I recently moved to a new apartment with marble floors and concrete walls, which wreaked havoc with bass nodes in my main system. In addition, I had to address power issues with a change to 220V. During this down-time, I noticed how good my small bedroom system sounded in a smaller, approx 18x10 room. Thus, since audiophilia nervosa never sleeps, I decided to develop a solid nearfield system to complement my main system.
My goal for this system was to create a warm, musical presentation with an enveloping soundstage, while not completely compromising resolution and PRAT.
With the exception of speakers, everything was purchased used/demo through the 'Gon. I am quite pleased with the results. It is very intimate and musical, with no listening fatigue even at moderate to high levels. Tonality is excellent (albeit slightly warm) and this system really shines with vocals, jazz, chamber music and acoustic instruments. Bass is better than expected, providing decent PRAT and boogie for satisfying rock and symphonic music, although not this system's strongpoint (for that music I have my main system: high-power SS, Dynaudio floorstanders - not quite done with it yet - will post shortly)
The speakers are set up on the long wall with DIY diffusion/absorption panels behind. Due to room restrictions, I could only move the Silverlines about 2ft from the back wall (treatment really helped soundstaging and tamed bass bloom). I sit about 2ft from the back wall and the speakers are approximately 6 ft apart. A touch of toe-in really helped my center image, while still maintaining the wide soundstage that I enjoy.
I am pretty pleased with my component selections, and I only intend on tweaking with cables, isolation, room tweaks, etc (I hope I'm not kidding myself here:o)) I would like to improve resolution and imaging slightly to make the performers and instuments more "palpable."
I plan on experimenting with IC's (HGA Silver Lace, HT Pro-Silway, ...?) to this end. In addition, I would like to address isolation vs coupling of the CJ. I tried another set of Aurios under it, and while it did significantly improve detail, it was too much of a good thing - bright and etched sound. I plan on trying cones (BDR#3) and other tweaks - any suggestions would be warmly received.
I am also considering new, shorter stands. The Sanus stands are a little high for my ear level, and I read that the SR-17 do better (improved body and bass integration) with shorter (24") stands. Anyone with experience with these wonderful monitors? Any set-up tips?
While I have historically been a part of the "silent majority" on this site, I truly value Agon as an info and hardware resource. I'd like to thank all the regular posters on this site, as the foundation of research for this system was found here. Once again, any suggestions to help "maximize" this system are appreciated and encouraged. While I would like to keep the components listed, I would consider changes if merited and reasonably affordable with funds from sale of current gear.
System edited: Exchanged the Arcam from the main system - found the forward presentation and increased resolution a better match with the tubes in this system. In addition, the Cary really helped my imaging and depth of stage in my main system. Also added some pics. Any suggestions on how to deal with that railing would be appreciated (can't remove, as I am renting). As always, thanks in advance for any feedback.
Mark, Here is a tip from the PS Audio site that worked for me. Place ultimate outlet upstream of P300 to isolate digital source. Changed soundstage INTO 3D. I mean height,width & depth all increased.
Thanks for the input, Basement, but I am one step ahead of you. I already bought a Persian-style wool rug in Morocco that is being used between the speakers. Yes, you are correct - it really did help clean up my imaging and bass. In addition, with a LOT of speaker placement experimentation, I have found a pretty good compromise re: bass. I am still tweaking the system and working on cabling (waiting on a set of Satori's), and then I will post it. Regards, Mark
For your room with the marble and concrete, I would recommend a throw rug. I hypothosize that wool sounds better because they command audiophile-like prices.
Hi Mark, you can order your stands direct from Bob at www.soundanchors.com. There's a phone no. listed on the website too if you'd like to talk with him first. Monitor stands come in 3-post or 4-post versions, I've always used the 3-post with great success. The 4-post are even more massive. By the way, I really like your system! It is very similar to a second system I built in my living room. Like you, I wanted to try a nearfield experience. I have an ARC CA-50 with ProAc Response 1SC's and I listen to a lot of the same kinds of music you list. I hope you can keep your nearfield experiment running!
While I have no experience with your particular components, I will add that monitor stands are almost as important as the monitors. Putting high quality monitors on high quality stands such as Sound Anchors will transform them from average to outstanding. If the stand is not rock solid, the monitor moves and robs you of their potential.
Hello, Sc53. Thank you for your suggestion - I will definitely check out the Sound Anchors. So far, I've looked into Sistrum, but the spiked speaker/stand interface concerns me with regards to stability. Any particular dealers that you have dealt with that you recommend (since I will have to purchase via internet)? Thanks again, Mark Raybeck
If you are going to buy new, shorter stands, please consider Sound Anchors for your Silverlines. I have had 4-5 different pairs of Sound Anchors for monitors over the years, and they never disappoint. They firm up bass, increase detail and warmth throughout the range of music, and (I think) look good too. They are very heavy and will be custom made to your speaker dimensions and order. I just talked a friend of mine into a set of short Sound Anchors for his 15-year-old Polk SDA floorstanders, and he is absolutely amazed at the improvement in speakers which he already loved. He got stainless steel heavy discs to go underneath the spikes in the stands, to preserve his wood floors. A very nice, custom touch. The whole set up looks superb.
