Past meetings of the Society
February 2005

February 2005 Meeting

Date: Sunday, February 27, 2005
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: Constellation Center, 2nd Floor, 161 1st Street (at Rogers St), Cambridge, MA 02141
Featured Guest: Daniel Kolbet, Soaring Audio

Topics: Soaring Audio Power Amplifier, CD Media Center, Signal Loss Compensation Circuit, Factors in Audiophile Sound Quality

Daniel Kolbet is coming to demonstrate the Soaring Audio SLC-A300 stereo amplifier and the Soaring Falcon media control center. The SLC-A300 was awarded the Stereo Times "Most Wanted Components of 2004."

Daniel has been building speakers and optimizing sound systems for almost 30 years. His dad owned Alpha Electronics and started him building Heathkits at age nine. By the time he was twelve, he had built a Connor oscilloscope and RF frequency counter. Then while at an audio store, he heard Klipsch corner horns on a Sansui AU717, and the audio bug bit. Since he was a young teenager, he decided to start modestly and build his own version using an Altec Voice of the Theater kit with 802 drivers on a 811 horn and a 15" Altec woofer. He has done custom speakers and installations for casinos, churches, ballrooms, and homes.

Daniel is the Golden Ears part of the Soaring Audio design team. The Professor (of electrical engineering), Dr. Bill Avery, could not believe that capacitors in certain parts of the circuit would change the sound. He did a test where Daniel could not see the part being tested, and Daniel was completely consistent in his evaluation of parts. Daniel has selected all the SLC-A300 parts by listening to them. Working together, Daniel and Dr. Bill got the hum components down to -120dB.

Daniel has used his computer expertise in designing the Soaring Falcon media center. The Soaring Falcon eliminates the need for a preamp and allows you store all your favorite CDs for easy access. As with many audio components, the specifications of CPUs often don't correlate to performance. Daniel used his knowledge of chipsets available and has optimized the Soaring Falcon for low noise and heat while achieving maximum performance and stability. Dr. Bill and Daniel have also worked their magic on the sound board.

Daniel fell in love with Boston attending a trade show. So when his brother asked which University to teach at, Boston College was at the top of Daniel's list. His brother now teaches there, and Daniel is looking forward to seeing both his brother and Boston as well fellow audio fanatics (as he isn't let out much).

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

Room Acoustics: Designing sound panels and frequency effects of various surfaces.

Effects of power on system performance: When do you need special power cables and conditioners?

Recording and playback techniques: Hear the difference in how various compression methods sound. Daniel will demonstrate how the patented Signal Loss Compensation (SLC) circuit corrects for imperfections in sources.

Speaker components and construction: How they affect imaging and frequency response.

Phase as it relates to music playback.

Noise: Why low noise is critical to an illusion of playback reality.

Members can feel free to email daniel@soaringaudio.com with questions you would like him to answer at the meeting on these subjects.

DIRECTIONS:

Constellation Center, 2nd Floor, 161 1st Street (at Rogers St), Cambridge, MA 02141
For a Map, click HERE .

We will be meeting in a new venue, a room at the offices of the Constellation Center in East Cambridge, with ample off-street parking. Many thanks to Glenn Knickrehm for making it available. It promises to be better acoustically than our usual haunts. Also we'll have a full table of giveaways--various audio and video magazines and some historic issues of the BAS Speaker.

It is just NE of our meeting place at the Volpe Center, near the old Charles River Dam, and is a re-done brick factory building. 1st Street is a north-south street on the far east side of Cambridge and is bounded by Cambridge St on the north and Broadway on the the south. If you are coming east on Broadway, turn on 3rd St since I believe you cannot take a left on 1st. For parking, enter off Rogers St.