System edited: Shifted to Done-for-Now grouping. Will be adding detailed pictures later today.

mprime October 24, 2004 13:03

Jea: yes, still using the midnight, but not for long. I share your observation: my cables are the weak link in the system. Candidly, I've wanted to avoid this whole cable thing, for it is the most mysterious aspect of playback to me.

You're correct, cables are more than a tweak. Then again I feel like I'm in the right quadrant for what I was aiming to do two years ago. Now I'm in endgame; that feels rather nice.

Thanks for the cable recommendations.

Best,

mprime September 12, 2004 22:15

Updating and catching up. Problem loading pictures. Hopefully will get them in soon. System seems a little wonky.

Dizzy: the gold think is a weight to manage vibrations. As for the Neuance, I would consider it mandatory for the Ikemi. As good as the player is, it *must* be properly isolated against vibrations. The chassis is *way* underdesigned.

Rob: made my bass traps by taking 3 file boxes and loosly stuffing with eggcrate foam. Covered the boxes with a fine paper.

Nick: yes, that is an Ikea chopping block, resting on four vibrapods. The Ikemi shelf (picture soon to follow) is also an Ikea chopping block. Cheap and does the job for the CD player, however, I'll be getting a proper amp stand one of these days.

Thanks to all for the thoughts.

Best,

mprime August 28, 2004 20:54

System edited: System Updated

mprime November 20, 2003 21:43

Viggen,

Blow dry my hair? LOL! :-)

There is a different signature depending on where I sit. Closer, the sound becomes flatter/thinner, but with some recordings, the imaging is greater. Farther back the sound rounds out but imaging suffers. So there's a trade. I find an equlateral triangle to yield the best results. Hence, that leaves me pushing the speakers closer to the side walls :-( if I want to sit back further.

mprime April 30, 2003 14:56

Viggen, I guess my biggest question is: what would I gain from it? A larger soundstage?

Keep in mind the room is small. The speakers ar 5' apart and I sit 5' from each. I only have 2.5' feet from each speaker to a wall. Also, the speakers are already transparent, images are outside of their physical boundaries but within the room. Would increasing my triangle allow the images to appear larger than the room?

mprime April 30, 2003 01:41

Should say things have changed. The table's gone. The CD player's now on a wall shelf, around the corner in another room. Still waiting on the Nueance shelf.

The integrated is on the floor, between the two speakers. I does look a bit silly, that small Majik, where the table once was. Put an orchid behind it. Didn't help :-)

The room is being tuned further. Put another 2 4" foam tiles on the wall. Also adding diffusing surfaces to the rear wall. About 50% towards a good solution. Will also be adding some room corner devices. Ouch, they're expensive for what they are. Will post pictures when all is done.

But for now, all I can say is - God what a difference getting the room right and vibration management can make. Even now, my system has no right sounding as good as it does. So, major thanks to Newbee, Golden Ears, Whkoop, Bluefin, and many others who've shared their knowledge which has led to further enjoyment.

_____

Rhum_runner: the seat forms an equalateral triangle with the speakers. I have found the approach, in my small room, to yield the best performance. Specifically, the speakers dissapear in the near-field where this is not the case further back. Also, the imaging is much better. From doing an archive search, there are other B&W owners who use a different approch and feel strongly the speakers need time to come together. Hence, they sit much further back. Suggest you experiment.

_____

Now, if I can figure out which amp to get....

mprime April 29, 2003 18:52