Description

Made a number of significant changes over the past year, notably the Ayre CD player, Mac C500 pre-amp, and the Audience power conditioner. I also upgraded to Tara Labs power cords with PAD speaker cables and interconnects. I am very pleased with the sound of my current system - very detailed and open yet musical and engaging. However, one can't help but to wonder how a more capable pair of speakers would sound in this room...
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Components Toggle details

    • Ayre Acoustics C-5xe mp
    Universal CDP
    • McIntosh C500T
    Dual chasis tubed pre-amp
    • McIntosh MC 402
    Very powerful and dynamic but with a relaxed, forgiving, tube-like sound. My last amplifier for a very long time.
    • Purist Audio Designs Venustas
    Latest Preasto Revision Edition. 1.0M XLR from the CDP to pre and pre to power
    • Focal JM Lab Nova Utopia Be
    3-standing floor way with Beryillium tweeter
    • Purist Audio Designs Proteus
    7 feet
    • Salamader Designs S30
    5-shelf component stand
    • Virtual Dyanmics Nite II
    Added detail and microdyanamics. Used on the Mac power amp
    • Tara Labs The One AC power cord
    PC for the CDP and pre
    • Audience Adept Response R12
    Power conditioner
    • ASC Tube traps
    Dramatically improves soundstaging
    • GIK Acoustics 4 Tri-traps, 2 244s, 3 242s
    Acoustic panels and corner traps which tightned up the bass, opened up the soundstage, improved the imaging, and tamed the bright treble.

Comments 73

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Hi Adam,
Nice looking gear! Glad to see the acoustical treatments so that you can truly hear what your gear is capable of . Some thoughts for the good and betterment of your room if you don't mind:
* have you considered treating your front wall behind the speakers with either or both of diffusion and/or absorption? The reflections from the front wall are less beneficial and attenuation of them should help with image stability and specificity and soundstage too.
* due to the open area off to the left side, have you considered a thick bass trap on the side wall adjacent to your right speaker? This will help mimic the fact that the left speaker doesn't have a boundary effect so neither should the right speaker.
* I expect that the open room helps to minimize bass modal peaks but if not have you considered extending the bass traps in the back of the room up to the ceiling? Have you treated your back wall behind the listening position?

I hope you aren't touchy to these suggestions as I don't have your money for equipment but have made remarkable audible progress treating the room which in some small way may be akin to upgrading my equipment to the level that yours represents.

kevinzoe