Show us your equipment / kit !

[Jim Smith]

 

 

Don't have any recent images. Anyway, the only thing that has changed are the amps.

[Jim Smith]

Who's the artist? Love the paintings.

 

Thanks.

 

It's Patrick Taylor, who did the drawings in the book.

 

He is co-owner if a gallery here in the Atlanta area where my wife exhibits her glass art.

[Jim Smith]

Hi Jim!!!! Small world! Holy Cow, knew you were into nice gear but had no idea! Wish we had discussed more during one of our track days. If you talk to any of the old crew say hello and greetings from Austin!

 

Steven

 

Hi Steven,

 

We should stop meeting like this!

 

Although I've been in high-end audio all of my adult life, I rarely talked about it to most 'civilians'...

 

However, with your background in computers, you're probably way more knowledgeable than me as to why some of this stuff works.

 

I rarely see the car crowd since I had to sell mine in the spring of this year due to health issues.

 

I envy you for being in Austin, if for no other reasons than SXSW & F1.

[Jim Smith]

Jim; as a customer of yours (bought your book and video), I am curious as to why you have your electronics between your loudspeakers when you advise your readers to place them along a side-wall for best sound.

 

When I wrote that advice, my electronics were on the side wall. I still stand behind what I wrote 100%.

 

By the time those images were taken, the requirements for another of my jobs - privately evaluating components for mftrs. & distributors - rendered it nigh impossible.

 

In the image where you can see some of my CDs on the side wall, a Grand Prix Audio rack was originally nestled into the vertical CD sections - in fact, I'd cut away a space for it. But every time I needed to change out a component would take forever because I couldn't easily get to it. And forget about reasonably quick A/B comparisons...

 

So I decided to put my components on Grand Prix Audio shelves on the floor where I could easily reach them. In the image you see, the Ayre preamp is about the height of the bottom of the Tannoy Canterbury speaker cabinets. For some reason, the photo does alter the actual perspective somewhat. And the (no longer used) Viva amps were well behind the speakers and about 20" below the Tannoy driver.

 

Additionally, when I wrote about obstructions between speakers, I should have been more clear - I meant large screen TVs, audio cabinets, furniture, etc. On voicing sessions, I occasionally encounter these items located between and almost flush with the plane of the speakers. Though not optimum, sometimes, that is the best that can be done due to real-life living requirements. So we incorporate some other measures to help out in those cases.

 

That being said, good on you that you caught an apparent paradox relating to what I wrote and how I used my own system!

 

And, of course, I've since moved and have a new room.

 

Although I once again have the components on the floor on GPA shelves, this time they are even further back and even lower.

 

A side benefit is that this configuration uses the least amount of cables as well...

[Jim Smith]

View from listening area.

 

Click on image for more detail:

 

[Jim Smith]