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Hi Godfather,

I've seen your pics over on another forum, have to say it is one of the best looking rooms i've seen. Well done.

The bass traps - are these to prevent bass leaking out of the room? If so do they work well?

I am in the process (well nearly) of doing my loft out, and have the option to use acoustics (price permitting). The problem with my sound is that the bass seems to be lacking from my listening position - if I move around the room the bass seems a lot better, and more of it. Is there anything I can do to create a more balanced sound around the room, and have the bass also at my listening position i.e centre of room?

Thanks for any help.

 

Rockhopper,

Yes bass traps will increase the bass at your listening position. They won't stop it going out of the room though. The reason you hear bass at some places in the room but not others is not because it is leaking out of the room but because it is being reflected. At some points these reflections will cancel out the direct sound from the speakers.

You can get differnt kinds of bass traps. Some better than others

 

Thats a fine looking system! Why did you get rid of the brystons and what change did it make?

 

Thanks for the kind words. The bass traps don't stop bass from leaking out in the room, what they do is absorb excessive bass which builds up in the corners. Correctly applied, they basically tighten up the bass. Very useful in small rooms IMO. If bass is lacking in the seating position, it sounds like you're sitting in an area of cancellation. Try changing the positions of the speakers and/or seating position. Sticking bass traps in alone is unlikely to solve your problem. Like Tenson said, there're different types of bass traps. My Auralex LENRDs are broadband absorbers which is self-explanatory really i.e. they absorb over a fairly broad range of low frequencies (down to about 150Hz IIRC). Then there're tuned traps that deal with specific problematic frequencies.

 

Cheers. The Bryston was a nice amp that's undoubtedly accurate, but it sounded a bit too lean and dry for my taste and needed a bit of help upstream in the form of a valve pre to really sing for me. The Bel Cantos have a richer presentation which I prefer. Dynamics and bass control are also superior to my Bryston 9B (and the 4B which I borrowed).

 

nice system godfather hope to add projecter to my kit soon looking at a Barco Cineversum 70 /Sim2 HT200DM

 

Thanks for the advice.

The problem I have is that due to the shape of my loft, turning the whole system around to another wall would mean there wont really be enough height room for when I get a projector - at the moment the front speakers are at the adjoining wall (semi-detached house), therefore there is plenty of height for a display there. From my listening position, the left/right walls slope downwards to the edges - if you can imagine, if there was a projector screen there, a lot of space would be lost behind the screen as it slopes down - I suppose one way around it would be to stick to a small screen. Actually, come to think of it, I could always stick my 28" CRT up there! The depth of the CRT wouldnt be an issue - it would probably fit in there nicely.

But in reality it would be nice to get away with using the full big vertical wall for a display.

Any ideas?

 

Hi Rockhopper,

I didn't mean to suggest drastically changing the layout of your room, but just moving the speakers a few inches and/or the seating position forwards or backwards by a foot or two can make a very big difference to the bass. What are the dimensions of your room and where is the main listening position?

 

Hi GF,

Great results from a change around last night. I did what I thought you were suggesting. I turned the system around. Everything is now turned 90 degrees, and the speakers sat underneath one sloped wall, facing the opposite sloped wall, if that makes any sense. Luckily, there is enough space for my TV as well when I get around to it. Theres also plenty of room all around my speakers and they can breathe very easily. The sound quality seems to have improved another notch, and the bass is definately more consistent aroud the room.

Since a few days ago, having bought a new power cable for my amp, and made this change, i'm amazed at the difference in the overall sound.

There is also maybe a possibility of a projector screen in the future, even where my system is positioned now. I would just use a pull down screen, attached to the sloped wall - all it will mean is having the screen slightly closer to me than it would have been previously.

Thanks for your help!

 

My latest Hifi

Naim CDI, Exposure XVII Pre, Sony Tuner, Rega Ear, Exposure XVIII Power, Exposure XVIII Power.

 

My latest Home Cinema System

Panasonic 32" TV, Sony Playstation 2 (Original), Panasonic Video Recorder, Sony Digital TV Box, Pioneer DV-575A, Yamaha DSP-E800, Epos ELS3C, Epos ES-14's and out of the picture Epos ELS3 (Rears).

 

And pretty decent it sounds, too, mate!

 

Well, all the work I've done on my new-old Thorens turntable (plinth damping/new motor/arm/stainless steel top-plate) has led to some embarassment on the CD front and hence some attention to transport issues (on a very limited budget).

My Pioneer DV575 is now relegated to just DVD duties. It's been a decent transport (great for the money) but I think its limitations were starting to show. I picked up a very nice Pioneer PD-S703 from e-bay. Things are already sounding better - crisper, more detail, dynamics, more real to my ears; I think better timing and definitely more smile-factor, but my partner is worried that its not so warm. Will look into possible mods in time and as funds allow.

So for now the system is:

Thorens TD160/Origin Live DC motor/Rega RB250/Origin Live Structural Mod/Goldring 1012
Cambridge Audio Azure 640 phono stage

Pioneer PD-S703 used as transport
Monarchy Audio DIP Classic
Monarchy Audio M22C dac

Bent Audio NOH TVC pre-amp
Bryston 3B SST power amp
Wilson Benesch Orator speakers

Mostly DIY VHAudio-based wiring (solid silver interconnects, XLR where possible; Cat5 style speaker cables; Pulsar digital I/C; Flavor 2 power cable on the Bryston) plus a Gotham GAC-2 AES/EBU from the DIP to the dac

Beyer DT531 headphones
Rega Ear headamp

Cheers

Gordon

 

Aha RSC,

You are right on that one

I think Hifi Heaven has hit, he he !

P.

 

Well I've finally added to the kit! It used to be :-

Marantz 66 KI Signature Amp

Marantz 66 KI Signature CDP

Mission 780 Speakers.

Now I've got a qnap ts101 500 gig server and a squeezebox3 (wired) hooked up to the amp. CDP is still being used atm as I am STILL ripping discs to the harddrive ready to be copied over in one fell swoop (surely the worst thing about going the media server route is the amount of time it takes to do the discs?). Looking forward to getting it up and running in the next couple of weeks! Its frustrating because I want to play with my new toys now,but am going to be patient and wait till its ready so I only have to do it once.

 

Special thanks to Zanash for the AuAg cable - made a massive difference to the existing chord cable in the system. Loads of detail. Simply stunning





Sources -
Marantz DV9500
Roku Soundbridge M1000
Bel Canto DAC2

Amplification

Cyrus AV8
Cyrus ACA 7.5
Bel Canto e.One S300
Cyrus Smartpower - Mono
Cyrus Smartpower - Stereo
Cyrus PSX-R - Not Plugged In

Speakers -
Front - AudioVector Mi1 Avantguardes
Center - AudioVector Av3Ci Signature
Rears - Dynaudio 42W
Sub - Mission Sub Dont know what model

Cables -
Interconnects -
Zanash AuAg Cables RCA from DAC to Pre
Zanash AuAg Cables Balanced from Pre to Power
Seduction Audio RCA - AV8 to Pre
Alex Cann RCA (Shark cable) AV8 - Smart (Center)
Chord Chrysalis - AV8 - Smart (Rears)

Speaker Cable -
Seduction Audio Speaker Cable

 

My set up is finally in full working order...

Amp:
Marantz PS-17SA
Marantz SM-17 x 2 (power amps for centre & surround speakers)

Speakers:
B&W Matrix 803 Series 2 (Left Right)
B&W Matrix HTM (Centre)
B&W Matrix 805 (Surround Left Right)
REL Storm Subwoofer

Components:
Chord DAC 64
Project 6.1 Turntable with Sumiko Blue Point Special
Musical Fidelity XLPS Phono Stage
Marantz SA11-S1 SACD & CD Player
Denon A1XV Universal Player
LG 250G HDD High Definition Video Recorder LST-5403P

Television:
Marantz PD-5040D 50" High Definition Widecreen Plasma Display

Interconnects & Cables:
Audioquest Gibraltar Bi-Wire (Front L/R + Center)
Audioquest CV-4 Bi-Wire (Rear Channels)
Audioquest Jaguar (Amp+DAC)
Audioquest Viper (Amp + Power Amp + 6 CH input)
Audioquest Diamondback (Amp + Phono Stage + TT)
Audioquest Optical
QED Qunex P75 Coax (Amp + DVD)
Neotech S-Video/Component

Apple 17" Powerbook (Optical Output/iTunes)
Lacie D2 500G External HD

Marantz RC5000i Univeral Remote
Nokia Bluetooth Phone with Salling Clicker for iTunes Remote

 

Nice setup there, Monotone. Do you use a processor for the AV side of things or are you simply running the analogue 5.1 outs to your Marantz amps?

 

Thanks. The Amp (Left Right channels) & 2 Power Amps (Rear Left & Right + Center) work as a AV amp... so 5.1 signals runs digitally (coaxial) and SACD/DVD-A via 6 Channel inputs. Missed out on the HDMI technology which might saves cabling but no idea how the sound reproduction is like.

 

Here's my gear :