Bruce's Room

Welcome to the Zone, Bruce!

"Photo 1 shows the front of the room. The room is 17 feet 6 1/2 inches wide and 19 feet 3 inches long. The ceiling around the outside of the room is 8 feet high and 33 inches wide all the way around the room. The inside ceiling is16 1/2 inches higher or 9 feet 4 1/2 inches high. There is crown molding around both ceilings. The window is 103 inches by 69 inches ( inside the trim). The floor is tile and the carpet rug is 12 feet wide by 13 feet long.

The component rack is a Solidsteel 5.5 and the amp racks are Solidsteel Model A. The electronics are Simaudio moon; PS-5 preamp, LP 5.3 phono amp, W-6 mono amps. The turn table is a Clearaudio Emotion. The speakers are JM Lab Focal Electra 926s."




















Hey, Bruce, it's great you have a separate, clean room to work with!

Tell us about what you are hearing (or aren't hearing) in the room.

Hi Bruce

Welcome to TuneLand!

Hi Bruce

Greetings from another Tunee who also likes vinyl! Welcome!

Sonic

Thank ya'll for the welcome. Andrew asked what am I hearing and what am I not hearing. First let me describe my comparison point. Prior setups were all in living spaces with lots of sound absorbing material; carpet/rugs, fabric couches, window treatments, etc. Source electronics were in furniture cabinets and speakers and furniture was rearranged ever time serious listening took place. Speakers were not on spikes since this would have damaged floor from constant movement from listening to non listening location. When I first set up room I briefly listened without the room tunes shown in pictures and without the spikes on the speakers. This was very brief and there was some bass boom. The room tunes got rid of the boom but the sound was not balanced with beautiful voices (Joplin on cheap trills) but lean bass and mid also. The room is much more lively and volume at noticeably lower settings compared to prior setups for seemingly the same listening volume. Also the clarity was vastly improved. Then I found my speaker spikes and everything came into much better balance of bass, mid and treble. So I am hearing much more of the content ( I loved my system before but now feel like it sounded as if it was underwater before, very muted ) and the voices are in the room with a very live quality to them. So far I am pleased but I feel the room needs to be a little warmer. When several people are in the room speaking at once ( no music playing) there is echo (?) that confuses the conversation. I am not sure what it is I am not hearing yet but do believe that removing some of what I am calling echo will make the room sound warmer but I don't want to kill the room and go back to prior muted state. Any help/advice would be welcome. Bruce

Hi Bruce

I am struggling against a room with excessive resonance where I sit in my listening chair and read something aloud. It sounds over-resonant and there is confusion to the ears. Sonic is working on this and recounting my adventures (?) in my posts. I have found for larger rooms, a single EchoTune per wall is inadequate and at very least they should be placed across the corner so there is space behind the pillow. This improves the amount of reverb time control and extends the frequency range downwards where the device is effective. You'll see I have done this wherever EchoTunes are applied in my room.

Sonic

Hi Bruce

Here we go, paradise awaits.

You've taken a big step. Here's a few things that would take your sound to the next level. The thin pieces are Sound Shutters, the small rectangles either EchoTunes or PZCs, the floorstanders either Deluxe RoomTune or PZC FS or DecoTunes. And I'm throwing in Speaker Platforms to take a peek at. Also Cable Grounds would be a biggie.

Michael, Thank you for your time on the phone last week. As we discussed I will do an A/B test with the XLTRT etc. at the back and front of the room when then arrive. The XLTRT must be coming from your shop since I only got the square RTs from Music Direct. In the mean time I moved the side wall echo tunes to a 45 degree angle ceiling to wall. I did do an A/B test on this change using Dire Straights' Love Over Gold and Abby Road. The before order was LOG side 1 and 2 then AR 1 side and 2. Then I reversed the play order for the after change listen. I mention this because I think two other things were going on also. The before was from 6:30 pm to about 8pm and the after was from about 8:30 to 10:30 pm. My electrical supply typically starts improving around 7:30 to 8 pm. Also I think the new electrical wiring is burning in so over time things are improving regardless of any other changes. Comparing the side 2 Abby Road which was back to back: Hear comes the Sun, clarity improved, more mellow, flute sounded more like a flute; Because, bass at end sounded tighter; Sun King, sound stage seemed a little wider, cymbal clearer more like a cymbal; the End, tom toms tighter. Overall everything was a little more musical, less strain (clutter). AB side 1 Come Together, bass had more resonance as did other instruments ( this was true through whole side); Something, bass tighter, stings better but still don't care for them; Maxwell's Hammer, hammer had more clang; Oh Daring,just seemed more musical, voices smoother/mellower; Octopus' Garden (9:20 pm) everything more balanced; I Want you, organ more like an organ. Dire Straights summary: more natural, more dynamic, more together, more resonance, more harmonic, tighter bass, quieter. I will send you an update when I get the the RTs set up on the front and back walls. Thanks again, Bruce

Wonderful

Thanks Bruce, I look forward to the updates. When you get a chance tell me about the crickets on sun king. Where they start, how they sound, and how they travel through the room?