Dedicated room with two channel and surround/atmos. Switch in and out of either with a click of a remote.
Sweet Spot Listening or Space Immersion?
Like many of you I have a dedicated listening room, focused on high quality, two-channel music. My equipment and room is very much focused on delivering the best SQ to a sweet spot in the middle of my love seat. It’s truly great! But it can feel a bit exclusive since it is very difficult for more than two people to enjoy the benefits at the same time.
I also have a whole home audio system, recently implemented, with high quality in-ceiling speakers in several common areas, with a pair of subs in the largest area (living room/kitchen combo). I also have good outdoor speakers on the system as well. Because sometimes I just like to be able to wander my home and feel immersed in high quality music.
The new whole home system is built around the new Mcintosh CR106 controller, with a pair of MI128 8-channel amps; KEF CI200QR ceiling speakers, KEF KC62 subs, and KEF Ventura 6s on the patio. I am streaming from Bluesound Nodes for now (using the CR106 DAC), and I have an MR87 tuner for nostalgia purposes.
Right now I have all the pairs in mono mode and that seems like the right approach to avoid hearing unbalanced stereo sound. The KEFs have very good off-axis dispersion, which is good because my ceilings are not terribly high.
Anyway, anyone else doing something like this in addition to your dedicated listing room? Any advice or tips?
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- 13 posts total
This is a great topic- doesn't seem to get much airtime, even though these concerns are so central. My Quad 57's are incredibly beamy. This is one of the prices I pay for truly wonderful sound at a fraction of the cost of comparable alternatives. I built custom stands to raise them and point them directly at the "head in a vise" sweetspot. When friends sit there, and a great recording's on the turntable they "get it" right away. It makes sense for 50% of my listening time. Your idea of installing a high-end environmental system in addition to your sweet-spot system is excellent. I've thought of that, but I like the game of experimenting with vinatage gear too much- I'd have to choose one or the other. So I have a secondary two-channel system for ambient living/dining room social music, a 2-channel system in my studio/workshop that's got good dispersion and sounds very good with a wide range of music, even if it's not really for critical listening it's still pretty satisfying. In my one-season country house I even have a system with a pair of Bose 901's near the wall of a screen porch, which are fun with recordings with a lot of space around the instruments like dub. Talk about an ambient application- I crank these up when no one's around and have a lot of fun getting the outdoor chores done, and their great for parties as well. There's no one way to listen to great music. Having different systems configured for a variety spaces and patterns of use is, for me, the way to go. I find it interesting this approach isn't discussed more here- maybe I'm just my own kind of nut! |
I have 4 separate 2 channel systems. My living room is my "dedicated listening space", and my system is optimized for both 2 channel and home theater. For 2 channel, it's all about the sweet spot, it's a very immersive experience with a huge soundstage. It still sounds good off-axis, but not close to what you experience in the sweet spot. |
A locking swivel feature as part of your base to alter/lock toe-in would allow you to try the DBX Crossfield Technique when you have a friend over. https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11516
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- 13 posts total