Aren't these the people who own/owned SAE and are planning on resurrecting that brand?Originally Posted by Titanium Dome
Aren't these the people who own/owned SAE and are planning on resurrecting that brand?
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
The lineage is there in that Morris Kessler (one of the ATI founders) was also a founder of SAE, I think in 1967. I wouldn't mind seeing SAE again, as I have a sweet spot for them but I don't think Phoenix from the ashes is happening anytime soon for that brand.
Yank
Basement: JBL SVA-1800 and 2226H DIY Enclosures Computer room: Control-5:Control SB-2 Living room: JBL 240ti
Apparently ATI owns the rights to the SAE name (and BGW). Also there is/was apparently a line of ATI amps bearing the SAE name and logo being sold in France through an arrangement with Kessler.
And then there's this from the SAE list dated this last August:
The SAE brand has been quiet for way too long! As you probably already know, ATI
(Amplifier Technologies)is the outgrowth of the original SAE. After various
changes in ownership of the SAE mark, we have reacquired the SAE brand and are
interested in bringing back this glorious name! The question is...what would
you like to see SAE become? Two channel? home theater? high-power? low power?
analog? digital? amps? preamps? processors? transports? DACS?
black/silver?....it never ends! We appreciate all SAE supporters and look
forward to your comments.
Mike Pontelle/ATI
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
ATI is also the current builder of JBL Synthesis® amplifiers: S800 (S820), S5160 (S5165), S7150 (S7165). Numbers in parenthesis are new product numbers.
Out.
Outlaw amplifiers, too, I'm told.
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
I bought the HK354 last December for $700, so your $150 for the HK254 is a steal. The GUI is absolutely fantastic, setup is extremely easy, sound is very very good. Tempermental, however, yes, very....there's 77 pages of reading about it here
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1053202
There's a variety of notorious issues with sound and video with the Sony PS3 playing games and bluray videos, and another when hooking certain Motorola DVRs via HDMI, which is my particular thorn in the side, another with DVI inputs, missing the first part of a CD track, pops when changing channels. There's a string of firmware upgrades that claim to fix each issue, but many report new issues popping up with the new firmware.....so I haven't bothered.
Triumph, that Crown is huge! It's almost three times as big as the 1.5 with half the power output. If I were going to use a old school big guy, I'd probably just stick with the M2A. I really have limited room in my entertainment center, and it is already looking quite ridiculous. Counting the PS3 I have 8 components in it. I don't really have to worry about WAF but you have to draw the line somewhere. I'm trying to manage the addiction.
I have a remote on the way for the 254 and will most likely hit the firmware this weekend. Can't tell for sure which revision is on it until I get the remote, but it looks like there were significant bugfixes in the late 2008 upgrades. The AVS threads are huge and if the HDMI video handing is really as buggy as it would seem to be, I'll just not use it for video switching and rely upon the Harmony remote and extra cabling. Given I splurged for the 4 year warranty on the thing it will likely be the one component I never have any issues with.
After some more reviewing it seems like the H/K "should" be down on power and it doesn't have any manually adjustable EQ. I don't think I'll notice the power in surround modes (1.5 is there for stereo music) but I think the EQ is going to be the nail that relegates it to a secondary system. My main system is in a hardwood floor room and regular bass/treble controls just don't cut it, while every time I've used and Audessey type system in the room it ends up sounding much too flat for my preferences. The Denon has a rather nice 11 (?) channel EQ that is individually adjustable for each channel, and that's allowed me to integrate the EC35 as a center quite nicely.
JBL doesn't want to sell you Performance Series speakers.
Here are some pics of the 1.5t without the casing. Caps all match and are a glossy blue color. Seems to be factory original but I'd certainly appreciate anyone who can tell for sure chiming in.
I also noticed the little resistors wired into the output stage. Is this the "t" mod? I'm really curious about defeating these to see if I can pick up the difference.
Also attached a (bad) pic of the H/K AVR-254 with my Denon AVR-987 in the background. The H/K looks so nice, and the GUI is about a huge an upgrade over the Denon as possible. I hooked it up to the L7's but it just doesn't have the beans to feed them. So, I think it is destined to the 2nd room.
Didn't haul the M2A up yet.
JBL doesn't want to sell you Performance Series speakers.
Ya, that's a stock M1.5t. I can't tell you the difference between "t" and "non-t" versions except the "t" is a later version and more common. The specs are much the same except for higher IM distortion on the "t". I doubt you'd hear any differences. Any questions should be directed at the Carver repair shop.
I just love the insides of the Carvers. Built simple and solid as bricks. You can drop one from 6' on a concrete floor and not even dent it. (yes, I have).
If you get that 1.5 refurbed and don't love it, I'll pay you for it, whatever you have in it plus shipping.
Thanks for the confirmation. I almost felt bad taking the case off. It really is in nice shape. Buying used stuff, even higher level stuff, it's not very often you come across a 15 year old piece of equipment in such nice shape.
Is it a given that the caps would be replaced if I send this out to Rita's shop? It is starting to feel inevitable, not to mention the idea of having it signed just seems too cool to pass up.
JBL doesn't want to sell you Performance Series speakers.
I would specify that I want the output caps replaced, and let them decide what else needs doing. You might have to leave it there for a while to get a signature, and I don't think they will guarantee that. But it never hurts to ask.
One other thing to note. Re-reading your initial description it occurred to me that it's also a description of how a large speaker can sound in a smallish room with a lot of power. Do you have the L7s away from walls and in a large enough room?
My room is not ideal. I can only pull them out about 2 feet from the walls and the room itself is only about 14 x 20.
I had L5's in the main room before that worked very well in the setup, but I couldn't pass up the chance to get (cheap) L7's. So now the L5's are in the bedroom. It would actually make better acoustic sense swapping them but the L7's will look even more ludicrous in my bedroom. I think going to the Carver upped the ante a bit as I have a fairly bad habit of checking how things sound at near max output. But the Denon's individual channel / multi-band eq can square them away quite well.
Someday I'll upgrade living accommodations enough to use them properly, but I'm not willing to let them go out of service or sell them for now. I'd rather have a compromised L7 than most anything else I can afford.
I have noticed a small flurry of Carver Amazing type ribbons around here lately, though. Have to say I'm curious...
JBL doesn't want to sell you Performance Series speakers.
14x20 is ~2240 ft cubed with an 8' ceiling. That should be enough for the L7, assuming appropriate treatments.
Agreed. There must be other things at work. I found that even a 12' wide room worked with L7s set at 3'/6'/3' across the front and 3' out from the front wall. However, it helps to have a solid front wall and solid corners, too. The L7s like symmetry when they're loading up.
Out.
The problem is that while the room is that big, I don't have access to all of it and the L7's must fire across the shorter dimension of the room (which may actually be closer to 12ft). It's an older house with a single common living / dining area. If I were to pull the L7's out 3ft from the wall, after having a couch and coffee table there would barely be any clearance to walk in between the table and L7's and I would end up with scuff marks all over the front of the speakers!. I was always worried with the L5's, that someone's foot would meet the bottom woofer.
I had the room setup lengthwise before with the TV positioned on the right side wall, but half the seats end up with a much worse view of the tv.
Adding to it I have hardwood floors, a large window behind the couch and a small window off to the right side. Windows are covered with heavy drapes but that's about all I can really do. Purple dot is my subs.
JBL doesn't want to sell you Performance Series speakers.
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