Mickey242 wrote: Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:55 pm Added a Cambridge Audio AXC35 which while on interferes with incoming RF signals. How am I going to listen to Sound Opinions while wanting to slit my wrists?

That is funny, usually people complain about RF interfering with their audio equipment.

CD players are bastards with the emissions. I would start to worry how much RF the thing is throwing out that might be messing up the phono signal or other low lever signals coming through the preamp.

I see three options to solve your problem. If the RF is coming from the power cord, try clamping a round magnet (called a choke) on it or wrapping the cord around a donut shaped magnet the way some computer hardware is. If the RF is coming from the transformer, try shielding it by using foil tape on the inside of the case, or get some steel plate and put it on top of and underneath the unit. My guess is the RF is coming from both the power cord and the transformer, so both solutions may provide some relief.

third solution is turn the CD player off when you want to listen to the radio.

motorbike guy wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:51 am

Mickey242 wrote: Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:55 pm Added a Cambridge Audio AXC35 which while on interferes with incoming RF signals. How am I going to listen to Sound Opinions while wanting to slit my wrists?

third solution is turn the CD player off when you want to listen to the radio.

Thank you. I think I overlooked the obvious, clear solution. LOL

any feeling on the general performance of active vs passive speakers, or active crossovers with a biamp setup? Let's assume this is in the mid-fi world and speakers are under $2500/pair and $1000 on amplification? Is the passive crossover a thing of the past?

twelvepoint wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:09 am any feeling on the general performance of active vs passive speakers, or active crossovers with a biamp setup? Let's assume this is in the mid-fi world and speakers are under $2500/pair and $1000 on amplification? Is the passive crossover a thing of the past?

oh brother, you don't want me to get started on active systems.

I think they are great. I can never go back.

but no, I don't think speakers with passive crossovers are a thing of the past, at least not for the vast majority of home audio enthusiasts.

active systems with an external active crossover and amps external to the speakers will remain an expensive end game solution for those folks who can afford multiple power amps, and who can find crossovers that work with their speakers and speakers that allow you to bypass the passive crossover inside. There are less than a half dozen on the market. (Thinking out loud: Linn; Kudos) There are a very few (maybe 3) "generic" active crossovers available that are sort of aimed at the build-your-own speaker guys, and one of those is just a Behringer PA box.

active systems with the crossovers and amps inside the speakers are out there, but have not really caught on for other than in the pro (studio and sound reinforcement) realm, although they offer many of the advantages of the systems above with a few disadvantages, plus take up less space.
(ATC, Burchardt, KEF, Dali, Grimm?)There are a lot of desktop powered monitors, but they are not full range,. There are a ton of powered subwoofers out there., sure.

Interesting, I'd have thought that with the advent of stuff like active speakers, better DSP, class D amps that maybe home setups would have expanded into enthusiasts having more control over crossover points. But you're right, it's another box to buy and more amps so the market for people who want to tinker with that stuff is relatively small.

Are hi fi people these days amenable to DSP based crossovers/filters/EQ etc? Used all the time in pro audio of course, but I know audiophiles are a fickle bunch.

twelvepoint wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 2:46 pm
Are hi fi people these days amenable to DSP based crossovers/filters/EQ etc? Used all the time in pro audio of course, but I know audiophiles are a fickle bunch.

They are gaining wider acceptance - the digital crowd is not so against injecting additional digital stages in the signal chain. The analogue folks are skeptical, but at least one company I know has embraced fully digital active system design with well-regarded results.

https://hifiplus.com/articles/linn-prod ... ax-system/

LInn sells a whole line of active systems with amps in the speakers - and you can buy parts to make most older linn systems active as well. The crossovers are configurable for other speakers.

Burchardt is another firm that sells a line of active loudspeakers with DACs and amps in the speakers

https://buchardtaudio.com/collections/active-speakers

Hey thanks for the replies FM Motorbike Guy and FMBD. This all may be a bit academic for me as I just got a new integrated amp with no fx loop/tape monitor or line out, so I'm relegated to unpowered speakers with passive crossovers for a while. Plus it's for family use, so the fewer things to turn on and off, select and adjust the better. That said, it is fun to see where hi-fi is going in terms of active speakers, class D, DSP EQ, etc. The mini DSP boxes look cool, thanks FMBD for that. I imagine with the SHARC chips they are capable of sounding pretty good. It seems like you could have one of these do phono EQ as well, though I don't immediately see one described as such.

If a person had powered speakers how could they intergreat them into Hi-fi system? Amp out from the reciever?

Sorry I'm LD and to tired to check my spelling.

^ Well that first one will work just great. Thanks. Anyone else want to chime in.

Mickey242 wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 9:57 pm If a person had powered speakers how could they intergreat them into Hi-fi system? Amp out from the reciever?

Sorry I'm LD and to tired to check my spelling.

yes, you just send them a line level signal.
so preamp outs would work.
tape outs would work but you won't have volume control at the preamp.
If you have a pre-out from your receiver, use that.