[Olskool]

Having completed some upgrades and tweaks recently to my system I was a little bummed out when reality took over that it just did not sound right! This after blowing me away with outstanding sonic performance just after completing the upgrades. No matter how much I listened there was no groove or musicality to it; kinda limp and dishrag like! It was very disappointing. I don't yet know enough to describe it exactly but in a nut shell the system was providing detail but it seemed to me it was doing so behind a glass partition, or that it was choked, not present with no punch to mention at all. Is this "bloom" or lack there of?

Deciding to retrace my steps in setting up I finally realized that while trying to cleanup and reposition wires and cables I also changed plug priorities in my QB4 distribution bar, placing the turntable (Project 6 Perspex) and it's power plug (a wall wart) as the first item in the grouping and the NAD M5 cd player in the rear and final slot. In between, as recommended, was the LS27 in the grounded slot then the VS115 in the next slot designated for the AMP. For S & G's (s _ _ ts & giggles) I took the turntable wall wart out of the distribution bar (placed it on it's own power distribution - still utilizing a dedicated 20 amp plug with dedicated ground) and placed the NAD M5 in first priority position on the Qb4 bar. When it powered up and began to play tunes the difference was immediate and seemingly performing like before; very musical, defined, showing plenty of good punch with extended base and fairly well resolved. My speaker cables could be reversed (right with left) because the soundstage seems off center and a little closed in (probably need to spend some time re-setting speaker positions too). I'm traveling now for a few days but will tackle that upon returning home. Long story short, I'm learning as I go that small, seemingly innocuous things can make a huge difference in sound and performance. Any similar experiences, occurrences or setup insights that you care to share will be appreciated. There are a couple works for sale about setting up a system properly and covering a variety of areas in the discussions, any recommendations?

Larry