Dam-it you guys were right again

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

You could be suffering from a hormone imbalance...

Alberto.......Take two and call Ivan in the morning.

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

You could be suffering from a hormone imbalance...

Just one? You are too kind MasterLu :-).

Seriously. I am not saying that I can't get better sound but that, for the small room I have (11x14x9ft) I have the right speakers, more than enough McWatts, and a pretty incredible DAC.

I am listening to it as we speak (Santana's Abraxas) and I can't really point out something I'd want to change - other than the dimensions of the room - and the quality of some of the recordings...

Alberto

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by magnmac

Have you posted a pic of your room lately Alberto? I know you were working on some acoustic treatments... I am wondering where that ended up.

I experimented a lot with bass traps (the cylindrical type.) They were effective but: 1) I hate their looks and 2) I got a bass sound that was more even and to my liking with the addition (and careful positioning) of a second sub (to minimize some of the bass room modes.)

Just to show you how seriously I took this, I include the graph from just one set (of at least 50) room analysis tests I took with a tool called FuzzMeasure and a calibrated mic. The bass traps had much less of an effect than the second sub and speaker positioning. Scary graph isn't it. It just goes to show you how, after the sound waves leave the speakers the room adds an order of magnitude more coloration than any other component.

Removing most coloration is next to impossible (unless you want an anechoic chamber) so the best thing you can do it to choose the coloration you like.

If there's one BIG lesson I've learned first-hand in all these years is the importance of room acoustic and the fact that, in "real world" rooms, you will ALWAYS have coloration - so you might as well pick the "colors" you like - and that's a trial and error process for the most part.

I am also including a picture of the speaker positioning exercise (notice tape on the floor,) a picture of my echo-buster panels hidden behind a tapestry and a picture with bass traps.

I an including all these pics to make it pretty obvious that I took my system set up VERY seriously - not as much as Serge perhaps - but we are talking about 3 months of several hours each week-end - not THAT'S a hormonal imbalance IMO .

Alberto

[McPlanar]

Originally Posted by Gordon

I'm a partial skeptic. ICs and speaker wire have made me a believer (I prefer copper over silver) but the power cords, I'm still undecided. I think I'm open minded enough to at least give them a try and hear for myself.

Gordon

I got a rude awakening on how much impact power cords can make. I'm in the process of still sorting out the new set up in my rack and I've discovered that the PS Audio cords are not quite flexible enough and that their large plug end is sort of a problem. So I thought since I had it all torn down I'd leave the PS cords out and put them up for sale. Well I dug into the nether regions of the closet and found some stock cord and installed them. My gods it was horrible! I was listening to some Elgar choral music and I immediately noticed the upper register had become very shrill and the mids went flat. I even had a couple of crackle noises come from the speakers. Well I put the PS cords back in and everything is better again. Man I won't do that again. I was already a believer but they have been in the system for so long that I didn't reallize the difference they were making.

[1KW]

Alberto,

I once sold a house after only 2 years because the family room was too small for my Television set Get the picture, no pun intended Maybe its time for a different listening room

Alberto your you tube video on the C220/MC252 help point me in the direction of which pre amp to look at to replace my old Citation pre amp that was malfunctioning. I have watched the moves you and others have made here on AA often times defying what seems like common sense at the time only to have a better appreciation first hand later; the MC501's are the perfect example. While I can say I am very happy with the sound I have, upgrades are also part of the fun. I still have not tried a sub. with my SF Cremona's which may be the next move vs going for a pair of the Elipsa if a great deal comes along.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Alberto

I an including all these pics to make it pretty obvious that I took my system set up VERY seriously - not as much as Serge perhaps - but we are talking about 3 months of several hours each week-end - not THAT'S a hormonal imbalance IMO .

Alberto

Alberto, I have some gear right now that I am very impressed and happy with but the room itself is anything but "serious". That will come later.

I doubt there is anything wrong with your hormones, it's just a "resting place" for you and your system right now, not unlike a break one takes once in a while while climbing a mountain. Once you are all rested, the tent will be packed into the backpack, the climbing shoes will go back on and off you will go climbing the "K2 Mountain of Audio" once again. It's a natural process, the "peaks" are just too darn alluring.

[1KW]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Alberto, I have some gear right now that I am very impressed and happy with but the room itself is anything but "serious". That will come later.

I doubt there is anything wrong with your hormones, it's just a "resting place" for you and your system right now, not unlike a break one takes once in a while while climbing a mountain. Once you are all rested, the tent will be packed into the backpack, the climbing shoes will go back on and off you will go climbing the "K2 Mountain of Audio" once again. It's a natural process, the "peaks" are just too darn alluring.

Alberto, nothing wrong with chillin . Enjoy it while it lasts. I like the analogy Serge

[magnmac]

Originally Posted by Alberto

Just to show you how seriously I took this, I include the graph from just one set (of at least 50) room analysis tests I took with a tool called FuzzMeasure and a calibrated mic.
Alberto

That's dedication to the sport. Thanks for sharing the info Alberto. Like Serge said, time to sit back and enjoy for a while

Did you research softwares for the spectrum analysis? I haven't heard of FuzzMeasure; I am wondering how you ended up with that one. A frequency sweep is my next step me thinks.

[jdandy]

Alberto.......I noticed in this photo that the guitar hanging on the wall has no string damper installed. I often have several guitars at a time in the studio room where my downstairs McIntosh system is, and I found that when listening to music it would make my guitar strings ring, particularly the acoustic guitars. I made string dampers from closed cell foam that I slide between the neck and the strings that keep the strings from being excited by the frequencies from the speakers, and that solved my ringing strings problem. It surprised me how much sound the guitar strings made when left to vibrate on their own.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by McPlanar

I got a rude awakening on how much impact power cords can make. I'm in the process of still sorting out the new set up in my rack and I've discovered that the PS Audio cords are not quite flexible enough and that their large plug end is sort of a problem. So I thought since I had it all torn down I'd leave the PS cords out and put them up for sale. Well I dug into the nether regions of the closet and found some stock cord and installed them. My gods it was horrible! I was listening to some Elgar choral music and I immediately noticed the upper register had become very shrill and the mids went flat. I even had a couple of crackle noises come from the speakers. Well I put the PS cords back in and everything is better again. Man I won't do that again. I was already a believer but they have been in the system for so long that I didn't reallize the difference they were making.

Take a look at Wireworld PC's, they are very flexible, the plugs are smaller, and dare I say, better sounding.