Thank you Jaxwired. I appreciate your kind words especially from someone with such a nicely decorated room. You are right, about the small room. At first I was a little bothered that I would have to move from my large room but this small room is a bit easier to manage. I go to a lot of live shows in small venues so this room allows me to recreate the same intimacy.

All kidding aside, I have actually stopped really being concerned about chasing gear and am enjoying the music. This is why I am buying what I consider to be modest gear and being happy with that.

Regarding music, I would love to hear about any recommendations you have. I am always looking to discover new music.

tboooe June 27, 2013 13:56

Man those SF speakers look sweet in your room! I think sometimes a small room like yours is a blessing. Stand mount speakers often sound best in a small room and a great stand mount speaker usually beats a great floorstander in my experience. Don't worry about chasing gear. As long as your having fun then what's the harm? I say chase away. Just remember to listen to the music in between changes : ). I think we have the same taste in music BTW...

jaxwired June 27, 2013 13:14

Thanks Daveyf! I appreciate the feedback. I am looking forward to auditioning these soon. I may end up getting these or some used Guarneri's. It will depend on which one has more of the old school SF sound versus their new direction towards resolution and detail.

Also thank you for tip. I actually do move my seating position forward a bit. I actually do not like that position too much. I feel like I lose some coherence and get too much high freq energy. Right now, my speakers are about 5' apart and I sit 7' away. I need to add some room treatments but its hard since next to the speakers is a window on one side and a closet door on the other. At least the area behind my head is completely open.

tboooe June 26, 2013 16:33

Tboooe, I forgot to get back to you about the SF Olympia's at Newport. I did "see" them, BUT unfortunately they were a static display. Looked VERY nice for the money and had the usual SF panache.
BTW, since your room is so small ( like mine), I thought I would give you a suggestion. We both have to listen in the near field, so with that said, I would suggest pulling your speakers even further into the room and/or pulling your chair even closer to the speaker's. This should result in a nice increase in the depth portrayal and give you a slightly better spread of the instruments on the stage, just a thought.

daveyf June 26, 2013 16:04

Marakanetz, I truly appreciate your concern for my audio well being. Once I am happy with the sound I will enjoy the music. Almost there...just one more piece to the puzzle coming hopefully this weekend. Then I am done (i.e. out of money!)

tboooe June 26, 2013 15:47

no matter how hard you try, you can't listen to music. you're still listening to sound and it's sad :(

marakanetz June 26, 2013 15:25

B_limo, I said I was "trying" not be an audiophile. I never said I was successful! Perhaps what I should have said is that I want to be an audiophile on a budget. After spending crazy amounts of money on my last system I am trying to keep this one within reasonable limits. Again, I will probably fail there too!

You are right though, once you hear a great sounding system we are all
doomed to a lifetime of chasing that elusive musical memory.

tboooe June 26, 2013 04:13

Lol, No offense but you state that you don't want to be an audiophile and that you just want to enjoy the music and not worry about getting every last but of detail etc., and then you go on to tell us how you want a wider, deeper soundstage with good detail and bass...

I think you've just answered a question that I didn't even know that I had: we're all ruined aren't we? Once you've spent a good amount of seat time behind an excellent system, there's no turning back :-)

Happy listening!

b_limo June 26, 2013 03:25

Zstokes, I have not upgraded my Sonos. I was going to do that but instead
have opted to go with the Empirical Audio Synchro-Mesh reclocker. I like
the idea of an external unit so I can use it with other future music
streamers. Also, if my Sonos ever dies I will still have the Synchro-Mesh. I
plan to purchase it in the next month and will report back.

tboooe June 16, 2013 03:37

Hard line, isn't it?

I'm in the middle of redesigning my girlfriend's system nearly from scratch, and she's given me carte blanche. "Give me something killer" she says. 4 Zones of Sonos, and a good Denon for HDMI video switching is what I'm starting with. Going to be fun, but....

Trying not to be an audiophile, indeed.

How do you like your ZP-90 mod? Worth it?

Cheers.

zstokes June 15, 2013 19:27

UPDATE: added the Hifi Tuning Supreme fuse to my Accustic Arts Power 1 integrated amp. As expected the changes were subtle. The biggest change was an overall smoothing out of the sound. It's as if all of the "grunginess" that resulted in the music having a little artificial edge to it has been removed. The music became so smooth and easy to listen to that at first I thought perhaps the fuse was causing a rolling off of the highs and blunting the initial attack of notes. After careful listening using my reference cds I realized that nothing was at all missing other than a hint of harshness. Another minor improvement was additional resolution of micro details. I could hear a few more details in songs that I have heard before. Overall, this is a good upgrade especially given price. I have paid much more to get much less improvement.

tboooe June 15, 2013 01:59

Artist of the Week:

Artist: Yuna
Album: Decorate (ep)
Release date: 2010

Yuna, is a Malaysian singer with a crystal clear voice. Her music is what I would refer to a folk pop. Her earlier albums prior to her major self titled release was more stripped down, acoustic collections. I highly suggest getting her Live on KCRW if you can. These songs were available for free download. The set of simple acoustic versions of her songs sound great and let's her voice take center stage.

tboooe June 10, 2013 01:26

System edited: Just replaced my Musical Fidelity M6i
integrated with the Accustic Arts Power 1 Mk2. I must admit
it was hard letting the M6i go. It was just so musical,
easy to listen to, and provided great bass! Music had a
nice weight to it, giving it a bit of an analogue sound.
That being said, I just felt that I was missing out on some
detail and dynamics. The AA Power 1 is in contrast so much
more transparent than the MF. The general energy level was
also much higher. Where the MF sounded relaxed the AA felt
alive and electric. The AA also throws a wider soundstage
and the images are more well defined. I do miss the bass
that the MF gave but I get so much more micro-detail and
extension with the AA. Overall I cant say this was an
improvement, just a different sound. I find myself missing
the MF though. I may look to get another one used and
switch between the MF and AA depending on my mood. Gotta
love this whacky hobby.

tboooe June 07, 2013 23:41

[quuote]06-05-13: Erndog
I liked the Sophie Barker recommendation and downloaded the Flac version. I was surprised that you get to name your price for the purchase. I wish more audio did that. Thanks Tboooe!
Erndog (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
[/quote]

You are welcome Erndog! Her full album is good too and can be had on Amazon used for super cheap as well. Check out Zero 7 or Bliss if you like this downbeat/chill stuff. Keep an eye on this thread for weekly recommendations.

tboooe June 05, 2013 21:27

I liked the Sophie Barker recommendation and downloaded the Flac version. I was surprised that you get to name your price for the purchase. I wish more audio did that. Thanks Tboooe!

erndog June 05, 2013 16:12

Just happens to see your system for the very first time... I think with your music preference and the SF monitor, the AA Power I would be a great match.. AA excels in female vocals, very transparent, with solid control. I have owned a MF A3 Integrated in the past, never like MF's style of sound, too slow, the bass control is also weak.. YOu should be getting the AA today, let me know how it works out!

jerryko June 04, 2013 16:43

Artist of the Week:

Artist: Neil Halstead
Album: Palindrome Hunches
Release date: 2013

Following along my previous week's recommendation of Sophie Barker, I thought Neil Halstead would be a good follow up. Neil was/is part of Mojave 3, another downbeat/chill band like Zero 7. His solo albums are still in the chill style but also more folksy. His voice is calming and a little reedy. Songs are all simplistic and really highlight his easy singing style. This artist and album is recommended for people who like mellow, acoustic type music.

tboooe June 03, 2013 16:12

Spent some time messing around with speaker placement last night just for kicks. Even though I am happy with the overall sound of my system the soundstaging is not where I want it to be. The width seems constrained by the speaker position and height is barely above the top of the speaker.

Room limitations do not allow me to pull my speaker away from the front wall more than where they are now, 24" measured from front of speaker.

First thing I did was adjust the rake. I found that tilting the speakers back another 1/4" helped to raise the soundstage a bit and helped to make the speakers disappear a bit more. However, any more tilt resulted in very poor focus and the sound became off center.

Next I moved my speakers away from the sidewalls. I followed the isosceles triangle formula of 2:3 speaker width in relation to listening position. I sit about 7' away measured along the side the triangle. Therefore my speaker width should be 4.6'. After experimenting a bit, a settled on 5' apart and 2' from the sidewalls which gave me decent width. This position really helped to clean up the sound. It was like a veil was lifted. Another benefit was the soundstage width also improved.

Finally I adjusted the toe in. At least with these speakers and my listening preferences I did not like toe in at all. Soundstage width disappeared and I felt like I was listening to headphones. I prefer a more open, expansive sound.

At the end of the night I am pleased with the soundstage width and the how my speakers seem to disappear more. What I am still not happy with is the soundstage height. I have heard systems in real world homes (i.e. no room treatments or crazy expensive gear) where the sound seems to float a few feet above the speakers. I am going to keep working on this.

The best moment of the night was my daughter seeing me on my knees with my tape measure trying to get the rake adjusted to within 1/16". She thinks I am nuts!

tboooe June 02, 2013 15:43

I spend a lot of time discovering new music. I tend to favor female,
acoustic, singer/songwriters. I try not to limit myself to any one genre.
Anyway, I figure I will post my weekly favorite new musical discovery here.

Artist: Sophie Barker
Album: A Rare Collection of Songs (available on Bandcamp, name your
price)
Release date: 2013

Some of you may know Sophie's haunting voice from her work with chill
and downbeat bands such as Zero7 and Bliss. This collection of stripped
down live acoustic and unreleased demos totally blew me away with its
simplicity. Sophie's voice is front and center. Its weight and clarity sounded
absolutely stunning.

tboooe May 26, 2013 15:16

05-23-13: Marakanetz
D- is the highest grade you can get for not being an audiophile

LOL!!! Come on! Old habits die hard! I am trying man...wish me luck as I try to avoid purchasing the new Olympica I monitors.

tboooe May 23, 2013 13:57

D- is the highest grade you can get for not being an audiophile

marakanetz May 23, 2013 13:26

Thanks b limo. I am trying hard to keep this rig as simple as possible. So far I am just enjoying music. I must admit I am tempted sometimes to purchase more gear and go down the rabbit hole of being an audiophile again.

tboooe May 23, 2013 04:11

Nice set-up and I love the artwork! I also like how simple your rig is. My personal system kept getting smaller and smaller (less equipment) and that's how I like it!

b_limo May 23, 2013 03:40

05-14-13: Daveyf
Tboooe, the new Olympica 1's do look good. I wonder if they are going to be at the Newport Show; if so, I will definitely give them a listen.

I live in San Clemente so I am really close to Newport. I was thinking about going too. I will hit up Sumiko to see if they will be displaying the Olympicas there. BTW, my dealer friend said they will retail for about $6K. Good price compared to the Guarneris just wish they were available in Red, not feeling the walnut finish though I am sure it will look spectacular in person.

tboooe May 15, 2013 14:06

Tboooe, the new Olympica 1's do look good. I wonder if they are going to be at the Newport Show; if so, I will definitely give them a listen.

daveyf May 15, 2013 03:04