I desired tube influence, and chose the tube/ss setup to power up the speakers. I went Chinese for the preamp, and had some minor defects to fix, but it's cheaper than CJ, Mc by a ways. I had had Klipsch before and wanted something different yet classic; hence the Walsh drivers. I'm not disappointed. With the glass behind the speakers there's a lot of sound reflected back, which maybe flattens the soundstage front to back, I dunno, but from a distance it sounds like a concert hall. Sideways, the soundstage is enormous. All in all, a great room with a view for listening. All the glass is double paned but actually laminated safety glass works better to keep the noise in/out. My last purchase was the McCormick, an upgrade from my Sumo Polaris II. I listen to classic rock and jazz for the most part. IMHO, San Diego has the nation's best jazz station, 88.3 KSDS. Any suggestions for "next"?
I have another 5000 with the rollers. Lacquer finish, mahogany. 50% discount + shipping by boat from San Juan, P.R. 00927. People don't know about holographic louds. I have two other sets for HT.
System edited: Ordered and assembled a tiger maple and walnut rack from Timbernation, moving it to between the speakers where I can view it. Upgraded turntable to VPI Classic III, awaiting Lyra Delos cartridge. Changed phono stage to Liberty Audio B2B (class A).
I found this rack online, came in a box and I assembled it. It was inexpensive (about $200) but much better quality than IKEA for example. I'll try to dig up a link. Funny, my wife hates the rock (she's from New England and likes brick with mantles); I grew up in California and think it's cool.
Mjcmt, it sounded great from the beginning, but like all audiophiles I fussed over the speaker placement quite a bit. Since the 5000's have FOUR switches to adjust the deep bass, mid-bass, midrange, and treble that compounded the obsession, and putting the shag rug in and out didn't help. But all those factors pale in comparison to wifey, who has her own idea about what "looks" good and really doesn't care about what "sounds" good. Eventually, we came to happy neutral ground. Hey, other people should only be so lucky as to have this problem- my system gets praises form everyone who visits, and the experimenting was fun!
Well, since I have a VERY reflective wall behind the speakers to begin with (it's all glass) I thought that I shouldn't place them too much into the room as that might be too much. It turned out that just a little adjustment made a big difference. They now sit 20 inches in front of the glass. I can't really go much more in with my couch there. One other consideration is that my particular preamp is touted to produce a wide soundstage, which may contribute some. I do have the ability to draw the Roman shades down, which I will try in the summer, and this may alter the reflectivity and alter the ambience. So I was initially a bit hesitant to move the speakers in too much from the walls, but needed to place the away from the sides to put them in the room. Of course, in the interest of domestic tranquility, I need approval from my other half and can't get too extreme in my rearranging of the furniture :)
Thanks mapman for the suggestion. My older setup was with Klipsch speakers, and Paul Klipsch (who was no slouch) always emphasized corner placement next to the walls. I think that this was intended to improve the bass response, as Klipsch believed that the corners of the room would effectively act as giant bass horns and amplify the sound. Of course, he used this to advantage in his corner horns.
I think the key to soundstage depth with the OHMS is distance from rear wall (several feet if possible) + some degree of sound reflectivity off the rear wall. The sliding glass door can work to your advantage with this but not if the speakers are too close to the wall.
Distance from rear and side walls is needed to get adequate delay for reflected sound to produce needed spatial queues for widest and deepest soundstage.
Since OHM omni sound output is attenuated by default to the rear to accomodate placement closer to walls desired by many for practical reasons, having a surface behind that refelcts the sound more can actually help to retain the needed reflected sound levels desired since the speakers are further out from the rear wall than intended and reflected sound levels lower in magnitude as a result compared to say a pure omni which will produce higher sound levels reflected from rear (and side) walls and when set up properly with distance from walls produce very deep soundstage.
This is what you would hear with a true omni like mbl set up with 5 feet or more distance from rear and side walls.
There are some good references on the internet that explains the geometry of stereo soundstage imaging and how distance from walls of 5 feet or greater in a typical set up is generally needed for best results. The listeners position in terms of distance to speakers relative to distance traveled by side and rear reflected sound is also a key factor.
Also note that the addjustments on the 5000s are useful for boosting bass levels somewhat as may often be needed when speakers are far away from walls with less bass level reinforcement. Without these adjustments, bass that sounds right closer to walls may be somewhat less if away from walls. However distance from walls is needed for the biggest and deepest soundstage. It is a dilemma. OHM does not suggest 5 feet or more distance from the rear wall. That kind of common setup as recommended is a good compromise for most in that speaks are out of the way, bass levels good, but soundstage maybe not as deep as might be, if that is something that matters to you. ITs probably a lesser consideration for most, so a reasonable solution.
FWIW, in my main rig with the 5s, I keep speaks over 5 feet out from rear wall and 4 feet or so from sides, the most possible in a fairly long and narrow room.
In my 2 channel a/v rig where the 100s reside, they are closer to the rear wall for WAF and other practical reasons in our heavily used family room. SOundstage is not as deep, but still pretty good.
Nice set up! Of note, I have a 55" Plasma centered behind my Walsh 2000s. I would still like to hang thick curtains over the TV that can be drawn back for TV viewing, but, like you, I am not sure I need to do that. But I, too, have little in the way of soundstage depth. Hmmm. Maybe those curtains are a good idea after all!
I'd say just experiment with placement if needed. Some more space behind the speaks might be worth trying. Glass behind can work. It all depends on the room acoustics. I know what you are saying about the sound from a distance! Good stuff.
ICs can change the sound and always worth keeping in mind.
