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Gretsch
01-07-2005, 10:50 AM
Hello all.
I am looking for a bit of advice on a few things.
I am far from an audiophile and I apologize in advance of some of these have been covered here, or are seem like dumb questions.

First let me say that I use my system primarily for listening to music and not movies.

1.I have an old McIntosh amp (MC501?/) and pre amp that I'm using. They sound great, but they are nearly 20 yrs old.
Should I be taking these in to be cleaned and bench tested, will this help them last? I live in a 100 yr old house and there is lots of dust.

2. My 7r old cheap sony DVD player is acting as my CD player. Will this play CD's that are released as DVD audio?? Am I missing out by not using a decent CD player? I think I must be.

3. I am using Paradigm Studio 20's and a powered Paradigm sub. Sounds great for movies, but I am constantly adjusting the sub,(or turning it off) when I listen to music. Is this a common problem?

4. before the Paradigms, I had a nice set of Allison CD-4 speakers. My 3 yr old son put his fingers through the tweeters and his foot through one of the drivers. ouch.
I believe that Allison is out of business. Whats the best way to go about replacing the damaged parts and retaining the quality? Those speakers sounded really nice.

anyway thanks in advance for any help.

dean_martin
01-07-2005, 11:14 AM
Hey Gretsch. Welcome! Do have a guitar with the same name? Those are nice.

You can probably find a Mac dealer with a tech who can clean and test your gear. You might check with Mac first through their website or by phone so you'll know what the tech should do before taking it in simply to cover yourself so you don't get taken for a ride.

7yrs. is very old for a dvd player. Check out the new stuff at a place like www.audioadvisor.com. Panasonic, Pioneer and others make quality players that handle both audio and video for not much money these days. You can get a player that plays all formats, but to take advantage of multi-channel mixes on DVD-A (audio) and SACD, you need the complimentary equipment and additional speakers. I'm a 2-channel (plus subwoofer for movies) guy myself. And, yes, I have to constantly adjust my sub for music. I can generally get by with one setting for movies.

Post an inquiry in the speakers forum for info on your Allisons. I think there are some folks around here who have mentioned those speakers and may even own some. I know of a couple of guys who have a large collection of vintage speakers who would probably respond quickly to a post with Allison in the title.

bargainseeker
01-07-2005, 12:23 PM
Allison Acoustics is back in business. You can find Allison replacement parts here (http://www.allisonacoustics.com/parts.html). I still own a pair of Allison 3s myself.

Gretsch
01-07-2005, 01:06 PM
Thanks for the replies.

Bargainseeker, you made my day. My Allisons have been sitting in a corner for 2 years. Thanks.

I have a number of Gretsch drum kits...but they DO make nice guitars!

Pat D
01-07-2005, 03:34 PM
Hello all.
I am looking for a bit of advice on a few things.
I am far from an audiophile and I apologize in advance of some of these have been covered here, or are seem like dumb questions.

First let me say that I use my system primarily for listening to music and not movies.

1.I have an old McIntosh amp (MC501?/) and pre amp that I'm using. They sound great, but they are nearly 20 yrs old.
Should I be taking these in to be cleaned and bench tested, will this help them last? I live in a 100 yr old house and there is lots of dust.

2. My 7r old cheap sony DVD player is acting as my CD player. Will this play CD's that are released as DVD audio?? Am I missing out by not using a decent CD player? I think I must be.

3. I am using Paradigm Studio 20's and a powered Paradigm sub. Sounds great for movies, but I am constantly adjusting the sub,(or turning it off) when I listen to music. Is this a common problem?

4. before the Paradigms, I had a nice set of Allison CD-4 speakers. My 3 yr old son put his fingers through the tweeters and his foot through one of the drivers. ouch.
I believe that Allison is out of business. Whats the best way to go about replacing the damaged parts and retaining the quality? Those speakers sounded really nice.

anyway thanks in advance for any help. 1. Sure, why not have them checked out?

2. You probably are not missing much. Do you enjoy listening to the music?

If you decide you do need a CDP, relatively cheap CDPs should sound about the same as expensive ones. No proof they don't. Or, you could simply get a more modern DVD player, if yours will not play DVD-A's, should you need that capability.

3. The level needed on the sub is probably not the same for movies and music. On the other hand, you may have a set up problem. Here is a tip on finding the proper place for a subwoofer:

http://www.axiomaudio.com/tips_subwoofer_placement.html

In most rectangular rooms, the best place for a subwoofer is in a corner.

4. Allison is back in business and as noted by someone else, you can get parts. I rather liked the Allison 4 and some reviewers still like Allison speakers a lot (Howard Ferstler).

http://www.allisonacoustics.com/

Mr Peabody
01-07-2005, 10:14 PM
First off, for your musical enjoyment HANG ON to that Mac, it's the good stuff. I'm of the mind if it ain't broke don't fix it. But when capacitors get old they can dry out and your background will become noisy. You will hear more hiss in the background. If any of the gear has tubes then it may also be more important to get everything checked out.

I use my sub ONLY for home theater and never for music. CD's or any program source varies wildly in quality of recording so I can see someone constantly adjusting the sub level for music. Many modern home theater receivers and preamps are now including bass settings for different source inputs, often termed "bass management". So I'd say what you do is pretty normal.

I personally think you are cheating yourself by not using a better source for music playback. Keeping with stereo your source is the most important link in your system because no matter how good the amp is it will not reproduce what isn't there in the first place. If you put a good cd player on that Mac system you will be amazed at how good you will have it. I don't know what you are willing to spend but Arcam makes excellent cd players. Or, you could get a Mac cd player but that will set you back. Mass market brands aren't in the same league with your Mac and if there were any, they would be outperformed by other brands in that price range. For example, take Sony for instance, if they had a cd player at $2k it may be worthy of your Mac but for $2k you could buy an Arcam or other specialized brand that would still outperform it. All of this is generally speaking.

As far as your speakers, you can have the woofers "re-coned". It's basically restoring them back to original condition. You will have to find an electronics service shop that offers this. As far as the tweeters, the shop may just have to cross reference another one that comes close. If anything else can be done I'm not aware of it.

You said you're not an audiophile but McIntosh is audiophile gear and most would give eyeteeth for it. I'd recommend covetting it and add the same calibur of source whether cd or SACD, and don't rule out a turntable if you still have some vinyl around. Or, if you are not passionate about your music, check Bluebook value and Ebay your Mac then take the money and buy a home theater receiver that will give you surround sound and all the new ins and outs.

Gretsch
01-10-2005, 07:43 AM
First off, for your musical enjoyment HANG ON to that Mac, it's the good stuff. I'm of the mind if it ain't broke don't fix it. But when capacitors get old they can dry out and your background will become noisy. You will hear more hiss in the background. If any of the gear has tubes then it may also be more important to get everything checked out.

I use my sub ONLY for home theater and never for music. CD's or any program source varies wildly in quality of recording so I can see someone constantly adjusting the sub level for music. Many modern home theater receivers and preamps are now including bass settings for different source inputs, often termed "bass management". So I'd say what you do is pretty normal.

I personally think you are cheating yourself by not using a better source for music playback. Keeping with stereo your source is the most important link in your system because no matter how good the amp is it will not reproduce what isn't there in the first place. If you put a good cd player on that Mac system you will be amazed at how good you will have it. I don't know what you are willing to spend but Arcam makes excellent cd players. Or, you could get a Mac cd player but that will set you back. Mass market brands aren't in the same league with your Mac and if there were any, they would be outperformed by other brands in that price range. For example, take Sony for instance, if they had a cd player at $2k it may be worthy of your Mac but for $2k you could buy an Arcam or other specialized brand that would still outperform it. All of this is generally speaking.

As far as your speakers, you can have the woofers "re-coned". It's basically restoring them back to original condition. You will have to find an electronics service shop that offers this. As far as the tweeters, the shop may just have to cross reference another one that comes close. If anything else can be done I'm not aware of it.

You said you're not an audiophile but McIntosh is audiophile gear and most would give eyeteeth for it. I'd recommend covetting it and add the same calibur of source whether cd or SACD, and don't rule out a turntable if you still have some vinyl around. Or, if you are not passionate about your music, check Bluebook value and Ebay your Mac then take the money and buy a home theater receiver that will give you surround sound and all the new ins and outs.



Thanks for the tips. I love music and am very happy with the sound of the Macs. I traded a guy an old car for them, and I think I got the best of that deal. (I'm sure the car was in a scrap heap years ago)

Geoffcin
01-10-2005, 05:29 PM
Hello all.
I am looking for a bit of advice on a few things.
I am far from an audiophile and I apologize in advance of some of these have been covered here, or are seem like dumb questions.

First let me say that I use my system primarily for listening to music and not movies.

1.I have an old McIntosh amp (MC501?/) and pre amp that I'm using. They sound great, but they are nearly 20 yrs old.
Should I be taking these in to be cleaned and bench tested, will this help them last? I live in a 100 yr old house and there is lots of dust.

2. My 7r old cheap sony DVD player is acting as my CD player. Will this play CD's that are released as DVD audio?? Am I missing out by not using a decent CD player? I think I must be.

3. I am using Paradigm Studio 20's and a powered Paradigm sub. Sounds great for movies, but I am constantly adjusting the sub,(or turning it off) when I listen to music. Is this a common problem?

4. before the Paradigms, I had a nice set of Allison CD-4 speakers. My 3 yr old son put his fingers through the tweeters and his foot through one of the drivers. ouch.
I believe that Allison is out of business. Whats the best way to go about replacing the damaged parts and retaining the quality? Those speakers sounded really nice.

anyway thanks in advance for any help.

To a model with progressive output, and DVD-Audio capability.

musicoverall
01-10-2005, 06:18 PM
Hello all.
I am looking for a bit of advice on a few things.
I am far from an audiophile and I apologize in advance of some of these have been covered here, or are seem like dumb questions.

First let me say that I use my system primarily for listening to music and not movies.

1.I have an old McIntosh amp (MC501?/) and pre amp that I'm using. They sound great, but they are nearly 20 yrs old.
Should I be taking these in to be cleaned and bench tested, will this help them last? I live in a 100 yr old house and there is lots of dust.

2. My 7r old cheap sony DVD player is acting as my CD player. Will this play CD's that are released as DVD audio?? Am I missing out by not using a decent CD player? I think I must be.

3. I am using Paradigm Studio 20's and a powered Paradigm sub. Sounds great for movies, but I am constantly adjusting the sub,(or turning it off) when I listen to music. Is this a common problem?

4. before the Paradigms, I had a nice set of Allison CD-4 speakers. My 3 yr old son put his fingers through the tweeters and his foot through one of the drivers. ouch.
I believe that Allison is out of business. Whats the best way to go about replacing the damaged parts and retaining the quality? Those speakers sounded really nice.

anyway thanks in advance for any help.

I love my Tennessee Rose!!! More than my audio gear!!! :)

1) Yep, get it checked out - and then you'll most likely want to keep it! Not bad for someone who claims not to be an audiophile! ;)

2) Fix your speakers first and adjust their positioning. When you've maximized your system as is, THEN worry about your CD player. Or you could get a universal disc player now to take advantage of DVD-A and SACD.

3) I'm totally ignorant of subs which is why I bought full range mains!

4) Sons will do that! "...must kill dad's speakers... must kill dad's speakers!" Sounds like he did a good job! As the others have mentioned, Allison is back is business. Get 'em fixed!

Good luck!