Detailed Speaker Setup and Optimization

[andromedaaudio]

I am not making excuses. I just have heard the Alexx V produce wonderful bass in people's homes and the recent Axpona. It's a terrific speaker. If there was little bass with the CH Precision setup then I am not sure what happened as Kevin Wolff knows what he is doing.

We all have different standards/ hear differently.
Nothing wrong with that

 

[andromedaaudio]

If the bass wasn't there

May be the bass had left the room to get a cup of coffee

 

[Another Johnson]

May be the bass had left the room to get a cup of coffee

Or another pint. Munich, remember.
I personally don’t think you really know what a speaker can do to please or displease you until you’ve put it in your own system.
FWIW, if you’ve heard a demo at Paragon Sight and Sound, you’ll have a good idea of what’s possible.
I talked with Bill Peugh about this at some length. He acknowledges that all demos are not created equal.

No one can tell you what you heard or didn’t hear. We can only tell each other what we ourselves heard.

 

[Elliot G.]

You were cetainly fortunate to be surrounded by people who would help you understand and grow in your appreciation of reproduced music.

It is hard. You have to go seek out this stuff with intent. No one today cares much for developing audiophiles. Even dealers will barely give young people that come into their store the time of day. (I hope you don't fall into this category) It seems that most auidophile are not even that curious and rather oblivious to what is missing. Very early on in my journey there was one person who tried to help me understand a few things. But most of what he told me went over my head. Now, I wish I had paid more attention ot him. I can remember him telling me things like "The speakers sound different if you put the spikes on dimes instead of pennies." I thought this guy was off his rocker. Back then I had just graduated and had way too much science in my head to believe this kind of thing. Or believe that power cords mattered or that power conditioners did anything except protect the gear from power surges. And, get this, I believed that bits are bits and that a transport didn't really matter much and neither did a digital cable. Wow! I was ignorant. (And still am about something that someone has yet to show me). What was really lacking was my ability to listen (As you pointed out) and hear things in an objective way. I learned things along the way that were key moments along the path. I mentioned earlier my experience with what articulate bass was supposted to sound like. At one point I experienced real soundstage and imaging with a pair of Avalon speakers. No dealer I had visited prior to that point had apparently taken the care to setup a pair of speakers even to the point of getting soundstage. Buying my first pair of Wilson speakers and having a "trained" dealer set them up taught me what attention to speaker placement could do. But it has been the time I spent with Stirling that has really taught me to listen and to trust my own ears. He also taught me the importance of micro detail in speaker setup. (Which is taking what the Wilson guy did and pushing it up several orders of magnitude).

My hope is that providing some of this informaton in this thread and talking about my experience setting up the Trios can at least provide some information for those curious and wanting a way to improve their music without spending a ton of money.

Im really glad that someone else is saying this. The single most important thing in audio IMO is the placement of the speakers and the listening chair. If you get that right you can have really great sound if not then....
BTW Stirling is an old friend and a real joy to talk too and of course work with.
I truly believe this is very much misunderstood and the reason there is so much argueing. When you walk into a great system set up there is nothing to argue but rather just the ability to enjoy music. Whether its horns or cones or panels it will sound like music from thre one can choose the rest.
BTW I have been to many factories and their soundrooms and the overwhelming majority of them don't have a great set up either.
I was thrilled in Munich since the Gobel factory really did it great, and the rooms and systems are a real representation of the sound of the speakers.
When you are done please invite me

 

[sbnx]

Excuses excuses even with subs there was hardly audible bass.
Pics from the set up

I wasn't there. Were you sitting in the sweet spot or just in the room?

 

[Another Johnson]

In a truly great system and room often you can hear that it’s great even from the doorway.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I personally don’t think you really know what a speaker can do to please or displease you until you’ve put it in your own system.

Excuse me ....
Thats not feasible for anyone , thats even more then a day job what you are suggesting , how many speaker models are there .... hundreds of thousands probably
I m currently designing a closed system with 2 8 inch woofers , i m quit sure even that will smoke the alexx

 

[sbnx]

Im really glad that someone else is saying this. The single most important thing in audio IMO is the placement of the speakers and the listening chair. If you get that right you can have really great sound if not then....
BTW Stirling is an old friend and a real joy to talk too and of course work with.
I truly believe this is very much misunderstood and the reason there is so much argueing. When you walk into a great system set up there is nothing to argue but rather just the ability to enjoy music. Whether its horns or cones or panels it will sound like music from thre one can choose the rest.
BTW I have been to many factories and their soundrooms and the overwhelming majority of them don't have a great set up either.
I was thrilled in Munich since the Gobel factory really did it great, and the rooms and systems are a real representation of the sound of the speakers.
When you are done please invite me

I will definitely give you an invite.

 

[Another Johnson]

Excuse me ....
Thats not feasible for anyone , thats even mor ethen a day job that you are suggesting .
I m currently designing a closed system with 2 8 inchers , i m quit sure even that will smoke the alexx

But you don’t actually know what the Alexx V can do. The Alexx V is many things, but bass deficient is not one of them.

I’m not making a case for you to buy the Wilsons.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I wasn't there. Were you sitting in the sweet spot or just in the room?

i was in the room 3 times , i sat in the sweet spot as well

 

[andromedaaudio]

But you don’t actually know what the Alexx V can do. The Alexx V is many things, but bass deficient is not one of them.

I’m not making a case for you to buy the Wilsons.

Sure , .... i probably have a hearing deficiency

 

[Lee]

We all have different standards/ hear differently.
Nothing wrong with that

I'm going to start calling you "Drama".

 

[Another Johnson]

i was in the room 3 times , i sat in the sweet spot as well

There are a lot of demos without a well chosen sweet spot.

 

[Another Johnson]

David Wilson upset many people who wanted to hear his speakers because he would not open the room until he had it perfect. Sometimes he would not open until the second day.

 

[sbnx]

I believe andromedaudio heard what he heard. He does have a point that he heard the same front end last year with Rockport Lyra and the same people set up both systems. I don't know if it was the exact same room but the room looks pretty similar.

This is why people go to shows. For him the Rockport Lyra is the winner. Sorry to hear that as it is going to cost an extra ~$50 - 60K.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I believe andromedaudio heard what he heard. He does have a point that he heard the same front end last year with Rockport Lyra and the same people set up both systems. I don't know if it was the exact same room but the room looks pretty similar.

This is why people go to shows. For him the Rockport Lyra is the winner. Sorry to hear that as it is going to cost an extra ~$50 - 60K.

It proves exactly the point of hearing something for yourself .
Do your own home work if you buy hifi gear .

 

[sbnx]

David Wilson upset many people who wanted to hear his speakers because he would not open the room until he had it perfect. Sometimes he would not open until the second day.

Dave was wise. I was setting up a room in 2018 with a pair of YG and Gryphon. I had everything hooked up and the speakers just plopped down. This was actually the day before the show started. Unfortunately, I had the door open and two guys came by and peeked in and asked if they could listen. I explained to them that the system wasn't setup at all and was going to sound bad. They insisted and I stupidly agreed. They listened for 3 minutes, stood up, said that certainly doesn't sound like a $50K system and walked out. Lesson learned.

Unfortunately, these two guys now believe that YG and Gryphon sound really bad. Who knows how many people they have told this to based on one brief experience where I told them it was going to sound bad.

 

[Another Johnson]

Sure , .... i probably have a hearing deficiency

I would not question what you heard. Your ears, your hearing.
What I question is the quality of the audition. Shows are notorious for not putting the system’s best foot forward.

 

[andromedaaudio]

This is why people go to shows. For him the Rockport Lyra is the winner. Sorry to hear that as it is going to cost an extra ~$50 - 60K.

If you want to built a good system , you gotto use quality building blocks
Otherwise you ll be swapping your .... off

 

[andromedaaudio]

I would not question what you heard. Your ears, your hearing.
What I question is the quality of the audition. Shows are notorious for not putting the system’s best foot forward.

I heard may be 6 or 7 wilson set ups at munich , same sound character.