Finally got moved in. Sound is good but i have a couple nasty peaks at 80, and 100 hz. Trying different speaker/chair/ treatment options to decrease these humps. I just ordered the new panasonic ae 3000 and Carada 117" 2.35 screen which should arrive next week.
I also just ordered a set of Gregg Staley's reality cables ic's for the Shindo's.
Yes sweet watch. Two of my biggest passions are audio and watches. There's also a pretty long thread here on Gon "what watch do you wear", seems like a lot of audiophiles are also into finely crafted, intricate (and expensive) toys, so high end audio, watches, cameras fit the bill.
I rearranged some things and may sell a couple of the realtraps. I really like the look of the Core diffusors. I think they would look nice at the first reflection points.
Thanks for the answer on what treatments you're using. RealTraps makes reputable products.
Have you tried pulling the bass traps on your front wall (behind the curtain) out from the wall 6"-7" to improve the low freq absorption? Resistive type bass traps with fibreglass are most effective when positioned so that they are 1/4 of the wavelength away from the wall. Which freq wavelength you ask? It should be the Schroeder (also called the Transition) frequence which for small residential rooms is about 300Hz to a more conservative 500Hz. One-quarter wavelengths are then 11.3" and 6.8" respectively, so try experimenting pulling them away by these amounts to improve the bass region.
Regarding the important WAF - I'd suggest you try listening with and without 1st reflection point absorption. Have you read Dr Floyd Toole's latest book? His years of acoustical research have shown that side wall latteral reflections (at 1st reflection points) are actually positive things by increasing the apparent source width. Another option is to try what I did which is to build a hemi-cylindrical diffuser with bass trap in its interior. The diffuser looks like an architectual column which will kill flutter echo's between the side walls and help with bass too. There's also the cool looking Skyline diffusers which when built with wood of your choice and stained look like a piece of art work . . .
Be careful not to over absorb the room. Remember that Ethan makes his living by selling you as many bass traps as you care to buy but bass traps don't stop absorbing at 300-500Hz so they over dampen the mid freq's too. One way to overcome this is to place a sheet of 1/4" plywood in front of the bass trap so mid/high frequencies are not absorbed. Sorry about being long winded - just trying to pass along some sound wisdom that has worked well for my room.
I am using the real traps products. I called Ethan Winer and he basically said the more base traps you spread around all the corners/wall to wall meeting places the better. They have a low WAF so i used them as well as i could considering. I have them behing the curtains and on one side wall. He recommended the first reflection points and also a absorber on the back wall behind my head.
Kale - cool looking blue lights around the ceiling perimeter!! I bet that scores high WAF points. . .
What acoustic treatments are you using - are those absorption panels along the side walls horizontally oriented near the speakers? Have you considered diffusion within your room at all? Looks good as is though.
Nice looking remodel. Your gear has changed a lot, right? I thought you had JRDG Concerto, but maybe I'm crazy. In any case, if you like the MHDT DAC, try the Havana. I listened to both (owned the Havana for a little) and thought the Havana was definitely better. I just purchased the Bel Canto USB Link which allows you to take 24/96 from USB and outputs SPDIF. It's not here yet, but I think this will be a good solution because you then have a much greater choice of DACs.
Mikey, I have heard the same thing about needing 18 watts. I can crank it up and the Living Voices rock with no strain. I think in real world listening sessions it would never be a problem. I am still dialing in the room, so i will wait till then to give a full review. Bass is plentiful.
Hey great looking system! I have the same Shindo pre and amp as you and am thinking of getting the LV Avatar II. However, I've read that they need at least 18 watts to really shine. The Montille at 15 wpc is just below this, so I was wondering if you notice the speakers are underpowered? Do you think this is a good combination? I'm sure the mids and highs are great, but is there sufficent bass response?
Thanks Guys! Sadly i have spent all my money on the remodel and now don't have a source. I will be getting a mac mini soon to get some tunes. Will post some more pics soon.
