Alfazed
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Hi everyone,
First time posting here, after lurking for about a year. - I have always loved listening to music and enjoyed auditioning, building, and tweaking my sound system within my budget and space constraints, and thanks to my friend and neighbor Tony (also here on the forum), I discovered what tube amps and a well-treated listening space can bring, and I am hooked.
I bought a James Burgess custom SET amp from his co-builder, and I love it. The amp can switch between 300B and 2A3-40 tube "modes" by switching the filament supply - pretty cool, and like having two amps in one. I'm just about to experiment with upgrading my rectifier and output tubes based on the builder's recommendations.
When I got the amp, I decided that more sensitive speakers would be a good idea, and after reading the feedback here on the site about the T6 bookshelf speakers, I ordered a pair and am very happy with them, even more so now that I have added a KEF KC62 sub.
As I fall deeper and deeper into the audiophile hole, I am embarking on a self-education program, starting with a better understanding of some of the sound measurement technicalities, which brings me to my questions (at long last!).
After reading articles and watching videos on youtube (i.e. erinsaudiocorner and amirm from ASR), I decided I would test my comprehension by looking at the graphs provided on this site for the T6 speakers, and see how well I can interpret them. (I can't post a link, but they are on the T6 product page.)
The first graph, frequency response, seems pretty clear, but I have a few questions: 1. Does the fact that 15 and 30 degree measurements are given make this this a "listening window" measurement? 2. (related) can I assume that the 15 and 30 degrees are horizontal relative to the listening axis, not vertical? 3. All 3 lines (1,15,30) track each other closely up to about 1k Hz, then they diverge, increasingly, up to the "brilliance range. Can I interpret this to mean that speaker positioning relative to my listening spot is going to have a greater impact at the frequencies higher than 1k Hz than before they start to diverge? 4. The note says measurements were take at 12" from the speaker at a "healthy" SPL - is there any way to see from the graph what the actual SPL was? Does that correlate to volume? 5. I've seen FR graphs for other speakers where the curve of the lower frequency drop-off is very steep, compared to the T6. Does the T6's relatively shallow slope have any implication for the crossover level I should set on my sub (currently a bit below 60Hz)?
2nd chart - waterfall plot at high SPL. 1. I'm not sure how I ought to be reading this chart. When I search waterfall charts and speakers, I see what look like charts from room measurements, and that seems like a different use case (although maybe the same kind of data?). If anyone can point me to a good reference, I'd be grateful. 2. Since it looks like a 3-d topo map, I'm thinking in terms of terrain - where is the slope steep, and where is it shallow? And the "ridge line" has some dips and rises, but it doesn't look like the Alps - what might all that mean?
3rd and 4th chart - RMS average response and TTL harmonic distortion vs response - no clue! As above, if anyone can point me to a good reference for what these kinds of measurements mean for a speaker, I'd be grateful.
Thanks! Ann
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