Speaker switching in control room

[jkess114]

I have several sets of speakers, quested, cube, ns10 and want to switch between them without the problem of swapping leads at the amps. The amps are macintosh mi75 tube amps and I would like something that wont sap tone with impedance matching circuits. I have seen some that allow you to listen to more than one set at a time but I really just want one set at a time and of course dont want to have to shut anything off to change the speakers. What is the common device I need?

Thanks,
-joshua

 

[John Sayers]

Sounds like you just need one of those switching boxes they use in the hifi stores for speaker comparison.

Hey that Macintosh valve amp must sound cool

cheers
john

 

[jkess114]

Yes, the amplifiers are absolutely wonderful......no ear fatigue. I loaned them to a friend of mine while I was building out to replace the amps he was using while he mixed a project down and he pooped his pants. He was using cheap solid state amplifiers and it was completely obvious the moment he hooked teh macs up, he was able to hear further inside of the music and after many hours, his ears were not tired. Tube amps may be slower in the bottom but they are very much sweeter. Where can I get one of those speaker switchers?

Thanks,
-j

 

[frederic]

Hi-Fi stores sell switchboxes that allow you to select between multiple pairs of speakers. Radio Shack has units that are about 50 bucks more or less that switch between three.

However, if you can solder, this is nothing more than a box, some connectors, and a few switches.

Since I like to solder, I made my own on a 1U blank rack-mount panel. I only have three pairs of speakers to monitor between, but the unit I made supports eight. I got from somewhere (appliance parts store, junkyard, I don't remember) an eight-pushbutton thing that when you push one button, the other seven are released. This in turn drives pairs of relays, which actually switch the speakers in and out. This allows eight speakers, but only one pair at a time so there is no accidental 1 ohm or less load on my amplifier. Was kinda fun to make and certainly solved the problem I had, which was two fold. Ability to switch eight speakers, and my intense desire for everything being in a rack. I *hate* non-rackmount boxes. They tend to pile up on things and get knocked around and of course, look sloppy when there are piles

I have several sets of speakers, quested, cube, ns10 and want to switch between them without the problem of swapping leads at the amps. The amps are macintosh mi75 tube amps and I would like something that wont sap tone with impedance matching circuits. I have seen some that allow you to listen to more than one set at a time but I really just want one set at a time and of course dont want to have to shut anything off to change the speakers. What is the common device I need?

Thanks,
-joshua

 

[longsoughtfor]

Fredric writes:

I *hate* non-rackmount boxes. They tend to pile up on things and get knocked around and of course, look sloppy when there are piles

I agree with this completely. Anyone who makes a unit smaller then a rack width should provide a rack mounting kit with it... It's kinda like when 3.5" diskettes cam out and they all provided mounting cages to fit in the standard 5.25" floppy bays. There is a standard out there... us it!


Kevin.

 

[longsoughtfor]

er... that should be "use it" not "us it". Us it makes no sense at all LOL it's Sunday, I'm hung over.

Kevin.

 

[frederic]

Fredric writes:


I agree with this completely. Anyone who makes a unit smaller then a rack width should provide a rack mounting kit with it... It's kinda like when 3.5" diskettes cam out and they all provided mounting cages to fit in the standard 5.25" floppy bays. There is a standard out there... us it!


Kevin.

Glad someone agrees. I remember way back when the Yamaha FB01 came out. While today its a mere toy (if that), I really liked the unit for bass lines and cellos, like most FM synths. However, I was really perturbed to use duct tape to attach it to a shelf.

Over the years I've had lots of gear that has tape marks