I am looking to get some views on my next step.

Currently have an active DBL system on a mixture of power amps: 500 (high), 250 (mid), 300 (low). I have a 552 and am running a CDS3 using the 555PS. I have supercap on the crossover and use a high line.

Do I upgrade the CDS3 to the CD555 or do I replace the 250 for another 500 and if so, in what configuration.

Conventional wisdom suggests the CD555, but I wondered if anyone has some experience of playing with different power amp configurations with the DBLs.

Gavin

Welcome to the forum. That is some system you have there. If I was in your position I would be quite tempted with the CD555.

quote:

but I wondered if anyone has some experience of playing with different power amp configurations with the DBLs.

Welcome to the forum Gavin.

Out of interest, where do you think your system can be improved?


Dr Peter is your man to speak to regarding active DBL's.

However I would seriously consider the 555 head unit first as this for me made everything sound just right.

Gavin

Welcome to the place where we spend your money!

That is one mighty fine system you have there!

Have you tried the 300 on mids and 250 on bass? Have you got Fraim?

We have at least one other member who has played around with various different amps with DBL's.

Hopefully he, or Dr Peter (his dealer, Cymbiosis) will be will be able to give you some advice.

Best wishes, Julian

Active systems are very intriguing to me.

I have a couple general questions about Gavin's kit.

Is using different amps for different drivers the best way to go?

Would be be ideal to use all the same amps?

Do different drivers require different amounts of power?

Which scenario would be most desirable?

a) Three 300s?
b) 500 (high), 250 (mid), 300 (low)

thanks!
Patrick

Welcome Gavin!

For biggest bang per £ I would 1st consider a 555 head unit.
I'm sure your dealer would be able to arrange one on a home trial for you.
If you don't have one I recommend Tom Tom Audio,
as they would be able to offer you a good PX on your CDS3,
& have some stock that might interest you.

Have fun - John

Gavin,

Best thing you can do: get a decent turntable.

Hi,

The current advice is that the following order will be the best 500 on treble, the 300 on midrange and the 250 on bass so this is an easy change. The other issue is what crossover are you using? The 362 is far better than the 36. Equally important, powering by Supercap is also the best option.

Hope this helps,

Frank

hi from a fellow dibble owner, mines with 6pack of 135s

as mentioned make sure you are using snaxo 362 with supercap before you make any further changes

oh and put the 300 on the mids and the 250 on the bass

is the 250 old? would it benefit from a factory check?

Jon/Frank

I would have thought that Gavin can only be using a 362 with that arrangement of amps?

J

and i know this will be controversial... but... if you listen to your dibbles are, shall we say, "concert" level, then you might prefer to put the 500 on the bass, 300 on the treble and 250 on the mids to get extra ooompfh

it might not be the best solution, only by trying will you know

and yes fraim is hugely influential here

so my vote is snaxo362 + supercap + fraim before you change amps. Add in factory refurb of 250 if it is olive cased

quote:

Originally posted by Julian H:
Jon/Frank

I would have thought that Gavin can only be using a 362 with that arrangement of amps?

J

he could be using naxo36 i think with a hicap (Im pretty sure there was a naxo36 for dibbles in the early days). or a snaxo36 with hicap or supercap. or snaxo362 with hicap or supercap.

my dibbles (2nd hand) came with snaxo36 which I powered with supercap, and then at Dr Pete's recommendation (and home trial, of course), went to snaxo362 with supercap.

the plug arrangement on 362 is vastly more simple than on 36. 36 had shared treble on one stereo amp, and mid/bass on second stereo amp and mid/bass on third stereo amp. 362 has treble/treble on one, mid/mid on second and bass/bass on third.

It is *still* possible to cock up the wiring and get bass coming from treble etc, but noone would ever admit to getting that wrong, oh dear me no....

Ah I see what you mean -- yes, if he has treble/treble, mid/mid and bass/bass, then it must be a snaxo362.

still, the supercap question is important.

Jon

Gavin has a SC on the Snaxo.

J

Thanks for the response. You guessed correctly, I have the later 362 SNAXO and I am using a Supercap to power it. No FRAIM, I am mostly using Mana stands.

The 250 I have is an olive version, but it was serviced appx 2 years ago. I originally had the DBLs powered by 300(high), 250(mid), 250(low), but I ended up switching the 300 to bass which gave better bass 'extension' and a lot more definition there.

Adding the 500 to the treble was an incredible step, the whole sound felt much 'lighter', more open and dynamic. Interestingly it also seemed to improve the presentation of the bass also.

I guess that it the reason I am weighing up another 500 over a 555. I would also be reluctant to move the 500 to mid.

Interested to hear from other DBL users!

The short answer is go passive with the 500...it is so much better than the 300 and vastly better than the 250, that the inclusion of the latter two, even with a supercapped Snaxo will limit the end result to a greater degree than the PAXO does with a single 500.

For MUCH more detail, see my similar dilemma, except I was using a 1x500, 1x300 and 2x135s in an active DBL system in this thread

Upgrading active DBLs

Gavin,

It is obviously very easy for you to test Ron's suggestion above for yourself and see if you like the difference.

My suggestion would be diferent however, this is based on looking after a considerable number of people with DBLs, both passive and active.

Source first. Evaluate a 555 head unit and consider re-deploying the 300 on the mid, until such time as the 250 is replaced by another 500. At which time I personally would demote the 300 back to the bass again.

Another key area which is sometimes missed, is the set-up and deployment of your equipment. Suprisingly big sonic gains can be made here too!

Why not arrange for your dealer to turn up with a 555 head and a 500 so you can evaluate the upgrades in your own system? You may find he can offer you a trade-in on your CDS3 - Most of us do you know......

Kind regards,

Peter

quote:

Originally posted by Cymbiosis:
Gavin,

It is obviously very easy for you to test Ron's suggestion above for yourself and see if you like the difference.

Easy if you happen to have a DBL passive crossover lying in the closet, as most of us do...