Visit to Marc C.'s (SpiritOfMusic's) House in England

[KeithR]

I think you are confusing Justin with someone else.
Justin has Apogees
But then again, I also have Apogees and have/had Odeons

my bad!

 

[PeterA]

Justin, instead of talking about theoretical rooms Lol, here in the real world (if calling anything real in this crazy hobby isn't an oxymoron!)...

Install of new tonearm has got me making a whole series of changes. From dropping my subs output drastically, to now removing Panzerholz slabs AND Symposium Acoustics Svelte Shelves from under my Zus. Now the Zus are on Revopods footers direct on the floor.

Removing the Panz really tightened up the upper mids/treble re sharper, more ordered presentation, more air.

Removing the Sveltes has tightened up the lower mids and esp bass. Kick drums way more articulate, bass harmonics nicely fleshed out.

No general conclusion to draw other than maybe that extra 2" of height wasn't ideal esp re tweeter. But the change is hugely welcome, having it at both ends of the spectrum is a bonus.

And that mixing tweaks is maybe a mistake.

I also tried going back to stock spikes, but Revopods way superior. Freeing up my Sveltes is great for using them elsewhere in my system.

Mark what do you think has more effect on the overall sound, removing the stacked stuff under the speakers or changing the height of the speakers relative to your ears? I guess it doesn’t really matter if the sound is better after the changes.

 

[spiritofmusic]

You tell me, Peter. Removing one layer reduces ht by 1.5", upper mids/treble clarified, removing the remaining layer, 0.5", vastly tightens up bass. As you say, it doesn't matter, the effect is what's critical. And the Revopods really prove their worth. I was certainly hampering them before.

What did you say about that winding road?

 

[christoph]

No still there I am about to move into the place pictured above. Before Xmas is possible but probably early next year.

Definitely come over to the new place if you come back to the UK it is an amazing house/listening room upgrade.

Very nice

 

[PeterA]

What did you say about that winding road?

It is long and curvy. There are also stop signs along the way. Progress at your own pace.

 

[spiritofmusic]

I thought that was a beautiful woman in 2019.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Peter, I guess its a long and winding road alright, hopefully with a number of reasonable destinations. I'd hate to think it's a Möbius Loop, an audio Groundhog Day.

For my part, there are tweaks that I rejected at the demo stage eg Ultra 5s, Iso Acoustics Gaias, Entreq Atlantis.

There are those I've gotten rid of eg Shun Mook, certain spkrs isolation like Rollerblocks and Panzerholz/Symposium.

Those that were dramatic in one location but less so in another, and JUST about justify staying in eg Entreq.

And those that are absolutely slam dunk positive and critical to my current sound, incl careful treatment of my space, my current cbls, current footers under my Zus, platform under my tt, rack/component footers, balanced transformer, dedicated lines and duplexes.

I absolutely know what I'm trying to achieve based on what I've heard in other exemplary systems.

And now I can sort the tweak from the chaff Lol.

 

[PeterA]

That's good news Marc. Do you plan to try the Panzerholtz under any other components? What did you not like about the Shun Mook and Ultra 5s? Finally, how does the sound of the system change when the Stacore is deflated?

 

[spiritofmusic]

Peter, maybe I should follow the example of Tang Lol. The Panz I'm using is industrial grade Delignet, and if I'm likely to use it, it'll be maybe under my Entreq stack.

I'm wary of discussing my negative experience of the Mooks, at the risk again of Ked telling me I installed them here incorrectly. For me, they seem very situation dependent - in my old space that was a challenge re tonality and fullness of sound, the Mooks introduced a really palpable full texture, that was truly addictive. Here, in my current space that is way calmer and naturally warm, the Mooks overegged the sound, introducing some kind of resonance enhancement that stuck out like a sore thumb (caveat re incorrect install according to Ked).

Ultra 5s just struck a nerve w me. The initially engaging verviness being revealed as a tipping up of my frequency balance, and soon jarring on everything.

Stacore doesn't lose it's core goodness when it's deflated, music just becomes a little harder. This was noticeable recently as the sound from my vinyl became a little less engaging, leading me to discover the Stacore under my tt needed pumping up.

 

[Zero000]

Ked's a nice chap. Really he is. Just a bit hard of hearing. He thinks Henk's Apogees are better than mine. Which is of course hilarious

 

[spiritofmusic]

And they say I go around in circles.

 

[Zero000]

Try Mag Lev feet. When aligned right they seem to isolate well once I got mine right. But as with most isolation products they cannot stop airborne input, which can be substantial at volume depending on placement.

 

[Stacore]

Stacore doesn't lose it's core goodness when it's deflated, music just becomes a little harder. This was noticeable recently as the sound from my vinyl became a little less engaging, leading me to discover the Stacore under my tt needed pumping up.

The roller bearings and the massive base of the Advanced platform doing their job
Cheers,

 

[spiritofmusic]

They certainly are, Jarek. The platform is fine deflated, but most of the magic comes when it's inflated correctly.

I'm wearing a grin as wide as this room listening to my system atm. So many things have come together, to produce a sound that is way closer to live unamplified. Returned from a fantastic classical concert yesterday, and the bridge from my sound feels a lot closer.

Critically, I'm getting way less smear from subs into mids from my full range drivers, and less raggedness from those drivers into my tweeters.

This is producing the twin benefits of greater agility and sharpness w no compromise on natural warmth and texture.

I have been going in this direction for a while, but what I hadn't bargained for has been this genuinely big uptick in imaging, both width and depth, and way more natural decay. I know it can be a cliche talking about sound that reaches well behind the plane of the spkrs, and expands past the side walls, but this is what I'm getting. Zus aren't noted for soundstaging, it shows what attention to system matching, noise and vibration control can achieve.

So, in addition to the totally positive benefits of my room/moderate use of GIKacoustics panels/spkrs setup and ideal listening position (courtesy of invaluable help from Barry/Blue58), more silent preamp tubes, Sablon cables w Bocchino connectors, and Stacore platforms under my tt and balanced power transformer, that have been underpinning my sound for a while, my recent changes of New Terminator air LT tonearm, and Revopods isolated Zus direct onto the floor (removing pre existing Delignet Panzerholz/Symposium Svelte sandwich btwn Revopods and flr), have really supercharged things here.

I'm feeling pretty chuffed that the choices I've made recently are paying off in spades, making my sound way more expansive, linear, neutral, timbrally accurate, tonally truthful and transparent, while losing none of my core Zu brand DNA of tonal density and dynamic shove.

And despite widespread skepticism Zu can't cut the mustard over the whole checklist of audiophile attributes, I'm discovering to my delight they most certainly can, in spades.

 

[Lagonda]

They certainly are, Jarek. The platform is fine deflated, but most of the magic comes when it's inflated correctly.

I'm wearing a grin as wide as this room listening to my system atm. So many things have come together, to produce a sound that is way closer to live unamplified. Returned from a fantastic classical concert yesterday, and the bridge from my sound feels a lot closer.

Critically, I'm getting way less smear from subs into mids from my full range drivers, and less raggedness from those drivers into my tweeters.

This is producing the twin benefits of greater agility and sharpness w no compromise on natural warmth and texture.

I have been going in this direction for a while, but what I hadn't bargained for has been this genuinely big uptick in imaging, both width and depth, and way more natural decay. I know it can be a cliche talking about sound that reaches well behind the plane of the spkrs, and expands past the side walls, but this is what I'm getting. Zus aren't noted for soundstaging, it shows what attention to system matching, noise and vibration control can achieve.

So, in addition to the totally positive benefits of my room/moderate use of GIKacoustics panels/spkrs setup and ideal listening position (courtesy of invaluable help from Barry/Blue58), more silent preamp tubes, Sablon cables w Bocchino connectors, and Stacore platforms under my tt and balanced power transformer, that have been underpinning my sound for a while, my recent changes of New Terminator air LT tonearm, and Revopods isolated Zus direct onto the floor (removing pre existing Delignet Panzerholz/Symposium Svelte sandwich btwn Revopods and flr), have really supercharged things here.

I'm feeling pretty chuffed that the choices I've made recently are paying off in spades, making my sound way more expansive, linear, neutral, timbrally accurate, tonally truthful and transparent, while losing none of my core Zu brand DNA of tonal density and dynamic shove.

And despite widespread skepticism Zu can't cut the mustard over the whole checklist of audiophile attributes, I'm discovering to my delight they most certainly can, in spades.

I don’t know how much your system has changed but your descriptions
have truly improved !
Did you take a online course by
Fremer ?

 

[spiritofmusic]

Not one by Fremer, but another one entitled "How to spread fake news".

 

[spiritofmusic]

Seriously Lagonda, the triple lock of a genuinely helpful acoustic, going to a classical concert on average fortnightly, and the visits to several truly impressive systems, has given me the perspective on where I need to be going w my sound.

After over a decade of misfires and detours, I finally a few years back hit on the ingredients needed for my core sound today. The last 3 years has been refining the recipe, stirring the pot, adjusting the temperature, and getting the seasoning "just" right.

 

[Lagonda]

Not one by Fremer, but another one entitled "How to spread fake news".

I tried reading “Audiophile reviewing for dummies “ but it was to complicated for me.
I’ll stick to making cheap shots at you and Ked

 

[spiritofmusic]

Audiophile egos make very practical target practice.

 

[Lagonda]

Seriously Lagonda, the triple lock of a genuinely helpful acoustic, going to a classical concert on average fortnightly, and the visits to several truly impressive systems, has given me the perspective on where I need to be going w my sound.

After over a decade of misfires and detours, I finally hit on the ingredients needed for my core sound today. The last 3 years has been refining the recipe, stirring the pot, adjusting the temperature, and getting the seasoning "just" right.

Good for you ! Personally I have
made great strides forward gear wise, and realized my acoustics
had to be rearranged !
Last listening session I rearranged some diffusers, moved my listening position half a meter forward and
was rewarded with a totally unexpected improvement of ambience retrieval !
Thanks to Duke and his recent tread
on acoustics ! I could have kicked
myself afterwards for not having experimented after inserting new
amps and crossover settings