Greetings from malaysia

Hi Michael and fellow tuners

After two days of settling in following option num 3 (equip--platforms--LTR) I did a short listening session today.  As usual with my trusted reference cd's I decided to listen without any changes made with those PZC's from my previous setup (option 4).

The sound took a back toll overall as the first thing I noticed was that the stage "shrunk" quite a bit. One song that I really use for my stage assessment is by "Jennifer Warner - The Panther" (Michael you should try this song out, who knows it might be your next reference song   ). Those shakers sounded so "alive" as you could actually "see" it moving from right to center of my stage on my previous setup (option 4). On this current setup it sounded like it was only confined to the right side (maybe a slight shift but still not so significant) of the stage.

The center stage felt ressesed it was like I am now sitting a few rows behind, I kept moving forward to get that front stage feel only to be faced with a very blurry and smeared out of phase stage. Height on those snare drums with the previous setup (option 4) was around 8-9' in height at the far left corner behind my left speaker but now it sounded slightly above the left side of my speaker (approximately 4' of height) and not behind of it.

Space definitely was affected as I felt everything was now congested and harder to define the placement of all the instruments played. I just could not differentiate the space between the acoustic guitar and vocals.

As noted previously the bass in my setup improved ever since I got those PZC's and LTR from Michael. It sounded very tuneful however not so much of impact and those sub bass notes especially from 50hz below is not so felt (guess that's the limitation of a bookshelf speaker in a big room setup   ). But I still enjoyed it as it gave a sense of ease and fullness to each note played. However removing those LTR's from under the equipment's made a significant drawback in the overall presentation of my bass notes. Now it sounds flat and bland making it sounding "weak". Also previously on some songs the bass does give a good "kick" to my ears now all that is gone.

Midrange and highs are also affected but I guess more of a change rather than a drawback. Midrange sounded pretty balance in its spectrum range feeling not over emphasized on certain frequencies. Giving an ease when I am listening to vocals and instruments. Highs are also in the same boat as the midrange, no frequencies was significantly heighten. Hope that made sense    as I am lost of words to explain the changes I am hearing for the midrange and highs.

Now all this is after 2 days of settling in period but after going through this process twice I have found that more or less the presentation and layout of the overall stage will progress in this manner but the tone can change further. Lets see where it goes after another 2 days of settling in period.

Mg said :

"When you walk by the speakers, does the sound go into the speakers or do you hear a soundstage from anywhere in the room with the Sonus not pulling the sound into them?"

I did a test run of walking up to my speakers and around my living space to hear as what Michael did ask for. There are mix results that I am getting from this exercise. Basically where ever I stand "out" of my listening space the sound is coming from around the speaker but not from the speaker itself. Standing at the right side of the speaker at a distance of about 10 ft away till 2 ft away yielded the same results where the sound was coming from above and behind the speaker and not from the speaker itself. It sounded out of phase. Doing on the opposite side was also the same but this time till at approximately 2.5 ft away. Once I approach near to the speakers (lesser than L 2.5 ft and R 2 ft) then only will the sound be pulled towards the speaker.

If I stand and listen from "within" my listening space at the distance of my sitting position the sound is coming from the center of my stage and around my speaker area but not from the speaker itself. As I stand up the center stage rises up but the sides starts to cloud around the speaker. However as I move forward towards the center plane of my speakers the center stage starts to sound less in front of me and more of around me (above and behind me) but the left and right side of the soundstage starts to be more localize and confined towards the speakers.

Does my description make any sense to you Michael


Regards

Tj

Good reporting Tj

Have you put any Tunes in the upper rear right corner yet? And have you done any tuning out in the entrance area?

Hi Michael,

Well there is nothing placed over the right upper rear wall but over the right upper mid wall region I did apply one RTSQ (reflective side facing out) and it improved the imaging. Will look into the rear area and report in. As for the entrance I did apply 2 RTSQ but there were no changes in the sound.

The left area (entrance and staircase) is kind of a tricky area as I did try placing from PZC's fs/mec to RTSQ it will either skew or disrupt the stage width hence affecting the imaging.

Will give a small update regarding my current setup (option 3) and later to proceed the last option which is equipment--platform (option 1).



Regards

Tj

Hi Michael and fellow tuners,

So after a good 5 days of settling period it is clear that this approach is not giving any good results as it did not improve with any sort of settling time. In fact I find that the bass has been clearly affected for the worst as it sounds so lifeless and flat.

Mids and highs also seems affected in a form of its textures and tonality which i feel it is much lesser. Another thing I found is that the overall volume of the sounds seems to be lesser by easily 4-5dB which I had to increase from the preamp vol knob just to get that same volume intensity as previously.

It is clear that the ARC's needs those LTR's under them and no 2 way about it. I am curious regarding those MTB's (Medium Tuning Block) that Michael mentioned previously, would that be a good or better option than the LTR's or maybe a combination of MTB's and LTR's Or even maybe those spring's may do the job

Michael please do enlighten me regarding them .

I am down to the last option (option 1) which is without any LTR's (equipment--platform) and it seems the same as what I am experiencing with the the previous one. My first impression is it sounds pretty flat and the stage is more of a "U" shape. Stage seems narrow and more or less fixated around the speaker area and not filling up between the center plane of my speakers.

I don't think it is going to get any better but still will be fair and give 2-3 days of settling period and round up my impressions and also give my conclusion as which is the best option for my equipments and platforms mechanical transfer energy option.

Regards

TJ

Hi Tj

Harold will be taking several voiced tuning blocks home with him and will be sending me some AUDOLICI components to play with on my end. We've been doing some valuable listening during his visit to Vegas. As a result, hopefully I will have a few choices for you soon to listen to. On my current systems having this range of voicing allows me to go just about anywhere I want.

Hi Michael and fellow tuners

I just got back from another work trip    , and my first priority was to unbox the goodies Michael and Harold have sent to me. Received everything in one piece, no damage and as usual everything was packed up and boxed professionally. Thanks Michael and Harold your products looks and feels world class.

As for what is in it :



12 pieces of MGA cables lifters
T1,T2 and T3 speaker cables
T3 jumper cables

I have already assembled them loosely and installed those cable lifters and will let it run and report in my findings. As for the speaker and jumper cables I will install it at a later stage this is so that I am able to appreciate and document the changes I am getting from one to another.

Also yet I have not report in my listening impression of my platforms (option 1) which I will do so soon.

Regards

TJ

Welcome home, looking forward to your continuing reporting

Hi Michael and fellow tuners

Today as promised I did a good run of listening to my final configuration of those platforms with the ARC equipments. So it was as usual done with my trusted reference cd's and a good 4 hours of running in my system.

The first thing I noticed was that the stage height dropped by 1 feet. Stage width was now confined between the boundaries of my speakers. Depth and layers over the sides of my stage strangely improved    but at the center of my stage I could not appreciate any of that. This seems strange as my previous configuration (option 3) the depth and layers was lost overall from left to right of my stage. The overall presentation as of now my stage seems like a banana stage and ressesed, sounding like it is out of phase and incoherent. The singer is now around 4-5 feet in height as in comparison to my previous setup (6-7 feet).

Next was the tonality which took an upward shift making it sounding thinner over the highs and bass area. I totally lost those bass extensions and the feel of the bass articulations. Also I felt that the overall volume of my bass was a tad lesser. Highs was also affected it sounded a tad lower in volume and slightly harsh. Strangely the midrange was not so much affected in comparison to my bass and highs. Midrange was still full in sounding but the girth of it was lesser. I could still appreciate the details heard but it was definitely lesser than before.

As over the past week I have been playing and changing the configurations of my equipments and platforms  by introducing those LTR's in between them (option 1-4). I can finally conclude that the ARC's need those LTR's under them. They seem to expand the overall stage and give more feel and texture to the music. Also the bass got a good upgrade when using those LTR's under them. There was more bass output, extensions and articulation. It made everything sounding full, there was no bass thumping going on here but with those LTR's under the ARC's it definitely made my bass output heard more.
Now those 3D imaging was also present with those LTR's under my equipments. Depth and space between each instruments was much appreciated and everything sounded in place. I could easily identify where are the singers, guitarists or the drummer.
Highs and midrange sounded full in its frequency spectrum, giving it a lush, sweet and nice extensions.

Placing those LTR's under the platforms (option 4) made an increase in space and depth between the instruments and singers and details was heard more than before. The tonality I felt was much more coherent and balance with them under the platforms. My only gripe with the LTR's under the platforms was that it gave a slightly smaller girth to instruments and vocals in comparison to option 2 ( without LTR's under the platforms).

Option 2 (without LTR's under platforms) sounded good but in comparison to option 4 it was slightly lesser in staging and imaging. Tonality I would say it was more or less the same as option 4 but the details was much more in option 4. Girth of each instruments and vocals was slightly more in option 2 making me able feel the music and sense the texture more on each note in comparison to option 4.

Option 1 and 3 was basically without those LTR's under the equipments. Keeping it in a nutshell option 1 and 3 sounded like a downgraded and degraded version of option 2 and 4.

Having those LTR's under my equipments is the way forward for me. I need to optimise the position and placements of those LTR's under the ARC's which is something that I have honestly not done yet . I will need to do another A-B comparison between option 2 and 4 and try to achieve the best of both worlds.

Any suggestion for that Michael  

As I have mentioned previously that Michael's goodies have arrived safely to me and I will be slowly introducing them into my system one by one. I have started off with those cable lifters being placed under my cables. Boy I need to re do my cables    with those cable lifters in there's not much space between those cables.

Regards

TJ

Hi Tj

When you get a chance, send me over some pics of your cable grounds and placement. This will give me a look into what is happening.


excellent reporting as always

here are some adjustment guidelines

Hi Michael and fellow tuners



Managed to snap some pictures of my cable ground placements as you can see it is in a mess   . However messed up they look I have managed to elevate them from touching the floor and power cables are fairly away from the speaker and xlr cables.

I tried to move the qb8 to the right side, as you can see it is at the center and it is causing the cable mess but my cdp power cable is unable to reach that far. So I need to rethink again on how to go about it  

As of now all 12 cable grounds are in use, for the power cables and speaker network I have kept them flat (horizontal axis) at the surface of the cable grounds and others kept in vertical axis of the cable grounds.
Hope that make sense as it is hard to explain it, hope the pictures are clear and easy to understand pertaining to what I am describing.

Regards

Tj

Hi Michael and fellow tuners

So after playing around with various configuration of equipment, LTR's and platform I have gone back to option 2 which is equipment--LTR--platform. My immediate response was as expected the stage opened up from width, depth to height. One difference I have made in comparison to my previous option 2 setup is that I am currently using only 3 LTR under each equipment instead of 4 as previously done.

This sounded beautiful there was more emotion and texture and a better sense of appreciation towards the music being played. Tonality was more balanced and details was much more present. Following the tune ways in view of the new configuration I had to reconfigure the PZC's placement as everything sounded slightly off track. In 20 minutes I am back to where I wanted it to be with better depth, focus and space.

I will let this run in and settle down in the next few days and start to change those LTR's placements under the equipments and compare between 3 or 4 LTR's under the equipments. Also I will change those jumper plates to Michael's T3 jumper cables. Later I will also try to mess around with the speaker cables (T2 and T3) in all possible configurations at the speaker binding post and finally would also try to bi wire my speakers using T2 and T3 combo.

I am still trying to search around for another chopping board to place between my speaker and speaker stand. Hopefully I will have time tomorrow to search around from the local stores here.

Regards

Tj

Hi Tj

I like the slow and methodical approach your taking. Also sounds like your picking up on the interactions between acoustical and mechanical.

Somewhere up there, my friend Bill Johnson is smiling on you!

Hi Michael and fellow tuners

While I am still getting accustomed with the new settings of my LTR's and those cable lifters in my setup. I decided to look back at my previous notes regarding the positions of my LTR's under my equipments. I am taking this step in a more serious manner as I have realised that those LTR's are magical when they are under those ARC equipments.

As of now using 3 LTR's under them have made a world of a difference as my stage is huge now and that space in between each instruments is amazing. However looking back to what I have experienced with 4 LTR's under them it seems that the tonal density and richness of each instruments is slightly lesser in comparison. I would say the stage is bigger with 3 LTR's and that PRAT I am getting is better than 4 LTR's but that tonality has shifted up slightly. There are some trade offs in between 3 and 4 LTR's. I will give it another listening session and later do another comparison with 4 LTR's under them.

Bass has improved significantly currently it is so much more musical and I am feeling more vibes under my feet and sofa.

Now going back and forth with this setup I have to adjust again and again my pzc's to dial it back in. Don't get me wrong I am enjoying it and it sparks my interest more to attempt other ways to contain and mobilise those PZ's towards me. It may sound easy but it is not entirely so for me yet .



Anyway I had a small eureka moment today . Knowing that my ceiling have got good vibes I decided to place around some of those RTsq's, which I ended up placing one well not over the ceiling but at those soffits area as seen above.

What happened  First off it cleared up those haze that I am getting around each notes making it sounding clearer and focus. I am able to pinpoint more accurately the location of each instruments. Vocals seems to have tighten up clearing of the haze  making the edges sounding more defined. Next gain heard are the details which I feel is more now.

Overall combining the the 3 LTR's under my equipments and introducing RTsq at the soffit area have done good to my listening pleasure. I have a reasonable stage size better bass integration and feel and also more details.

Now if I only had some extra juice towards the density and tonal richness of each notes played I would be a very happy camper. Maybe introducing the 4th LTR under one of my equipments only might do the work  

Any suggestion Michael  

Regards

Tj

Those eureka moments are the most fun They build that relationship between the power of the tools and the master using them.

What your hunting for is there, you just have to find it. It could be how many blocks or where they are placed, or it could be a slight adjustment on a Tuning Bolt on one of the PZC's or it could even be a hidden harmonic in the room needing tuned. Maybe even a screw on your electric circuit panel that is a hair too tight.

I'll tell you what, my downstairs system #3 came alive two days ago with un-imaginable definition girth, warmth and impact. Of course that's about right on time for a new breakin, but even so I was shocked at how low the bottom dropped with the tile floor. It's like I have a sub hooked up. I'm sure those flavors are there your hunting for. When I look at your pics, it makes me want to get up in those soffits and tune.

glad the tools are doing their magic

Hi Michael,

Any suggestions on how do I go about addressing those soffits I am still unsure at that area as I have two "ports" one at the junction from ceiling to front wall and other one is below the front wall area as you can see from the picture from my previous post above.

Regards

Tj

Hi tjbhuler

Sonic finds your experience with your system a good parallel experience to what I am working through in my set up 200 miles or so south of where you are Good to see the progress you made. As for the two "ports", one thing you can test is having RT Squares placed over the ports with the reflective side facing to the "port" or alternatively the absorptive side facing the "port". One thing Sonic learnt that if you wanted to affect something with things EchoTunes, RT Squares 9/10 times the reflective side should face the thing/zone you want to affect. Except with the odd room acoustics Sonic has, there are some spots that absorptive side facing into the room works.

I hope things are calm for you with the Red Shirts about.

Wanted to check with you -- what differences did you hear when you set your Cable Grounds centre bar vertical, 45 degrees and horizontal? In my system, vertical and horizontal are good but 45 degrees closed the soundstage.

Also wanted to ask how do you deal with the rubber feet on your equipment like the Audio Research? Are they still attached but loosely or have you removed them entirely? What differences did you find?

Sonic

Hi Sonic

It is always a pleasure having you here  Thanks for the input regarding those soffits and RT will try out the burn side out.


Sonic said :

Wanted to check with you -- what differences did you hear when you set your Cable Grounds centre bar vertical, 45 degrees and horizontal? In my system, vertical and horizontal are good but 45 degrees closed the soundstage.

Tj

For now I find that keeping the center bar horizontal for power cables gives a slight forward sounding and a balance tone. Horizontal and 45 degrees makes it sound slightly distant and the size of instruments and vocals seems to shrink slightly. As for xlr's and speaker cables so far placing it horizontal, vertical or at 45 degrees does not seem cause any sorts of changes that I can appreciate. However there is a slight upward shift in tone when I apply more cable grounds over the speaker cables.

Sonic said:

Also wanted to ask how do you deal with the rubber feet on your equipment like the Audio Research? Are they still attached but loosely or have you removed them entirely? What differences did you find?

Tj

As of now I have not done anything over those rubber footers attached under my ARC equipments and that is because of warranty issues   . My dealer said that it will void my warranty so I have no choice to leave it alone for now. One thing for sure Michael's LTR's are doing wonders under them and I need to pay more attention to it. Just that there are so many combinations and placement to look at when placing them under. Guess slow and steady wins the race   .

Those Red shirt rallies was pretty docile around my area. This country is getting very colorful you have yellow and red. Will see which color will be used next .

Regards

Tj

Hi Michael and fellow tuners

Once again the LTR's saga continues and have been patiently placing them in different combinations and positions under those ARC's. Yes those ARC's are sensitive when placing those LTR's under them. Previously I changed and placed three of them under the ARC's, it sounded nice in the beginning itself. So after two days of settling period I sat down and listened to them again.

This time things changed, while it gave a better stage than without them but now it somehow sounded slightly harsher than before those smooth highs now sounds gritty and edgy. There was less body and weight right from instruments to vocals, guitar sounded flat and vocals was sounding lighter. I was getting the impression that I was listening to my system when it was still new and un-tuned. Bass was a tad lighter in weight too but still it was sounding very musical. Midrange was affected the most it just did not sound correct. Now the next thing was the separations of each instruments and the space between them are there but it is much lesser than before. This made that whole 3D effect lesser and less involving. On the good side the PRAT was amazing and details was heard more.
I did all sorts of placements using only three of those LTR's under the ARC's and yet it was yielding the same results, giving that same lighter, less weight and fullness in the midrange area. Don't get me wrong it is sounding much better in comparison without having them under but it is just not up to the mark that I was getting previously.

Today after a short session of listening those 3 LTr's under the ARC's just to confirm my previous listening session, I moved on to 4 LTR's under the ARC's. The first thing I noticed was that harshness and edginess totally gone. Highs are sounding so silky smooth and airy. The weight was back and bass was getting back to it's previous weighty and musical tune that I am accustomed to. Somehow the 3D stage that I am so craving for is not there . The Prat that I was getting with 3 LTR's now is lesser but still acceptable. I feel as of now this current 4 blocks of LTR's is the right amount under my ARC's.

I will let this settle down and report in my impressions hopefully that 3D space will be back. Will need to look at this much closer as I think 4 LTR's is the right amount needed but I have to try around different placement and positions to understand the mechanical transfer energy of my equipment to the platforms (later the transfer from my platforms to floor).

Regards

TJ

Hi Michael and fellow tuners

An update on the 4 LTR's it is definitely the right amount needed under those ARC's everything seems right. The depth is present , width is 2-3 ft out from the right speaker and 1-2 ft out from the left and height is around 7 ft. Yes it can be bigger but as of now I'm a happy camper here .

As I was listening I noticed that my center stage seems to have shifted slightly to the right side by a good 7-10 cm. This is slightly confusing to me as I have everything placed as how it was previously. The tune instinct kicked in and I started to move around my PZC's and rtsq by an inch or so but nothing seems to work.
My only thought was that somehow the speakers might have been moved or angled moreover one side. So out came my measuring tape and I measured and everything seems to be in place.

So my only thought was to angle slightly my left speaker in axis towards me (sitting position). Everything seems to be centered again yet retaining the whole stage as how it was previously. Why is this happening I do not know but as of now I have an amazing stage, tonality is nice, texture and the feel is there. Yes my speakers is not aligned the same as of now but this current position is giving me good vibes that I have been trying to get . It was not like this before, why I know this is because I never do two changes at a time it is always one change and listen. So I know what effect is the sound having towards that particular change of tune in my setup.

Now I am listening but thinking that the center is there but it is not projecting out the way I want it. So again I put on my thinking cap. I know that the center field of my listening area is full of good vibes, looks like I am going to address this area first. I took out another RTsq and started to place around and then I remembered I did a small change which is adding one RTsq up at the center of my soffit (see Sat Sep 19, 2015 ). I took that out and listened now everything popped out. That forward projection that I was getting is back and that feel I am getting is the same as what I had previously. But the imaging is now slightly smeared and yes that is how it was previously too.



So again hearing that smearing of image and trying to clear it up, I used the spare white RTsq that I removed from the soffit area and placed it below to my current black Rtsq which has been there ever since I got Michael's tools. Now this is an accidental finding which I was not intending to do so. As you can see from the picture above my intention was to place that white Rtsq below the black Rtsq. However as it was not pinning up well I was about to get the mallet. But I decided to listen as it is since it was there resting on my TV just for fun.  Everything was projecting out more I could almost touch it, my speakers seems to not exist at all in my system as nothing was heard from them.

This is some major mojo vibes happening that I have never encountered before. I have texture, feel, depth and clarity beyond what I have experienced before. Bass now seems to be so so musical as what the SF Guarneri Evo's are famed for. For addressing that smearing of image well I have not done so yet and frankly it is not on my priority list after listening what I am getting now   .  I am going to leave it as it is and listen more in this position.

Good tunes here so far

Regards

TJ

HI Michael and fellow tuners.

It has been a while since I logged in but rest assured my tuning sessions have been going on constantly. However due to work constraints it is progressing slowly but surely .

Picking up from my last post, the sound has so far been very lively and involving. As I start to think and rethink what else can I do to improve my front acoustical energy area before I progress towards the LTR's and cables. I decided to play around with the RTsq that was resting on my TV. So after a few hours around it and tuning it to perfection   , I landed up with a very awkward sounding system.

Now all of what I was getting before seems to have taken a very upward shift of tone. Highs got brighter and slightly harsh, midrange was sounding less dense and full as I would want it to be. Bass was also sounding lighter and fluffy but it was still very tuneful. I am hearing now more of those finer details which I could hear previously but it just more of it now. I began to backtrack all of my tuning steps that I did but to no avail I could not figure out what did I do to get this type of sound .

On the other hand now the stage sounds huge  vocals is like 8 ft high, width was like 3-4 ft wider than before. That forward projection out towards me feel is now gone, depth and layering seems to be pushed back but still I am able to be identify the layerings of my stage. Imaging seems to be slightly more focussed but only on certain instruments.

I sat down listened and looked around at all of my PZC's and Rtsq in place but still I am unable to figure out what did I do to make this significant change of sound. It is not the type of sound that I am keen or found off. One thing each time I make any changes I have a habit of taking pics from my phone camera, just to know where are all the PZC's and Rtsq positioned in my living room.

As I looked back I noticed the phone camera flash from the TV was reflecting differently. Could this be the source of my problem Did my TV cause this issue but how can it be Or maybe I took the pic differently that may have caused the flash to reflect differently So once again I snapped a pic in my regular sitting position and again the flash was different from the TV.

Logically I walked up towards my TV and noticed that the angle of my TV was tilted up more than usual rather than being tilted down slightly as it was before. So I repositioned the angle of my TV to how it was before and now all that was lost came back with immediate effect .

As I thought about it longer then it came back to me, as I was trying to reposition that Rtsq my elbow did press on the top of my TV which would have caused the TV to be tilted up.

Listening back again confirmed me that I have got back all that was loss before. That dense midrange, sweet highs, fuller bass and forward projection of my stage is once again present. However that huge and deep stage is no more there (this is something I liked).

Looks like I have found a tuning tool in my setup that I can use to my advantage but there is definitely going to be some sort of tradeoffs here. I need to rethink now on how to tune this area more. There is an obvious limitation due to the TV's screen reflection and its profound effect towards my front stage.

Maybe moving the speakers forward more towards my sitting position then I might be able to reduce the effect of the TV screen towards the tonal sound and stage    Or maybe I should push the speakers behind Either way it is going to be a fun, exciting but a tiring session here.

Michael any comments and tips that you could suggest on how to go about with this TV screen and speaker interaction

Regards

Tj

Hi Tj

Nice to see you getting to those subtle tunes

Now that you are experiencing that particular pressure zone, take a look at the 3 MEC PZC's in the front and play with a few things, but do them carefully.

See how the back of them is touching the furniture? Put a litte thin piece of wood so that the cloth is not touching the furniture. You might even find that you like a thin sliver of wood under the front edges as well.

Having that front pressure zone active is probably going to give you a variable tune to use for different recordings.

You might find more sensitive areas right in that same area so I would slowly play around, like you are doing, finding the extremes and balances of that zone.

What I do is play with moving the main barricade closer and further away from me. Pretend the screen is a PZC in other words.

main thing is this

Always been confident in the power of the tune. The answers are there, and they are there boldly waiting for you to make that right move. Many times that move is a very small one. Think about it this way. You may have a huge door separating you from the other side, but it only takes these very small hinges and knob to open that door up, exposing a completely different world. The Tune is just that mighty and when we get in harmony with it, your sound will talk to you.

I'm proud of you, as well as happy

HI Michael,

Thanks for the response, applying a thin piece of wood under those MEC's wow that never crossed my mind at all. Will work on that and report in .

I have tried moving those MEC's closer and farther away from my sitting position like you have mentioned. It changes the height of my stage and that forward projection significantly and I am talking by even a quarter of an inch the effect is very significant and prominent. I will have to revise this step again but this time I will try to correlate it with different angles of my TV.

Moving them laterally also affects the layout of my stage significantly and here I am talking in millimeters .

It is very clear that my front wall has loads of vibes and as Michael said others areas around that region are just waiting to be exploited and to be used to my advantage.

Thanks Michael for your guidance I really feel I am beginning to understand these interactions better around my living space. The most important lesson here is that any changes you make in one area you will affect other areas too and that you may need to retune other areas in order to achieve that balance and harmony, no matter how small that change is.

Regards

Tj

Well on your way to becoming a tuning master Makes me very happy!!

Hi Michael and fellow tuners

I have been going around my setup again    and have found new pressure zones around my front wall. This new PZ came about as I had mentioned previously after trying to sort out my missing notes that was lost previously.

It got me thinking regarding stage balance and tonal change, there are too many variables that I am facing  which affects them significantly. I keep getting different outcomes whenever I try to rearrange those PZC's. Somehow it is predictable when it comes to the right side of my listening area, the width has always been nice (good vibes here). As for my left side it doesn't seem to correlate well with my thinking and I have been having difficulties in predicting those PZ at left side. Pursuing to the next level of tuning would be a waste if I do not master my PZ's.

So it got me thinking hard here and finally looking at the differance right and left side of my front wall. The clear difference here is that I do not have a proper side wall at the left side and the PZ here is lesser than the right side. As you can see from my previous page that my left side wall is more of a partition than a wall to separate my living room area from the entrance area. So I decided to cover up those gaps between those pillars and try to contain some pressure waves to balance out the right side.



From the picture above I used MG's RTsq's but unfortunately I don't have many of them so I proceeded to use those thin wooden fiber mats which you can get here for a very cheap price. I covered them up as much as I could also I had to use some cardboards .

What could have happen here now as a result of my little venture One word BIG improvements ok well two words It is beyond than what I would have expected. Once again going back to basics I started voicing out Sonic's BOO and the number 66. There was almost the same amount of energy here as to the right side of my front wall but the tone here was lower. I knew immediately that this is going to bring some huge impact towards my sound. Yes I was correcto perfecto  with just that modification I did, the amount of volume of sound generated was simply amazing. I had to reduce my preamp volume from 50 to 43 .

So how did this affect my stage    I have now a much more balance stage with almost equal amount of pressure energy from left to right. The width of my stage over the left is almost as good as the right side. It is still lesser but not as bad as my previous setup. The center stage was way louder than before, vocals sounded full bodied and so did other instruments. Piano notes was sounding very nice now in my setup. Trumpets was floating around my stage with a much more realistic feel. I could sense greater texture and emotion than before. That strumming was so palpable, with each pluck of guitar I could sense the effort taken by the guitarist. Bass was in another level I can hear now new bass notes   but along this now I have some standing waves issues   .

Of course all this amazing sound can only be attained if you have followed through Michael's teachings from his many articles and comments from other tunees setup and yes with Michael's PZC's and RTsq it will take your setup to a different level.

That is what I had to do next as I have gained new PZ in my front wall everything had to be reorganised back to it's proper state of equilibrium. Which means all those PZC's had to be repositioned and matched well with other areas of my listening space.



Those front PZC-MEC's had to be rearranged by shifting all of them by 2 inches to the right. Now alone by this I managed to garnered more center stage volume and also left/right off center. I did as what Michael said on my previous post and that is to apply a thin strip of wood under the back of those PZC-MEC and I did that. Wow what was blurred became clear but the stage sounded slightly recessed. So I took it out for the time being knowing now that I have another trick which I can use at a later stage of my tuning .
Now as for the both far end corners I used PZC-fs to guide those PZ to my advantage, as you can see from the pic above it is not placed the same way over the left and right corners. All this placement of PZC-fs gave me a full bodied sound and a balanced stage. I have no holes in my stage and the tonal richness is something that was putting a big smile to my face.

All this seems to sound to good to be true right    Well as you know all good things need to come to an end at times . Unfortunately with all this new PZ gained and being tuned to my best, I have also gained standing waves, slight muddiness and resonance at certain vocal and instrument notes. Reduce forward and depth space between each instruments. The girth of vocals and instruments have increased by a marginal size. Now everything sounds pretty cramped up at my stage. Highs sounds slightly rolled off giving less extensions and air.

Guess I need to look back at my current settings and revise some of my steps and placements of those PZC's.
Maybe it is the right time for me now to look at the ceiling and those soffits .  Also using my TV angle and those strips of wood under the MEC's would be a good trick to apply here too.

So many things to do yet so little time I have to move on to the next level of my tuning journey .

Michael your comments and suggestion would be much appreciated here, as this is so exciting to me yet I am not sure should I also look at those platforms together now or should I just focus on other areas that I have mentioned Rationally thinking more PZ means more vibrations and this is going to affect my equipments and the platforms too. Am I correct Michael  

Regards

Tj

Hi Michael,

A question that I have been meaning to ask :

1) Are the T1,2 and 3 cables directional or can be used on either ends?
2) Can I double run those T3 jumper cables? Meaning can I cut the same length of those jumper cables and double up the thickness for my jumpers?

Regards

Tj