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Post by MartinT on Nov 5, 2016 21:47:10 GMT
Good point Mike - how does Martin cope with all that silver  I'm not biting! Mike and I have joked about the black/silver thing for years. Hey, at least my speaker faces and the sofas are black. |
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Post by ChrisB on Nov 5, 2016 21:51:55 GMT
What's the verdict on the floor tiles then Martin? Are they going to be a problem, do you think, or not?
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Post by MartinT on Nov 5, 2016 22:00:41 GMT
Well, I dragged Izzy (Ruth's daughter) in to play her some Lorde, which she loved. She then picked some Muse and it sounded incredible - all the multi-layering revealed in a way I'd never heard before. We followed that with Kraftwerk's Minimum-Maximum and then some James Bond film songs. Then she wanted to hear the Lacrymosa from Mozart's Requiem (which she once sang), some Grieg (Peer Gynt), Winter from the Four Seasons and we finished with the funeral march from Wagner's Gotterdammerung - the Solti recording which is utterly spectacular and fills you with dread. It turned into not a bad little evening of music. Fab!
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Post by MartinT on Nov 5, 2016 22:04:16 GMT
What's the verdict on the floor tiles then Martin? Are they going to be a problem, do you think, or not? No, I don't think they will be at all. I have a larger and heavier rug on order and, to be honest, the room already sounds pretty dead. The Lidl washing machine feet are doing a good job of interfacing between speakers and floor and I'm going to try some Black Ravioli in that position since TonyC recommended them for that purpose. I'm not hearing any ill effects and I still have the curtains to bring a little more damping to the room. If it proves too much, I can spin the TubeTraps around to tune the room to taste. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 6, 2016 17:54:06 GMT
Good point Mike - how does Martin cope with all that silver And of course he loses the sound you can only get from black !  |
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 6, 2016 17:58:17 GMT
Sounds good to me. Nice looking room too. All you need now is to change everything to black Where is the 'dislike' button?? Silver rules. I'm struggling with the black power amp on my rack ...  Ooer that silver sound ! The black power amp saves it |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 7, 2016 22:19:07 GMT
Not much progress tonight. Got in late, measured up for the curtain poles, got one bracket in place (plasterboard followed by wood, which was a bit of a surprise and required a change of plan) before I decided to call it a night.
Had a quick listen to a couple of songs and Go Home, Girl by Ry Cooder and The Flood by Katie Melua were both revelations, sounding quite marvellous.
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Post by pinkie on Nov 8, 2016 11:38:05 GMT
My very initial impressions: much bigger soundstage, more relaxed and less in-your-face presentation. Very flowing, liquid and non-harsh delivery. Bass develops more fully in the larger air volume and is a lot less one-note. This is with the ports back to being unstuffed, too. Imaging is good. It all sounds quite effortless and... unimpressive? I think that's the right expression - it's more like music and less like hi-fi. Are you saying that previously, in spite of all the mains treatments and regenerators, and supports and stands and room treatments, your system had underdeveloped bass which was "one-note" (more or less)? Sounds like matching the room to the speakers is a good plan. |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 8, 2016 11:44:57 GMT
It was pretty decent bass before, but I had to stuff the ports to prevent the speakers from overwhelming the smaller room. The result was still a little boomy on certain notes. You can't do much about bass in a small room as the only treatment that has a chance of working is a SubTrap and I have one of those already.
The larger room now definitely allows bass to develop more naturally and gives the feeling of moving air at very low frequencies (like when an underground train approaches the platform), something that was only hinted at before. Having the ports open seems to be a part of that improvement.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2016 12:22:11 GMT
So if I understand correctly, the speakers were too big for the old room, and you did your best to make them work as well as possible. Now you have a suitable sized room, they have the opportunity to show you what they are capable of?
The reason I ask is I am still thinking of Quad 57s, but I am nervous about the listening space being too small. I should probably stick with my FH3s and stop looking for something better.
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Post by MartinT on Nov 8, 2016 13:19:54 GMT
That's pretty much it. I demo'd the Be-10 but ordered the larger Be-20 on the basis that one day I would have a larger room. Very glad I did.
I can't really advise you, but 57s are a bit different so if you want them, nothing else will do.
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Post by brian2957 on Nov 8, 2016 21:14:09 GMT
So if I understand correctly, the speakers were too big for the old room, and you did your best to make them work as well as possible. Now you have a suitable sized room, they have the opportunity to show you what they are capable of? The reason I ask is I am still thinking of Quad 57s, but I am nervous about the listening space being too small. I should probably stick with my FH3s and stop looking for something better. I've heard the 57s in a small(ish) room a few times Kevin and they sound fantastic . If they will fit into your room I would think about them seriously . I would have them in mine if they fitted . What size is your room mate ? |
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Post by brian2957 on Nov 8, 2016 21:16:03 GMT
It was pretty decent bass before, but I had to stuff the ports to prevent the speakers from overwhelming the smaller room. The result was still a little boomy on certain notes. You can't do much about bass in a small room as the only treatment that has a chance of working is a SubTrap and I have one of those already. The larger room now definitely allows bass to develop more naturally and gives the feeling of moving air at very low frequencies (like when an underground train approaches the platform), something that was only hinted at before. Having the ports open seems to be a part of that improvement. Sounds like you've been really lucky with this room Martin . Or was it planned all the time |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2016 22:51:23 GMT
So if I understand correctly, the speakers were too big for the old room, and you did your best to make them work as well as possible. Now you have a suitable sized room, they have the opportunity to show you what they are capable of? The reason I ask is I am still thinking of Quad 57s, but I am nervous about the listening space being too small. I should probably stick with my FH3s and stop looking for something better. I've heard the 57s in a small(ish) room a few times Kevin and they sound fantastic . If they will fit into your room I would think about them seriously . I would have them in mine if they fitted . What size is your room mate ? I'd agree, also being electrostatic speakers, I'm not sure they'll have the same issues with bass boom you can get with traditional speakers, maybe wrong. |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 9, 2016 6:06:56 GMT
you've been really lucky with this room Martin . Or was it planned all the time Just luck, although having stacks of room treatment improves your chances greatly! |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 11, 2016 21:43:04 GMT
Got one curtain pole and the curtain up tonight. Re-using Ruth's very heavyweight curtains which match the ambience of the room nicely. The sound has definitely benefitted from one of the large areas of patio window behind the listening position being covered. The midrange is even less shouty, more relaxed and with more detail coming through. I still cannot believe the extended bass and how much infra-bass is on some CDs.
Still have yet to unpack all the phono gear. Too many other things to do, but slowly getting there. Want to get the other curtain up so that I can assess the room in its near-final state.
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 12, 2016 9:50:56 GMT
you've been really lucky with this room Martin . Or was it planned all the time Just luck, although having stacks of room treatment improves your chances greatly! Arnold Palmer, I believe said "I find the more I practice the luckier I get" Some thick curtains coudl well be good for my room .... |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 12, 2016 10:02:06 GMT
They certainly help with large panes of glass like your doors on the right, Mike.
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 12, 2016 10:19:06 GMT
I mentioned moving the big mirror recently as it was a mistake in hindsight "Oh no you can'd do that" Ah, problem there then Thicker curtains I can probably get away with though |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 12, 2016 21:45:55 GMT
I've got the curtains up, and boy what a difference. The room sounds dead. That trace of shoutiness has gone. The sound is dynamic and detailed without being in-your-face or analytical. What does come through is an order of magnitude (I mean it) greater insight into the music than ever in my last room. The sound is expansive but the dynamics can still take your head off. The bass extension is a revelation - real subterranean stuff from discs I didn't know had bass. Everything sounds flowing and liquid and I am revelling in trying different music out. Still no turntable, but otherwise getting there. Showing the rear of the room with the curtains in place, preventing reflections from the large panes of glass. It's surprising how small the room looks in these photos. It's bigger than it looks here! |
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