Rig nearly done! Help with fine tuning and room treatment [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Mike Anderson
02-04-2006, 03:30 PM
Well, the 1.6's FINALLY arrived!! I'm breaking em in now. They have plenty of resolution and bass, but they *definitely* need to be broken in. The bass is relatively soft and flubby, and the high freqs are somewhat grainy. I expect both to tighten up over time.

So at this point, I think I'm very nearly done with gear-buying (knock on wood). Here's my rig so far:

Music stored in FLAC lossless format on 500GB LaCie hard drive ->
Squeezebox 2, digital out ->
Benchmark DAC1, balanced outputs ->
Pathos Logos integrated amp ->
Speltz anti-cables, bi-wired ->
Magnepan 1.6's.

I'm also running a digital signal out of my DVD player at 24bit/96khz into the Benchmark DAC1 for the handful of DVD's I have that work with that.

Mye stands are on the way; I'm mounting them on wheels so that I can move the speakers back towards the walls when we have parties and such.

That's it! Very elegant and simple, in my estimation. :cool: I *may* add eq for room issues, depending on how well room treatment works.

Which is where I am now: Once the speakers are broken in and I've got the speaker placement down, I want to deal with the room itself. As you can see from the shot below, I've got glass French doors behind the speakers (presently covered by Auralex 4" foam), another set of French doors behind and to the right of the speakers, and there's also a large window (about 4'x5') on the left wall.

Right now, the sound is a little on the bright side. In certain pieces of music (e.g. a soprano, or a trumpet) the hi end is a little too piercing. 95% of the time it's fine, just on certain passages it isn't.

So I'd like to soften up the room a little, and maybe deal with any humps/dips in the low end.

Advice? Critiques? Etc?

http://static.flickr.com/25/95506015_927d70d283_o.jpg

BTW, thanks to everyone who advised me in putting this together: Florian, Bernd (who send me some lovely vintage tubes for the Logos!), Woochifer and everybody else! You folks have all been amazingly helpful!! :) :)

Florian
02-04-2006, 03:34 PM
HARHARHARHRA------LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Hit me with your phone number

Geoffcin
02-04-2006, 05:23 PM
Good luck, and many happy years with your maggies!

Mike Anderson
02-04-2006, 10:23 PM
Well I put some more Auralex over the window on the left, and I covered the TV screen on the left with a blanket. The piercing high problem is GONE, and now it sounds sweeter than ever!

I swear, it pains me to get out of my chair (especially after a long workout, but that's another issue).

I'm never going to have a life outside of work now, it's going to be "come home, bliss out in front of the stereo for five hours, and hit the sack." (And nail the wife every once in a while I guess).

TV? You're dead to me. I have about two weeks of Daily Shows, Colbert Reports and Arrested Development sitting on TiVo and I can't bring myself to watch em....

Ahhhh blisssss... This must be what heroin feels like. :cool:

Bernd
02-05-2006, 12:41 AM
Well I put some more Auralex over the window on the left, and I covered the TV screen on the left with a blanket. The piercing high problem is GONE, and now it sounds sweeter than ever!

I swear, it pains me to get out of my chair (especially after a long workout, but that's another issue).

I'm never going to have a life outside of work now, it's going to be "come home, bliss out in front of the stereo for five hours, and hit the sack." (And nail the wife every once in a while I guess).

TV? You're dead to me. I have about two weeks of Daily Shows, Colbert Reports and Arrested Development sitting on TiVo and I can't bring myself to watch em....

Ahhhh blisssss... This must be what heroin feels like. :cool:

Hi Mike,

Congrats on your system.Yep, my TV is also pretty much redundant. Great sound is very addictive, especialy so if you worked for it and waited and auditioned rather than go and buy the latest "Best Buy" product. Wishing you lot's of fun,great music and enjoyment.

Peace

Bernd

Florian
02-05-2006, 05:03 AM
Hehehe, well you can do a compromise and nail the wife on the couch infront of the maggies :p :p

But seriously, congrats. The 1.6 is a great speaker and gives you a lot of work to unleash her true potential.

-Flo