srramanujam
Active Member
Many times your worst fears come true. Dal spilling on your fresh shirt, flat in your tyre, the traffic cop around the corner, and even an Indian cricket team managing a draw. At times they come in a different garb. So was it for me with the music system.
With great lethargy, i had assembled my system, complete with exotic 22 rs per meter speaker wires (http://www.hifivision.com/general-chit-chat/11386-sos-should-i-take-plunge-wire-up-sytem.html). My worst fear was frying the system with a poor power supply. The forum encouraged me as well as cautioned me. With the electricians advice and a Rs 900 surge protector, my fears were assuaged and i was ready to go.
As is the extent of male power in these times, the wiring up had to happen after the house had gone to bed. I started at 11 pm last Sunday, and it was almost 1 am before i had gingerly unpacked the components, knotted up the wires and turned on the switches one by one with a prayer in my heart. Suri's banter was flashing before me as i turned up the volume in the preamp. I switched on the right channel of the monoblock and the left, heard the relays click and waited for my dream - glorious sound.
The choice of music itself was a little incongruous - Thiruppavai by Nityashree to be played at 1 am. For those who live beyond the Vindhyas, it is a waking up song to be sung/played little before sunrise. While the atheist in me prodded me to start with my favourite album, the pessimist goaded me to appese the God - just in case he takes offense.
Maybe i choose the wrong time to appease the God, who was either in deep sleep or in the midst of more enjoyable things. The sound did come, but only from one side. For a moment i thought i did not get the joke behind the term monoblocks. The music was seriously mono; from the right speaker alone. At that instance, the previous eighteen months flashed before me. So much trouble for so little outcome.
Optimism made me check power chord, wire connections and the LED in the poweramp. All correct and that means there is a bigger problem. With some basic juggling of wires i could rule out a preamp problem ( a huge disaster it would have been) or a problem with left speaker (an equal disaster since it was working a few weeks back). With that sinking feeling i realised i was sitting on a slightly bigger problem. Too late in the night to look for help. I waited out the hours and called Pankaj for rescue in the morning. With a bit of to and fro between Pankaj and helpful Sridhar, there was good and bad news. It wasnt the fuse (the bad news), it wasnt any other major problem (the good part). Sridhar recommended that a good service person open the amp and check the RCA and Speaker output connections.
A good service person where i stay is as difficult to find as a good fast bowler in the Indian team. The forum helped again and i zeroed in on Akshay alongwith his number. The sweetest part was that he lived close to me, saving me a couple of days of commute to any other part of town (believe me, thats how the bad traffic is these days in Bombay). Our rendezvous had to wait, since he was busy that day and i was traveling for a few days.
It finally was destined for today. With fear, hope and prayer (being practical is better than being an atheist), i packed the amp and drove to salvation - Blossom Soceity where Akshay lives. Akshay turned out to be an energetic young man, who was just about to start his lunch. He gracefully exchanged the plate for the amp. Within a few minutes i could see the innards of the baby and my heart a sank a bit. The RCA and Speaker outs were rock solid. If there was a bigger problem it wasnt visible. I had visions of having to repack the amp and send it to Bangalore for diagnosis. Just as Akshay was about to pick up more serious equipment to investigate, the problem dangled in front of our eyes. The lead of the RCA into the PCB was loose, the soldering was off. This is manageable. A few quick minutes later, a tiny Sony MP3 player was creating magic; Yes there was sound coming through the power amp and through the speakers.
After a similiar routine of wiring up at similiar time and with the same CD, the outcome was a little dissimiliar, this time both channels working. I have been listening and moving the speakers a tiny bit for two hours now - Test CD of Odyssey ( and i realised that i am deaf at 50HZ), Kadri Gopalnath (that oozing Saxaphone) and Lagaan. As i mentioned before, once the music starts, i seem to forget the equipment and am grateful to God for that (i can let go off the 50HZ that he hasnt given me).
So the eighteen month search stretched for another week. But as they say, whats a week in a lifetime of music.
With great lethargy, i had assembled my system, complete with exotic 22 rs per meter speaker wires (http://www.hifivision.com/general-chit-chat/11386-sos-should-i-take-plunge-wire-up-sytem.html). My worst fear was frying the system with a poor power supply. The forum encouraged me as well as cautioned me. With the electricians advice and a Rs 900 surge protector, my fears were assuaged and i was ready to go.
As is the extent of male power in these times, the wiring up had to happen after the house had gone to bed. I started at 11 pm last Sunday, and it was almost 1 am before i had gingerly unpacked the components, knotted up the wires and turned on the switches one by one with a prayer in my heart. Suri's banter was flashing before me as i turned up the volume in the preamp. I switched on the right channel of the monoblock and the left, heard the relays click and waited for my dream - glorious sound.
The choice of music itself was a little incongruous - Thiruppavai by Nityashree to be played at 1 am. For those who live beyond the Vindhyas, it is a waking up song to be sung/played little before sunrise. While the atheist in me prodded me to start with my favourite album, the pessimist goaded me to appese the God - just in case he takes offense.
Maybe i choose the wrong time to appease the God, who was either in deep sleep or in the midst of more enjoyable things. The sound did come, but only from one side. For a moment i thought i did not get the joke behind the term monoblocks. The music was seriously mono; from the right speaker alone. At that instance, the previous eighteen months flashed before me. So much trouble for so little outcome.
Optimism made me check power chord, wire connections and the LED in the poweramp. All correct and that means there is a bigger problem. With some basic juggling of wires i could rule out a preamp problem ( a huge disaster it would have been) or a problem with left speaker (an equal disaster since it was working a few weeks back). With that sinking feeling i realised i was sitting on a slightly bigger problem. Too late in the night to look for help. I waited out the hours and called Pankaj for rescue in the morning. With a bit of to and fro between Pankaj and helpful Sridhar, there was good and bad news. It wasnt the fuse (the bad news), it wasnt any other major problem (the good part). Sridhar recommended that a good service person open the amp and check the RCA and Speaker output connections.
A good service person where i stay is as difficult to find as a good fast bowler in the Indian team. The forum helped again and i zeroed in on Akshay alongwith his number. The sweetest part was that he lived close to me, saving me a couple of days of commute to any other part of town (believe me, thats how the bad traffic is these days in Bombay). Our rendezvous had to wait, since he was busy that day and i was traveling for a few days.
It finally was destined for today. With fear, hope and prayer (being practical is better than being an atheist), i packed the amp and drove to salvation - Blossom Soceity where Akshay lives. Akshay turned out to be an energetic young man, who was just about to start his lunch. He gracefully exchanged the plate for the amp. Within a few minutes i could see the innards of the baby and my heart a sank a bit. The RCA and Speaker outs were rock solid. If there was a bigger problem it wasnt visible. I had visions of having to repack the amp and send it to Bangalore for diagnosis. Just as Akshay was about to pick up more serious equipment to investigate, the problem dangled in front of our eyes. The lead of the RCA into the PCB was loose, the soldering was off. This is manageable. A few quick minutes later, a tiny Sony MP3 player was creating magic; Yes there was sound coming through the power amp and through the speakers.
After a similiar routine of wiring up at similiar time and with the same CD, the outcome was a little dissimiliar, this time both channels working. I have been listening and moving the speakers a tiny bit for two hours now - Test CD of Odyssey ( and i realised that i am deaf at 50HZ), Kadri Gopalnath (that oozing Saxaphone) and Lagaan. As i mentioned before, once the music starts, i seem to forget the equipment and am grateful to God for that (i can let go off the 50HZ that he hasnt given me).
So the eighteen month search stretched for another week. But as they say, whats a week in a lifetime of music.
. You my friend are the personification of patience:thumbsup:
