Solving the "complex music problem"?

Some good responses here.

I agree with one commenter: room reflections matter. To cut down, try listening at a distance equal to the distance between the speakers, or just outside of it, so that the distances between you and any walls are increased relative to the distance between you and the speakers.

My speakers are 9 ft apart. They are 3 ft from the walls. I sit 9 ft away. I’m 7.5 ft from the walls left/right, and 10 ft from the rear wall.

Such an arrangement increases the difference in distance between direct and reflected sound, but the volume of the direct sound should overcome the reflected.

Dunno if this is bs or not, but hey it works for me. It helps that my entire ceiling and almost all of my walls are rockwool covered with burlap. Rugs help  I have a semi anechoic room.

Your amps must also be powerful enough that when you hit the crescendos, they can handle it easily. 

Hi, this is the OP again,

Not sure if people are still following this. It’s been a great conversation. Here’s a happy update.

At the suggestions of many, many people, I’ve been playing around with room positioning and set up more. It has made a huge difference. Just sat here blissed out listening for the past hour. My system does sound a lot better now. I’ve also realized that a certain amount of blurring is a natural part of a lot of music, and I’d do better changing my expectations rather than trying to "fix" the "problem" so it goes away completely (although too much blurring is still a problem).

That said, this thread wasn’t really intended to be about my system. I was curious about this general phenomenon that I’ve heard on many systems. I was curious about what the best way to minimize the issue. I got a lot of great advice on that here.

Some people are curious about my system. I stream Qobuz through a NAD M10 and play that through Focal Aria 948s. When I’ve got some spending money, the weak link in my system is clearly the M10, which is an amazing piece of equipment for the money but doesn’t fully exploit the speakers’ capabilities.

I’ve tried to upload a picture of my room without luck. I’ve pasted a link to a photo below. The speakers are about 20 inches from the wall, 9 feet from each other, and 11 feet from me. I’ve got them toed in more now than before, which helps a lot.

Thanks again for all your input.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMeoUz0OSCuchK7tqI7YCj7OrxEfmvEi6_QGhdm

@ahuvia 

Your picture link does not work.

The NAD M10 is likely not your weak link. Your speakers 20" from the front wall probably is.  Can you get the front of the speaker at least 6 feet from the front wall?  If not, keep the M10, and invest in some broadband bass trap panels for behind the speakers. That will do more than upgrading the M10.

How far are the speakers from the side wall?

6 feet from the front wall? Ridiculous...just put the speakers outside in a field away from trees, or put bass traps on the trees. Or...don't fear the "room sound" as most (all?) music is played in rooms...it makes things sound...dare I say...REAL? Did I say that already? Don't fall into the "bass trap" trap...it's a cabal or a conspiracy by those who want to control your low end...let freedom ring and reflect and bounce off the walls. Adjust the bass a little here and there maybe, I can live with that.

6 feet from the front wall? Ridiculous...just put the speakers outside in a field away from trees, or put bass traps on the trees. Or...don't fear the "room sound" as most (all?) music is played in rooms...it makes things sound...dare I say...REAL?

6 feet from the front of the speakers is not very far. I want to sound of the room used for the recording or some simulation of. I don't want the sound of my room multiplied by that rooms sound. That is where the confusion comes in.