tag mclaren av32r

Hi And thanks for reading this post.

I have been offered a tag mclaren av32r for 200 notes.

Is this a good deal. A quick google search indicates it is from 2001. Very old. Would it compare at all against modern gear or is it totally outdated.

Many thanks in advance. John.

 

Hi John,

In terms of the sonics it will be fully competitive with todays kit since these things change little.
Built in 2001 isn't really that old for audio since most of it moves snails pace, and sometimes backwards

Just check it has the required inputs and facilities.

 

Hi Thanks for the reply.

So is there no improvement in dac technology/ opamps, new dac chips?

I think some of the newer units have usb input, Airplay or 3D pass through, support for internet steaming.

Do you think these are just additional features and sound quality itself is unaffected.

Many thanks. John.

 

Hi John,

There are technical improvements to dacs in some areas, but these are largely irrelevant for home audio. Modern dacs can deal with higher sampling rates and might have a slightly lower noise floor, but it wash't high enough to be audible in the 90s, let alone the noughties!

So it really comes down to features.

 

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

I was flicking through the pages today looking for a new av processor/amps. Noticed the What Hifi site and recommendations for best buys.

But i'm scratching my head in puzzlement at what exactly manufacturers are hoping to achieve. All the top end processors have 140 to 190 watts per channel output.
But what on earth am i going to do with that??? What on earth is anyone going to do with that

I mean 190 watts per channel!! Are you trying to deafen me or shatter my windows.

And they proudly went on to boast of huge toroidal transformers, massive psu caps

Half of the money must have gone into the power supply alone.

The can't mean 190 watts rms I must have made a mistake somewhere

 

The thing is, for a doubling of volume level (+6dB) you need four times the power. So if you want twice as loud as a 50watt amp you need 200watts. Similarly a speaker which is 83dB sensitive rather than 89dB will need that 4x power for the same output.

Also I think some of these tests are done driving only that channel / pair of channels. So the main outputs might give 190watts but only when the rear and centre channels are not playing.

Anyway, I'd definitely get the Tag. IMO the way to do a surround system is to get a pre-amp for processing then use active speakers. Good speakers and power amps can last your lifetime and still be great items. Digital processing on the other hand can change formats or whatever in a matter of years. Also the Tag looks sexy!

 

...and also you rarely see any duration figures alongside the power figures. So an amplifier might well sustain 200w for a few seconds, perhaps even a minute or two, but heat will quickly build up for a conventional linear design and that requires either large, heavy heat sinks and/or fans.

There is also the cheat of using too low a VA rated transformer with a large capacitor bank. This will allow high peak power but collapses on sustained drive.

In other words, unless the design is a big expensive high end brute, take the power specs with a pinch of salt.

 

Yes, that is the set up i have at the moment, a preamp going to active speakers.

I know some would disagree I find active speakers to be so much better than passive Used passives for years and was always troubled Switched to actives in 2009 Man what a differences Everything sounds so much better More detail Can't believe i wasted all those years listening to passives

I would heartily advise everyone at least try actives once you wiil never look back.

 

What do you use, Meridian or something pro audio stuff?

 

Hi. I would lean towards the pro audio. I have got a meridan amp which i purchased many years ago but never used.

At the moment i am using an audiolab 8000av preamp (£1k) which i have modded to the max, audiograde transformer rectifier full board recap bypassed with wima fkp2's, big improvement from straight-out-of-the -box, got it from a well known auction site for £200 brand new, an old model from 2002 and universally derided, but at the price i could not complain.

This runs into 3 power amps which i fitted with active crossovers, then to b and w speakers.

I have surfed a few other audio websites and some people claim to prefer passives, don't know which planet they are from, actives are so much better.

 

So the speakers are passives which you changed to active?

 

Well, i should really say actively driven

I guess active speakers have the amp and crossover inside the loudspeaker itself, but i didn't like this approach

Can imagine all that vibration pounding the circuit boards and the damage it would do over time.

 

Are they intended to be active speakers then? It's just I haven't seen many actives from B&W although I know they do some such as the 802s.

 

Hi. Sorry for the confusion.

They are actively driven, not active speakers in themselves.

The reason for this is i did not like placing the amp within the loudspeaker enclosure because of all the harmful vibrations pounding on the circuit boards.

And i do get a lot of vibrations. I mean, when a friend came to visit he said: "I knew you were in, because i could hear your music from the bottom of the street."

 

You are right, active speakers don't need to have the amps inside the box. A friend of mine has some PMC speakers with two small racks sitting beside each speaker housing active crossover and 3 amps.

Active generally just means that the crossover comes before the amps rather than afterwards*. So I was wondering how you got an active crossover for the speakers, since I have not seen many B&W speakers that have the crossover prior to the amps. Most seem to have crossovers after the amps, though you can drive it with more than one amp if you like.

*Although that is not strictly true. Active really means that the crossover uses power to run. You could have a passive crossover before the amps (passive line-level) or an active one after the amps but there is not a lot of sense to either method.

 

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

I built the crossovers myself. As you can guess i am a big fan of actives they make music, movies sound so much better. I really hope you can clear out some time and try them out.

I have noticed now and again second hand active crossovers for in car audio appear on ebay, they sell for just a few pounds and may be a very worthwhile and low cost introduction into the active world. You can always resell them at zero loss so there are no pitfalls

Indeed I replied to a thread in which a member had used his active car amp for a while as his £1500 Bryston was at the repair shop. He loved it so much he shoved the Bryston into the back of the cupboard and never touched it again.