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Acoustical Treatments Because the room matters

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Old 12-08-2009, 11:34 AM
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Default Rack Placement

Assuming an empty room without any restrictions, I am curious how all of you would choose to place your system rack(s), 2 speakers, and amp(s) for a stereo system.

I am considering three options:

Option 1:
2 speakers and 2 monoblock amps on the front wall
the source rack on the side wall near the seat(ing)
long balanced cables from the preamp to the amps

Option 2:
one source rack on the front wall w/ CD, DAC, and preamp
2 speakers and 2 monoblock amps in the front of this front wall source rack
second source rack on the side wall near the seat(ing) w/ TT, TT preamp
long cables from the TT preamp to the front wall preamp

Option 3:
One source rack on the front wall w/ everything within it
2 speakers and 2 monoblock amps in the front of this source rack
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Old 12-08-2009, 11:51 AM
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I would always go with Option 1. You really want as little between your speakers as possible.

Jim
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Old 12-08-2009, 11:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stillone View Post
I would always go with Option 1. You really want as little between your speakers as possible.

Jim
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Old 12-08-2009, 12:26 PM
1KW 1KW is offline
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Put all your equipment on the side walls and have nothing between your speakers
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Old 12-08-2009, 12:32 PM
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Put all your equipment on the side walls and have nothing between your speakers
I know, but I just can't help wanting to see those amps during the listening session.
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Old 12-08-2009, 12:49 PM
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Optimally, all cables should be as short as possible to eliminate possible capacitive, resistive and RFI issues. Having a tall rack between the speakers however is also not a great thing. In my opinion, having the monoblocks close to the speakers with a 6-8ft run of speaker cables is optimal. Next is the issue of where to place the preamp. Remember that the cables after the preamp have an attenuated signal as compared to the cable before the preamp (sources) and the signal is more fragile. So, it would also be optimal not to have the preamp too far from the amps. Running long "balanced" cables from the sources to the preamp/amps would be OK, except that not all gear is balanced nor does it always sound best "balanced" depending on the design. There may also be an issue with the phono if it is balanced or not and how long those cables are.

All things considered, short/wide racks on the front wall would seem like a good compromise followed by amps/preamp over by the speakers and as is often the case, sources/preamp feeding the amps with long balanced cables from the side walls.
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Old 12-08-2009, 12:50 PM
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According to Jim Smith in his book Get Better Sound, whcih by the way has some very helpful setup tips and is probably one of the most cost effective tweaks, Option 1 whenever your room allows. Since you are starting with an empty room, Option 1 it is. By the way there is an excellent speaker placement/set up section that is a must read in there.



Get Better Sound
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Old 12-08-2009, 01:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stillone View Post
I would always go with Option 1. You really want as little between your speakers as possible.
This would be my preference, but I wanted to be sure that I wouldn't be creating acoustic issues. I like the idea of faster/easier access to the equipment, and the stored music, by having the rack close to the seat(ing).

I gather this would only require one set of long runs of balanced interconnects from the main preamp to the amplifier(s) up front.
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Old 12-08-2009, 01:41 PM
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Option #1 is popular but make sure your racks aren't too tall and in your first refection point, this lands some where between your speaker and listening position. Sit in your listening chair and have some one run a mirror down the side wall and when you see the tweeter in the mirror that's where you don't want the equipment rack/racks unless it's very low or below your mid and tweeter hieght. The same goes for putting eqiupment between your speakers, keep the rack hieght below your mid and tweeter and this position works well too.......YMMV Happy Listening
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Old 12-08-2009, 01:54 PM
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Quote:
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I would always go with Option 1. You really want as little between your speakers as possible.

Jim
I guess I'm screwed then......

Pete
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