono amp and the cables.

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Moved my other EPI from the den into the garage & now rockin with both speakers stereo. Poor neighbors. I can see someday moving my receiver into the garage too, because now I run back and forth from the living room receiver into the garage when adjusting volume & music and it drives the wife nuts. But that day will come whenever I buy a nice separate living room set up. But for some reason the living room infinity are louder than the EPI, so maybe I will get into the receiver functions again to take a look but maybe it is just because they are different speakers or maybe different length wires. Anyway, VCR rocks! Thanks for your help & others too.

 

38292041725_9ace4997d2_b.jpgThrift store coat by JanDaMan, on Flickr

 

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This I am not too sure, my friend. Perhaps I am thinking too esoteric but I highly doubt anyone would "start" with a mono system. (unless, of course, the "system" consists of on an old tube radio or a 60-yr-old turntable console :) ) Most people will start will stereo since the majority of the products are in that norm. I don't think one can buy half a pre-amp and mono-block preamps are sold in pairs and it would be wasteful to use only half of it. I suppose you can buy pwr-amp channel by channel but interconnects and speaker cables are also sold in pairs. So logic would dictate that we play around with the existing system and splice the channels together to create mono using adaptors. I suppose we can move that one speaker around or buy one particular speaker. Using a pair of speakers to play mono works too. It would result in that ear-bud soundstage feel as afore-mentioned.

 

Mono radio is easy but obviously that's not going to be a very hi-fi experience. Open reel would work but there is no software; one would have to make one's own. So that leaves only mono LP's & EP's. I suppose the most economical approach is to add another turntable with an integrated tonearm; or add another tonearm to the existing turntable if it allows additional tomearm installation. That's assuming one already has a turntable set up so one can save on sharing the phono amp and the cables.

 

This was a sidebar topic about mono for guys like us. Was never intended for someone starting.

 

I just jumped at the word and didn't focus on what was being talked about. :icon_mrgreen:

 

 

 

 

 

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Moved my other EPI from the den into the garage & now rockin with both speakers stereo. Poor neighbors. I can see someday moving my receiver into the garage too, because now I run back and forth from the living room receiver into the garage when adjusting volume & music and it drives the wife nuts. But that day will come whenever I buy a nice separate living room set up. But for some reason the living room infinity are louder than the EPI, so maybe I will get into the receiver functions again to take a look but maybe it is just because they are different speakers or maybe different length wires. Anyway, VCR rocks! Thanks for your help & others too.

 

You are more than welcome! :) Glad I was able to help; at least partially.

At 91db/watt/metre, you Infinity’s are quite efficient speakers and at 4ohm impedence to boot, they should be loud. Happy listening!

 

This was a sidebar topic about mono for guys like us. Was never intended for someone starting.

 

I just jumped at the word and didn't focus on what was being talked about. :icon_mrgreen:

 

Fair enough. :icon_thumleft:

 

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Lucked out, just happened to see some EPI speakers on Craiglist that matched my two. So that will give me four in the garage and two infinity in the house. The things were original & tucked away for probably 40 years not used. Had to drive 2 hours to El Cajon to pick them up from some guy in a huge Scarface type mansion in the hills, and even so still hand to hand over $30. But I thought that was a good deal for me since the sound from those are great and they match my other two. He even said speakers now ain't what they used to be, and I thought that's exactly what I have experienced in looking around for new. Anyway, I was so stoked it was like finding my first perfect classic car and he even had the original paperwork with it. And I thought I was anal about keeping things together. But of course the foam on the speakers was just falling apart from age, so I just need to do the kit like I did with the Infinity speakers which was pretty easy. He even had NOS wiring with it, but I noticed the wiring was the size of the typical lamp cord wire and that seems about twice the thickness of the wire I am currently using. So just wondering if there is a way to determine what size wire is supposed to be used with various size speakers. Mine seems to work fine which maybe is all that matters?

 

39119780074_302f81da1e_b.jpgEPI - Yeah! by JanDaMan, on Flickr

39119779784_c09a3ccce2_b.jpgEPI paperwork by JanDaMan, on Flickr

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What I love to do is buy old ~1970s speakers and only maintain the outlook but replace everything with class D amps, seas/genelec sourced drivers, mundorf caps etc etc... Make a sick ass soundsystem that looks honest retro.

 

This is me few years a go creating event/ playing at Lexus international lauch.

post-20201-1516638252.jpg

 

4x double 18" folded horn loaded subs + highs and 30kW of power behind them in space of less than 300m2 or 1000cubic feet.

We had additional delay lines but decided to not use those. :D Playing at maybe 0,1% of available power / potential and still on the threshold of average 80 years old Lexus buyer getting a stroke. LOL

 

What I would really try sometimes are real horns. :D This is one of their single piston driver horns being build.

post-20201-1516638762_thumb.jpg

 

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Lucked out, just happened to see some EPI speakers on Craiglist that matched my two. So that will give me four in the garage and two infinity in the house.

 

He even had NOS wiring with it, but I noticed the wiring was the size of the typical lamp cord wire and that seems about twice the thickness of the wire I am currently using. So just wondering if there is a way to determine what size wire is supposed to be used with various size speakers. Mine seems to work fine which maybe is all that matters?

 

Congrats! Nothing beats the feeling of finding exactly what you are looking for and at a great price. Now you just have to figure out how to deal with your wife. :icon_mrgreen:

 

The wiring depends on how long they are. Ideally speaking, they should be all at the same gauge and same length but if we are not talking esoteric I doubt any difference will be noted. If you want, just pick up a spool or two of oxygen-free-copper speaker wires from Radio Shack or Best Buy and terminate them into 2 pairs of identical length speaker cables, re-foam the cones and you should be rock'n & roll'n in no time.

 

What I love to do is buy old ~1970s speakers and only maintain the outlook but replace everything with class D amps, seas/genelec sourced drivers, mundorf caps etc etc... Make a sick ass soundsystem that looks honest retro.

 

What I would really try sometimes are real horns. :D This is one of their single piston driver horns being build.

 

Needs a bigger horn... :lol2: :icon_thumleft:

 

Actually, real horns are super efficient. 12W of tube amp power is more than enough to fill a large size room.

 

I'm not sure if replacing the "guts" of the speaker and retaining its "shell" is a good idea. Most speakers' cabinet made in the 70's weren't that high grade. They likely don't seal well anymore and some panel distortion may result from open baffle design. If you wish to mimic its look, you are likely better off to build new cabinets with modern materials. Class D?! :eusa_naughty: They are compact and efficient but switching amps don't sound anywhere as good old fashion Class A or at least Class AB amp. I am, of course, being esoteric here... :icon_mrgreen: Horns and tubes are made for each other.

 

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VCR

 

I just picked up some audio physic virgo II speakers and they are on the way to me. My friend recommended them based on my taste in music.

 

Do you have experience with Audio Physic?

 

 

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All this speaker talk makes me want to get the Apogee Duet and some bad ass desktop speakers and step up my Pandora streaming at my desk in the office.

 

 

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VCR

 

I just picked up some audio physic virgo II speakers and they are on the way to me. My friend recommended them based on my taste in music.

 

Do you have experience with Audio Physic?

 

I have never owned a pair of Audio Physic speakers but I had auditioned a pair of the original Virgo a long time ago.

Like most of the German speakers (or the "German sound"), the Virgo's are a very precise sounding speaker. On the plus side, they are most revealing and everything is Spic & Span clean with very well-defined tones. On the minus side, for the same reason, they take no prisoners; good recordings in, beautiful sound out; conversely; bad recording in, crap sound out and that can get brutal. The Virgo's do not "romanticize" or increase the musicality of the recording like some of the British speakers do. They have a completely-no-BS type of very clean, high-definition sound. Some may find them too unforgiving and on the wrong recordings, they will sound harsh and cold. But if you like the solid analytical sound, they are it.

 

Their slim profile almost make it a "line source" type of speakers to which imaging and soundstage will be very precise without too much effort in positioning them. However, they also have side-firing bass units which would require careful placement in order to get the proper bass. So it is easy to place them to get pinpoint focus imagery from the tweeter and the midrange; but you might need to experiment with placement if the bass appears weak or mushy which is almost never the case for German speakers. Lastly, I believe these are 4ohms-rated. The norm is usually 8ohms so your amp may get a workout from them; but unless you have some very old amplifier, it should handle the Virgo II without much trouble. Hope you will enjoy them.

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All this speaker talk makes me want to get the Apogee Duet and some bad ass desktop speakers and step up my Pandora streaming at my desk in the office.

 

 

 

The Apogee Duet is good (pro gear manufacturer after all); the Lambo speakers aren't.

 

Funny you mentioned the Apogee. Years ago there was a speaker company also called Apogee and they made very cool-looking panel speakers. One model was called the Duetta. Jokers said they looked like washboards rather than speakers. They sounded beautifully too providing you have an amp that can feed them properly. The impedance was like 2ohms or less so they literally eat amplifiers for lunch (they burned out the FETs). They were also extremely fragile and bass-shy so they didn't last very long.

Apogee_Hifi_Speakers.jpg

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Congrats! Nothing beats the feeling of finding exactly what you are looking for and at a great price. Now you just have to figure out how to deal with your wife. :icon_mrgreen:

 

The wiring depends on how long they are. Ideally speaking, they should be all at the same gauge and same length but if we are not talking esoteric I doubt any difference will be noted. If you want, just pick up a spool or two of oxygen-free-copper speaker wires from Radio Shack or Best Buy and terminate them into 2 pairs of identical length speaker cables, re-foam the cones and you should be rock'n & roll'n in no time.

 

Thanks, plus just found this info in the link below which seems to suggest 16 guage would work for me (only 25 feet from my receiver to the garage speakers, and the EPI are 8 ohms). Amazon seems to have some nice prices too on wire, where I can just sit on my ass & have it tomorrow.

 

Wire guage size: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-5WQp7M423U3/l...akers_wire.html

 

Amazon 16 guage: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-Gaug...ds=speaker+wire

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Thanks, plus just found this info in the link below which seems to suggest 16 guage would work for me (only 25 feet from my receiver to the garage speakers, and the EPI are 8 ohms). Amazon seems to have some nice prices too on wire, where I can just sit on my ass & have it tomorrow.

 

Anything that conducts electricity would work essentially; cut up an old lamp AC cord would work just fine. Whether it's your cup of tea is the question. 16 gauges IMO is a bit too slim. I would go 14 at least or even 12. 14 is 5/64th of an inch or just shy of 2mm per polarity of wire. 12 is 7/64th or about 2.8mm polarity of wire.

 

https://www.amazon.com/AH1450SR-14-Gauge-Sp...+wire+14+gauges

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Anything that conducts electricity would work essentially; cut up an old lamp AC cord would work just fine. Whether it's your cup of tea is the question. 16 gauges IMO is a bit too slim. I would go 14 at least or even 12. 14 is 5/64th of an inch or just shy of 2mm per polarity of wire. 12 is 7/64th or about 2.8mm polarity of wire.

 

https://www.amazon.com/AH1450SR-14-Gauge-Sp...+wire+14+gauges

Thanks, I was able to change the order from 16 to 14 gauge. What would happen if I had used the 16 instead of 14?

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Thanks, I was able to change the order from 16 to 14 gauge. What would happen if I had used the 16 instead of 14?

 

Great.

Think of the electricity as water and the wire is the garden hose. A thicker hose would offer a better flow (water pressure in this case doesn’t really count or matter). The better the flow, the better the power & energy. There won’t be any significant or outright obvious difference but you should get a fuller sound with thicker wires.

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Great.

Think of the electricity as water and the wire is the garden hose. A thicker hose would offer a better flow (water pressure in this case doesn’t really count or matter). The better the flow, the better the power & energy. There won’t be any significant or outright obvious difference but you should get a fuller sound with thicker wires.

 

I just found a small line of 14 gauge wire in the garage and comparing it to my existing speaker wire I swear the 14 gauge looks to be about 3 times thicker (talking about the wire itself). That was the original speaker wire I had for my Sherwood receiver/EPI speaker set up 30 or 40 years ago, ha ha. Maybe that's why I have to crank up the volume for the EPI in the garage because the wire is so thin. Anyway, appreciate your help. I tell ya now that I have some good sounds in the garage I stay there much longer when weight training. Maybe the increase to 4 speakers will enhance my training 4 times as long, and I am sure the wife will appreciate that (except for shaking walls).

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I just found a small line of 14 gauge wire in the garage and comparing it to my existing speaker wire I swear the 14 gauge looks to be about 3 times thicker (talking about the wire itself). That was the original speaker wire I had for my Sherwood receiver/EPI speaker set up 30 or 40 years ago, ha ha. Maybe that's why I have to crank up the volume for the EPI in the garage because the wire is so thin. Anyway, appreciate your help. I tell ya now that I have some good sounds in the garage I stay there much longer when weight training. Maybe the increase to 4 speakers will enhance my training 4 times as long, and I am sure the wife will appreciate that (except for shaking walls).

 

Good to know. And you are welcome. Enjoy your speakers sir! :icon_thumleft:

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VCR, just curious, is audio/video electronics your profession, or just a major hobby?

 

Never break the cardinal rule by asking what is one’s profession Wheels; at least not publicly.

But to answer you, nope, my profession couldn’t be further from audio/video.

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Never break the cardinal rule by asking what is one’s profession Wheels; at least not publicly.

But to answer you, nope, my profession couldn’t be further from audio/video.

 

My apologies, didn't mean to violate anything. I know it's frowned upon to ask what a Lambo owner's specific profession is, and probably to ask in general a specific profession, but I just had meant was that like the area you were in, not what your specific job was. But it was just out of general curiosity because you are so knowledgeable about all things audio/video, no malice intended :)

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The Apogee Duet is good (pro gear manufacturer after all); the Lambo speakers aren't.

 

Funny you mentioned the Apogee. Years ago there was a speaker company also called Apogee and they made very cool-looking panel speakers. One model was called the Duetta. Jokers said they looked like washboards rather than speakers. They sounded beautifully too providing you have an amp that can feed them properly. The impedance was like 2ohms or less so they literally eat amplifiers for lunch (they burned out the FETs). They were also extremely fragile and bass-shy so they didn't last very long.

 

Those panel speakers are big boys!

 

I dug back through your recommendations and went ahead and ordered a Sony LSPX-S1. Should be a good fit for my office space and looks pretty cool! I'll report back on how Metallica LIVE From Houston sounds on it. :icon_super:

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Those panel speakers are big boys!

 

I dug back through your recommendations and went ahead and ordered a Sony LSPX-S1. Should be a good fit for my office space and looks pretty cool! I'll report back on how Metallica LIVE From Houston sounds on it. :icon_super:

 

They actually made bigger ones still.

 

Congrats on the Sony LSPX-S1. Keep us posted please.

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Needs a bigger horn... :lol2: :icon_thumleft:

 

Actually, real horns are super efficient. 12W of tube amp power is more than enough to fill a large size room.

 

I'm not sure if replacing the "guts" of the speaker and retaining its "shell" is a good idea. Most speakers' cabinet made in the 70's weren't that high grade. They likely don't seal well anymore and some panel distortion may result from open baffle design. If you wish to mimic its look, you are likely better off to build new cabinets with modern materials. Class D?! :eusa_naughty: They are compact and efficient but switching amps don't sound anywhere as good old fashion Class A or at least Class AB amp. I am, of course, being esoteric here... :icon_mrgreen: Horns and tubes are made for each other.

 

Class D for subs. ;) Otherwise Class A and preamp with tubes. Okay? :D

Ofcourse they need reinforcing inside. But for a third or fourth hifi setup at cottage it does not need to be perfect, good clarity and happiness when listening is enough. But old looks make it so that possible thieve that would look inside from window is not interested to break into cabin.

I am esoteric only at home...

 

BTW those Real Horns have water cooling inside for elements. Pretty neat. They drive them with lots of power in big events.

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