You beat me to it.
The au505 has a loudness switch, like my entry au101. Only where the au101 user would perhaps slightly benefit from it being a nice feature (it is really subtle unlike some other amps), it could in my opinion as well have been left away on the au505. Even at low gain the au505 in its initial settings has enough presence and its loudness contours make it sound way too dark / restless for low volumes.You beat me to it.
Loudness functions, tone controls and maybe Sansui au505 low pass function function turned on (although it shouldn't render in the sound AJM1981 experiences).
It's not guaranteed that tone controls that are in the 0 position don't affect FR. That can be sensitive and tricky to set.
Okay.
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WXA50 has loudness too, at least manual shows, that equalizer can be set to auto, where it does correction depending on volume. Other feature is bass extension. It simulate low bass with small speakers.
Indeed. Once the 'Damping Factor' (which is nothing of the sort!) gets over 10, it will have a trivial effect on the loudspeaker's frequency response. Bear in mind, that 'damping factor' is not only the amplifiers output impedance, but also the 'there and back' resistance of the loudspeaker cables in series with the loudspeaker's impedance.
As it was a sidestep about loudness contours, I used low volume(s). I know the basics about the Fletcher Munson curves. There are many amps with different executions following the same principle. The sansui au101 has a bit of a 'it's not a bug, it's a feature' in that it gives a slightly warm and rounder bass contour, which also does well at average listening volumes (I rarely play really "loud") . Other than how my Luxman L2 and Pioneer Sa-5300 do it. Which is way more V-shaped.
Speaking of volume. What @antcollinet said in #20 undoubtedly affects the experience. Differences in volume, which is proven by The Fletcher Munson Curve:
View attachment 511083
Should you use Fletcher-Munson loudness compensation?
I know many are familiar with the Fletcher-Munson or equal loudness curves. In a nutshell: “The Fletcher Munson Curve contains a set of graphs that show that when you listen to music at a lower volume, mid-range frequencies will be sound more prominent, whereas high and low frequencies will be...
Then we have the aspect that the loudest sound wins.
I guess it should sound off in that case. There's always someone who likes to repair itHowever, worn-out electronics can affect. In my closet I have parked a Luxor 5982-R. It is in the closet because the bass with it is swollen and rumbling. I don't imagine that is the case. I could score it right every day of the week in a blind test vs. any other well-functioning amp/receiver. It is that clear.
Nothing to spend any money on. I bought it at a flea market for around $20.
I'll give it away as a repair item. Or if I throw it at the recycling station.
For that time, 1979, ok or, mediocre performance.
Here it is by the way:
View attachment 511085View attachment 511086View attachment 511087
In a passive speaker, also the crossover.
I own the wharfedale 4.2 loudspeakers and have them placed in a well treated room.
This morning I decided to switch between my classic Sansui au505 and modern class d Yamaha wxa50 and play some jazz (Blue in Green by Miles Davis). With the Yamaha having a high damping factor and the sansui au505 a low one.
I will try to describe the "illusion" as well as possible. I will not make pro's and cons because those preferences are different from user to user.
High damping factor (modern Yamaha):
With the 3-way loudspeakers on stands, the bass seems to come right out of the woofer in front. It is tightly controlled, hefty and the idea that a subwoofer can seemlessly connect "sonically" is clear as it creates seperation in the bottom layers. I think this is probably the most accepted application as it is technical-philosophical more sound. And it adds space for selling subwoofers. Which Yamaha does as well. It also serves a modern market.
Low damping factor (classic Sansui):
It seems to utilize more potential from the woofer of the same standmount loudspeakers. The bass blooms in bottom end territories that it seems to get take more advantage in what the loudspeakers are capable of by themselves. The bass sounds like it expands to where the stands of the 3-way system are as well. Resulting in what some might describe as more of a "holographic sound" due to more movement of the voice coil. But at the same time I would never have bought a subwoofer having an amp with a lower damping factor as it is difficult finding the extension line.
As much I get the modern technical idea behind high damping factors I think that especially for Jazz or any accoustic types of music a lower damping factor seems to be more 'sound' to the natural reproduction as there are no device-factors as with electronic bass (amps) and synthetic ones.
But getting back to lower damping factors would trouble a more modern eco system of loudspeakers and subs as well as a majority of users preferring 'tight' bass.
Any takes on this topic?
The auto equalizer on the Yamaha wxa50 and wxc50 is not its best feature. There are also no ways to reproduce it with their 3 standard EQ sliders. Sounds like a big compressed "thing". Almost for people who like their music pumped up. I usually have it on bypass. There are better executions of loudness contours.
You forgot that speaker impedance is not constant, but frequency dependent. Also you forgot about influence of low pass filter in speaker. Also both speaker filter and bass driver impedances are complex values. Thus interaction between amplifier and speaker is much more complex than can be seen from your calculations.
Hmm. I wrote about electrical damping, where resistance (not impedance) is a reason for loss of resonance energy. It was about understanding of damping factor, not about interaction between amplifier and speaker. While your comment is true, you seems to misunderstand my statement.
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You can't have a good loudness without acoustical measurements. It is properly done in AVRs. Examples are Yamaha YPAO Volume and Audyssey Dynamic EQ.
The issue is that your original post is not applicable to speakers that have inductors in series with the woofers, which is the vast majority of passive speakers used in home audio. If someone does not know that, and uses your advice to calculate damping factor, the results will be incorrect, sometimes far off from the actual damping factor. Garbage data in = garbage data out.
True, that I omitted crossover
Damping factor is a property of an amplifer, just an weird presentation of amplifier output impedance. You seem to use some other definition. Unless you specify what it means to you, your graphs tell nothing.
