I have promised several of you an update on my journey and my thoughts on the MSB audition (and outcomes). I will do so in in installments as I have time (seems to be something I am perpetually short on). I am not sure how many installments but I figure:
1) Background
2) Research & Short List
3) Feedback & Scope Creep
4) Audition
5) Outcome
6) Installation & Initial Setup
7) A month later
Of course the aim of this post is to share with people that have contributed to the journey and in the decision process, so please ask away and I will do my best to reply.
1) Background
We bought a new house (to us) in 2022, the house was built in 2019, we moved in 2023. The house is generally open concept as you can see in the floor plan.
My main speakers until then had been a pair of ProAC Response 2.5, they are driven by a Classe CAP-151, the source is a Bluesound Node connected to a Wyred 4 Sound DAC with Nordost cables and a REL T5, while the system is enjoyable and worked in our old house as the rooms were very small I felt and upgrade was required to handle the significantly larger space.
I have always enjoyed B&W's detailed and crystal clear sound, and my wife really loves the fit and finish and esthetics of the 805 D4 so after listening to a bunch of systems we found one that looks great and sounds pretty good in the space. I ended up getting a pair or 805 D4's powered by a NAD M33 via Kimber Cable TC-12 and I upgraded the REL's to T/7x, all I can say is it sounded awful! But that was not terribly unexpected the 805s needed a bit of TLC to work in this space which I knew would be the case, which is why I chose the NAD M33, one SW upgrade later to get the full frequency version of DIRAC Live and the tweaking began. I will post the native vs. tweaked curves when I get a chance but the result was pretty decent, not amazing but clear, large sound stage, precise and musical.
Now a segway, in my view everything in life is a compromise, the stereo is a balance between sound quality, enjoyment, esthetics, ability to enjoy music but also the ability to enjoy life (travel, food, security, time outside, hiking, etc.). This view is central to my stereo journey so please keep it in mind when we get to the Research installment.
Ok many days/months later that nagging feeling something isn't right just kept growing and the issue was on the low frequency side (to be honest the 805's do a great job in the high frequency range and they are not bad at the mids either, in a smaller space I think they will be fine for the full spectrum but in my space I found them lacking. No worries a pair REL S/812's to the rescue, well no they actually completely broke my system.
They absolutely provided the low end I was looking for, they are simply fantastic subs BUT they are too large to be placed in the ideal spot so REL Airships got installed, the Subs moved to the opposite wall and that problem was solved.
Ok, back to tweaking, more movement, more tweaking, more DIRAC curves, and so on for 2+ weeks until I finally gave up. This combination simply isn't doing it for me. The issue for me is there is a dip that I simply can't get rid with the setup I have, I might be able to if I run the subs of the M33 sub output not of the speakers as REL recommends. I might if I painstakingly manually tweak the DIRAC curve one tiny bit at the time but I don't have the time or energy too. The REL S/812 simply overpowers the 805 in a couple spots, I can move the cross over and the amplification and the DIRAC correction curves and solve 1 or sometimes 2 of the issues but never to the degree that makes me say this is perfect, sure it's GOOD and almost everyone that listens to the system comments on how nice it sounds but to me it's just generally good and sure I can live with it but I know it can be improved upon.
Almost done the first installment, my health has deteriorated a lot the last couple of years and I realize that there is a possibility I wont turn 80. This in combination with the fact that I have had some great opportunities in life, which have given me some financial buffer and most importantly my wife saying I should for once do something for me led me on a quest for a speaker upgrade, but that is the next installment.
1) Background
2) Research & Short List
3) Feedback & Scope Creep
4) Audition
5) Outcome
6) Installation & Initial Setup
7) A month later
Of course the aim of this post is to share with people that have contributed to the journey and in the decision process, so please ask away and I will do my best to reply.
1) Background
We bought a new house (to us) in 2022, the house was built in 2019, we moved in 2023. The house is generally open concept as you can see in the floor plan.
My main speakers until then had been a pair of ProAC Response 2.5, they are driven by a Classe CAP-151, the source is a Bluesound Node connected to a Wyred 4 Sound DAC with Nordost cables and a REL T5, while the system is enjoyable and worked in our old house as the rooms were very small I felt and upgrade was required to handle the significantly larger space.
I have always enjoyed B&W's detailed and crystal clear sound, and my wife really loves the fit and finish and esthetics of the 805 D4 so after listening to a bunch of systems we found one that looks great and sounds pretty good in the space. I ended up getting a pair or 805 D4's powered by a NAD M33 via Kimber Cable TC-12 and I upgraded the REL's to T/7x, all I can say is it sounded awful! But that was not terribly unexpected the 805s needed a bit of TLC to work in this space which I knew would be the case, which is why I chose the NAD M33, one SW upgrade later to get the full frequency version of DIRAC Live and the tweaking began. I will post the native vs. tweaked curves when I get a chance but the result was pretty decent, not amazing but clear, large sound stage, precise and musical.
Now a segway, in my view everything in life is a compromise, the stereo is a balance between sound quality, enjoyment, esthetics, ability to enjoy music but also the ability to enjoy life (travel, food, security, time outside, hiking, etc.). This view is central to my stereo journey so please keep it in mind when we get to the Research installment.
Ok many days/months later that nagging feeling something isn't right just kept growing and the issue was on the low frequency side (to be honest the 805's do a great job in the high frequency range and they are not bad at the mids either, in a smaller space I think they will be fine for the full spectrum but in my space I found them lacking. No worries a pair REL S/812's to the rescue, well no they actually completely broke my system.
They absolutely provided the low end I was looking for, they are simply fantastic subs BUT they are too large to be placed in the ideal spot so REL Airships got installed, the Subs moved to the opposite wall and that problem was solved.
Ok, back to tweaking, more movement, more tweaking, more DIRAC curves, and so on for 2+ weeks until I finally gave up. This combination simply isn't doing it for me. The issue for me is there is a dip that I simply can't get rid with the setup I have, I might be able to if I run the subs of the M33 sub output not of the speakers as REL recommends. I might if I painstakingly manually tweak the DIRAC curve one tiny bit at the time but I don't have the time or energy too. The REL S/812 simply overpowers the 805 in a couple spots, I can move the cross over and the amplification and the DIRAC correction curves and solve 1 or sometimes 2 of the issues but never to the degree that makes me say this is perfect, sure it's GOOD and almost everyone that listens to the system comments on how nice it sounds but to me it's just generally good and sure I can live with it but I know it can be improved upon.
Almost done the first installment, my health has deteriorated a lot the last couple of years and I realize that there is a possibility I wont turn 80. This in combination with the fact that I have had some great opportunities in life, which have given me some financial buffer and most importantly my wife saying I should for once do something for me led me on a quest for a speaker upgrade, but that is the next installment.
