MC501 Club

[prepress]

Originally Posted by Yamaki

Only you will be able to tell, given it's your system and one you've been listening to it for some time. You've heard all it can produce with the current configuration.

It is time to experiment. Stop inching closer and start footing yourself over to those amplifiers and make the switch!

Well, I did it last night. Put the low frequencies on the 8-ohm tap. And put them back where they were promptly. I didn't like the sound.

I am thinking of reversing what I have, however, putting the bass on 4-ohm and highs on 2-ohm. I'd still like to put both on the 4-ohm tap, but I'd be putting the bananas on my speaker cables in the spade lug area and tightening them down. I wonder if that's enough contact area. And I'm not going to buy a new pair or have a current pair re-terminated just to satisfy the curiosity. I wonder if 2-ohm taps for the highs will temper some of the brighter CDs, maybe even mimic a warmer tube. I'll find out at some point, I guess.

[Yamaki]

And there ya go. Now you know!

[Macuser]

Originally Posted by prepress

Well, I did it last night. Put the low frequencies on the 8-ohm tap. And put them back where they were promptly. I didn't like the sound.

I am thinking of reversing what I have, however, putting the bass on 4-ohm and highs on 2-ohm. I'd still like to put both on the 4-ohm tap, but I'd be putting the bananas on my speaker cables in the spade lug area and tightening them down. I wonder if that's enough contact area. And I'm not going to buy a new pair or have a current pair re-terminated just to satisfy the curiosity. I wonder if 2-ohm taps for the highs will temper some of the brighter CDs, maybe even mimic a warmer tube. I'll find out at some point, I guess.

What didn't you like about the sound? Was it too bass heavy or unnatural sounding?
I've pretty given up on the idea of trying it on my main rig but I'm thinking my secondary could and should benefit with it's bass shy klipschorns.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by Macuser

What didn't you like about the sound? Was it too bass heavy or unnatural sounding?
I've pretty given up on the idea of trying it on my main rig but I'm thinking my secondary could and should benefit with it's bass shy klipschorns.

It was too bass-heavy. I used Antonio Carlos Jobim's Wave CD as my first test. Even before this I realized that while some CDs would benefit from the change, others don't need it, having good bass already. And it wasn't better bass, only louder bass, so the change would be detrimental in many cases. I though the Jobim CD would be a good test, as the bass is present but subtle as well. I don't plan to try any bass-heavy CDs with the 8-ohm tap.

I remain open to experimenting with swapping the 4-ohm and 2-ohm taps out or putting everything on the 4-ohm tap, if I can get comfortable with possibly flattening the bananas on my cables by inserting them into the spade area and tightening them down. But I've gotten used to the sound as is and don't have any inclination to go radical.

[prepress]

As for the above, I have swapped the low and high frequency taps on my 501s so that the 4-ohms have the low frequencies and the 2-ohm ones have the mids/highs. I spent a little over an hour listening today to various CD tracks and watching DVD/BD clips. The system was warmed up for perhaps 10 minutes.

The first track was the usual Fanfare for the Common Man track by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The bass drum had more impact than I'd ever heard before. The bass had more weight and power, vibrated the floor a bit, and I had a mild headache after listening to just that track. But the highs seemed to have a slight veil over them, slightly muted.

Next up was part of Led Zeppelin III. The low mid-bass filled in nicely, with the sound of more impact; noticeable was an increase in this with drums. The transient and sound of the stick hitting the drum was more evident. Whether the highs sounded veiled or not seemed to depend upon the track played, as I'd describe "Since I've been Loving You" as not sounding as veiled on top as the ASO did.

"The Girl from Ipanema" off Compact Jazz: Antonio Carlos Jobim was interesting. Joao Gilberto had a somewhat more nasal sound, not as clean, when he sang; excess resonance, I guess you'd call it. The extra bottom may have been the culprit.

Various DVD/BD tracks ensued, as I turned to video. Tracks by Yes, Jeff Beck, Marcus Miller, and scenes from The Avengers demonstrated enhanced lows but not so much of the veiling I heard earlier. Only because I'm very familiar with the material played would I notice this. I even picked up a bit of detail here and there I hadn't noticed before. I returned to the ASO and Fanfare for the last test, and it sounded smoother than the first time. The lows, still powerful, pulled back just a touch, and things seemed to even out over the first time when it was almost overwhelming.

I think this configuration offers a better balance than using the 8-ohm taps for bass. But, I admit I quit after the first track last time; perhaps I should try the 8-ohm taps again. But I think as of now that I'll either leave things as they are, or get one pair of my 12TC re-terminated with spades for the amp end so I can put both highs and lows on the 501's 4-ohm tap. Or to be extravagant, buy another pair of 12TC already terminated with spades on the amp end and keep the displaced pair as an extra. Less trouble, but more money.

[prepress]

Update: I bit the bullet, ordered a 4-ft pair of 12TC with Postmaster 25 spades on amp end, regular bananas on speaker end.

[jdandy]

Charles.......I think running the 4 ohm taps for bass and midrange is the way to go.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Charles.......I think running the 4 ohm taps for bass and midrange is the way to go.

I wish I'd thought of this in the beginning when I first got my 12TC, but so be it. I was reading how people used different taps even way back when I got the 501s, so I did it too. Plus, I already had the 2 pairs of 8TC with all bananas, so it made sense to avoid spending the money. But no sooner do I order the new 12TC than I end up having to get new glasses! So Monday was a double hit to the wallet.

[prepress]

Ok, the new 12TC pair arrived Wednesday, and has been connected. The previous all-banana pair on the 2-ohm tap has been retired, but will be kept; who knows, I may have tri-ampable speakers someday, or decide down the road I do prefer the previous configuration. I've spent only about 40 minutes with the new pair so far, which is running the woofers.

First impression is that the frequencies are more balanced than using separate taps. Again using Fanfare for the Common Man, the LF impact is powerful. But the highs/mids keep up with it better. It was as if the sound were more complete, for lack of a better term. And the Jobim CD, Wave, was more enjoyable with the highs not sounding muted (the sense of veiling I had with the highs on the 2-ohm taps was easier to discern with sparser instrumentation). I'm assuming the new 12TC needs some break-in and the sound will change a bit, so I'll have to listen more and see how things go. But that first 40 minutes tells me that my 501s and Mirage M-3si speakers are capable of better sound than I knew. And they were already good.

[prepress]

After only about 2 hours more, I'm confident in saying this, for me, is the ideal setup. Everything on the 4-ohm tap. Sound is fuller, the upper frequencies don't suffer, and there's more oomph when the recording has it. Great stuff.

It will be fun to revisit my collection and see what older recordings and videos I've enjoyed sound like now. Long live the 501s!