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I'm more of a "I don't exist. Therefore I'm not."( Buddhist-style).
It's great to hear a professional room-fixer's point of view.
Thanks. |
The room is definitely the weakest part of the system, if you want to call it a part, but as I said earlier, I’m not sure much can be done about it. On the other hand, I haven’t even tried.I’m not sure what the next weakest thing is, which is one of the reasons I started this thread. I feel good about my integrated amp and my speakers, I’m OK with my DAC, and other than that? |
I’m still wondering if a very complex room could be a good room, audio wise. |
Thanks, all. I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about this. It's easy to find reviews of all the individual components of a system, and also which preamps, amps, and speakers match well, but I'm left making assumptions about the holism of it all. |
Teo, I'm reading Taking the Leap by Pema Chodrin. Great stuff.
I'm a terrible salesman. I can't even get myself to promote myself in my careers. Being helpful on a deeper level precludes self-interest. |
Mijostyn: I never heard of Alpha USB, or any other devices serving that purpose. I can't afford one, but I wonder if a cheaper iteration would make a difference as I'm streaming directly from a Mac to a DAC. I gather that the sound degrades coming out of standard USB connections? |
I can see that one consensus is that the room and room treatment are vital. I haven't worked on this since I feel a bit hopeless that my very complex, difficult common area (where the speakers have to be) isn't salvageable. And I'm not actually unhappy with the current sound-- just curious as to how to make it even better someday.
There's nowhere for baffles or panels, there are uneven angles all over the place, doorways, arches, a wall of picture windows, a stairway, various furniture, uneven slanted high ceilings, carpeting, etc. Can science really tame this beast?
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I can see that I'm coming from a deficit position in terms of comparing and contrasting both systems and individual components.
I became an audiophile when, 2 years ago, I listened to my brother-in-laws old KEFs with whatever he had driving them. I fell in love and got some 20 year old References, along with a similar level 10 year old ss Musical Fidelity integrated amp. After a while, the speakers started hissing and distorting on certain piano, flute, and voice frequencies, so I went back to the drawing board and found a great deal on ATC 40ASCM V2s. Instant improvement and apparently a good match with my speakers--the UK sound.
But that's it. I've had no other opportunities to listen unless I wanted to stop in to dealers and tempt myself into either spending money I don't have or wasting their time. (I know. Most people don't mind doing this. I do). So I've only heard my system with one DAC -- Audioengine-- one type of cable (inexpensive) and two speakers. I don't know what's the room or what's anything, really. I did figure out a speaker placement problem (with help from another thread) when my new speakers were soundstaging unevenly.
So what is it all supposed to sound like? Which part is making it sound like X, Y, or Z.?
Is my amp warm or neutral? I know some of these conceptually--from reading online--but there's no substitute for literal experience.
This is why I appreciate all the responses I'm getting. |
Mapman: thanks for the link. There was some stuff in there I hadn't run into before.
For some reason, reading it raised an issue for me. At what point is a system/QS good enough? If tinkering is fun, I guess it doesn't matter.
But are we all hamster-wheeling Buddha's wheel of desire--continual striving based on a sense of deficit with the way things are? Can I fully enjoy listening to music if I feel I have an imperfect system? And when have I literally superceded my ears/brain ability to process? |
I agree. On an informational level, an incredible amount of stuff is online somewhere, but that has its limitations. |
It seems that my post has spawned a host of impassioned viewpoints and debates.
Cool. I was hoping it would. And it's totally okay with me if people belittle my premise or go "off topic." These are just more viewpoints as far as I'm concerned. I can let you be you and think what you think and write what you write. Why not? It's not like you're eating the last piece of cheesecake. (This is the last act for which I feel shame).
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Reading my post, I can see that I'm a master of posing unanswerable/possibly pointless questions. Nonetheless, if anyone has pondered any of this, I'd be curious to hear his thoughts (are there women on the forum? There must be.). |
Can the elements in a complicated room cancel/balance themselves off so that it ends up being a good room for sound. For example, slanted, high wooden ceilings and wall-to-wall carpeting, and windows and absorbing furniture all seem as though they add weight on either side of bright or muffled, but perhaps they can cancel each other out? Just wondering. |
Lemonhaze: Thank you for the links. |
A few responses: I probably wasn’t clear about the complex room question. What I meant was, is it possible that a complex room is already a good audio setting without having to do any fixing? It seems like this is conceivable, but I have no experience to really know. Secondly, I like the way my system sounds, but I’ve never heard a system better than mine to compare it to and my ears are not nearly as sophisticated as many of yourra. So my question doesn’t come from a point of view of having any complaints, but from a curiosity about what makes a system sound better. Third, to the poster who isn’t enjoying reading our posts, The obvious solution to your discomfort is to not read this thread and not be burdened with posts that you don’t find interesting or valuable. |
Audiorusty: That sounds like great Advice. Is it OK if I drink diet root beer or does it need to be more of an audiophile beverage? |
As a child, I played the soprano sax for one month. It was like an inoculation against future reeds. |
