Hello visitor and welcome to my virtual stereo system!
I am 39 year old physicist leaving in Amsterdam the Netherlands with a wonderful and understanding wife, a 5.5 years old daughter and a cat. I listen music all day every day (iTunes+Shure SE535 at work and KOSH at home). Currently, my favourite musicians are Patricia Barber and Loreena Mckennitt, but I enjoy any genre as long as it is good music (from jazz and classical to pop, rock, and metal). My other hobby is drumming, though I do not play as much as I used to (i.e. 30-60 minutes per week).
Regarding my Hi-Fi believes, I am very found of Accuphase electronics, a firm believer in subwoofers, and do not believe all the hype about cables. With speakers it is more difficult! I was in a long term relationship with the Focal Utopia Micro Be & REL Stentor combo, then I was briefly in love with the Dynaudio C1 monitors. I have fantasised about Avantgarde speakers for a very long time, and till recently I did not find a dealer that was willing to let me audition them in my system. Currently, I own the Avantgarde Uno speakers, but as one would expect, now I have other fantasies, e.g. Avantgarde Trio, TAD CR-1 & Evolution E1, Marting Logan Summit X...
Finally, in case you wonder, I have named the system after ambassador Kosh Naranek (the vorlon in the Babylon 5 series) - a "metaphor" for the elusiveness, beauty and frustrations found in this hobby.
Thanks for stopping by and do not be shy, let me know your honest opinion about my system and hi-fi believes.
After moving the system from my study/music room up stairs into the living room its performance dropped dramatically. In the new room the speakers were firing along the long wall and this did not work very well in this room. Also, my wife was happy that I have decided to spent my time up stairs with the family, but she was not very happy about the new look of our living room.
To find a solution, I have started designing the room in the digital/virtual domain, i.e. on my computer. I am theoretical/computational physicist and this is how I usually solve problems. :) First, using the Room EQ Wizard (REW) software I have determined the best place to position the speakers. The total weight of the system is approximately 250 Kg so moving things around blindly is never a good idea. Then, I moved the speakers in the position determined with REW to verify that the theoretical prediction is ok. To my surprise, REW has given me a very good starting point. Next, the position of the speakers has been fine tuned. Finally, I used the 3D Live Interior program to find the combination of pictures that pleased everyone in the family. Before deciding which pictures to print on the GIK Artpanels I have probably looked at one million pictures on shutterstock.com. :)
I have added a few pictures with the new layout of the living room. After moving things around and after adding the GIK acoustic treatments the system performs as good as it did in the dedicated room.
The GIK Artpanels made everyone in our home happy. I am happy with the sound, my wife is happy with the red flower and the Japanese stone garden, and my daughter is happy with the butterflies.
System edited: Last month I upgraded my DP-600 SACD player to an DP-720 player. The new player sounds significantly better than the previous one, even though it is not fully-burned in yet.
I have also added a picture of the whole rig as I have recently moved it from my study/music room into our living room. The new room allows me to stay 4-4.5 meters away from the speakers. In theory, this should be beneficial as it allows the sound fields coming from the two horns of the UNOs to integrate properly. In practice, however, I do not hear an improvement (especially when comparing with the sound I had in my study/music room). This, however, is a consequence of the lack of acoustic treatments in the living room. Thus, I am back on the hi-fi horse the new goal is to find a decent looking solution for the acoustical problems in the living room. Suggestions are very welcome!
Hi Bvdiman! I am sorry for the late reply. I did not have much time for internet lately as I was very busy at work.
Now the C-3800 pre has more approximately 500 hours of music played through it, and 5-6 days ago I have noticed a very big change (for the better) in sound. The sound has opened up significantly, no frequency interval is standing out, everything is extremely clear and played with utmost calm. Now the C-3800 is certainly better than the C-2810. However, during the first month I was not 100% sure that buying it was a good move as in combination with the DG-48, the C-2810 sounded better that the C-3800 (with or without the DG-38).
I will gather my thoughts (eventually) and report both here on audiogon and also on audio aficionado about my experience with the C-2410 vs. C-2810 and C-3800.
System edited: Another upgrade of my Accuphase rig: First, the almost 10 years old DG-38 voicing equaliser was replaced with its "younger brother", the DG-48. Compared to the DG-38, the DG-48 is significantly easier to use and yields results that are at least as good. Second, I've bought an Accuphase PS- 1220 power conditioner. This was a very very significant upgrade. This unit, is not only capable to drive and "protect" all my audio components, but it also improves every aspect of the music, e.g. clarity, focus, dynamics, sound stage, etc..
System edited: two significant changes! First, I have moved the system from its dedicated room into our living room. Now the whole family can enjoy it! The larger living room (6 x 3.7 x 2.7 meters) has posed some problems at first, but I have managed to work things out. Now I am quite happy with the sound. Second, I have replaced my C-2410 Accuphase preamplifier with its bigger brother the Accuphase C-2810 pre. This was a very significant upgrade - comparable in magnitude with the move from A-45 to the A-65.
Hi Arthur, ok I understand now what you have meant. Marantz also uses current feedback in many of their designs. I am not sure about Luxman, but I would not be surprise as these three brands seems to follow the same school of thoughts.
System edited: Big upgrade in the amp department: the A-45 amp was replaced by its bigger brother the A-65. I've got a very good deal on an A-65 power amp and I have decided to buy it (mostly in the hope to end once and for all my quest for a power amp). Given the high sensitivity of my speakers I did not expected the move to be a significant upgrade. However, I could not be more wrong. Everything is much better with the A-65, stereo image, bass, tone density, details. I am very happy!
Hi Arthur, of course you are very welcome if you are in A-dam. Just let me know when you plan to stop by. :)
I have liked the E-550 very much. I have compared 10 or so integrated amps before buying it. But you know how it is, everything is personal in this hobby.
Since my knowledge on the subject is very limited, I assume that by "current module controle, " you refere to what Accuphase referes as instrumentation amplifier.
Raindog, you are a loose cannon when you start barking.
In all seriousness now, I have no idea what has actually triggered this tsunami. I find your attitude unappreciative and very impolite, especially since I have always taken the time to answer you in details about my experiences, plus, from what you report, at times my comments seems to have been helpful. (I have written here so much about the Dynaudio C1s speakers, also because I have liked them, but mostly because for years there was very little info/feedback online about the C1s from people who had first hand experience with them.)
I do not know about you, but I spend time here on audiogon to share with others my experiences with various audio components because I hope that I will also learn something from their experiences and opinions. Given the state of this industry, I firmly believe that this is the best way (or better said, the only way) one can learn something useful about an audio component that he/she is not able to audition. (As a Gryphon owner, you should know better how much fabrication is in this "industry" and what happen to those who do not comply to the rules set by magazines and/or importers/dealers.)
Consequently, if you have felt that me and Xti16 are incorrect regarding the power requirements for Dynaudio monitor speakers you should have steered the discussion in that direction, and/or report that you have arrived at a very different conclusion. I am sure that, as always, we would have discussed about this issue in a civilized and constructive manner. Plus, the resulting discussions would have been beneficial not only to the three of us, but also to many more audiogoners. I will address your concerns about me driving the Dynaudio C1 speakers with the Accuphase E-550 integrated in a separate post in "my" thread about C1. Since the opinions on this issue are divided, I feel it is important to discuss it.
Regarding my writing style, I am glad you like it, however, I publish regularly my research in serious international physics journals (i.e. 2-3 times per year). That is probably why sometimes I come across as overconfident, viz. English is not my first language and I am used to write in English only technical and/or scientific stuff which always sound "rigid". It is also true, though, that when it comes to speaker set-up and/or subwoofer integration, I feel I am significantly more knowledgable than the average guy and/or dealer. (The reason is twofold. Not only I play music for almost 20 years so I know what to listen when setting up speakers and/or subwoofers, but more importantly, I have quite a bit of experience with room acoustics. That is, during my university studies I have spent a few good months in the acoustic lab in our university studying interference acoustic patterns in rectangular chambers. Not only I have done experiments but I have also worked out the math and have written a computer programs that has allowed me to compute what I was measuring in the lab.)
I will refrain for going into details why I think some of your comments are naive. I will be happy to explain, discuss even debate in a civilized way, why for example the more expensive Avantgarde speakers often sound inferior to the UNOs, and/or why "your" statement about horns (which in fact is a comment made by the weather guy who now is building speakers) is not correct.
I hope this long post was not in vain and you will respond in a civilized way.
Raindog031, I feel I was always friendly and patient in my replies to you, even when you made fun of what I consider nice looking speakers and/or you have given silly example like the Morbid Angel drum recording. Since it seems you believe that you can drawn reliable conclusions about how fast/slow a speaker is in comparison with another speaker without actually doing a direct comparison, my reply to your "to each his own" comment is "ignorance is bliss".
Raindog031, you know very well that I have liked the Focal Utopia Micro Be and Dynaudio C1 monitors very much. I have often spoken highly of them on this forum. The boxiness and slowness of these speakers has become apparent to me only after comparing directly the UNOS and the Micro Bes in my room. If you want to be happy and enjoy your excellent Dynaudio speaker just do not compare them directly with a pair of horns. :)
Hi Raindog031, congratulation for your new system! You when Danish all the way. :)
Basically 99% of the "normal" speakers, i.e. not just Dynaudio and Focal, sound like "drivers in a box" when compared to good horn or electrostatic speakers. One is rarely aware of the boxiness of normal speaker until he compares them directly with good electrostatic and/or horn speakers. It is very hard to not hear it anymore once you have become aware of it. One can change as many cables and/or amplifiers as he/she wants the boxy sound will not go away (unless removing the box).
Regarding the "drum check" song, I am aware of it (I used to play "God of Emptiness" with my high school band). However, that recording is not only of poor quality but is also not a relevant drum recording for very many reasons. Firstly, is has no dynamic variation, you only have fast and, at the same time, loud drums on it. (A recording with large dynamic variation contains sadden changes from very soft volumes to very loud volumes.) Second, the drums there do not go very low. In fact, on that recording all drums are muffled. The reason is that, in order to cut through the music, the bass drums need to have a short and sharp sound with no reverberation. Third, the recorded drums sounds are not of real drums, they are generated by a computer by triggering the acoustics drums. (All death metal drummers use triggers, otherwise they will die after 15-20 minutes of drumming). Buy any cd with kodo drummers, even a compress non-audiophile cd should amaze you with very low bass and huge dynamic variations.
I hope you will not take this the wrong way. I am in no way trying to patronize you.
Hi Raindog031, thanks for the nice words. :) I have actually upgraded my power amp to the A-65 amp. I will need to update the page. How is you system building going? If I remember correctly you were interested in Dynaudio C1s and ASR emitter electronics. Did you buy them already?
Paul first of all tnx on your good response...integration of subs that i wrote has nothing to do with my friends opinion(he only said that timbre of acoustical instruments like double bass sounds more "real" on good floorstanders rather than low and mid priced subs) but with my observation on many friends who diddnt had succesfull integration...some of them gived up and some of them where forced to buy new subs...so i could guess that sub integration aint piece of cake...not that i never heard properly integrated sub...regarding the dynamics i wrote on B-1s i meant when listening one instrument on louder levels its fine but when 2 or 3 instruments start to play suddenly i feel like to turn volume down no matter the music playing...that could be due to the amp or source but i heard through speakers so im tellin what i heard(btw i believe you are satisfied with rock/metal presentation vivids B-1 have but if you like ill list you atleast 10 speakers in similiar or cheaper price range that i heard and in my opinion does it better than vivids)...but K-1s diddnt had that problems(K-1 heard first with dartzeel integrated which sounded very good but did not had bass control and energy like with goldmund integrated...needles to say he changed dartz for goldmund)...regarding avantgarde speakers...same friend who now has K-1(exeptional and natural sounding speakers) had avantgardes...in my(and his) opinion these speakers have bigger than real sound...midrange was fat...voices and images was bigger than real(with several high end integrateds)...afcourse i dont want to bash avantgardes (also after avantgardes vivids looked beautiful:)...maybe it was due sinergy...dont know...but he changed speakers in less than half year...not everyones cup of tea...i also read few times your c1s review...excellent review i must say... i will read your opinion on D1 right now...and to the OP i reccomend one more bookshelf to consider...Gryphon Mojo...after some of contradiction in our views about that speakers i wish that we all listened same speakers in same room(why do i think even then our opinions would differ:)...regards...
here is my reply:
1) I would not advice one to invest too much into a stereo that will mostly play metal (and rock). The reason is that most often the recordings are rather bad. One can rarely talk about sound stage and stereo image on most recording, plus the dynamic variation is practically zero, i.e. they are always loud. (At least this is the case of my 100 or so metal CDs). The most important thing is that the speakers do not have too soft highs, so the guitars sound realistic and not soft and/or over-resolved. IMO Wilson speakers, e.g. Sophia 1/2/3 and Watt pappy 5/6/7/8, are in particular very good with rock and metal music. Consequently, personally I would go for the cheapest 2nd hand Wilson I could find. Other speakers that I have liked with rock and metal are B&W, Vivid and Avantgarde (in no particular order). Note that the Vivids are made to sound good with rock/metal as they are designed by a rocker. IMO, with the right power amp, they are very very good for rock/metal. Half of the time I had them in my room I have listen to metal. On the other hand, Dynaudio speakers, while not bad, will not be my first pick.
2) Avantgarde speakers are notorious for being very hard to set up. It takes patience, dedication and knowledge. They also required amplifiers that can play without distortion even when putting out only a hundredth or a thousandth of a watt (i.e. something that most high power solid stated are not designed and/or required to do). Since by playing with the toe-in of the Avantgardes I can go from much larger than life instruments and voices to pinpoint accuracy in the imaging, I am very sure that your friend did not have them properly set-uped. Regarding their looks, you know the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". I like them very very much, but then I have also liked quite a bit the Vivid Audio Giya G3 speakers. I will therefore conclude that, for sure, we have very different taste when it come to the appearance of the speakers. :)
Percussion instrument (and pretty much everything else) sound(s) much more natural on the UNOs compare to the Micro Be (and also Dynaudio C1). The UNOs are much fast and dynamic, by comparison the Micro Be (and also the Dynaudio C1s) sounded like drivers in a box, i.e. slow and boring.
Hi T0tor0, sorry for the late reply. I did not experiment much with interconnects (or cables in general). When I had the E-550 integrated I have tried two, the supplied Accuphase one and one from van den Hul (Tide I believe). I did not find any significant difference between them. Currently, I use two balance interconnects. One from Audioquest connecting the CD player to the pre-amp, and one Straight Wire Symphony 2 from the preamp to the power amp. This time I did not experiment at all mostly because XLR cables by design get rid of most cable artifacts.
If you will experiment with cables, and find significant differences with your Accuphase components I'll be happy to hear about your experience.
System edited: The Focal Micro Be - Rel Stentor 3 combo has been replaced by a pair of Avantgarde Uno G2 speakers. The move was very unexpected. I made an appointment with a local dealer to listen to a pair of Vivid Audio V1.5 speakers only to find out after the audition that his Avantgarde UNO G2 floor model was on sale. After a two weeks home trial I decided to buy the UNOs. They bettered my old combo in all areas, i.e. resolution, bass, stereo image, sound stage and, of course, dynamic. To top it off, I sold my Focal Micro Be - Rel Stentor 3 combo within two weeks at almost half the price I paid for the UNOs. Pictures will follow soon.
System edited: Big upgrade on the electronics side: the Accuphase E-550 integrated was replaced by an A-45 power amp and a C-2410 pre-amplfiers, and the DP-500 CD player was replaced by a DP-600 SA-CD player. Sound-wise it is a solid upgrade: a blacker background, a more stable and better defined stereo image, more details and more power. However, I was so sad when I sold my E-550 integrated. I really loved it. Fortunately, I can not afford to also upgrade my speakers (or inform my wife about this plan). It will be another sad moment to see my MicroBes go.
I have always liked Dynaudio speakers, but every time I was buying new speakers I have ended up buying something else (most often because it was cheaper and/or it looked better and sounded almost as good as the Dyns). Unfortunately, I have sold the C1s already. They produce a tremendous amount of bass in my room which at times overpowered it. I am back with my beloved MicroBes.
System edited: I've bought a pair of Dynaudio C1 mk1 speakers. Now the scheme showing the room configuration as it is now is 100% authentic. Real pics will follow soon.
I am glad to hear that eventually everything worked out fine. The set-up procedure can be an exercise in frustration as the Accuphase manual is not very useful. However, when set-up right the unit is a must-have (IMO).
On the same topic, you might be interested in the advise I have received from another audiogon-er who owns the DG-38 unit, i.e. Maxen (see below the link to his system page). He has suggested me to use a much higher value for the "input level" parameter of DG-38. I did not tried this procedure as I was traveling the last two weeks. But i will follow his advise and post me findings.
Nice to hear from you. How is your room coming around?
Maybe I should tell you first about my new hybrid acoustic treatments. Because I did not have time to go and look for some decent fabric to cover my DYI acoustic panels, I have ordered some auralex foam in burgundy (panels and LENRD "bass traps") and covered my DIY panels with it. I am extremely happy with the final result. The color of the panel integrates quit well into the room and the speakers, and at the same time make the room look a bit like a professional studio - just enough to let any visitor see that this is a serious music room :). More importantly, however, the end result was very effective from an acoustic point of view. I was able to eliminate at the listening position all echos generated by hand slaps.
Regarding your comment about the distance between me and the speakers, it did not change significantly (if at all ) compared to the previous room layout. It is the new scheme that gives this impression. The speakers are 2.10 meters apart (i.e. 6.89 feet) while the distance between one of my ears and the corresponding tweeter is about the same (maybe 5-10 cm longer). I do not think this distance is that short, but, of course, it is not a lot by any means.
Placing the speakers out into the room, far form any walls to avoid/minimize as much as possible early reflection, is always beneficial as it considerably improves the soundstage and stereo image. Doing this while seating further away from the speakers requires very large rooms, and also lots of power form the amp.
Thanks for the reply. Things have got back to normal here, i.e. the DG-38 is doing again a wonderful job. It was the equalize setting that was screwing up the sound. Once I have set the equalizer curve to flat and then SAVE this change everything went back to normal.
I am sorry to hear you still do not get good results with your unit. When comparing the measurements for the left and right speakers, how large are the differences? In my case they are rather small. Also, how does the frequency spectrum look, any significant ups or downs? The measurements shown now on my system page are not relevant anymore as I have changed the lay out of the room. The speakers fire now perpendicular on the long wall. This gave me a much better bass response. I will upload this week-end some pics with the results of the new measurements I have performed (it seems I am again able to update the system page). Maybe this will give you some reference point.
My previous experience with a Lyngdorf room correction system taught me to not rely completely on the room correction function. That is, before "altering" the sound using the DG-38, I have optimized my set-up as good as possible. Without the DG-38 on I have very good stereo image and bass response. Consequently, DG-38 does very little, but with very significant results. Firstly it clears up the bass notes even further, viz. adding the REL gave me beside more bass a better resolution in the bass notes clearly distinguishing one form another. The DG-38 improves that further. Secondly, the DG-38 also improves significantly the stereo image. Without the DG-38 I can easily localize the position of the singer's head. With the DG-38 I can localized the singer's mouth.
Somehow I screw up the setting of my DG-38 and I do not seem to get anywhere anymore. (It might have been my toddler daughter who did this. Sometime ago she was briefly in my room and push a few buttons on the DG-38.)
About two weeks ago I have changed slightly the position of my speakers and afterwards run the voicing set up procedure of the DG-38. Immediately, I have noticed a dramatic changed in the sound but not for the good. It was like I was next to a band playing in a bathroom. I could hear all the possible details but it was a bathroom sound
Of course, I've moved everything the way it used to be and run the voicing protocol again but the results were the same. Eventually, I realized that the settings of the equalizer were really screwed up, e.g. +/- 20 dB ups and downs in the midrange region. So, I've reseted the equalizer curve to flat and than run the room correction protocol again. However, with the equalized curve set to flat I can not detect any improvement or degradation of the sound due to the DG-38. It is like the unit is not doing anything. I have also run tests with the "Voicing Only" mode but to no avail.
Can you check the equalization curve on your unit and let me know how it looks? (After loading in the memory of DG-38 the final result of a voicing protocol push the equalizer button. Maybe the muffled sound you get with the DG-38 on is also because of a strange equalization curve ...)
I try to find the time this week to read the Accuphase manual more thoroughly and do some more experiments.
The "Recall" button lets you load in the "active" memory of the DG-38 a measurement you have performed at a previous time.
It seems to me that the last measurement one performs is kept in the active memory of the DG-38 (by that I mean that it is used for performing corrections). But because I am not 100% sure, I save (with an appropriate name) each measurement I perform, then depending on the voicing procedure that I use I load in the "active" memory the required measurement (using the recall button).
I find it very confusing that one does not know which curve is in the active memory of the DG-38 and also that one is not required to save a measurement immediately after it was performed. IMO this is what make the set-up procedure so unclear.
Regarding subwoofers, I would buy just one at first. My opinion is that if the subwoofer is set-up properly you will not be able to locate it (irrespectively on how large the room is). Two subwoofer will give you a more even response in the room. What that means is that by moving the two subwoofers around the room and changing their relative position one is able to obtain a large area with good bass (basically less areas with too much or too less bass). But keep in mind that it is more difficult to set up two subwoofers.
Regarding brands, I would go with the REL (because I had only very very good experiences with them).
Indeed the Accuphase manual is extremely brief and gives no explanations what so ever on what the units is actually doing. So far I have tried only the first and second room set-up procedures. I found that the 1st procedure, i.e. Voicing A (Compensation with built in curve), does not make much of an improvement. I am not sure whether that is because I made a mistake ... One the other hand, the 2nd set-up procedure, i.e. Voicing B (Compensation with auto-generated curve), made a huge difference. It has improved considerable not just the stereo image and the bass, but made the sound much more open and detailed. I did not do anything special to achieve this, just followed the steps in the manual. Which set-up procedure did you try?
Maybe I should mentioned that I had a similar experience with you when trying a Lyngdorf unit. But that was mostly because of the dealer who applied too many correction in order to get good measurements in my room which was a bit too live. This has literally sucked all the life from the music. In the dealer's room, which was well dumped, the Lyngdorf sounded wonderful. Nonetheless, I did not experience this problem with the DG-38 unit.
Regarding my Kemp power source, while the brand is not that well know it is a very good unit. I found it superior to the popular PS Audio PPP. I did not tried any Shunyata units, but most dealer here told me that the Kemps units are much better. But ... they are probably biased because Kemp is a dutch brand.
I do not have much experience with B&W subwoofers but I am very found of the REL ones. You should have no problem to make a REL Stentor to blend with your 805 speakers. While the REL Stentor and Studio models can also be used for home theater it is best to use them for stereo - they are made for music.
Crossover settings for the Stentor: 30 Hz (i.e. A, 6) with the volume of the REL between 3 and 4 (with the marking for the minimum being zero).
Regarding the Accuphase power sources, the 500 models do not have enough power while the 1200 models do not have enough outlets (I talk about the european versions). The only viable choice is the new PS 1220 and this is actually the problem: The PS 1220 cost 10K euros! I find the price ridiculous even after a 15% discount which I can get. (I know two local companies specialized in building studios that will sound proof, treat my room and optimize my set up for much less than 8.5 K...)
It is better to wait till one of the local dealers that has in stock one PS1220 (or two PS-510) will go bankrupt so I can buy these babies at more earthly prices. :)
The drums are Roland electronic drums not acoustic drums. The cymbals are made of rubber and the drum heads from a mesh. While they provide a very realistic feel (95% as an acoustic drum) they are rather quiet and also do not resonate at all when I listen to music.
I will answer here also the questions you've asked on the page of my old system. This is going to be a long answer...
I did not use special material to isolate the room sonically, the area is rather quiet so there was no need for this.
Regarding the panels, they are made from some industrial isolation boards made from small pieces of synthetic sponges mixed with glue and pressed to make a more dense material. Mr. Kemp has suggested this material. It costs something like 30 euros for 2.5 square meters and comes into boards of 0.5 x 1 meters. I have glued these panels onto some sort of very thin MDF/cardboard in which I have drilled a hole so I can hang them on the wall. Then, I have installed some special tracks for hanging paintings (the white strip at the base of the ceiling that can be seen between the panels) so I can move the panels around in order to find the most effective position (this was also suggested to me by Mr. Kemp). As for diffusers, I use the CD and book shelves - I have placed them "strategically" in the room so they serve this purpose. I might add an additional panel on the wall in front of my desk, but I will do that only when I will have the time to go and look for some decent fabric to cover the panels. I have waited too long for this room to be operational, I will take a break for now and enjoy it as it is.
Regarding the Kemp Power Source, I went for it for two reasons. Firstly, I was interested in something able to protect my electronics from surges and that sort of staff and the Power Generator 75 does not provide enough juice for my whole rig. Secondly, Mr. Kemp offered me a demo model at half the normal price with full warranty. Eventually, I will by an Accuphase Power Source but till then this will do.
Finally, regarding the drums, I gave up acoustic drums long time ago (almost 10 years ago). They are too loud and unfortunately I have only two ears that do not grow back or regenerate. Roland drums not only come with a volume control and can be used with headphones (to keep good relations with the neighbors) but are also smaller and much easier to record. Plus getting the sound of a Yamaha, Gretsch, Tama, etc. with or without die-cast hoops is a matter of pushing a button on a Roland kit.
