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Topic: Any ideas on how to improve sound?
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Steve Klare
Film Guy
![](http://8mmforum.film-tech.com/ubbmembers/12.jpg)
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted July 24, 2012 08:43 AM
Another problem you can run into is the chatter in the sound that comes because the flywheel and roller don't completely smooth the intermittant motion of the film at the gate.
This sounds a lot like the mechanical sound of the projector so the machine normally masks it, but when you silence the machine you begin to notice it through the speakers.
I've heard that every super-8 machine has this problem to some degree, but I know based on my own ST-800 it can be worse depending on the condition of the machine. Mine had it pretty steadily until I got a chance to replace all the guides with mint condition ones. Now it's rare to hear it. I think the worn sound chute guide wasn't keeping the film flat on the heads.
Something you also need to watch out for is ground loops, especially if you are working through an amplifier. If your projector and stereo aren't grounded at the same location the difference in ground voltage winds up being part of the audio signal and you can get some pretty awful sounding hum in the bargain.
I've noticed too that when you hook a big speaker into a projector, even without the amp, the larger speaker's better bass response does a much better job bringing up the regular hum the machine always has even without an amp hooked up.
Remember: Elmo ST's are expecting an 8 ohm speaker. If you happen to hook in for example 4 Ohms, you will be sorry. (Afterwards, you can put it up on E-bay as a "Rare Elmo ST-600 Silent Projector".) Most speakers are 8 Ohms, just make sure!
PS: If you can make an external audio settup work well, it can be spectacular, it just doesn't always work pefectly the first try. Persistance!
I poked around with mine (on and off) about 6 years before I got something I really liked!
-------------------- All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
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Steve Klare
Film Guy
![](http://8mmforum.film-tech.com/ubbmembers/12.jpg)
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted July 25, 2012 12:07 PM
Another important thing is that External Speaker output is for one (1!, solo!, single!) 8 ohm speaker only!
You put two(2) in parallel: you really have 4 ohms total (boom!)
You put two(2) in series: you really have 16 ohms. No boom!, but only half the maximum volume. This will mean you are driving the internal amp higher in voltage to get as loud as you want (assuming you can get there at all), which often means more distortion.
If you really want multi speaker sound, the best way is to go through the aux out jack and an amplifier.
Different outputs have different jobs:
Aux Out (1/8" phone jack)=Amp input only (Aux Out would barely be audible driving a speaker, too little power.)
Ext Speaker (DIN loudspeaker jack)=External Speaker only (Ext Speaker output will probably wipe out your Amp input section, too much voltage)
Good Luck: Have Fun! (...isn't that why we do this?)
-------------------- All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
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Paul Adsett
Film God
Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted July 25, 2012 03:15 PM
Hi Steve, I do not do changeovers, but all my audio inputs from Blu Ray, DVD, CD, and super 8, go through the same 10 band equalizer via a multi-channel A/V switch. So If you had 2 projectors , the same type of switch could be used to switch the audio output from each of the projectors into the input of the equalizer.
-------------------- The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection, Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj
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