Marine0811
I love it loud!
Sweet!
Birth of the HiFi room
- Thread starter Cap1
- Start date
Cap1
Super Member
I think I heard the voice of Peter Walker emanating from these one day. The voice was begging to pleases remove these fine crafted loud speakers from the media room where they are subjected daily to endless Kid Cudi, video games and other teenager shenanigans and put them in a proper listening space. If only for a day.
I have forgotten just how good a small monitor can be. They disappear into the soundstage and seem to be a perfect fit for the size of the room. Mabey I will keep these downstairs and find something else to use in the media room.
I have forgotten just how good a small monitor can be. They disappear into the soundstage and seem to be a perfect fit for the size of the room. Mabey I will keep these downstairs and find something else to use in the media room.
sqlsavior
Lunatic Member
Small, boxy rooms are an uphill sonic battle. A near-field setup like @E-Stat suggested might work better even if it seems a little strange. I wonder if the bass would improve if you left the door open? You may find that your system simply works better in a larger, more irregular room, such as one that is part of an "open floor plan".
Diffusion may help in addition to absorption. Check out some of @tomlinmgt 's threads in the Listening Spaces forum:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/confessions-of-a-diffusion-junkie.547132/
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....means-why-its-importat-how-to-find-it.446798/
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/diy-11-well-1d-qrd-diffuser.535105/
I believe E-Stat uses ficus plants to accomplish a similar goal.
I think it is absolutely smashing that your obviously talented wife is fighting with you instead of against you! Maybe try the passive line stage that she liked, again?
Buena suerte!
Diffusion may help in addition to absorption. Check out some of @tomlinmgt 's threads in the Listening Spaces forum:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/confessions-of-a-diffusion-junkie.547132/
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....means-why-its-importat-how-to-find-it.446798/
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/diy-11-well-1d-qrd-diffuser.535105/
I believe E-Stat uses ficus plants to accomplish a similar goal.
I think it is absolutely smashing that your obviously talented wife is fighting with you instead of against you! Maybe try the passive line stage that she liked, again?
Buena suerte!
Cap1
Super Member
Thanks sqsavior. Ironically our house is an open floorplan this room is the only room that is inclosed downstairs.. The rest of the downstairs is just one big room and it does sound great along with our loft which is our “media” room. But the door is the most important part of the HiFi room. It seems to keep the wife happy. Especially when I listen to something she does not care for and the door is closed.
Cap1
Super Member
Two changes made this weekend. One was cheap and easy. As suggested we moved the speakers about another foot away from the wall. The other was to replace the Music Hall 25.2 CD player with the Rotel 1072. I like the brushed aluminum face plate and the retro looks of the Music Hall but the Rotel just sound so much better. Which makes no sense to me because they are fed into the Sonica DAC via coax. To me they should sound basically the same.
The wife and I also ordered the Overnight Sensations speaker Kit from Parts Express. She is to figure out how they are to finish and to perform the labor. Not sure about the crossover. Neither of us know which end of a soldering iron to hold. They are going to be pared with a Sansui QR-4500 Receiver which I am picking up today. I just need to find a cheap wireless streamer and this should complete either a system for the sunroom or living room.
The wife and I also ordered the Overnight Sensations speaker Kit from Parts Express. She is to figure out how they are to finish and to perform the labor. Not sure about the crossover. Neither of us know which end of a soldering iron to hold. They are going to be pared with a Sansui QR-4500 Receiver which I am picking up today. I just need to find a cheap wireless streamer and this should complete either a system for the sunroom or living room.
Cap1
Super Member
For $75 I brought home this Sansui QR-4500. I know it is not a highly in demand model but it was purchased for something cheap that could be a conversation item and produce sound in our sunroom or living room.
I tested out the tuner. One channel dead the other week and crackly. I unplugged it and left it on the workbench. When I could find time, I would drop it off with the tech to see if he could get it into some kind of reasonable condition.
The wife saw it and said it was really cool and asked how did it sound. I told her I try the tuner and it did not really work. She ask if I tried any other input and I said no. So she says, bring it in and try it out. I mutter about the thing being 50lb, dragging out cables unplugging things, nowhere to put it ect.
Yes She won.
I hooked up the Sonica to the aux inputs to the Sansui and the Sansui to the Martin Logans. Powered everything up and pressed play on the Rotel CD player which happen to have a disk of the Tom Petty box set cued. Listen to one song hit pause, went to scurry off to find some cables to put the subwoofer to into the preamp loop. Un paused pure magic. Silky smooth midrange, a deep 3D soundstage detailed but very mellow highs. And with the sub covering everything from 100hz to below 20hz it is by far the best sounding and most enjoyable audio system that I’ve heard and actually own at the same time. No crackly sounds, no hums, no mushroom clouds. How can this be? Mind you I’ve never owned high end stuff. Mostly mid fi. Rotel, NAD, Adcom and the like. But this thing is a 45-year-old receiver which I assume was sold in department stores which I paid $75 for has kinda turned my whole world off kilter. Listen for many hours mostly via Tidal. Things only seem to get better. Did not try the phono stage or the headphone amp. Maybe I just had too much to drink. I hope it still sound that good tonight. If so it has earned a place in the main system and will get a complete overhaul.
I tested out the tuner. One channel dead the other week and crackly. I unplugged it and left it on the workbench. When I could find time, I would drop it off with the tech to see if he could get it into some kind of reasonable condition.
The wife saw it and said it was really cool and asked how did it sound. I told her I try the tuner and it did not really work. She ask if I tried any other input and I said no. So she says, bring it in and try it out. I mutter about the thing being 50lb, dragging out cables unplugging things, nowhere to put it ect.
Yes She won.
I hooked up the Sonica to the aux inputs to the Sansui and the Sansui to the Martin Logans. Powered everything up and pressed play on the Rotel CD player which happen to have a disk of the Tom Petty box set cued. Listen to one song hit pause, went to scurry off to find some cables to put the subwoofer to into the preamp loop. Un paused pure magic. Silky smooth midrange, a deep 3D soundstage detailed but very mellow highs. And with the sub covering everything from 100hz to below 20hz it is by far the best sounding and most enjoyable audio system that I’ve heard and actually own at the same time. No crackly sounds, no hums, no mushroom clouds. How can this be? Mind you I’ve never owned high end stuff. Mostly mid fi. Rotel, NAD, Adcom and the like. But this thing is a 45-year-old receiver which I assume was sold in department stores which I paid $75 for has kinda turned my whole world off kilter. Listen for many hours mostly via Tidal. Things only seem to get better. Did not try the phono stage or the headphone amp. Maybe I just had too much to drink. I hope it still sound that good tonight. If so it has earned a place in the main system and will get a complete overhaul.
Cap1
Super Member
Ok back to reality and simplicity. The wife finally listened to the Sansui receiver. When I asked her how it sounded she politely said “different”. Mabey, I went too far with the warm and fuzzy sound. The Oppo Sonica is back as a line stage with the Sansui and “M7” preamp got benched. The Martin Logans now are rolled off naturally with sub crossover set to 40hz. The sound is fantastic. crisp, clear, detailed, transparent and extremely enjoyable. The best the room has ever sounded.
Cap1
Super Member
Thanks all. I guess it would not have been as fun if there were not any challenges.
The early days desperation room treatment:
Forget wife approval even the pooch was shocked and a bit embarrassed all at the same time.
Our latest experiment to fine tune. Very unscientific but hey it was less than $25.
Still a work in process.
My expert wood finisher has a backlog so I might have to put up with the bare wood for a while.
The early days desperation room treatment:
Forget wife approval even the pooch was shocked and a bit embarrassed all at the same time.
Our latest experiment to fine tune. Very unscientific but hey it was less than $25.
Still a work in process.
My expert wood finisher has a backlog so I might have to put up with the bare wood for a while.
KDAC
Addicted Member
You have an excellent system situated in a lovely decor, Cap1. How do I know? Your dog wasted no time finding its "sweet spot" and getting lost in Abbey Road by The Beatles. Your wife did a great job with the aesthetic in regard to the acoustic paneling, the SVS is well-placed, and the plants add an even more relaxing touch to the room.
Cap1
Super Member
Thanks KDAC. I have to fight the pooch for the sweet spot all the time.
We are now working on a system for the living room which will have to have aesthetics in mind, such as no panel speakers or 150lb subs and then do something with the “media” room. Which at the moment is a disaster for music. We don’t watch much TV and have yet to even watch one movie since we set this thing up almost a year and a half ago.
We are going to shrink the screen to get the left speaker away from the wall which I hope will help out some.
I don’t know the model number on the Sony receiver but it was a $200 Best Buy special. An old Oppo SD DVD, a Roku, Quad 11L speakers and a Velodyne SPL 10 sub.
For this room somehow, we are going have to combine one button to turn on the TV simplicity with a HDMI switching device that sounds good without spending a lot of money. I’m not sure what that solution looks like.
We are now working on a system for the living room which will have to have aesthetics in mind, such as no panel speakers or 150lb subs and then do something with the “media” room. Which at the moment is a disaster for music. We don’t watch much TV and have yet to even watch one movie since we set this thing up almost a year and a half ago.
We are going to shrink the screen to get the left speaker away from the wall which I hope will help out some.
I don’t know the model number on the Sony receiver but it was a $200 Best Buy special. An old Oppo SD DVD, a Roku, Quad 11L speakers and a Velodyne SPL 10 sub.
For this room somehow, we are going have to combine one button to turn on the TV simplicity with a HDMI switching device that sounds good without spending a lot of money. I’m not sure what that solution looks like.
Many if not all of us have had the same feeling. It is why we are on AK. It is why there is a bias toward vintage here. It is just that to many of us the vintage sound is the sound that we enjoy. Opinions may vary as to which is best but we all agree that we are right and most everyone else is not.
Cap1
Super Member
I guess I like the “vintage” sound and the “modern” sound. Although the amp in my “modern” system is 22 years old.
In an attempt to get my Rotel integrated back from my son who has become a squatter in our spare bedroom, I was on Craig’s List browsing for a 1990’s receiver to give him. I found something much more interesting. So I pealed out of work early and pick these up on the way home.
Ok someone did a pretty bad job on the grills but my wife will fix that. She also has been bugging me for a veneer project to try so that was my excuse for spending $100 on a 45+ year old speaker.
The Woofers have been re foamed and in general they are in good shape. With a beatup copy of Master of Reality on the table I gave them a try. Well I really was not impressed with what 1971 sounded like. With better recordings things improved a lot. The sound stage and imaging is quite good. For such a large speaker with a large baffle they do a good job disappearing into the sound stage. They integrate well with my sub and do a better job then my Martin Logans in the bottom end. We, or I should say I listened to them for a good four hours last night. My wife, after about a 60 seconds scrunched up her nose, shook her head and walked out of the room. They are a bit fatiguing to listen to but for a $100 they have very good bass and lower midrange and do vocals very well.
I snagged two flower pots off the shelf for stands ($1 for the pair at GW) I’m going to fill them with concrete to make them permeant speaker stands.
Erse has the NPE caps and would cost me a total of $2.24 but shipping would be $14.
In an attempt to get my Rotel integrated back from my son who has become a squatter in our spare bedroom, I was on Craig’s List browsing for a 1990’s receiver to give him. I found something much more interesting. So I pealed out of work early and pick these up on the way home.
Ok someone did a pretty bad job on the grills but my wife will fix that. She also has been bugging me for a veneer project to try so that was my excuse for spending $100 on a 45+ year old speaker.
The Woofers have been re foamed and in general they are in good shape. With a beatup copy of Master of Reality on the table I gave them a try. Well I really was not impressed with what 1971 sounded like. With better recordings things improved a lot. The sound stage and imaging is quite good. For such a large speaker with a large baffle they do a good job disappearing into the sound stage. They integrate well with my sub and do a better job then my Martin Logans in the bottom end. We, or I should say I listened to them for a good four hours last night. My wife, after about a 60 seconds scrunched up her nose, shook her head and walked out of the room. They are a bit fatiguing to listen to but for a $100 they have very good bass and lower midrange and do vocals very well.
I snagged two flower pots off the shelf for stands ($1 for the pair at GW) I’m going to fill them with concrete to make them permeant speaker stands.
Erse has the NPE caps and would cost me a total of $2.24 but shipping would be $14.
Cap 1,
I very much enjoyed this thread and laughed out loud many times.
I can especially relate, since I'll be facing a similar dilemma.
I've been afforded a spare room in my baby mom's brand new home, to be completed Oct.1st.
It's pretty much square, 12 by 13, 9 foot ceilings. I'm for the first time gonna base it on a sub, an SVS sb2000. on the way. mated to my NS 1000s. I also got the same rack as yours ,but red shelves. So we''ll see how it goes.
It's been a couple of weeks since your last post. How's the system playing now?
stan
I very much enjoyed this thread and laughed out loud many times.
I can especially relate, since I'll be facing a similar dilemma.
I've been afforded a spare room in my baby mom's brand new home, to be completed Oct.1st.
It's pretty much square, 12 by 13, 9 foot ceilings. I'm for the first time gonna base it on a sub, an SVS sb2000. on the way. mated to my NS 1000s. I also got the same rack as yours ,but red shelves. So we''ll see how it goes.
It's been a couple of weeks since your last post. How's the system playing now?
stan
Cap1
Super Member
Hey Stan, we are quite happy with it. My room is an L shape with the narrowest width being 10’ and 12’ long with 10’ ceiling. The speakers are about 7’ foot from ears when seated. I plan on getting the SB2000 for this room also. Which was the original plan but I got such a good deal on the PB-12.
Cap1
Super Member
The Large Advents wore out their welcome fast. After they are recapped and veneered they will go into the media room. I did find it odd when I pulled out the woofer that they were stuffed with heavy upholstery foam not some type of poly fill.
Ad hoc amp stand. Waiting for the funding for another Audio Advisor stand.
I did figure out which end of a soldering to hold, and very quickly I might add. So one of the crossovers for the Overnight Sensations is complete and shockingly seems to work. The wife is working cabinets finish.
The Sansui is getting the same treatment. The plan is for them to be a table top system in our living room/dining room/kitchen area. Although it is a very large area so even with a sub I think the 3.5” woofers in the OS will not be up for the task
Ad hoc amp stand. Waiting for the funding for another Audio Advisor stand.
I did figure out which end of a soldering to hold, and very quickly I might add. So one of the crossovers for the Overnight Sensations is complete and shockingly seems to work. The wife is working cabinets finish.
The Sansui is getting the same treatment. The plan is for them to be a table top system in our living room/dining room/kitchen area. Although it is a very large area so even with a sub I think the 3.5” woofers in the OS will not be up for the task
Cap1
Super Member
Since the cheap Chinese “Marantz M7 replica” preamp has spent less time in the signal path over the last few weeks and I realized it was just taking up rack space. So it has been removed and it’s future is unknown. The Wife is happy because everything is off the floor now. Just need to do some cable management.
The Overnight Sensation project concluded in a successful way. Success meaning there were no injuries, no mushroom clouds, not even a blown fuse and the things actually make sound. We did learn how to un-joint a glued joint when I glued a top panel to the bottom of the cabinet.
They made a brief appearance in the main listening room. The wife was impressed with the sound from such a small speaker but after a couple of hours they became very tiring to listen to. They will sit in limbo until the Sansui QR-4500 gets an internal overhall.
The Overnight Sensation project concluded in a successful way. Success meaning there were no injuries, no mushroom clouds, not even a blown fuse and the things actually make sound. We did learn how to un-joint a glued joint when I glued a top panel to the bottom of the cabinet.
They made a brief appearance in the main listening room. The wife was impressed with the sound from such a small speaker but after a couple of hours they became very tiring to listen to. They will sit in limbo until the Sansui QR-4500 gets an internal overhall.
Archguy
Official Roiurama Factory Rep
I really like this photo, but consider the addition of a matching rack on the left side of the sub. Not only do I like symmetry, but you'll have more room for your TT etc and best of all more room for expansion. BTW, really nice panels, including the newest wood one. And your wife is something of a wizard I think.
