Tech: Open thread

2009-11-11 18:58:23

#726

VicktorVauhn: Member; +319|6829|Southern California

sexecuti0ner wrote:
I'm about to buy some HDMI cables and I really don't know what features to look for, can anyone help me out? I don't mind paying a bit more than standard to get better quality, but I don't want to pay $100 for monster cables. And is Newegg the best place to buy them, or should I look somewhere else?

I have argued with people about this a bit... but even test I have seen say its true if your just using like a 6 foot cable...

But its not the same as a coax cable or something like that. Its a digital signal. Do you worry about the quality of Ethernet cable you used to download an avi file? There aren't delicate subtleties and different frequencies to be blurred in transmission there is data getting their, or not.

with a small/moderate size cable buy fucking anything. I have a cable I got for 50 cents + shipping and it works perfect. HDMI defines a certain standard of data transmission, you will be fine.

http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Cable-Male-C … amp;sr=8-1
.96 cents, worked perfect so far for damn near 2000 people.

Last edited by VicktorVauhn (2009-11-11 18:59:01)

2009-11-11 20:43:42

#727

IrishGrimReaper: Field Marshal | o |; +142|7158|Ireland | Monaghan

Anyone tried this search thing yet?
http://www.voidtools.com/

It's amazingly fast, like instantly fast. I have hundreds of GB of files etc, and it find everything as I type it. Worth checking out! Puts the Windows one to shame anyway.

Props to another website I visit cause that's where I seen it!

Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @ 4GHz || 3x2 GB OCZ 1600Mhz DDR3 || 80GB Intel X25-M Gen 2 || KFA2 GTX 480 1536Mb ||| Samsung T220 || Xonar DX 7.1 || AV 40 || P6T Deluxe V2 || Win 7 HP 64 Bit || Lian Li P80

2009-11-12 01:20:37

#728

Zimmer: Un Moderador; +1,688|7193|Scotland

Windows 7 native search is still pretty good though.

2009-11-12 01:59:53

#729

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

IrishGrimReaper wrote:
Anyone tried this search thing yet?
http://www.voidtools.com/

It's amazingly fast, like instantly fast. I have hundreds of GB of files etc, and it find everything as I type it. Worth checking out! Puts the Windows one to shame anyway.

Props to another website I visit cause that's where I seen it!

Lol, sounds like OS X's Spotlight

2009-11-12 02:33:03

#730

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

Now that I've got some time on my hands (and before I sit down to make an audio thread), I thought I might try to resurrect these old Mordaunt-Short MS40 speakers and Rotel amp..

https://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs118.snc3/16539_210788029615_508019615_4198815_6534247_n.jpg

+

https://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs118.snc3/16539_210787454615_508019615_4198808_2495085_n.jpg

+

https://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs118.snc3/16539_210787589615_508019615_4198809_499627_n.jpg

Will report back when I've got it all connected

2009-11-12 02:35:30

#731

tazz.: oz.; +1,339|6611|Sydney | ♥

Zimmer wrote:
Windows 7 native search is still pretty good though.

^{everything i write is a ramble and should not be taken seriously.... _{seriously. ♥}}

2009-11-12 03:45:35

#732

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

I've got it connected. And working. But, one of the speakers is muffled.. I think one of the woofers is damaged.. fucking cause the other speaker sure sounds fucking

I'm swapping the speakers round on the different channels to make sure..

2009-11-12 03:56:31

#733

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6634|Winland

mcminty wrote:
I've got it connected. And working. But, one of the speakers is muffled.. I think one of the woofers is damaged.. fucking cause the other speaker sure sounds fucking

I'm swapping the speakers round on the different channels to make sure..

They don't have foam surrounds, do they? Take the cover off and see if the woofers are falling apart. Also check if the crossover filter is OK, you can see if if you remove the woofers.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2009-11-12 04:10:07

#734

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

Just described it to an audio/recording engineer friend of mine, thought I might repost:

One of the speakers (within the whole speaker itself) doesn't seem to be working.. It's the top one, but I'm not sure exactly what it is. I can't see past the mesh..

For reference, the speakers are old Mordaunt-Short MS40's.

The one that works sounds awesome, but the broken one lacks the upper ranges, with limited detail and a muffled sound.

Rethinking what I heard, especially listening to some Sonata Arctica, there was a distinct lack of clarity and detail in the upper ranges (eg. the cymbals/drums). It was rather muffled, and when listening to Music of the Spheres (Mike Oldfield) it reminded me of listening to a radio.

Umm, no idea about the foam. When I mentioned it to my dad, he got rather pissy/defensive ("they should have a problem, nothing should have happened, rawrawrawr") so I don't want to go in there and dissect the speaker.

2009-11-12 04:11:53

#735

baggs: Member; +732|6641

mcminty wrote:
I've got it connected. And working. But, one of the speakers is muffled.. I think one of the woofers is damaged.. fucking cause the other speaker sure sounds fucking

I'm swapping the speakers round on the different channels to make sure..

where have they been kept?

2009-11-12 04:15:04

#736

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

They were kept in that room from the pics above.. so the front room of our house. In this photo I've moved them a little forward from where they were:

https://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs098.snc3/16539_210787709615_508019615_4198811_4908261_n.jpg

(don't mind the carpet.. we want to get rid of it)

Tbh, we don't really do much in there but that particular speaker is the right one in the pic. It would have been more susceptible to knocks from people walking past.. (cause there is a door just to the right of frame)

2009-11-12 04:16:00

#737

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6634|Winland

mcminty wrote:
Just described it to an audio/recording engineer friend of mine, thought I might repost:
One of the speakers (within the whole speaker itself) doesn't seem to be working.. It's the top one, but I'm not sure exactly what it is. I can't see past the mesh..

For reference, the speakers are old Mordaunt-Short MS40's.

The one that works sounds awesome, but the broken one lacks the upper ranges, with limited detail and a muffled sound.
Rethinking what I heard, especially listening to some Sonata Arctica, there was a distinct lack of clarity and detail in the upper ranges (eg. the cymbals/drums). It was rather muffled, and when listening to Music of the Spheres (Mike Oldfield) it reminded me of listening to a radio.

Umm, no idea about the foam. When I mentioned it to my dad, he got rather pissy/defensive ("they should have a problem, nothing should have happened, rawrawrawr") so I don't want to go in there and dissect the speaker.

To check if they have foam rot, just pull the covers off. If the edge arond the woofer is falling apart, you need to have it replaced before playing them, or they WILL get damaged.

As for the tweeter ("upper speaker"), it's probably the capacitor in the filter for it that has simply dried up and started acting like a cut cable. If it worked before, that is. You need to rip them apart to check this.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2009-11-12 04:17:17

#738

baggs: Member; +732|6641

So you can't open the cabinet and have a look at the connections?

2009-11-12 04:17:55

#739

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

Check this link out. It's an old review of the speaker. You should be able to see it with the cover removed. http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/Oc … 47/750391/

From that pic, it's the tweater that's gone.

Edit:

Better pic..

https://www.steveshifi.co.uk/_wp_generated/wp3eebac2f.png

2009-11-12 04:20:01

#740

baggs: Member; +732|6641

Might pay you to get inside and check all the connection, as old as they may be, dry solder joints can surface at anytime, get some good light and a magnifying glass and check.

2009-11-12 04:24:09

#741

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6634|Winland

baggs wrote:
So you can't open the cabinet and have a look at the connections?

You "open" the cabinet by removing the woofer. That's how speakers are built.

mcminty wrote:
Check this link out. It's an old review of the speaker. You should be able to see it with the cover removed. http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/Oc … 47/750391/

From that pic, it's the tweater that's gone.

Edit:

Better pic..

http://www.steveshifi.co.uk/_wp_generat … ebac2f.png

You need to look at your speakers. Foam rot comes with time and depends on usage. Just remove the cover, it's nothing more than grabbing it and pulling a little. It's made to be removable.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2009-11-12 04:27:00

#742

baggs: Member; +732|6641

Freezer7Pro wrote:
You "open" the cabinet by removing the woofer. That's how speakers are built.

Ya but i thought he really wasn't allowed to investigate the issue, maybe if he persuaded his father, the speaker is clearly faulty so looking won't cause any further harm.

I'm thinking it's a dry joint or just a dirty connection, if they've been sat around for a while.

2009-11-12 04:27:36

#743

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

Not at 11:30pm

Mmm, but the thing is, my dad is the cheap ass kind (tho he earns more than enough.. ) and he'll get really defensive and deny there is a problem. Also, these were one of the marriage gifts he got from his brother (that audiophile uncle of mine ).. so he won't want me mucking around with them. I might ask my uncle about it as well..

As for getting in there, and replacing caps and whatnot.. not something I would leap into Never touched a soldering iron before What kind of improvements could I make by replacing the caps?

Edit: Yeah I know it's absurd.. and fuck he hasn't even listened to them for like 5 years.. but yeah...

2009-11-12 04:39:22

#744

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

So I went and pulled the cover off

This is the woofer on the damaged speaker..

https://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs098.snc3/16539_210844679615_508019615_4199229_5018929_n.jpg

Looks fine, and the same as the one of the good speaker..

2009-11-12 04:51:58

#745

baggs: Member; +732|6641

Looks immaculate, seems to be a rubber surround for thw woofer also, i myself am more interested in the connections behind the tweeter, as you say the sound is muffled, i'd say the connection to the tweeter is the issue.

do you know if these speakers use an internal crossover for both drivers? from what you say, it sounds as tho they do.

2009-11-12 05:01:36

#746

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

baggs wrote:
Looks immaculate, seems to be a rubber surround for thw woofer also, i myself am more interested in the connections behind the tweeter, as you say the sound is muffled, i'd say the connection to the tweeter is the issue.

do you know if these speakers use an internal crossover for both drivers? from what you say, it sounds as tho they do.

Yeah, it doesn't look bad for being older than me

Here is a pic of the tweeter, although you can't tell anything from the front..

https://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs118.snc3/16539_210854394615_508019615_4199300_4431953_n.jpg

I'm not too keen on pulling it apart.. without some sort of guidance..

2009-11-12 05:15:28

#747

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6634|Winland

The woofer is fine. There's just something wrong with the tweeter. If your father played them very loud, it might simply be broken.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2009-11-12 05:17:45

#748

mcminty: Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.; +879|7158|Sydney, Australia

Lol, dad didn't really do that. Yeah, it is the tweeter. My mate has figured out/assumed that the tweeter is made from paper, so it's not a large leap to assume that it's torn. If that's the case, is there any way to fix it? Or.. would the only recourse be to find a replacement part?

2009-11-12 05:19:55

#749

Sydney: 2λчиэλ; +783|7280|Reykjavík, Iceland.

Wireless bridge seemed to be dying again, so I cut the wire and connected it to an unused voltage adapter, then plugged it in and I blew a fuse. Plugged it in another outlet and it works fine. Maybe this was why it was disconnecting randomly in the first place? Oh well.

2009-11-12 06:05:33

#750

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6634|Winland

mcminty wrote:
Lol, dad didn't really do that. Yeah, it is the tweeter. My mate has figured out/assumed that the tweeter is made from paper, so it's not a large leap to assume that it's torn. If that's the case, is there any way to fix it? Or.. would the only recourse be to find a replacement part?

That's a dome tweeter, it is made from anything but paper. The things that can be wrong are pretty much as follows:

1. Bad solder joint or connector that's broken loose when moving them. This is easy to fix.
2. The capacitor that's high-passing the tweeter has deteriorated so far out of spec that it doesn't work at audible frequencies anymore (Older cap=lower capacitance/higher ESR=higher crossover frequency). This is easy to fix.
3. The tweeter has been used with a too weak amplifier, or has been played too loud and is simply broken. This is pretty much impossible to fix.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

BF2S Forums Tech: Open thread

sexecuti0ner wrote:

IrishGrimReaper wrote:

Zimmer wrote:

mcminty wrote:

mcminty wrote:

mcminty wrote:

baggs wrote:

mcminty wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:

baggs wrote:

mcminty wrote:

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