Hello Dave, to answer your plea for recommendations on a universal player look out for Cambridge audio's player currently in development (they make really great sounding stuff for cheap! Also, you asked for an opinion on what speakers to purchase...I'd have to say that my Duevel omni's are pretty amazing & unfussy about setup! Quad makes some really unbelievably high quality and super sweet sounding floorstanders (& monitors) called the 22L2 & 21L2's which you can purchase on A'gon for around $1400 & $1000 respectively through Underwood Hi-Fi.

I'd also like to 2nd Chadnliz's thought of pulling those speakers (& seating) out into the room, as well as, picking up a set of Echobuster's Cornerbusters ($160/4pack) to treat the corners; removing the shoutiness of the acoustic space.

I found a great formula for finding the starting points (of speaker placement) in a rectangular room from my awesome hi-fi shop Arizona HiFi:

"Initial Speaker Placement
Please note that the following is for a basic rectangular room."

"Start by determining the distance of the front wall (wall behind speakers) to the front panel of the speakers. This distance will be at the center of the front panel. To determine the distance, multiply the ceiling height by .618. Example: ceiling height is 9 feet, thus 9 x .618 = 5.56 ft. (or 66.7 inches) This is also the distance your seating position should be from the back wall (wall behind your seat)."

"Now determine the distance of the speaker to the side walls. Divide the room width (the wall behind speakers) in feet by 18 and multiply by 5. So, if the room is 15 ft. wide we have: 15 divided by 18 = .83. .83 x 5 = 4.16 ft.
The center of the speakers should be about 50 inches from the side walls (4.16 x 12)."

"At this position, start with the speakers toed slightly towards you. Listen for awhile to get used to the sound. Play a simple recording containing a vocalist. Listen for a solid center image. Add "toe in" until the image is dead center between the speakers. Now "toe out" the speakers as far as possible without losing the center image."

"You must strike a balance of image, soundstage, and tonality. If the walls to the side of the speakers are very reflective, try damping them. I have found that in most cases however that defusion is better than damping. Be careful not to damp the room heavily. This will only suck the life and impact out of the music. This is probably the most common mistake. Remember that small changes in speaker movement can make or break a set-up. Use a tape measure and make sure both speakers are equal in position as possible. You might want to try tilting the speakers backward/forward also. This can be very effective."

bruce30 December 24, 2008 09:14

Hey I agree with Douglas. That clock MACHINA DYNAMICA must make all the noise dissapear magically without understanding Physics or Science.

dktndh2835 December 23, 2008 06:00

yeah, the clock adds a bit of breathy airiness to all the highs and sibilants on lower quality recordings of piano and upper strings....... oh, who am I kidding? it doesn't even work anymore. I just haven't chucked it yet.

I hadn't thought about moving the speakers out from the wall just for listening. they are 30" from the wall right now. I'm thinking I might move my listening couch back a bit to make a bit more of a triangular listening orientation. That 10 inches of movement seems to have already helped. thanks, chad.

davesax36 September 08, 2007 16:46

Nice gear there, your speakers are small and light enough that you should be able to pull them out into room when you listen, even if you have to move them back when done you can use tape to mark position on carpet.
Try that and see what you hear, I bet you will like it.

chadnliz September 08, 2007 03:37

Hey is that one of those new, MACHINA DYNAMICA "Ingenuous Gargantuan Clock" devices? I'll bet it makes a BIG difference!
;)

douglas_schroeder September 07, 2007 19:45