Hi Shawn,
Did you purchase the Spendor D7 or the Totem Forest Signature? Or did you go in a complete different direction?

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1429830675&&&/Totem-Forest-Signature-or-Spendor-D7

Thanks!

milpai June 11, 2015 15:51

Awesome and so clean looking. Love the colors and style you went with.

kacz January 31, 2014 00:55

What a nice setup you've got there... Really something to be proud of... It's one of my favorites here on Audiogon and I hope to someday have a nice room like yours... A++

leorousseau January 24, 2013 22:45

Oh, forgot to mention, I sold the Concept table.

shawnlh March 08, 2011 06:26

Thanks for the compliments guys. I added a GutWire Maxcon2 power conditioner today, with another Acoustic Zen Gargantua II power cable for juice. Nice improvement. Everything sounds more accurate, with a big improvement in instrument placement and separation.

shawnlh March 08, 2011 06:07

Nicely done!
Dan

islandmandan March 06, 2011 21:58

Nice & simple!!

linnie01 March 05, 2011 23:13

Very nice. I'm just curious here but with a room that small I was wondering why you went with the RX8s. Are you planning for a larger audio room in the future? Also, the MAs are going to need a lot of break-in. Mine spent the better part of 3 1/2 months breaking in. But they relaxed and smoothed out perfectly. Just give 'em time.

tiggerfc March 04, 2011 20:02

Great set up Shawn, how are you liking the Concept table? I used to use the same cart on another tt.

gelmhirst February 17, 2011 20:40

Beautiful room.
I didn't realize what a differance the first AND second reflection points made until I covered them with treatments myself.
I know how jaw dropping it is when you get everything right.
Equipment cost has little to do with how good your system can sound. The room treatments where the best thing I ever done to my system.
Have a great life.
John

zmanastronomy February 10, 2011 03:23

Thanks for the compliments/advice guys. And treating the room was a must. Before any treatments were added, I was wondering why did I bother?? The room is now VERY heavily treated, and sounds much better ,to me, than ever before. I know there are better pieces out there other than MF, but for what I paid, it's an ok system for now.

shawnlh February 10, 2011 01:21

Great looking room! However, I agree with Jazzzfan67 that you can do much better than the MF gear. My experience with MF lead me to believe they are big on appearances, but sound and dependability are not their highest priorities.

pdreher February 08, 2011 12:08

Hey Shawn,

Great looking system and this is one of the best first attempt I've seen.
"Good Sound" is subjective so I wouldn't worry about the cost of your gear compared to others. Hell, I think your system is expesive enough!

What I'm really impressed is that I see room treatments in a first system. Looks like you have a great friend.

Have Fun,

ainkfek February 08, 2011 03:29

Nice room.
Good start.
I had MF A5's 4-5 years ago,
Nice units, but, you can get much better for same $$$
First :
MF A5's around 3k (used)
for same money you can get used:

C-J 2250A (around 1K)
C-J PV15 or 14 (around 1.5K)
Pioneer pd-d9 (around $500)

after that, speakers:

VS VR-4jr(around 2K)

Clearaudio nice TT for $$$
you need better cart.(MC Audio Technica or Denon(around $250) + Bob's SUT(around $300)
you can find nice phono stage around $500 for start

Enjoy hobby and
Happy listening.

jazzfan67 February 06, 2011 04:57

Glad to hear you found the optimal setup for those speakers. As I said before, It is a beautiful system and room!

zephyr24069 February 06, 2011 02:40

Ok, added some more 4'x2' panels for a total of 10 now. I put 2 on the ceiling at the first reflection point, and 2 more on the side walls at the second reflection points. MUCH better!! The stage is wider and deeper. Instrument placement is coming more into focus (not so congested) and there is more air around the instruments as well. The tendency for higher frequencies moving off the stage and up to the tweeter has diminished significantly. Amazing how much room acoustics affect the sound. Seems you can have nice gear, but if the room sucks, it won't do you any good. I'll add some pics when the room is finished. Hopefully by the end of the weekend.

shawnlh January 29, 2011 17:00

Thanks Zephyr, it sounds good. And yes I've tried several different speaker locations and played with toe-in. What I've found so far, is that the speakers need to be at least 2 feet away from the side walls with about 3-4 degrees of toe-in. I've also found that setting up the speakers and listening position in a equilateral triangle offers the best stage. The sound stage does seem a little narrow at times, the center instruments and vocals are compressed together, and depth isn't the best I've heard, but it's ok. I also notice that some higher frequencies will leave the stage, and move up to the tweeter at times. This I don't like. But the speakers only have about 40 hours on them, so I'll listen for more spaciousness and better instrument placement as they break in. The sound may also be restricted as the room is only 12.5 feet wide, and 7.3 feet high. Quite small, but it's all I have to work with, hence the room treatment process.
Just to be fair, the sound I'm chasing, and comparing to, comes from a friends system. His room is about 22'W, 28'L, and 9'H. He runs a moon w5 pre and power, totem forests with a totem dreamcatcher sub beside each forest. Top line acoustic zen cabling through out, and an expensive ac conditioner. His source is a ps audio cd player(don't know which model) and I'm not sure if there is a dac. The room is also highly treated. All I can say is WOW!!! The system sounds amazing. Everything is where it should be. Deep, wide, lots of air, simply amazing. I'd say in some instances, better than live. But, since I can't afford, nor have the space for that type of gear, I started with what you see here. My first attempt.

shawnlh January 27, 2011 18:39

That is a beautiful room, nice equipment and one hell of a great 'first attempt'! How does it sound? Have you played with speaker separate distance and toe-in to optimize the imaging?

zephyr24069 January 27, 2011 10:13