After moving house and setting up my system in a completely new listening environment I was rather disappointed!!
After being mothballed for 7 months I was itching to get some music up and running again. I have had a dedicated consumer unit and unswitched mk sockets installed and the room seems well damped.
My system is xs separates with ndac and flatcap xs powering the pre. Neat motive 2 speakers.
Initial set up was a little hasty with cable dressing a little sloppy. The speakers firing lengthways down a broadly rectangular room. Plenty of space around the speakers.
The result was overbearing high frequencies and thin sounding bass frequencies which I suspected maybe due to the system being cold and maybe cable dressing. I left things for a few days and made some minor adjustments to speaker position to no avail.
Last night I started from scratch paying particular attention to cable dressing with a slight improvement but still very high frequency dominant
I then experimented with what I felt was quite radical speaker placement expecting poor results. I ended up with a rather odd arrangement with quite an asymmetrical position with one speaker firing almost directly at my listening position and the other firing at almost a right angle to the opposite speaker. I changed my listening position to the opposite corner of the room and the trebble harshness was gone with a surprisingly stable and satisfying stereo image.
I need to try some more listening but so far I think this maybe the best my system has sounded in comparison to several other houses it has resided in.
I am no expert in room acoustics bit think that first reflection points and maybe my listening position in the corner of the room rather than a flat wall to the rear may be crucial.
Sorry for the long winded post but I hope this helps any members who may be struggling with high frequency issues as I have in the past. I was convinced the positioning would not work so it maybe pays to try something a little counter-intuitive
Regards
Stuart
Ps tried to send a pic but can't seem to sort it on my mobile
Posted on: 09 November 2016 by stuart
My initial thoughts were that my speakers aren't going to work in the room and replacing them was the solution.
Acoustic room treatment was not really going to be an option
I actually think that the stereo image is better than when the speakers were in a more traditional position in my previous two houses. Also despite one speaker being a little closer to my listening position the volume balance is right.
My plan has been to upgrade from xs pre / power to supernait 2. I may sit tight for a while but it would be interesting to know if anyone else has made this transition.
I have also been impressed with pmc 25/23 but I think I need to spend a bit of time familiarising my ears to the new room set up before deciding what aspects I want to improve
Stuart
Posted on: 09 November 2016 by stuart
Finkfan
I hope you reach a satisfactory outcome.
Please post how you get on with things. I probably wouldn't have tried that arrangement if I hadn't read previous posts on room acoustics and system set ups etc. It is an expensive hobby and I guess throwing more money at problems isn't always the best course of action
Stuart
Posted on: 09 November 2016 by TOBYJUG
Yes. Though still looking at that image it definitely looks wrong. Any possibility of showing what the other sides of room are doing. That Radiator looks like the prime space culprit.
facing opposite the fireplace is a listening seat ? Yes. Otherwise think about drawing the speakers closer together in a 3 X 3 tight proximity. Or just fire the speakers across from the long wall firing against.
Posted on: 13 November 2016 by stuart
Hi Tobyjug thanks for the suggestion I took your advice and changed things round. This positioning is far better in all.aspects. The whole tonal balance is improved with high frequency harshness significantly tamed. Bass is more focused along with imaging. SWMBO is also happier with speaker placement just need to try and conceal.the naca5 if possible!! Interesting to note that the original positioning whilst not as good would have been acceptable if given no other options. As a knee jerkin reaction I had a happy afternoon yesterday auditioning a variety of speakers including pmc twenty5 23s, scansonic mb. 2.5, focal aria 926. All great speakers in their own right particularly the pmc's. The next step is a home demand but I do love the meats. They have veryfew downsides and ate so entertaining. I am now thinking to save and look at upgrading the electronics. I hear much praise of the 272/250dr combo. I am however reluctant to ditch the ndac and I guess I need to figure out if an interior dac section in the 272 would be compensated for with a better pre and power.
Regards
Stuart https://www.dropbox.com/s/s03t...3g/DSC_0049.JPG?dl=0
Got it on your first attempt stuart