Sure Justin, I'm very pleased to have been able to shine the light of truth and justice upon you. Anytime.
Visit to Marc C.'s (SpiritOfMusic's) House in England
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
Hey, I've never use two words, when two thousand are available.
The only people I use two words to, are those who diss my sound.
The only people I use two words to, are those who diss my sound.
Just returned from an absolutely fantastic concert, Brighouse And Rastrick Brass Band, in a surprisingly good acoustic, warm, detailed and expansive, sympathetically designed 1500-seat provincial venue.
I've got an absolute soft spot for full pelt brass and percussion...sure I love piano, duos, string quartets etc, but the endorphin release resulting from a stage full of tubas, trombones, trumpets, cornets, tympani, drumset and tuned percussion, remains my favourite.
And to learn the players are all amateurs, getting very little financial reward, sacrificing family time, and playing for the sheer joy of playing AND at an unbelievably fantastic standard, just blows my mind.
So in addition to the good old standards Elgar/Nimrod and Pomp And Circumstance, Rossini/overture Barber Of Seville, R. Strauss/Festmusik Der Stadt Wien, and Katie Moss/The Floral Dance, that just raise the roof, we were graced w fantastically evocative pieces W. Hogarth Lear/Pel Mel, K. Downie/Sea Fever (incl Padstow Lifeboat), Joyce E. Bacak/An Irish Blessing.
And my very favourite from the program, Philip Wilby/finale Paganini Variations.
Other than pure immersion into my happy place listening to my fave live genre, w such enthusiastic, talented musicians, my mind also drifted to the compares and contrasts to music reproduction at home, systems I've heard, my sound, where I need to improve.
First thing to say is that more and more I'm convinced only the best analog, vinyl, and now tape, can really do the reasonable facsimile.
I've heard brilliant digital over the years, incl Extreme, but the tonal density and texture/energy I hear from such a saturated live performance reminds me most of LP and tape. I've heard amazing tape at Audiophile Bill, especially Duke Ellington/Blues In Orbit and Terry Callier, and this playback was jaw-droppingly realistic, especially in mental comparison to tonight's experience. Bill's vinyl playback is fantastic too, especially w DaVa cart in the chain, and again his LP playback nails the kind of density/texture quality that was in abundance tonight, but just out of digital's reach.
My other take is that the horns I've heard are the closest take to live, especially unrestrained dynamics and immediacy, but almost all fail to nail the coherency barrier. The only exception I'm noting is Bill's horns, and by being so coherent where others struggle to be, achieving ethereal levels of transparency, and nailing tone density, supreme texture, and crazy timbral accuracy, I remain totally convinced his horns are the best transducers I've heard by far to create the illusion of live.
And in returning home w the energy of this concert still very present, I'm more convinced than ever Bill's horns are the real deal, whereas so much other stuff is flawed where it really matters, or is close but no cigar.
What I'm happy with is that my Zu evolution has proved to be a relevant journey based on the conclusions I'm drawing from comparison to live.
No, I'm not saying my Zus can come close to matching Bill's horns, or is a close facsimile of live. But my Zu sound is in the vicinity, and ticks the right boxes, more of them, and is performing where it's most important. I'm more and more convinced that avoiding any hollowed out of tone density to create greater apparent perception of detail and over emphasis of high frequencies, is critical to get closer to live. And my Zus right from the start have a fantastic tonal centre of gravity as a result of its main drivers covering 40Hz to 12kHz w no xover components to suck energy out of this range, and gentle transition to non-spotlit tweeters.
My evolution to max out room acoustics, cleanliness of power to my system, and efforts to optimise my analog, have reached an excellent level where the Zus are venturing into the kind of territory where the comparison to live isn't a forlorn hope as was once the case, but a real familarity developing.
Years ago I could never return from a live concert and feel my sound could favourably compare. Now there is way less cognitive dissonance.
And for me, that's a totally positive endgame after a decade of Zus ownership, previous room acoustics issues, and plenty of circular "advances" and dead ends.
I've got an absolute soft spot for full pelt brass and percussion...sure I love piano, duos, string quartets etc, but the endorphin release resulting from a stage full of tubas, trombones, trumpets, cornets, tympani, drumset and tuned percussion, remains my favourite.
And to learn the players are all amateurs, getting very little financial reward, sacrificing family time, and playing for the sheer joy of playing AND at an unbelievably fantastic standard, just blows my mind.
So in addition to the good old standards Elgar/Nimrod and Pomp And Circumstance, Rossini/overture Barber Of Seville, R. Strauss/Festmusik Der Stadt Wien, and Katie Moss/The Floral Dance, that just raise the roof, we were graced w fantastically evocative pieces W. Hogarth Lear/Pel Mel, K. Downie/Sea Fever (incl Padstow Lifeboat), Joyce E. Bacak/An Irish Blessing.
And my very favourite from the program, Philip Wilby/finale Paganini Variations.
Other than pure immersion into my happy place listening to my fave live genre, w such enthusiastic, talented musicians, my mind also drifted to the compares and contrasts to music reproduction at home, systems I've heard, my sound, where I need to improve.
First thing to say is that more and more I'm convinced only the best analog, vinyl, and now tape, can really do the reasonable facsimile.
I've heard brilliant digital over the years, incl Extreme, but the tonal density and texture/energy I hear from such a saturated live performance reminds me most of LP and tape. I've heard amazing tape at Audiophile Bill, especially Duke Ellington/Blues In Orbit and Terry Callier, and this playback was jaw-droppingly realistic, especially in mental comparison to tonight's experience. Bill's vinyl playback is fantastic too, especially w DaVa cart in the chain, and again his LP playback nails the kind of density/texture quality that was in abundance tonight, but just out of digital's reach.
My other take is that the horns I've heard are the closest take to live, especially unrestrained dynamics and immediacy, but almost all fail to nail the coherency barrier. The only exception I'm noting is Bill's horns, and by being so coherent where others struggle to be, achieving ethereal levels of transparency, and nailing tone density, supreme texture, and crazy timbral accuracy, I remain totally convinced his horns are the best transducers I've heard by far to create the illusion of live.
And in returning home w the energy of this concert still very present, I'm more convinced than ever Bill's horns are the real deal, whereas so much other stuff is flawed where it really matters, or is close but no cigar.
What I'm happy with is that my Zu evolution has proved to be a relevant journey based on the conclusions I'm drawing from comparison to live.
No, I'm not saying my Zus can come close to matching Bill's horns, or is a close facsimile of live. But my Zu sound is in the vicinity, and ticks the right boxes, more of them, and is performing where it's most important. I'm more and more convinced that avoiding any hollowed out of tone density to create greater apparent perception of detail and over emphasis of high frequencies, is critical to get closer to live. And my Zus right from the start have a fantastic tonal centre of gravity as a result of its main drivers covering 40Hz to 12kHz w no xover components to suck energy out of this range, and gentle transition to non-spotlit tweeters.
My evolution to max out room acoustics, cleanliness of power to my system, and efforts to optimise my analog, have reached an excellent level where the Zus are venturing into the kind of territory where the comparison to live isn't a forlorn hope as was once the case, but a real familarity developing.
Years ago I could never return from a live concert and feel my sound could favourably compare. Now there is way less cognitive dissonance.
And for me, that's a totally positive endgame after a decade of Zus ownership, previous room acoustics issues, and plenty of circular "advances" and dead ends.
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A question for my learned colleagues out in la la land (sorry, audio land Lol).
My room is very large by UK domestic standards, approx 4x the size in fact, but 70W SETs on 101dB efficient Zus augmented by 300W Class D downfiring subs work very nicely.
My Zus are 8' from front walls, I sit 13' from the Zus, leaving well in excess of 25' behind me to rear walls.
I was perusing the report a while back from Emile of Taiko in his new demo room, even bigger than mine, similarly large distance behind listening position, and he had installed a diffuser some 0.5-1m+ behind his listening position, noting a definite uptick in SQ from his Alsyvox's.
That got me thinking, and w my PETs acoustics fit out, I had a bunch of defunct GIK panels to hand.
So I've just plonked the double thickness absorber about 0.5m behind my seat, and am noticing a small but nonetheless worthwhile improvement.
Imaging seems "shored up", greater flesh and density. So, a solidifying in the image and tonal density I'd say from upper bass well into the mids.
Removing the panel highlights a hazier, more "watery" image.
What's interesting also is that there's deffo a variance in the effect dependent on distance of panel to rear of my seat. Closest to seat is better than no panel, but just a tad less spacious, and a tad "thicker" than 0.5m back, I've yet to try closer to 1m.
Any thoughts as to what might be happening here?
My room is very large by UK domestic standards, approx 4x the size in fact, but 70W SETs on 101dB efficient Zus augmented by 300W Class D downfiring subs work very nicely.
My Zus are 8' from front walls, I sit 13' from the Zus, leaving well in excess of 25' behind me to rear walls.
I was perusing the report a while back from Emile of Taiko in his new demo room, even bigger than mine, similarly large distance behind listening position, and he had installed a diffuser some 0.5-1m+ behind his listening position, noting a definite uptick in SQ from his Alsyvox's.
That got me thinking, and w my PETs acoustics fit out, I had a bunch of defunct GIK panels to hand.
So I've just plonked the double thickness absorber about 0.5m behind my seat, and am noticing a small but nonetheless worthwhile improvement.
Imaging seems "shored up", greater flesh and density. So, a solidifying in the image and tonal density I'd say from upper bass well into the mids.
Removing the panel highlights a hazier, more "watery" image.
What's interesting also is that there's deffo a variance in the effect dependent on distance of panel to rear of my seat. Closest to seat is better than no panel, but just a tad less spacious, and a tad "thicker" than 0.5m back, I've yet to try closer to 1m.
Any thoughts as to what might be happening here?
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it's cutting down on your strongest rear wall reflections, which are a degree of smear of the direct sound. and maybe breaking up a standing wave too.
i'm guessing, or course. i do recall when i treated my rear wall area and how that seemed to work. i have a leather sofa behind my chair which i'm sure is doing something (minor bass trap). my rear wall is hardwood and a wood door with a slanted wall with 4 floor to ceiling bass traps and vinyl storage. so mostly very reflective; the Lp's are diffusive and the bass traps absorptive. my space is large but not quite the space of your room i think.
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Weird Mike, my rear wall is so far away, I find it hard to believe it can have that much influence. Similarly bass nodes, although early in 2022 I'm due to install my final bespoke CosyWool traps in rear corners. I suspect now these will be significant.
Marc
Those reflections have a big time gap with direct sound and woul normally just add to the reverberent feild without smearing but it may not hurt to reduce their volume a bit .. is the panel at head height ... it might be preventing sound going to the rear wall and sheilding some on the way back and just reducing the reverb energy at listening pos a bit
Rear bass traps will be v interesting
Phil
Phil, something definitely is happening, and your take might be right. My rear wall is 40' from my Zus plus another 25' reflected from rear wall back to my listening position. Obviously that 65' isn't enough to totally diffuse, leaving some tendency to swirl or smear. If this panel is doing something, anything, to obstruct this, then it's a positive.
I guess if I was way closer to my rear wall as I was in my old apartment, absorption/diffusion on that wall would have been sufficient.
The panel is 4' high, so yes, reaches head height.
I guess if I was way closer to my rear wall as I was in my old apartment, absorption/diffusion on that wall would have been sufficient.
The panel is 4' high, so yes, reaches head height.
After you
Do you have a bunch of those panels .. have you tried putting them on rear wall
After you deal with early reflection and bass reverb it is often that mid range reverb that may need to be reduced a little ( with caution ).. particularly if you have a low furniture count in the room
Do you have a bunch of those panels .. have you tried putting them on rear wall
Phil, my rear wall is mainly LPs and CDs, so some natural diffusion from those. Other than the rear traps, there's no blank wall to install my spare GIKs against.
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Best early Christmas news ever. My big order of six replacement Soundsmith Straingauge stylii, and upgraded energizer unit, finally ready to be shipped from NYC.
Peter Lederman has put in a sterling effort on top of the most trying circumstances to come thru with this consignment, from my point of view being without LP replay for eight months has been way too long.
I've spent the last six years focussing more on optimising my system than buying/enjoying new LPs, in 2022 that imbalance gets fully remedied...I have the Penguin Guide To Classical Records from 1982 to start helping me build a proper classical collection, and pristine stylii to make use of.
Peter Lederman has put in a sterling effort on top of the most trying circumstances to come thru with this consignment, from my point of view being without LP replay for eight months has been way too long.
I've spent the last six years focussing more on optimising my system than buying/enjoying new LPs, in 2022 that imbalance gets fully remedied...I have the Penguin Guide To Classical Records from 1982 to start helping me build a proper classical collection, and pristine stylii to make use of.
Very nice. Got to love an audiophile Santa Marc… mine is stashing some Moly tubes to go in the stocking with the new Radian beryllium compression drivers Santa has already kindly pre-delivered Ho ho ho… covid transit delays are apparently crushing all the North Pole orders. Besides got to get off Santa’s naughty boy list and back on onto his nice and more natural boy list.
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Well Graham, I've just watched "Elf" with Will Ferrell, and Christmas turns out OK in the end, so I remain confident.
Peter Lederman is a real trooper, despite this wait I'm so happy I have chosen his product and have been a customer of his for close on a decade now.
Good luck with those tubes...
Peter Lederman is a real trooper, despite this wait I'm so happy I have chosen his product and have been a customer of his for close on a decade now.
Good luck with those tubes...
Second straight day of intensive listening to Mark's Sablon Elite power cord modded to platinum plated Bocchino IEC, installed in my Eera Tentation CDP.
Have taken a handful of terse, glare ridden, and more musical, evocative CDs.
Steve Morse/Southern Steel and Sanguine Hum/Diving Bell, as examples of the former, and Miles Davis/Classic Quintet 60s boxset re the latter.
It's been well over a year since I swapped out/in a cable, and several months of my system being super settled w my room acoustics fit out.
This is a spectacular change. Yes, it obliged me to adjust my Zu subs a tad, but interesting as to how the right setting here is immediately noticeable as correct, that suggests I have a better ear, more confident in what's right, and my sound is good. Beats for sure the years where I dillied and dallied on my subs.
What is fascinating is how my previously terse, glassy sounding CDs are way more fleshed out and tonally resolute, yet no blunting of reflexes in those higher frequencies.
There's a greater solidity and calmness in the Steve Morse and Sanguine Hum presentations, but no diminution in energy or leading edge.
On the way more articulate Miles Davis material, there's just a greater sense of organisation in the music, quieter contemplative tracks like Agitation have less wispiness, greater certainty thru quieter passages, the band has real presence despite the delicacy in these pieces.
And upbeat kinetic songs like Freedom Jazz Dance are way better presented re PRaT, the greater low level articulation and stronger fleshed out tone combining to bring real potency to these pieces.
I'm really bowled over by these changes, and it's for me personally further evidence that I've chosen well w Sablon, the cables so helping to draw the very best out of my Zus-based sound.
Have taken a handful of terse, glare ridden, and more musical, evocative CDs.
Steve Morse/Southern Steel and Sanguine Hum/Diving Bell, as examples of the former, and Miles Davis/Classic Quintet 60s boxset re the latter.
It's been well over a year since I swapped out/in a cable, and several months of my system being super settled w my room acoustics fit out.
This is a spectacular change. Yes, it obliged me to adjust my Zu subs a tad, but interesting as to how the right setting here is immediately noticeable as correct, that suggests I have a better ear, more confident in what's right, and my sound is good. Beats for sure the years where I dillied and dallied on my subs.
What is fascinating is how my previously terse, glassy sounding CDs are way more fleshed out and tonally resolute, yet no blunting of reflexes in those higher frequencies.
There's a greater solidity and calmness in the Steve Morse and Sanguine Hum presentations, but no diminution in energy or leading edge.
On the way more articulate Miles Davis material, there's just a greater sense of organisation in the music, quieter contemplative tracks like Agitation have less wispiness, greater certainty thru quieter passages, the band has real presence despite the delicacy in these pieces.
And upbeat kinetic songs like Freedom Jazz Dance are way better presented re PRaT, the greater low level articulation and stronger fleshed out tone combining to bring real potency to these pieces.
I'm really bowled over by these changes, and it's for me personally further evidence that I've chosen well w Sablon, the cables so helping to draw the very best out of my Zus-based sound.
Hard to quite reconcile my day w recently reinstalled tt setup today. I put off quite a few errands around the chapel, and I'm never allowed to do that unless I have good reason.
I know my analog really well, it's always been a sterling performer, just not at the heady heights of the great vinyl I've heard in visits (Audiophile Bill and Montesquieu/Tom, great examples). Let's say a loyal mongrel to their thoroughbred "best of breed".
And every time I've made a change, whether Stacore isolation or SOTA motor or New Terminator arm or bespoke LPS to Straingauge cartridge energizer, it's been wholly worthwhile. Bill getting me to set up my cartridge more carefully was also a big moment.
But my three days with recently refitted Straingauge, the system effectively unchanged from nine months ago when I packed the cartridge/energizer to send back to Soundsmith in NYC, the stylus profile being identical, has been a roller coaster culminating in today, listening to vinyl for 8 hours straight, and struggling to quite describe or reconcile what I'm hearing.
Not just an improvement, but a step change in my vinyl replay.
Now, the setup is the same, so what's bringing this about?
Maybe my setup has just gone that extra step further.
Maybe it's the acoustics changes I've made, mostly put in SUBSEQUENT to my cartridge going away, so I'm hearing my LPs in a way better acoustic.
I can only imagine it's this.
Because vinyl is just filling the room with a whole unheard before level of bloom, density, timbral discrimination, air and spooky imaging, bass definition and extension, and wonderful dynamics.
I've been especially impressed with John Abercrombie/Timeless LP, early 70s on ECM, and Stewart Copeland/Rumblefish LP film soundtrack.
I really know what to expect from these two dearly loved albums. Today, it was a different experience listening to them. The music just became alive and really filled the room. But if my theory is right, the acoustics treatments have minimised nodes and smear in the room, so the music can really emerge and maintain resolution, emotion, and intelligibility.
This feels like a step change in my LP playback. Previously I'd visit stellar setups and return to realise my vinyl was good, but no more than that. Today I feel I've made a major step up that only comes from getting the component and environment right.
To say I'm beyond ecstatic is an understatement. Maybe even an epiphany Lol.
I know my analog really well, it's always been a sterling performer, just not at the heady heights of the great vinyl I've heard in visits (Audiophile Bill and Montesquieu/Tom, great examples). Let's say a loyal mongrel to their thoroughbred "best of breed".
And every time I've made a change, whether Stacore isolation or SOTA motor or New Terminator arm or bespoke LPS to Straingauge cartridge energizer, it's been wholly worthwhile. Bill getting me to set up my cartridge more carefully was also a big moment.
But my three days with recently refitted Straingauge, the system effectively unchanged from nine months ago when I packed the cartridge/energizer to send back to Soundsmith in NYC, the stylus profile being identical, has been a roller coaster culminating in today, listening to vinyl for 8 hours straight, and struggling to quite describe or reconcile what I'm hearing.
Not just an improvement, but a step change in my vinyl replay.
Now, the setup is the same, so what's bringing this about?
Maybe my setup has just gone that extra step further.
Maybe it's the acoustics changes I've made, mostly put in SUBSEQUENT to my cartridge going away, so I'm hearing my LPs in a way better acoustic.
I can only imagine it's this.
Because vinyl is just filling the room with a whole unheard before level of bloom, density, timbral discrimination, air and spooky imaging, bass definition and extension, and wonderful dynamics.
I've been especially impressed with John Abercrombie/Timeless LP, early 70s on ECM, and Stewart Copeland/Rumblefish LP film soundtrack.
I really know what to expect from these two dearly loved albums. Today, it was a different experience listening to them. The music just became alive and really filled the room. But if my theory is right, the acoustics treatments have minimised nodes and smear in the room, so the music can really emerge and maintain resolution, emotion, and intelligibility.
This feels like a step change in my LP playback. Previously I'd visit stellar setups and return to realise my vinyl was good, but no more than that. Today I feel I've made a major step up that only comes from getting the component and environment right.
To say I'm beyond ecstatic is an understatement. Maybe even an epiphany Lol.
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