Ron's Favorite Private Rooms + Systems of All Time

[Ron Resnick]

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The process is completely invisible to us, by conscious design.

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

worst rooms I´ve ever experienced were live end-dead end philosophy
truly unnatural acoustics
I can understand why "cluttered" rooms is favourable, since they offer less unbroken parallell surfaces for flutter echo
first thing I would do in Rons room is breaking up the vertical distance between floor and top "box" of listening space

 

[bonzo75]

Yes, please buy a flat with these accommodations, and, at long last, chronicle the process of setting up your own system.

please try to improve your evaluation process by learning something about music, recordings, and what to listen for

 

[treitz3]

@bonzo75 - I would like to remind you of the Terms of Service on this forum. You are in direct violation with this post.

2. Any post, and any portion of a post, which, in the sole discretion of the forum administrators, serves only to insult personally a member is prohibited. Violation of this Term of Service may result in a warning; a second violation may result in a temporary suspension; and a third violation may result in termination of your membership. Any such post, and any such portion of a post, may be deleted with or without notice.

Please consider this a formal warning. Our goal is to have a friendly place where everyone shares ideas and information without the level of bickering and angst that other forums tend to create. Your post does not meet this forums goals.

Tom

 

[Lagonda]

Leca blocks ground floor
Rest is wood

Thank you Leif ! So not a lot of bass reinforcement ? Your subs must be very good .

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

4m frontloaded one fold 21 18Sound driver
the rear chamber has a calculated "foam"vent that balances the pressure in rear chamber with pressure in horn...lowers horns impedance severely and makes for an easier load
driven by 2Kw Powersoft module
theoretically I can do 130dB + continuously@30Hz

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

designed by Rune Skramstad at NNNN.no
tried to tell people that they make THE SUBS....most of the rest are just Mickey Mouse toys
Audiophile Bill bought the Devor 30 for his PNOE....guess he´ll get a second
Devon Turnbull of OJAS have done some installations with their subs and caused quite a stir

 

[Lagonda]

4m frontloaded one fold 21 18Sound driver
the rear chamber has a calculated "foam"vent that balances the pressure in rear chamber with pressure in horn...lowers horns impedance severely and makes for an easier load
driven by 2Kw Powersoft module
theoretically I can do 130dB + continuously@30Hz

I have already put your sub amp on my " have to explore" list, if it is good enough for your discriminating ears, it is definitely good enough for me

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

I have already put your sub amp on my " have to explore" list, if it is good enough for your discriminating ears, it is definitely good enough for me

Tim of 13Audio also uses NNNN subs and Powersoft with his dual WE16 setup in Normandie

 

[morricab]

I couldn't disagree w you more. I've heard way more awful sounds in big/custom spaces than I've heard superior sounds in small/non custom spaces.
I'll take Audiophile Bill, Montesquieu Tom, UK Paul, Blue58 sounds over any number of grander more expansive rooms/system complexes. Even Purite Keith with his Cessaro Liszts in a typical London Victorian living room, other than one flaw, kicked total ass.
These are all superlative sounds on so many levels in totally manageable domestic situations.
--
Where we *can* agree is that the room (acoustics/power/noise) is king, and the best sounds are holistic ecosystems, where you can't divorce the system from the room or vice versa.
But this fantasy that you need an enormous custom built room is just that, a fantasy.

Coukd have a lot to do with differences in construction of house in the US (wood frame and dry wall) vs. Europe (brick and concrete). In the US you might need a custom room just to get good sound and in Europe rooms are already closer to ideal based on construction materials used.

 

[Kingrex]

Okay since you don’t want to play along with your own song then here is a video of a multi-million dollar system in a custom built and well treated room:

Here is my humble version, from tonight’s listening session:

I hear something inbetween being the sweet spot. One sounds a bit damped of life, controlled and smooth. The other sounds a bit hot, cupped and mid forward.

 

[PeterA]

Please kindly don't adulterate another thread -- this thread -- with more video wars.

Thank you.

I copied the post into your Videos of Acoustically Coupled....

I commented there and am curious what others think.

 

[PeterA]

Videos at least add some level of evidence to what would otherwise be empty words. You post a lot on here and a video of your system playing would at least add some credibility of where you are coming from. All we can do for now is just assume. I think we can do a little better than that. Some of us don’t hide behind words.

As this is ranking of systems in Ron's mind based on his visits, I actually agree with Carlos, that for the rest of us, it would be kind of interesting to see videos of each system/room for those who have not heard what Ron has heard. Sure we can talk and rank, but if we are not there, what is next best. Videos are What is Next Best Forum.

I have heard DDK's system, but I have not heard the other systems that Ron considers good. I have heard a video of Ron's room and can compare to videos I made of DDK's room. There is a video of Mike's system around somewhere. These videos are not absolutely necessary, and some would say they are even misleading, but for others, they can add context and substance to the ranking. It is all in fun anyway. And everything is subject to change at any time and for any reason.

 

[morricab]

The size of the room determines how good the bass reproduction is (air volume cubic meters).
I have found time and time again that rooms higher than the European standard of 2.5m are particularly good at displaying the soundstage and the realistic size of the musicians and instruments. Even significantly cheaper components far exceeded their price level.
Unfortunately, I'm in the basementView attachment 123741

My room runs from 3 meters high on the speaker end to almost 7 meters high at the other end. This leads to a very expansive sound …very free from congestion.

Typical Swiss quality, brick and concrete but with a wood ceiling.

 

[PeterA]

Ron, as you start this thread after your three day visit to Marty's, could you please tell us a bit about what you think of his sound and the room? Any photos?

 

[morricab]

Ron, as you start this thread after your three day visit to Marty's, could you please tell us a bit about what you think of his sound and the room? Any photos?

Yes, but NO videos…

 

[PeterA]

Where would I put my own room + system?

I would put it in the next five, along with David Karmeli's
room + system and Steve's room + system and Jim Yager's room + system and Don's room + system.

Ron, What distinguishes your top five rooms/systems with the next tier down? Could you get a bit more specific about what you are trying to say in this thread? I find rankings with little to no descriptions pretty empty. You were fairly detailed about ddk's system. Perhaps you could tell us more about the other nine systems, in particular, what you have learned about your own room/system based on your experience with the others.

You wrote this about ddk's system:

"Another perplexing situation to evaluate: David Karmeli's Bionor/Lamm system. David Karmeli's system may achieve the greatest suspension of disbelief for the reproduction of the sound of a piano, and for the creation of the sensation of a life jazz club, that I have ever heard. Does this alone justify assessment as one of my favorite "rooms + systems of all time"?"

You just spent three days with Marty. How was your "suspension of disbelief" and did his system sound like a live jazz club to you? Without videos, I would appreciate some additional written substance to the discussion to substantiate your rankings and provide a better understanding about the interplay between gear, set up and room in the overall result.

 

[thedudeabides]

It wouldn’t make a difference if you did because Fields of Gold cannot be used to evaluate a system, no matter if it is your favourite piece of music or not.

I assume you are not serious. If you are then who are you to say what is good or not good for system evalution? If one mainly listens to female vocalists, it is a very good piece to put in the reference "mix". And a certain piece of music being a favorite certainly does matter to some.

Like all generalizations, the above is simply not true.

 

[Argonaut]

Ron, What distinguishes your top five rooms/systems with the next tier down? Could you get a bit more specific about what you are trying to say in this thread? I find rankings with little to no descriptions pretty empty. You were fairly detailed about ddk's system. Perhaps you could tell us more about the other nine systems, in particular, what you have learned about your own room/system based on your experience with the others.

You wrote this about ddk's system:

"Another perplexing situation to evaluate: David Karmeli's Bionor/Lamm system. David Karmeli's system may achieve the greatest suspension of disbelief for the reproduction of the sound of a piano, and for the creation of the sensation of a life jazz club, that I have ever heard. Does this alone justify assessment as one of my favorite "rooms + systems of all time"?"

You just spent three days with Marty. How was your "suspension of disbelief" and did his system sound like a live jazz club to you? Without videos, I would appreciate some additional written substance to the discussion to substantiate your rankings and provide a better understanding about the interplay between gear, set up and room in the overall result.

Conveniently edited as usual :

” Another perplexing situation to evaluate: David Karmeli's Bionor/Lamm system. David Karmeli's system may achieve the greatest suspension of disbelief for the reproduction of the sound of a piano, and for the creation of the sensation of a life jazz club, that I have ever heard. Does this alone justify assessment as one of my favorite "rooms + systems of all time"?

But I think David's giant loudspeakers are too close together. (I believe David agrees that in a perfect world his listening room would be 35 or 40 feet wide, so the huge Bionors could be more than just a few feet apart.)

In a perfect world David's system probably should be in a room that is 40 feet wide and 60 feet long.

Yet I don't think I ultimately could be completely happy with David's system. I would have a nagging feeling that there is something missing in terms of depth and in terms of oomphy reproduction of the lowest frequencies and the reproduction of "air" and sound-staging ambience from the highest frequencies. “

 

[Carlos269]

I assume you are not serious. If you are then who are you to say what is good or not good for system evalution? If one mainly listens to female vocalists, it is a very good piece to put in the reference "mix". And a certain piece of music being a favorite certainly does matter.

Like all generalizations, the above is simply not true.

I enjoy the sound of my version of Fields of Gold on my new reference horn system the most of any of the ones that I have heard: