Amp upgrade with Canton speakers: Feasibility study

[arj]

BTW, I got a taste of Cranky's driving style the other day on our way to Pratim's place. He is a very very skilled driver. We both like what you may call power-driving, just that he is a bit younger and does not often know what is best for him. On the way back, I drove.

Regards.

:lol:
well written ! James Dean ?

 

[sidvee]

Awesome stands:clapping:. Great job Cranky. Should start producing these commercially - great market, especially in the west.
Cheers
Sid

 

[Rem]

Superbly built stand Cranky.

It looks as good or even better than the Usher stands which looks similar.

Asit congratulations

 

[gobble]

Thanks again - for those who think I should/can go commercial, that was the intent, honestly, and these were supposed to be a testing ground to see how well the 'good' suppliers in Calcutta can deliver. There is actually a domain name registered for potential web business, there were long-term commercial and sourcing arrangements being talked about, and we were thinking of re-purposing a part of a free apartment belonging to me, for a full-blown commercial venture in audio accessories (racks, stands, isolators, among others). Some of you know that I quit a lucrative and satisfying career to embark on this journey.

However, I am wiser now, I figure that anything I cannot do on my own cannot be done, unfortunately, and not in this great city. Machinists are full of hot air and are imprecise in their job - they cannot drill 4 holes in identical locations on plates - lot of rework was required, all of it invisible, at multiple times. Carpenters need total handholding, and the mood of the worker is at times more important than their skill. Work ethic is absolutely below zero, if a machinist does not take pride in precision and if a carpenter does not take pride in accuracy, there is no point in them jobbing at all.

So we fold up the operation at this point, I will finish my personal projects like the F5 and the Class D amps I need to build, and I get back to a more mechanical, though more assured existence sometime next year. I have no interest in learning carpentry or starting my own machine shop. I have neither the funds, nor the inclination to start a new skill. Had I not given my word to Asit and Pratim, I would abandoned this a long time ago, honestly.

I take pride in the concepts for sure, but good concepts mean nothing when there is shoddy execution. You will not be able to see any of that in the finished products, but really, I know what me and Arup went through to finish this project, and I'm not the least bit interested in doing it again.

Drifting off topic, but I think all the good ones are hired by corporates and work on factory floors. The "lazy ones" are those we encounter for odd jobs around street corners... :sad:
Just trying to put a finger on why this is such a recurring theme everywhere in India for skilled workmen.

Regards

 

[arj]

Arj, you are partially right while Odyssey is also correct. That same person moved from Pass X600.5 monos/Jeff Rowland Coherence- II w/batt power to Sym-Line Kraft-300/FM Acoustics Pre with Matrix 802. 800D replaced 802 recently. Plan on a 2nd K-300 as & when funds allow.

Cool !:clapping:

 

[mahiruha]

Hi Asit,
congratulations for getting those wonderful speaker stands and experiencing a considerable improvement in the sound depertment. The patience has paid its dividends. Its comforting to know a benchmark system is nearby so I know how things should work.
Thanks.

Hello Cranky,
congratualtions for making those wonderful stands. They look really pretty. Why there are only three spikes below the stand? Is it done intentionally.Thanks for letting us know the importance of speaker placements and related improvements. Please don't get disheartened about the initial hardles in a venture. Keep your production going otherwise the business learning you had from your first two pieces will be wasted.
Thnaks

 

[hifiashok]

Thanks soundsgreat, audio_engr, RoC, Rikhav, Rajiv, prem, odessey (sridhar), square_wave, unleash_me, rallynut, hifiashok, gobble, psychotropic, thevortex for the congratulatory words and for appreciating the stands.

I am just the beneficiary. All the credit goes to Cranky and his friend Arup. I am just touched by their dedication and sincerity and attention to details. These qualities are rare these days, and I am honoured to be in touch with people having such qualities.

Answers to most technical questions and details have been provided by Cranky.

Let me answer a few remaining ones.

Rikhav, my speakers do not have provisions for them to be screwed on to the top plates of the stands. Pratim's BE-718's do have and they have been affixed appropriately.

Sridhar, I knew the real worth of having somebody like Cranky around long before he came back to Kolkata, and since then I have consulted with him almost on all issues.

Ashok, I did not quite understand what you meant as additions in your recent first post. Did you mean a speaker upgrade? No way. I would not find a worthy replacement (forget about upgrade) within a sane amount of money.

meant the equipment stand. with speaker stands of this quality and finish, the equipment stand could do with a li'l help, (both) aesthetically (and from a vibration isolation perspective). wouldn't suggest a speaker upgrade after what you describe on the new SQ after the stands, etc.

BTW, I got a taste of Cranky's driving style the other day on our way to Pratim's place. He is a very very skilled driver. We both like what you may call power-driving, just that he is a bit younger and does not often know what is best for him. On the way back, I drove.

Regards.

 

[hifiashok]

The fact is that Asit happens to be a physicist who actually owned a Celica GT, not the typical scientist's sedate Toyota

And the traffic was horrendous, so I was simply unable to drive on the way back, so Asit and Arup shared the honours. We remarked later (out of Asit's earshot) that his driving was not that different from mine after all

I have a feeling Ashok is referring to something that's round and has a needle.

now i'm wondering what this could be. hav replied to asitji's query, though.

 

[reignofchaos]

The Celica is Toyota's most famous rally car. Heard of Carlos Sainz anyone

 

[Asit]

Hi all,

Thanks again for the encouraging words and let us hope that Cranky finds a few dedicated craftsmen to implement his concepts. I have seen the passion in his eyes and in his actions for all audio related works and what's better than being involved in something that one is made for. I can guess the incredible levels of difficulty and even indignation he must have gone through in building my speaker stands, because I have gone through some of the same in my professional life just because the levels of dedication and desire to stick to a plan meticulously is totally absent here (for example, despite paying a hefty amount for designing and implementing the site for our supercomputer, I basically had to design a major part and had to stay till 12 midnight everyday during the actual work, otherwise it would have been a disaster).

Mahiruha,

You are always welcome to come to my place and have a listen. Just give me a ring. However, I must say one thing: my set-up is far from being a reference as you called it to be. A reference system is meant to be a no-compromise one and mine is definitely not. However, it was a very decent one even before the stands and now after the stands the performance has gone up a 'remarkable' notch (to quote my non-audiophile wife because that's the word she used). Some of the shortcomings have been addressed now wonderfully. I hope I am not sounding like an audiophile, because I always thought I was not one of them, just a very simple non-demanding music lover.

Ashok,

Yes, the rack looks and actually is quite ordinary compared to the stands. However, the rack is made of solid teak wood and meets a few of the basic requirements. Isolation-wise it is not the best. I am not at all thinking in terms of changing it, but perhaps a few running modifications would be appropriate, especially for the source equipments.

Roc,

Those were the days. I was having a pizza in a Pizza Hut outlet on a snowy day in 1986. My 2-year old Escort was parked outside. For whatever reason I decided to drive up to the nearest Toyota dealer and ended up buying the Celica (with pop-up headlights and all) on the spot. It was well before my marriage and these things were rather easy. BTW who is Carlos Sainz?

Regards.

Edit: Okay RoC, I googled and found out. Mine was a standard one, without any modding. But it was still a lot of fun.

 

[grubyhalo]

The Celica is Toyota's most famous rally car. Heard of Carlos Sainz anyone

Juha Kankkunen's GT4 was the stuff of my fantasies when I was in high-school...

 

[AMITNOIDA]

Hi Asit,

I am late in seeing your new lease of life thread with new stands. The canton has come out of the cocoon and spreaded its wings and looks like a marvel. Picture is not audible, but the photo of your canton on new stand is speaking a lot. We can easily call it as 'Kavya'.

Cudos goes to Cranky and his friend.

 

[marsilians]

@Asit - Congrats on taking on the ownership of hte new stands. They look fabulous.

@Cranky - Excellent job on the making them. I would definitely ping you if I am in the market for one.

One question though (I have missed if you described it earlier) - why would you not go for rubberised feet vs. the metal ones for a hard surface to tackle the vibrations?

 

[rallynut]

The Celica is Toyota's most famous rally car. Heard of Carlos Sainz anyone

of course !!!the winningest rally driver of all time before sebastien loeb came on the scene and broke every record there was to break.as u can see from my forum name,am a HUGE wrc fan!!cheers

 

[pratimbayal]

Hi all

Here is some average photo of the second beautifull ( the pair ) lady, out of three ,that exist in the world today - Many thanks to Cranky and Arup . Sorry to give the feed back late. I could not expected the stands would come out so excellent . I took half an hour just to see the stands , with the BE-718mounted on them ( heavenly marraige made at my house ) after Crancy , Arup ans Asit left my house . The sound now appears to me much precise , with more presence and much much tight bass. Excellent improvement . I would also suggest cranky to keep on producing more such beauty


One learning from Cranky ( at least for me ) - Extent of expertise that can be achieved out of hobby -fabulous .

Pratim

 

[pratimbayal]

Another photo - the back I could not attach in the last post


Thanks

Pratim

 

[psychotropic]

That's really really sad! Is it just a Calcutta problem or are jobbers the same everywhere? I know you must have thought about this and dismissed the idea, but could you think of setting up operations in another city?

Thanks again - for those who think I should/can go commercial, that was the intent, honestly, and these were supposed to be a testing ground to see how well the 'good' suppliers in Calcutta can deliver. There is actually a domain name registered for potential web business, there were long-term commercial and sourcing arrangements being talked about, and we were thinking of re-purposing a part of a free apartment belonging to me, for a full-blown commercial venture in audio accessories (racks, stands, isolators, among others). Some of you know that I quit a lucrative and satisfying career to embark on this journey.

However, I am wiser now, I figure that anything I cannot do on my own cannot be done, unfortunately, and not in this great city. Machinists are full of hot air and are imprecise in their job - they cannot drill 4 holes in identical locations on plates - lot of rework was required, all of it invisible, at multiple times. Carpenters need total handholding, and the mood of the worker is at times more important than their skill. Work ethic is absolutely below zero, if a machinist does not take pride in precision and if a carpenter does not take pride in accuracy, there is no point in them jobbing at all.

So we fold up the operation at this point, I will finish my personal projects like the F5 and the Class D amps I need to build, and I get back to a more mechanical, though more assured existence sometime next year. I have no interest in learning carpentry or starting my own machine shop. I have neither the funds, nor the inclination to start a new skill. Had I not given my word to Asit and Pratim, I would abandoned this a long time ago, honestly.

I take pride in the concepts for sure, but good concepts mean nothing when there is shoddy execution. You will not be able to see any of that in the finished products, but really, I know what me and Arup went through to finish this project, and I'm not the least bit interested in doing it again.

 

[pratimbayal]

Here is an experience of audition

Last monday I went for an audition of Asit's set up after the addition of the stands from Cranky. Purpose was to assess the set up with the stands and to have feeling of tube sound for second time ( It was my second visit to Asit's place ) since I am thinking to add a tube pre in my set up.

I took five of my CDs . We satrted with a Tagore song from Lopamudra Mitra ( cd "Ananda") . The vocal was distincly clear and much pleasent with all highs and lows filling the soul easily. Here "much" means compared to my set up. Then we listen to the second song (Arziyan) of Delhi 6 . The song was extremenly melodious and the sound stage was wonderfull. Then we listen to the composition "dakini " from the CD "Sacred World", a bhajan of Asha Boshle accompanied by Ali Akbar's Sarod ( CD Legacy ) and a composition of Piano and Santoor ( from the CD "the confluence " by Clayderman and Rahul Sharma) . The experience was marvelous to my ear. All the instrument could be felt distinctly as if coming out from the different source. It appeared as if all artist were sitting in front of us and playing their respective insturments . We listen for an hour and experience was really enjoyble and extremly natural , I am sure music can just flow from the system and audience can enjoy the same effortlessly for long hours. The entire matching , Canton speaker , Leben- 300s amp , CA-740C CD player and the stands , is extremely good .

I am not very expert in listening and my experience in 2 channel is very limited with a vintage not over even a year. However to me the sound from Asit's system has crowed out all my auditioning experience. Could try to get there ........


Pratim

 

[Asit]

Pratim,

Thanks for the kind words. As you know I am grateful to Cranky and Arup for taking my system to another level. I am really happy now. As a result, I'll be busier listening to music than perhaps participating in the forum to the same extent. I need a TT badly to replace my Dual. That's what is missing.

It is always a pleasure to host you, you are such a gentleman. I hope you set up your system close to your satisfaction soon. Did you try out the Lyrita pre in your set-up? How was it like? What were the changes you noticed? Give me a buzz if you feel shy to discuss openly.

Regards.

 

[pratimbayal]

Asit ,

I will post the feedback with Lyrita pre probably on Tuesday/Wednesday . I have also decided to add a Turn Table in my set up .I have decided specially after speaking to our forum member Mahiruha and Murali. Waiting to listen to Mahiruha's TT. Do let me know how you go about TT.
Further if I am not a bad guest , you are a better host- I missed to mention in my post.

Cranky .


Yes I will change the pre definitely . Seriously planning the budget as you know. Any betterment of the stand will be my pleasure.

Thanks

Pratim