Playground for practical listening exercises

[Whatsmynaim]

I pick B. But there's qualities to A as well.

[kallesprätt]

Feels like B is recorded with a bit higher volume

The volume settings is exactly the same in all recordings, the only difference is the support for the electronics.
It changes the presentation of the music quite a bit.

[tpetsch]

I can't make heads or tails on either of the Fleetwoods. But on the Hank Jr. I prefer "A", when the flow of the whole clip is taken into consideration, I feel I get a bit more of what the artist & band is trying to communicate.

[markiteight]

I only listened to the Fleetwood Mac clips and B was clearly better.

[springwood64]

I only listened to the Fleetwood Mac clips. I wanted B to continue much more than A, so B for me.

[ThomasOK]

I also prefer B over A in both clips, although that doesn't surprise me. I was hoping this was going to compare the latest Harmonihyllan 24 shelf with the older ones but no such luck.

As to why it didn't surprise me, it is due to having played around a lot with Harmonihyllan racks and having learned a few things about what works best and what doesn't. Now the first thing doesn't have to do with the racks so much as the fact that there is a lot more gear on the Mimer K rack (A) than there is on the Tor rack (B) and that will have an effect. Then as to the racks themselves I have found that a four shelf rack is more musical by a little bit than a five shelf of the same construction, also a bit better than a three shelf. Also the rack sounds best with no component on the bottom shelf (although it can also be configured a bit differently to be even more musical). In addition I have found that multiple Mimer Ks don't really work well together so I stopped using and selling them that way. There is something about the Mimer K (and original Mimer) that doesn't work that well in multiples. So when using a Mimer K (which I feel is a really good sounding shelf) I only use it on the top of a four shelf rack (which is also the best sounding of the shelves) and use it for a source or similar. Finally it is important that the metal of the Mimer shelf not be in contact with the threaded post that goes through it - you want some space all around. Some of this information has come from Anders, Fredrik and other forum members as well as my own experimentation but I don't remember what info came from where so I can't give direct credit. I did, however, verify these findings with my own listening tests.

In more recent listening tests I also prefer the Trud shelf that was designed to replace the Mimier K but I have not yet heard the even newer 24 that I believe is supposed to be the best. Because of these findings my system rests on three Harmonihyllan racks and a NOKTable for the LP12. All three racks use Tor for the second and third shelf from the bottom and the original reference shelf for the bottom, which is basically an upside down Tor with the spike fittings in the thick bottommost shelf and a thin shelf spaced above it. No component rests on that shelf but instead a very precise piece of inch thick dacron polyester batting. (I don't know the exact size off the top of my head but I can measure it if anyone needs it.) I have demonstrated at numerous Hi-Fi shows the musical difference with the pads on and off the thin bottom shelf, usually to the astonishment of the listeners, and even demonstrated the difference in having the correct size compared to a pad about a half inch longer. The top shelves of the racks are Truds on two (one having my Klimax Radikal 2 on it and the other my SINGularities) and a Mimer K on the third with the Källa on top. So a Mimer K works quite well above two Tors and the bottom shelf setup, again as long as the metal of the shelf doesn't contact the threaded posts. Sometime soon I need to get the 24 version in here and see how it compares. I'd love to hear from anyone who has tried it.

[Spannko]

I preferred B too. It seems to bring the music to life. Great system kallesprätt!

[tokenbrit]

It will be interesting to hear more from kallesprätt as to in-room preference, and the story behind the two racks: whether the taller rack has replaced the shorter, or was this an audition / help with a purchase decision?

[Tony Tune-age]

Different versions of Harmonihyllan, A vs B.
Which do you prefer?

A
Hank Williams Jr:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zpfu0ni8 ... u5sbh&dl=0

Fleetwood Mac:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ufd5s32k ... ltm6r&dl=0

B
Hank Williams Jr:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j35sqpr4 ... q4l8r&dl=0

Fleetwood Mac:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vej0qg9y ... 773rs&dl=0

B for me...

[tpetsch]

Still the Hank A for me, I loose interest in the Hank B after about 30 seconds, am I the only one? ...There's something really off on both Fleetwoods, just can get far with either, no preference there. ...Not saying the Hank A is perfect but I'm getting some real emotion from the singer/band synergy from the A clip, and I'm not even that into country. ...BTW, Not every instrument needs to be pushed up more to the foreground as I'm getting from B as well as greater timing issues.

[kallesprätt]

It will be interesting to hear more from kallesprätt as to in-room preference, and the story behind the two racks: whether the taller rack has replaced the shorter, or was this an audition / help with a purchase decision?

I actually needed more shelfs to house a dac I use from my tv, so I bought a used four shelf Tor with reference bottom.
Based on what I read on this forum my thougt was to replace my current shelf which is a mix of Mimer and Mimer K with Tor bottom and rebuild my current to something smaller.
This was the first test with the "new" shelf. I was so pleased with the result so I thougt that I should share it with you.

Right now I'm building a four shelf Yggdrasil to be placed on the left side of the Tor. The Yggdrasil will house the dac, network stuff, Radikal, Slipsik.

@ThomasOK
Thanks for an interesting post regarding Harmonihyllan. I really like the look of the Tor shelf, but your post made me curious about to try Mimer K as top shelf...
It would be great if you could measure the pad!

[ThomasOK]

The measurements on the pad I use is 22cm by 11cm. You may want to play with this a little bit as I don't know if it varies with different woods. At one time Anders had switched to Norway Spruce for musical quality. I tried a shelf from him and liked it so I investigated Sitka Spruce here and was pleased so I had a number of shelves made of it. My racks use reference bottoms and Tors made from Sitka Spruce with the Truds made of birch. It is very good sounding but a quite expensive wood costing more than solid walnut.

[markiteight]

There's a lot of great information about the Harmonihyllan racks being presented here. Can we try to keep the discussion in the Harmoni thread? It will be far more useful to future readers over there than in this thread where it could be buried in a matter of days. Thanks everyone for your help!

-Moderator

[tokenbrit]

Right now I'm building a four shelf Yggdrasil to be placed on the left side of the Tor. The Yggdrasil will house the dac, network stuff, Radikal, Slipsik.

Hi kallesprätt, I realise you're building the Yggdrasil compact shelf for the listed electronics, but is there any chance you might compare the compact & wide Harmoni versions of the assembled racks to get a sense of whether the Yggdrasil is more or less musical?

[kallesprätt]

Right now I'm building a four shelf Yggdrasil to be placed on the left side of the Tor. The Yggdrasil will house the dac, network stuff, Radikal, Slipsik.

Hi kallesprätt, I realise you're building the Yggdrasil compact shelf for the listed electronics, but is there any chance you might compare the compact & wide Harmoni versions of the assembled racks to get a sense of whether the Yggdrasil is more or less musical?

I have a couple of more test to do, I need to try a Mimer K as topshelf on the Tor rack. While at it I could also try to switch the Lejonklou electronics to the Yggdrasil rack, but it will take some time before I can do the test.

Has anyone compared Idun vs Tor? I really like the look of the smaller racks.

[tokenbrit]

Hi kallesprätt, .. is there any chance you might compare the compact & wide Harmoni versions of the assembled racks... ?

I have a couple of more test to do, I need to try a Mimer K as topshelf on the Tor rack. While at it I could also try to switch the Lejonklou electronics to the Yggdrasil rack, but it will take some time before I can do the test.

Great news, thanks, kallesprätt. I look fwd to some comparative clips :)

[springwood64]

Which do you prefer?

A: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2MF9oMLkZL16eN4NA
S: https://photos.app.goo.gl/omgpgHVXZ9mUjzXW9

[tokenbrit]

Quick listen on the phone, I'd say I prefer S. A has a more laid back presentation of the vocals that doesn't feel as engaging. S is a step up and conveys more belief & pride in the song, and confidence in the performance.

Listening on the laptop I can hear why others (& the cat ;) chose A...

[tpetsch]

A brings it all together better for me, but saying that I would also turn the volume down a hair on A also.

[matthias]

Prefer A, the volume is ok...

[lejonklou]

I get more emotion out of A.

Reminds me of a comparison I did yesterday. Listened for more than an hour on two alternatives and found it so difficult to choose. Emotional versus Precise. Then I recorded two clips, instantly preferred Emotional and when I once again listened live in the room, it was suddenly an easy choice. Precise should have been called Simplified.

[Tendaberry]

Definitely A, much more feeling/emotion.

[Whatsmynaim]

On first listen I prefer S. It's a smooth enjoyable ride!
After listening a few more times I like A better. Turns out the ride with S was too smooth.

[beck]

I prefer A.

[Charlie1]

'A'nother