After listening for a bit, bundled up and moved to the porch to have some coffee and pet the cat. He seemed please, the big drool monster that he is!
Bob's New Listening Room and System
- Thread starter Bobvin
- Start date
Hi Bob, not sure i agree. My iphone comes no where near what i just heard. But then again i dont use headphones, maybe that is key...
Etsuro Gold, LFD phono cable, CS Port phono, AMG “turbo” tonearm... a combo that has completely changed my system. I continue to be amazed what I am hearing. The LFD cable opened the flow from the cartridge to the phono stage, allowing that tiny trace of voltage & current to get through unimpeded. Just f’n amazing — my buddies are leaving the room shaking their heads at the transformation.
My dCS Rossini is currently whimpering—lonely, and dejected.
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Bob did your acoustical consultant provide you design specifications, or goals, prior to the buildout of the room? And measurements after the room was completed to validate that those design specifications were met? I’m trying to understand what drove the choice of room treatments, besides aesthetics considerations. What source was used for the measurements, if measurements were made? Pink-Noise? White-Noise? Red-Noise? Trying to ascertain the technical objective and see if there is proof that the objective was met, from a technical perspective.
Did the acoustical consultant make any statements regarding how the room will perform with your new set of gear? Or are you under the expectation that your room with respond the same to your new system as it did with the system that you just sold off?
Did the acoustical consultant make any statements regarding how the room will perform with your new set of gear? Or are you under the expectation that your room with respond the same to your new system as it did with the system that you just sold off?
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Dr. Bonnie Schnitta of SoundSense has a Ph.D. and writes/contributes regularly in the field of acoustics. She has an algorithm of her own making she uses to model a rooms behavior. She visited and performed a number of measurements, using test tones and I did not inquire much to what instruments she used. She then decided she could make the room sound good even though I had the front wall with glass picture window and glass doors. She said she can work well with a single reflective surface. She wanted to know brands of windows and doors as she has acoustic properties of many already in her algorithm.
She then provided a plan, after working with the interior designer. My own goal was an attractive space that didn’t look like a recording studio. I hired her installers to come from NYC to do installation after my own contractor did the primary work.
After completion Bonnie did visit again and took some measurements. To be honest I never did get her final report, which she promised many times. The room sounds very good though I know some might say it is too damped—it is a quiet space with no ringing to a hand clap, and tonality is exceptional as is spoken communication. The room “feels” good. One of her design goals is to create spaces that not only sound good but that feel good. You can tell immediately entering the room it doesn’t sound like the rest of the house which is quite lively perhaps “echo-y”.
Members of the audio club have all commented very positively and many have stated they consider my room their new reference. I am appreciative of those comments. When I visited the Magico showroom a few weeks back to hear the M9s my buddie and I both noticed how much Alon’s room and my room sounded alike.
I don’t think a sound room should be modeled around a particular set of gear. A designer who does that should be avoided in my opinion. Why would you ever do that? My own room is unique, it does not seal off—there are openings with no doors. Acoustic curtains can be drawn but not the same as closing doors. As to ported box speakers vs incoming Diesis horn open-baffle hybrids, Alsyvox panels, and omni-directional Bayz... I have no doubt these will all sound amazing in the room. I can pull the acoustic curtains in the front across the glass to tweak if necessary, and of course setup and placement are always crucial. But a room sounds good or it doesn’t—but a room that has not been engineered is more likely to have problems with alternative speaker designs than a well engineered room.
She then provided a plan, after working with the interior designer. My own goal was an attractive space that didn’t look like a recording studio. I hired her installers to come from NYC to do installation after my own contractor did the primary work.
After completion Bonnie did visit again and took some measurements. To be honest I never did get her final report, which she promised many times. The room sounds very good though I know some might say it is too damped—it is a quiet space with no ringing to a hand clap, and tonality is exceptional as is spoken communication. The room “feels” good. One of her design goals is to create spaces that not only sound good but that feel good. You can tell immediately entering the room it doesn’t sound like the rest of the house which is quite lively perhaps “echo-y”.
Members of the audio club have all commented very positively and many have stated they consider my room their new reference. I am appreciative of those comments. When I visited the Magico showroom a few weeks back to hear the M9s my buddie and I both noticed how much Alon’s room and my room sounded alike.
I don’t think a sound room should be modeled around a particular set of gear. A designer who does that should be avoided in my opinion. Why would you ever do that? My own room is unique, it does not seal off—there are openings with no doors. Acoustic curtains can be drawn but not the same as closing doors. As to ported box speakers vs incoming Diesis horn open-baffle hybrids, Alsyvox panels, and omni-directional Bayz... I have no doubt these will all sound amazing in the room. I can pull the acoustic curtains in the front across the glass to tweak if necessary, and of course setup and placement are always crucial. But a room sounds good or it doesn’t—but a room that has not been engineered is more likely to have problems with alternative speaker designs than a well engineered room.
Bob, thank you for the detailed and informative response. I have no doubt that the new equipment will sound wonderful in your room, and in most other rooms. The directivity pattern of the new speakers will certainly pressurize the room differently, and while acoustic curtains can have an impact on the specific acoustic impedance for the progressive waves, the curtains will not impact standing waves. You will be surprised by how much the directivity pattern of the different speakers will impacts the sound field and sound pressure contours throughout the room.
To some extend, measurements are insignificant as the criteria for the design of listening rooms are almost totally subjective and ill-defined. And while algorithms are made to factor in the reflective/absorption/diffraction coefficients for different building materials, and can mathematically calculate the coincidence effect, modeling how sound propagates in the room, it is the target curves of sound pressure levels where it becomes as much art as it is science. Think about the competing objectives regarding reverberation times: short reverberation times render clarity, definition, intelligibility and precise speech, while long reverberation times give music depth and fullness. Same dueling scenario in terms of presence or intimacy, in terms of the quality of sound.
Controlling the buildup and decay of acoustical energy in a room is a very interesting exercise, specially when no standards for performance are specified.
That'll happen when your new analog setup is 3x the price of your digital! Enjoy!
I agree, I’ll probably post a picture or two of my naked room, so y’all can share my pain of being tune-less until the new kit rolls in. Then comes the long process of breaking in all this new gear and finding where three different sets of speakers sound best.Hi Bob, time to update your thread especially after you changed your profile picture
I CANNOT BELIEVE I MISSED THIS THREAD!
Bob, I'm so impressed by your improvements to your listening room. I can only imagine how great the finished product is especially with your current system. When I finally make back to Willamette, I would love to drop by for a listen. ( I will be bringing one of my favorite Pinots to bribe you).
Bob, I'm so impressed by your improvements to your listening room. I can only imagine how great the finished product is especially with your current system. When I finally make back to Willamette, I would love to drop by for a listen. ( I will be bringing one of my favorite Pinots to bribe you).
You’re welcome anytime, no need for bribes. Listen and enjoy a nice glass of wine — is what we do here at the Vineyard lodge. Always happy to host. I have a little Oregon pinot I select for those who appreciate fine wine, sharing one of those always makes a memorable evening. The sound system ain’t too shabby either.
Some folks are much better keeping their thread current. Me—not so much. But here’s a couple pics of the VYGER with the new Titan digital controller.
I’ll repeat here what I’ve said to members of the audio club — no other component upgrade in my audiophile life has been as dramatic as adding the VYGER. The increase in “realism” has been astonishing. Besides the VYGER, the only other change was the phono interconnects because my prior AMG v12 had a DIN connector at the table, the VYGER has RCA jacks so I am not using the bespoke LFD cable I had and am using VYDA phono cables.
Last night some members of the audiophile club came for a visit. We listened exclusively to vinyl. At the end of the night the question was asked what the VYGER with TITAN digital controller goes for. My answer was around $90k. I looked it up price is $82k. (With the manual controller “Titan M” , an Atlantis is $67k.) The response was interesting as it was anticipated the price was at least $100k more.
I think there are very few components in this hobby where $67k or $82k would be considered a bargain, but the VYGER tables with the new Titan controllers (which eliminate the “fussy” reputation of prior models) are just that. I would confidently put this table up against any other table in the world at any price.
Come have a listen — I promise “it doesn’t suck.”
Last night some members of the audiophile club came for a visit. We listened exclusively to vinyl. At the end of the night the question was asked what the VYGER with TITAN digital controller goes for. My answer was around $90k. I looked it up price is $82k. (With the manual controller “Titan M” , an Atlantis is $67k.) The response was interesting as it was anticipated the price was at least $100k more.
I think there are very few components in this hobby where $67k or $82k would be considered a bargain, but the VYGER tables with the new Titan controllers (which eliminate the “fussy” reputation of prior models) are just that. I would confidently put this table up against any other table in the world at any price.
Come have a listen — I promise “it doesn’t suck.”
You are welcome anytime, just ping me when your planning to be in the area.Beautiful! Your table makes my Ascona look like a cheap toy. Next time I'm in Oregon If I may, I'll look you up.
Listening to Bob's system was an experience I will never forget, and one that I won't be likely to ever replicate in my own home, so a big thank you to Bob for hosting a wonderful evening of incredible music reproduction.
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