4410A - Maximizing My System

[chris21]

My repaired 4410A speakers are in production. I have them on 6" stands tilted up which allows me to get them pointed right at my main listening position. The soundstage center is about 3" off the ground, could be higher for sure. I tried them on 14" stands from my Energy 22's but they seemed too horizontally directional requiring you to sit down on the floor to get your ears in the right place. Anyway I will see if I can get the tilted back stands another 6" up and continue playing around in that regard. The mid and HF drivers are 10 feet apart and the listening position is 10 feet back when I move the left speaker to the right place which means I have to turn the gas fireplace off! The room is small and carpeted.

They are powered by a nice Marantz 125w 5.1 AV receiver. They are the mains in the system. I use the Audyssey(sp) system in the Marantz to dial in the 5.1 sound. I have an MK V125 subwoofer in the system. For listening to vinyl and CD audio I have the Marantz on "Pure Direct" bypassing all circuits except the volume control. I have the sub wired to the "B" speakers and can add it when desired.

Here are some questions:

1) Way back when I bought the main speaker cables I got some decent Audioquest cables but for some reason, after reading various things I got them much longer than needed, like 20' for some reason. Is it worth cutting them down to just whats needed?

2) is the 125w per channel in Marantz enough to enable these to sound their best?

3) Given the other gear I have like the UREI 6260 is there anything else I could do which might be better? Is there any other piece of gear which might help?

Thanks to those who helped with advice in my thread that I started in the wrong section!

[Mr. Widget]

WARNING: The following post is entirely one man's opinion, but one based on a lot of practical experience.

1. I would not cut your cables. You might try a pair if basic 12ga twisted pair wires of pure copper that is the proper length, but only if you want to make comparisons.

2. Your speakers are very nice speakers and they will benefit from quality electronics. I would strongly suggest you use a proper 2 channel preamp and your 6260 or perhaps an even better (not necessarily more powerful) power amp for stereo listening. You can set it up with the left and right line outputs of your Marantz as one of the inputs on your preamp. This way you have a simple all analog system when playing vinyl or CDs and you can still use Audyssey and your surround processing when in surround mode.

3. You might want to keep playing with speaker placement if your room and furnishings allow... this can make as much a difference as any equipment or cabling change.


Widget

[grumpy]

I have them on 6" stands tilted up which allows me to get them pointed right at my main listening position. The soundstage center is about 3" off the ground, could be higher for sure. I tried them on 14" stands from my Energy 22's but they seemed too horizontally directional requiring you to sit down on the floor to get your ears in the right place. Anyway I will see if I can get the tilted back stands another 6" up and continue playing around in that regard.

You might also check the wiring on each driver (recheck?). If you get the mid/tweet at seated ear level
(or slightly above), the center/phantom image should not be so low -and- the response should not be
so critical vertically. Having a driver in a multiway system wired out of intended phase can really muck
up the spatial response.

Going with a direct mode (bypassing Audessy) and even checking things in mono
might help sort things out. Nice speakers. Good luck

[SEAWOLF97]

I HAD 4410's, not the "A" and really liked them, but nobody has ever accused
them of a "lush" sound.

They can be clinical/sterile and very revealing.

If you are trying to change that, well it's what they are , but do respond well to some EQ.

The coverage of the HF (035Tia) was just fine, but a little (15 degree) tilt did help unless they are already on high stands. Adjusting the pots will help too.

and surely, a sub in the system takes some load off the 10's.

as Widget noted, try some good 12 ga...they weren't picky on wire and I ran mine well on a 85wpc Denon , I think your electronics are fine.

[chris21]

Thanks for the responses.

I raised them to 18" off the floor which get the mids and HF drivers almost to ear level when seated. Huge improvement! Amazing what the last 4"'s did. I really like these and don't mind clinical. My wife never complains about them being too loud even when at levels the HPM 100's would have her tapping her foot. We are adjusting the volume during films much less frequently.

I have checked the wiring of the drivers. All is good. They just needed to be higher.

I will definitely try the 6260.

[bone215]

Chris
How many 4410A's do you have in your system?

[chris21]

Chris
How many 4410A's do you have in your system?

I use two for the mains.