Am I missing something silly?

[gareth.davies]

Hi folks.

 

Most of my equipment is pretty new and a very different experience for me compared to anything else I've had (I'm new to this). I'm finding I'm developing an appreciation for types of music I've never listened to before.

 

I've been lurking on here for a while, learning from you all and got to wondering if there was anything silly that I've missed with my setup; something obvious to you good people that is significantly holding it back. I'm not chasing an upgrade particularly, just looking to see if I've missed something silly.

 

Used in the main living area for music, movies and TV, I have:

 

Room: Barn conversion, high vaulted ceilings, no treatment, hand clap reverb around .8 seconds (big room, but my good lady not really wanting it to look like a recording studio!)

Source: Roon on a headless Mac mini, tidal hifi, CD rips, some PCM and DSD hi-res (also occasionally Cambridge CXU and TEAC phono)

DAC: Arcam irdac2, directly via USB

Amp: Yamaha RX A-3050, via cheap but gold plated FosPower RCA leads

Speakers: Dali Opticon 8s front, 6s surround, centre and K14F sub, via 12 AWG speaker wire

 

Anything obvious that I'm missing, folks?

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Nikko1960]

Try adding an indirect connection with a NAA sitting between your Mac Mini and DAC, powered by a low-noise, low impedance power supply. An example of the former is a microRendu and for the latter, an UpTone LPS-1. Should make a positive contribution to SQ.

[gareth.davies]

Try adding an indirect connection with a NAA sitting between your Mac Mini and DAC, powered by a low-noise, low impedance power supply. An example of the former is a microRendu and for the latter, an UpTone LPS-1. Should make a positive contribution to SQ.

 

Thanks Nikko, I'll check them out!

 

 

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[astrotoy]

Are you the famous Gareth Davies, principal flautist for the LSO? If so, you autographed my copy of your book on the history of the LSO a few years ago. Welcome to CA. Larry

[gareth.davies]

Are you the famous Gareth Davies, principal flautist for the LSO? If so, you autographed my copy of your book on the history of the LSO a few years ago. Welcome to CA. Larry

 

Hi Larry, thanks for the welcome. I'm afraid I'm just regular Gareth Davies, though.

 

 

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[Ralf11]

post a pic

 

(tho it sounds like you are missing 4 big Maggie 20.1 speakers....)

[gareth.davies]

post a pic

 

(tho it sounds like you are missing 4 big Maggie 20.1 speakers....)

 

Please ignore the lack of a floor and the use of an old painting as a blind! Should all be finished by the end of March or there's a risk I'll be living alone....

[Ralf11]

I see a lot of hard surfaces, and a sloping ceiling (the latter makes room mode calculations complex) that slopes from the front wall up and away (AFAIK is generally good for SQ)

 

 

what is your budget for room treatments?

 

 

 

go ahead and autograph his book just for fun...

[gareth.davies]

Ha!

 

Issue not so much budget as not wanting to make the living area look like a recording studio.

 

Photo is of a corner of the room, by the way, it goes back and to the left of that stone partition wall about 3 times in both directions. I'm guessing this might make room treatment a little challenging?

 

 

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[gareth.davies]

Try adding an indirect connection with a NAA sitting between your Mac Mini and DAC, powered by a low-noise, low impedance power supply. An example of the former is a microRendu and for the latter, an UpTone LPS-1. Should make a positive contribution to SQ.

 

After reading up, mostly on here, sMS-200 and LPS-1 looking favourite at the moment.

 

 

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[Ralf11]

Ha!

 

Issue not so much budget as not wanting to make the living area look like a recording studio.

 

Photo is of a corner of the room, by the way, it goes back and to the left of that stone partition wall about 3 times in both directions. I'm guessing this might make room treatment a little challenging?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

 

tmt for you cannot be more challenging than my 2 giant picture windows forming a corner behind one of the Magneplanars...

 

my house would be nicer if it looked more like a fire lookout but would be worse for SQ

 

1st form a nearly equilateral triangle with the speakers and listening chair - then face the speakers to aim just behind your head and put a rug on the floor (if not carpeted) in front of the chair

 

speakers best if 3-5 feet away from any wall; same with your head

 

2nd - deal with the 1st reflection points

 

3rd work on bass traps

 

4th - side wall and soffits

[Ralf11]

some wall tmts are made to look like abstract art

 

is WAF an issue?

[gareth.davies]

some wall tmts are made to look like abstract art

 

is WAF an issue?

 

WAF not huge issue, she's putting up with lounge full of snooker table, ps4 racing chair, big speakers, tv she can't work, and the drum kit that I can't play, but I think putting big black, pointy sponge all over our lovely new stone walls would at the very least mean I'd be going hungry for the foreseeable future...

 

I'll check out treatment that looks like art though, thank you - good call.

 

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[gareth.davies]

tmt for you cannot be more challenging than my 2 giant picture windows forming a corner behind one of the Magneplanars...

 

my house would be nicer if it looked more like a fire lookout but would be worse for SQ

 

1st form a nearly equilateral triangle with the speakers and listening chair - then face the speakers to aim just behind your head and put a rug on the floor (if not carpeted) in front of the chair

 

speakers best if 3-5 feet away from any wall; same with your head

 

2nd - deal with the 1st reflection points

 

3rd work on bass traps

 

4th - side wall and soffits

 

Nice one, thanks!

 

 

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[JohnSwenson]

WAF not huge issue, she's putting up with lounge full of snooker table, ps4 racing chair, big speakers, tv she can't work, and the drum kit that I can't play, but I think putting big black, pointy sponge all over our lovely new stone walls would at the very least mean I'd be going hungry for the foreseeable future...

 

I'll check out treatment that looks like art though, thank you - good call.

 

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My wife is a quilter, she has made several custom designs for me to hang on the walls of the listening room. These help break up reflections which can make a big improvement. The previous mention of "first reflections" is where these can come in very handy. It takes two people, you sit in your listening position, and have someone else move a mirror around the walls (hold it flat to the wall), you look at the mirror, when you can see the the speaker, that position of the mirror is where you want to hang something on the wall.

 

Another nice one I like is to put ficus trees in the corners of the room. This does a good job of diffusing sound in the corners and, at least for most people, looks good too.

 

In my current house I have been working on my listening room for 23 years and had it sounding very good, but now I'm moving and have packed up everything, it now sounds awful. This has really brought home how much room acoustics play in this game.

 

And by the way, nothing was very expensive. Everything I did was home made or just moving things around properly, there were no explicit "room treatment" devices in the room.

 

Have fun, it is usually possible to considerably improve the sonics of a room without spending much money, it just takes a little creativity.

 

John S.

[JS21]

Move your center channel forward, even with the edge of the shelf.

[gareth.davies]

My wife is a quilter, she has made several custom designs for me to hang on the walls of the listening room. These help break up reflections which can make a big improvement. The previous mention of "first reflections" is where these can come in very handy. It takes two people, you sit in your listening position, and have someone else move a mirror around the walls (hold it flat to the wall), you look at the mirror, when you can see the the speaker, that position of the mirror is where you want to hang something on the wall.

 

Another nice one I like is to put ficus trees in the corners of the room. This does a good job of diffusing sound in the corners and, at least for most people, looks good too.

 

In my current house I have been working on my listening room for 23 years and had it sounding very good, but now I'm moving and have packed up everything, it now sounds awful. This has really brought home how much room acoustics play in this game.

 

And by the way, nothing was very expensive. Everything I did was home made or just moving things around properly, there were no explicit "room treatment" devices in the room.

 

Have fun, it is usually possible to considerably improve the sonics of a room without spending much money, it just takes a little creativity.

 

John S.

 

Thanks for the clear and simple advice, John.

 

I think with a bit of effort we can visually add to the room looking at it this way rather than big, blocky spongy stuff.

 

There'll be some googling of plants, rugs, tapestries and the like this weekend. Cheers.

 

 

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[gareth.davies]

Move your center channel forward, even with the edge of the shelf.

 

Done. And moved the speakers forward, away from the wall, as per Ralf's suggestion. Off to re-do the YPAO now!

 

Thanks for your advice, sir. Much appreciated.

 

 

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[gareth.davies]

Wow. What a difference moving the speakers made. Massive change in clarity. I was expecting lots of little effects, but just that alone made a big difference.

 

Looking forward to sorting the rest out now!

 

 

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