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Old 04-12-2017, 03:36 PM
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jimtranr jimtranr is offline
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 1,587
Default And a "height matters" p.s....

Having set the 224s atop DIY 4½"-tall "stands" (read "cut-to-size wood scraps") so the traps cover the full height of the dresser, I decided to elevate the sitting-on-the-floor first- and second-reflection-point 244s an equal amount.

Since I have lots of wood scraps, I did it just for the heck of it and didn't expect to hear any difference. When I flop on the bed for a listening session, my ear height is about 41", and a flush-to-the-floor mounting puts the 244's top at 48". So, even discounting the panel's ¾" frame thickness, that leaves the "un-standed" 244's absorptive surface extending about 6¼" above my ears. More than enough, right, to deal with the chest-high curtained window on one side and a louvered-wood-closet door on the other?

Uh-uh.

I ran listening comparison tests, using a DSD128 download of Antal Dorati conducting Igor Stravinsky's Firebird (Mercury), a 16/44 rip of Eije Oue conducting the final movement of Aaron Copland's Third Symphony (Reference Recordings), a 16/44 rip of the "Rhythm" movement of Eric Coates' Four Centuries (ASV), a DXD download of William Steinberg conducting the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica") (Command), and a 16/44 rip of Sarah Vaughan singing "Fascinating Rhythm" from her collaboration with Michael Tilson Thomas in Gershwin Live (Columbia).

In each instance, I heard greater focus and clarity and a bit more bass solidity with the 244s elevated on their makeshift stands. The differences were significant enough to rule out confirmation bias as a factor.

I also didn't hear any static. I told my wife what I was up to, she took one look at the elevated 244s, and said, "Oh." That was it. So now I'm going to fashion permanent stands out of some decent red oak.

As always, I present this as descriptive of this particular listening environment and not one-size-fits-all prescriptive. Well, except for maybe one thing. I've always found an understanding significant other to be indispensable with this sort of thing.

Jim
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Jim


Bedroom: Aurender N150, TEAC UD-505 (AKM version), EMIA Cu Elmaformer passive line stage, conrad-johnson MF2500, Paradigm Studio 20 v5. Shunyata Delta D6, Altaira CG hub. Shunyata Alpha XC, Delta NR v2, Alpha USB, Alpha and Venom CGC/SGC. Wireworld Eclipse 8 interconnect & speaker cables. Stillpoints footers, Butcher Block Acoustics maple platforms. Stillpoints and GIK acoustic panels.

Home Office:Windows 11 PC/JRiver 31, TEAC UD-501, Luminous Audio Technology Axiom II Walker Mod passive, conrad-johnson Sonographe SA-250, Paradigm SE-1. Shunyata Hydra (Original Version), Venom 10 NR. Wireworld Eclipse 7 interconnects. Blue Jeans speaker cable.

Living-Dining Room: Windows 11 Laptop/JRiver 29, Oppo BD-83, TEAC UD-501 DAC, SOTA Sapphire TT, Graham Slee Era Gold V, Ortofon 2M Black, McIntosh MR-77, c-j Sonographe SC-25, c-j MF2500, Paradigm SE-3. Wireworld 8 IC, Blue Jeans SC. Shunyata Hydra 8 v.2, Shunyata Delta NR, Venom NR. GIK 244 bass & scatter-plate panels.
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