Oscar's system and first world problems

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OscarH
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Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

Happy new year to all, from an infrequent poster but compulsory lurker.

This story starts about a year ago. At that time the system in our home had been unchanged for a number of years and everybody was happy. Our kitchen/living room has the stereo system and that's that. No TV or other crap. When the family is together we listen to music and a very wide variety of music at that, spanning old school jazz, classical, 60/70's rock, prog and lately even 2010's EDM. The only things I really can't stand are disco and Pat Metheny. My wife has similar reservations about Pink Floyd. Fair enough. That's life.

The two sources where a little laptop (lots of CD flac rips and a Spotify account) with USB out and a Rega Planar 3 (old one) via a Rega Fono Mini, both into a Hegel H80 amp (with integrated DAC) and then to System Audio Mantra 60 speakers. There's also an SVS subwoofer, which I feel I've managed to integrate rather well at the very low end.

Then I got the urge to upgrade... my main wish, silly as it may seem, was that the legs of my trousers would vibrate with the bass drum like they do at concerts. I figured I definitely needed a bigger amp. Probably bigger speakers too.
However, realizing that none of those upgrades were within financial reach I figured the phono stage might be the weakest link and something I could afford to address. I was more or less set on the Rega Fono MM when my dealer suggested I might consider a Lejonklou Gaio 2. Said and done, the Gaio came home with me and the difference was astonishing. As previously described in the Gaio 2 thread, my wife immediately asked if I'd done some with the subwoofer (in a good way)!

This was in March 2019 and after that purchase I started reading this forum and I've continued ever since. There is a wealth of knowledge here that is hard to match elsewhere online. At that time both Tune Dem and strict application of Source First were essentially new concepts to me but they were both conceptually appealing and made much more logical sense than the usual audiophile mumbo jumbo typically used to describe whether a product is good or not. While I still lack Tune Dem practice the phono stage upgrade had clearly demonstrated the validity of Source First (though I won't try to hide that I need "sound" too).

Then in November last year the Planar 3 started causing trouble... odd noises came through intermittently with no apparent logic. I thought the arm was dying, after all the player was at least 25 years old. By the time I realized that the tracking force had somehow gone astray the ship had already sailed - I was basically dead set on a new player.

I managed to get hold of a second hand Rega RP8 (RB808 arm, Exact cart, Neo PSU) at a very fair price (yes, way less than any spec LP12). This is where the "troubles" really started. Once set up and a few odd hums ironed out the difference was HUGE. Vinyl playback is immensely enjoyable and at the level I'm at the analog front end is now about as good as I can afford apart from minor tweaks. Source First clearly holds true - it turned out both the amp and the speakers where capable of much more detail, more depth and more music than they'd been given the opportunity to show before. Sure, if I REALLY want my trousers to vibrate we might need more watts... but realistically also fewer neighbours haha.

But digital? Oh dear... While before I'd considered our analog and digital sources different sounding but about equally "good", I'd had a sneaking feeling for weeks before I dared doing A-B comparisons between the RP8 and the little laptop... Fearing I would listen for "sound" I devised an (in my mind) ingenious method which we might call "Tune Dem By Proxy". It consisted of me ferociously switching between analog and digital while encouraging my 7-year old daughter to try and sing along. At the moment she's really into Yes so we were listening to various Yes albums that we have both on vinyl and CD rips. She didn't miss a beat - every time I tried to confuse her she confirmed vinyl was better (I like to think a child listens to the music more than the sound). My wife wholeheartedly agreed. Personally I was gobsmacked.

So... what to do about digital playback? In retrospect it's almost embarrasing that I could ever think it basically didn't matter how the digital signal was generated. In fact it now appears digital playback is even more complex than analog... if done properly... I should have known it couldn't be as easy a just connecting a cable.

But rather than dwell on that I embrace the new learning and set out to fix the problem. We need a streamer and associated infrastructure. (No, It will not be a KDS/3). It needs to bring the enjoyment of digital up to about the same level as the Rega RP8/Gaio 2 can do with vinyl. It needs to have a good user interface and be able to handle Spotify, especially as I want to encourage our daughters (5 and 7) to continue having an interest in music.

Should be an interesting little project...

CURRENT SYSTEM - UPDATED 2020-10-05

Analog source:
- Rega RP8 TT. Linn Adikt MM. Rega TT NEO PSU
- Lejonklou Gaio 2.4 phono stage
- Linn Black interconnect

Digital source:
- Hakai + Hakainas VERY close to exact spec
- "hakai inspired" dedicated spotify streamer into Hegel H80 DAC
- GS108T switch
- mixed non-fancy cables

The end of the line:
- Hegel H80 amplifier
- ‘Black K200’/knekt/2.48m speaker cables by Lejonklou
- System Audio Mantra 60 speakers
Last edited by OscarH on 2020-10-05 13:36, edited 7 times in total.
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by ThomasOK »

Interesting and cool journey. But I'm afraid you have set yourself a difficult task. A properly setup Rega RP8/Gaio2 is a formidable table (not as formidable as a Majik LP12 or even a Valhalla LP12 with Basik + and AT95, but still a quite good table). Roughly equalling is digitally will take a fair bit of work and/or cost a fair bit of money. If you are computer savvy I would recommend heading over to the HAKAI threads as that is where you need to be if you want something suitably musical that doesn't cost KDS or RKDS or ADS/Katalyst money.
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

Thanks for your response Thomas (and indeed your many other insightful posts).

I did mention to my wife that Fredrik Lejonklou has in fact designed a streamer to which she responded "why don't we just get that then?"...

Computer savvy is limited, but I'm rather confident in my ability to learn new things.

I'll have to weigh up my options (well, OUR options, though my wife leaves it to me to obsess over the technical side of music reproduction) and listen to what's on the market.

In some way I suspect it will be impossible to get the same emotional satisfaction from clicking a button as one (at least I) get from starting up the turntable, dropping the needle on the vinyl and just sit back. But there is still ample room for improving the digital listening experience.
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by maffe »

Thanks for sharing your story!
The digital path can take a lot of time and effort and still your analog kit will play better...
You can take the easy way and buy a secondhand majik DS for less then 800€ or start building your own.
The cheap and not so hard way would be a Asus tinker board S and a gigaport esi HD+ running volumino. That would cost around 250€ total.
Then it’s your home network and NAS that need work, there’s a long thread about that also that will give you much valuable info.

Looking forward to see your results!
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by Defender »

the question is really what you want to achieve. If your goal is to make digital as good as your analog than I am with Thomas ... thats going to be a challenge and expensive. I would rather spend the money into upgrading analog.
All in all the most value for the money (if you really want to improve digital) is to go the HAKAI route.
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by u252agz »

A Linn sneaky can usually be picked up for £500 and when used with an integrated amplifier ( ie not using the internal digital volume control or amplifier) can sound better then CD players costing a lot more- I went from a Linn Ikemi to the sneaky and remember being happy.

I would use a streaming service like Tidal or Spotify initially as this will keep your family happy and remove the complexities around ripping CDs and NAS drives.

A good network switch ( ie Netgear GS108T) and preferably a hard wire connection to the streamer ( ie not using Ethernet over mains) will simplify and improve things.

I have three sneakys and the one linked to my Boazu is quite enjoyable
- not as good as when I try the KDS but good enough that I am happy to switch from the old Rega planar 3
to Digital in that room.

Remember that this is Digital and whilst it can be enjoyable and very good with an optimised network/streamer -never compare to a good Turntable - ever!
Kalla/Sag M/Tun M3/242/LP12/Slip7

Kalla/Giella Pi/JBL308/RS2e

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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by Charlie1 »

u252agz wrote: 2020-01-09 11:03 A Linn sneaky can usually be picked up for £500 and when used with an integrated amplifier ( ie not using the internal digital volume control or amplifier) can sound better then CD players costing a lot more- I went from a Linn Ikemi to the sneaky and remember being happy.
I thought it had an analogue pre, or is this similar to the MDSM comments recently and it will depend whether you have SO turned off etc.?
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

Lots of good input here. Indeed I need to be sure to define (for my own sake) what it is I actually want to achieve.

Analog will likely remain number 1 and prioritized for future upgrades, but first digital needs to be brought up to a decent level as single source is not the aim.

There are two basic issues with the current solution:
- Quality is vastly inferior to analog. Whilst, as previously eluded to, the emotional side might never reach analog; I'm convinced digital playback can be made much more fun than it currently is.

- User interface is poor (part of which is due to the laptop being old and tired). Digital should beat analog on accessibility and availability; stable connectivity and app control would be important here.

For clarify, there are currently two types of playback happening from this laptop: Spotify (which can be controlled from iPhone via spotify connect once laptop is started up) and flac (some 500 cd's ripped with EAC) played through MediaMonkey (which are controlled on the laptop).

We currently don't have a NAS at home, but I'm in the process of establishing one anyway so this is actually a good opportunity to get it right from the beginning.

Have spent some time reading through the HAKAI threads and while I could probably manage to put together an "almost-HAKAI" (original spec. parts availability seems very tricky in 2020) a few things on the minus side seem hard to get around: lack of integration with streaming services is one, but mainly the family will hate the unstable interface.

I readily available product is a more likely solution. I have indeed found several Majik and Sneaky DS's online in the 500-800 EUR range.

May I be so bold as to ask what people's experiences of non-Linn streamers are?
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by u252agz »

I can’t comment on non Linn
, but Linn’s streamers are great and an extensive range from £500 used to £16,000 new.

With Linn Kazoo as the app on any old iphone, iPod or iPad , it’s a really easy user interface and accesses any Nas drive on your network, Spotify/ Tidal/ Quobuz and internet radio all from the palm of one hand - your family will love it.

By the way I am not on commission from Linn.
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by maffe »

I don´t think you need to worry about stability of Volumio on a Hakai any longer (or on a Tinker Board)
Spotify is available as a plugin to Volumio so that would not be an issue and then there's the "My Volumio" thingy if you feel like paying a little for the convenience.

I have 3 different Volumio machines running at home all working perfect!
One Raspberri Pi 3b+, one Tinker Board S and a "Hakai"
Controlling them with Linn Kazoo running Minimserv on my nas. To get Tidal working with out paying for "My Volumio" I have BubbleUPnpserver installed acting as OpenHome renderer.

Before the "Hakai" was built and after I got it working as it should (first after an update of Volumio) Had an Accurate DSM. Fantastic machine but it took some time to set up my home network correctly, so that part you kind of don´t get around.
Well yes, if you run "MyVolumio" on a RPI or TBs using wifi.

As others stated analog is still king and Fredrik´s small boxes make the difference even bigger :)
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

Update:

I've decided to go all-in and have begun sourcing components for not one but two boxes: a hakai and a hakai nas.

From reading (almost all) the posts in the hakai thread it appears clear that a fully loaded hakai setup actually consists of both a streamer and a dedicated server.

I must say I was very positively surprised once I started looking at what it would actually cost to build the two boxes: if this ends up playing only half as good as suggested on these pages it's an absolute bargain.

I'm still undecided which OS to go for as they all have their pro's and con's. Also, it remains to be seen where the total project cost ends up once I've paid for the beer and whisky I'll need to get IT support from my programmer friends :)

One forum member was so kind as to offer me two motherboards so the main hardware obstacle has already been negotiated. Exciting.


As a side note, the above development is not the only example of the family audiophilia getting out of hand this weekend: my wife has apparently bought the "Frozen 2" Original Soundtrack on vinyl for the girls... I guess we're all looking forward to that.
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

7-year old daughter has announced that she wants a turntable when she leaves home. I suggested a computer can play music to to which she declared that it doesn't sound as good. Hakai parts are beginning to appear in our home, so hopefully everybody's faith in digital can be somewhat restored in the near future.

As previously stated the Tune Method seems entirely logical to me, but I really lack practice at it. I have yet to go through the entire system methodically but I'm practicing my ability to tell good from worse by altering various parameters. The learnings are important and any change for the better is indeed better. Good stuff.

- Reintroduced spikes under the speakers. Have had the speakers on rubber feet for years as that is the manufacturer recommendation for hard floors, but now I had to try to put them back. Tried to make before/after clips but they sound pretty shit (possibly because I discovered a fault with the subwoofer shortly afterwards to that is now switched off... and not missed... but I cant't be bothered to take the spikes back off to make new before clips) so won't publish them. In my mind the setup is more musical with spikes. But it does take a while to change between the two configurations - how do people conclude on Tune Dem (or any demo really) when changeovers take a long time?

- Tried different feet for the amp. The Hegel amp is born with hard plastic feet. I've always had little rubber bits between the feet and rack as the plastic on wood interface just felt wrong and also allowed the amp to slide around. Still, after reading the many reservation here around damping (and after the positive results with the spikes on speakers) I tried to take the rubber out. It was worse; bass was more blurry, so I put the rubber feet back in. All good.

- Speaker positions. As stated earlier I have not yet redone the entire setup from first tune dem principles. Partly because I fear the optimum position is closer together than they currently are but there is a practical limit to how close they can stand with blocking the balcony door in an unacceptable manner. Still, they have been moved closer together which focuses the tune in the room. After installing the spikes the speakers had to be moved further from the back wall (which is 90% glass... I know I know.... but these are the facts of life and the view is great!).

Last night I played the two rather different recordings "Sticky Fingers" and "Time Out" and both where very very enjoyable. I wasn't even in a very good mood, so that wasn't why.

This is a very interesting journey. To some extent I'm developing a love/hate relationship with system setup. It's fantastic that so much can be achieved for free (or at low cost) but at the same time it's frustrating to know that I actually need to address EVERYTHING and that EVERYTHING matters on some level.
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by Defender »

here is how I deal with changes that take a long time ... like putting speakers on spikes
do a recording with your phone before and after
decide with hearing the clips with headphones

... like in the playground

the playground is also a good cross check if what you do to decide is based on tune dem as there are some traps possible to fall into (for me its sometimes switching to old habits and being intrigued by details)
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by ThomasOK »

I'm going to post comments within the quote to cover the different parts of this excellent post.
OscarH wrote: 2020-01-24 13:22 7-year old daughter has announced that she wants a turntable when she leaves home. I suggested a computer can play music to to which she declared that it doesn't sound as good. Hakai parts are beginning to appear in our home, so hopefully everybody's faith in digital can be somewhat restored in the near future.

Your first sentence made my day! It is great to hear of young people who get music reproduction to the point that they already want a vinyl based system. I'm not sure about restoring faith in digital - even a HAKAI doesn't come close to the realism available from good vinyl playback. That said, it can still be quite enjoyable in its own right, and not everything is available on vinyl - although it is getting there. King Crimson just released their last three studio albums on vinyl for the first time and they are really good!

As previously stated the Tune Method seems entirely logical to me, but I really lack practice at it. I have yet to go through the entire system methodically but I'm practicing my ability to tell good from worse by altering various parameters. The learnings are important and any change for the better is indeed better. Good stuff.

- Reintroduced spikes under the speakers. Have had the speakers on rubber feet for years as that is the manufacturer recommendation for hard floors, but now I had to try to put them back. Tried to make before/after clips but they sound pretty shit (possibly because I discovered a fault with the subwoofer shortly afterwards to that is now switched off... and not missed... but I cant't be bothered to take the spikes back off to make new before clips) so won't publish them. In my mind the setup is more musical with spikes. But it does take a while to change between the two configurations - how do people conclude on Tune Dem (or any demo really) when changeovers take a long time?

As defender said you can use clips to help with that. I sometimes make clips when I am comparing two things that are close so that I can listen over again in a different environment or when I have more time to pay attention or am in a different mood. Also, of course, to share on here. However, clips don't give you the full effect of hearing it in room and as you get more accustomed to the tune method you will find that longer times between changes aren't as difficult to hear as they were at first.

- Tried different feet for the amp. The Hegel amp is born with hard plastic feet. I've always had little rubber bits between the feet and rack as the plastic on wood interface just felt wrong and also allowed the amp to slide around. Still, after reading the many reservation here around damping (and after the positive results with the spikes on speakers) I tried to take the rubber out. It was worse; bass was more blurry, so I put the rubber feet back in. All good.

Very few companies pay attention to the musical quality of things like feet, damping of casework or tightness of fastenings like Fredrik does. So it is not surprising when a foot design, likely chosen for looks, might not be optimal. Rarely have I heard a situation where a hard interface between an electronic component and a shelf is a positive thing.

- Speaker positions. As stated earlier I have not yet redone the entire setup from first tune dem principles. Partly because I fear the optimum position is closer together than they currently are but there is a practical limit to how close they can stand with blocking the balcony door in an unacceptable manner. Still, they have been moved closer together which focuses the tune in the room. After installing the spikes the speakers had to be moved further from the back wall (which is 90% glass... I know I know.... but these are the facts of life and the view is great!).

It is uncommon for any of us to be able to put everything where it is optimal. A big advantage of the tune method is that it also allows you to get the most musical quality possible within the limits imposed on us by equipment and environment. So determine what things you can't change and work within those limits to get it the best you can. Unless you have a really bad environment you will end up with an enjoyable result - as you appear to already be finding from the comment below.

Last night I played the two rather different recordings "Sticky Fingers" and "Time Out" and both where very very enjoyable. I wasn't even in a very good mood, so that wasn't why.

This is a very interesting journey. To some extent I'm developing a love/hate relationship with system setup. It's fantastic that so much can be achieved for free (or at low cost) but at the same time it's frustrating to know that I actually need to address EVERYTHING and that EVERYTHING matters on some level.
I fully understand the love/hate relationship with system setup. It does indeed become ever more obvious that everything makes a difference. But there is no race. Every time you feel like messing with things you have the ability to make things better, or at least eliminate another possibility. These small improvements provide all the incentive I need to keep going and when you get a lot of them sorted out the result can be breathtaking. "The journey is the reward." Have fun!
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

Good morning,

I must say it's extremely encouraging to get such a thorough response full of useful advice. This friendliness and shared curiosity is what's so good about this forum. Much appreciated for me as a lifelong music lover but more recent dabbler in hifi.

The tinkering has continued over the weekend. Yesterday the subwoofer made a return. My wife came home with a record by Swedish progressive metal band 'Opeth' and it was quite easy to determine that the tune benefitted greatly from a boost way down low. Still, the gain is very low on the sub and the low pass set at about 40Hz so the effect is only subtle.
We then listened to the album twice which was a surprise to me as I, in addition to disco and Pat Metheny, really struggle to sit through songs containing growling. But there was music in there, amazing!

This brings about a question about Tune Dem - the above might suggest that the Tune Method can give slightly different results depending on which music is used fro the demo? As much music simply lack that kind of low bass the subwoofer effect would have been negligible... at the other end of the scale there's (the predominantly modern 'radio music') music where the low frequencies tend to be rather inflated in the production causing boomy bass which can obscure the tune on an otherwise well setup system. Using such music for the setup would likely result in moving the speakers further from the back wall. Am I missing something?
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by V.A.MKD »

Hi OscarH,
I'm in same position as you. What I can suggest you are several things:
Use Tune Method (TM), printed and have it close to you, until you become more experience in it. Here is Link of it:
http://www.lejonklou.com/wp-content/upl ... Method.pdf
Everything is inside ... Sub-woofer, songs ... Don't use radio (in whatever format) ... Change only One thing and make TM, NOT TWO ...
You have to practice TM and you will see it's very easy ...
All the Best and Good Luck
OscarH wrote: 2020-01-27 08:30 Good morning,

I must say it's extremely encouraging to get such a thorough response full of useful advice. This friendliness and shared curiosity is what's so good about this forum. Much appreciated for me as a lifelong music lover but more recent dabbler in hifi.

The tinkering has continued over the weekend. Yesterday the subwoofer made a return. My wife came home with a record by Swedish progressive metal band 'Opeth' and it was quite easy to determine that the tune benefitted greatly from a boost way down low. Still, the gain is very low on the sub and the low pass set at about 40Hz so the effect is only subtle.
We then listened to the album twice which was a surprise to me as I, in addition to disco and Pat Metheny, really struggle to sit through songs containing growling. But there was music in there, amazing!

This brings about a question about Tune Dem - the above might suggest that the Tune Method can give slightly different results depending on which music is used fro the demo? As much music simply lack that kind of low bass the subwoofer effect would have been negligible... at the other end of the scale there's (the predominantly modern 'radio music') music where the low frequencies tend to be rather inflated in the production causing boomy bass which can obscure the tune on an otherwise well setup system. Using such music for the setup would likely result in moving the speakers further from the back wall. Am I missing something?
Music First ...
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

Upgrade Monday!

First day back at work after a winter holiday with the family - and a package was waiting for me.

My Gaio 2 is now a Gaio 2.4.

My immediate impression is that it is indeed a better machine. The upgrade was said to mainly address bass, but I dare say it’s both tidier and stronger across the range.

I played 2-3 albums before recording the ‘after’ clips.

I then couldn’t resist hooking up the pair of speaker cables that were also in the package: 2.48m black K200 with knekts soldered by Fredrik. These replace the previous Supra cables which were bare ends for the simole reason that I didn’t dare risk the kids unplugging them - but they’re old enough to cue vinyl now so realistically can also be trusted with banana plugs!

I haven’t made any clips with the new cables as I’m too busy listening to ‘Help’. At the moment I’m just happy it’s all a joy to listen to.

Spent a week with the family and a Bluetooth speaker, which as far as I recall is in fact mentioned in the “Absolute Bargains” Thread: Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3. Despite its pretty awful name it does indeed deserve its place in that thread: it’s an entirely acceptable device to listen to in a hotel room, boat or wherever you need something portable that can play for more than one person.
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by beck »

I do not see your full main system described anywhere so I am going to guess and you can correct me! :-)

Danish System Audio (SA) speakers model?

Rega amp model?

Rega RP8 turntable

Gaio 2.4 phono

Interconnects?

Linn speaker cable not connected yet?
Playing cd’s…………
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

beck wrote: 2020-02-20 13:47 I do not see your full main system described anywhere so I am going to guess and you can correct me! :-)

Danish System Audio (SA) speakers model?

Rega amp model?

Rega RP8 turntable

Gaio 2.4 phono

Interconnects?

Linn speaker cable not connected yet?
You came pretty close ;)

I’ve updated the first post with a ‘current system’ section at the bottom.
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by beck »

Thank you!

So like your family your system is truely scandinavian! Danish speakers, norwegian amp, swedish phono, american sub and english/scottish for the rest! :-)

Corrected reading the post below!
Last edited by beck on 2020-02-20 14:24, edited 1 time in total.
Playing cd’s…………
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

beck wrote: 2020-02-20 14:16 Thank you!

So like your family your system is truely scandinavian! Danish speakers, norwegian amp, swedish phono plus english for the rest! :-)
Rather fitting, isn't it? :)

As it happens I met my wife while at university in England, so it's really full circle.

(Yes Scotland, we know Linn isn't English, don't worry)
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

Hereby the promised plan of the apartment.

The X’s mark the speakers and the blue rectangle the sofa/main listening position. Behind the speakers are large windows towards the balcony. Width across about 3.7m.

The windows, while likely not ideal, are in fact fairly sturdy. There’s a largish road outside and although we’re on the 8th floor, modern building codes regulate noise levels in residential buildings. My wife works with such matters.

The red box is the dinner table.

The green box is the master bedroom - it’s got a sliding door towards the Hi-Fi area.

Orange box is the kids’ bedroom. (This would be the best dedicated listening room - about 4x4m with mostly plain walls.

Purple X is TV/instrument/general purpose room. Sliding doors (yes two) on each side of the little divider wall towards the main room.

Modern Scandinavian - big windows, few walls.
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V.A.MKD
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by V.A.MKD »

Hi Oscar,
Just as idea or suggestion ...
When I visit one very famous TT producer, his listening studio and as well other Labs, every where he have listening system ... behind speakers, aprox. 1 m he have Curtain ... Your space with glass door and curtain is almost the same ...
You can try 2 things ... "one at a time" ...
1.- Sub off as you mention + my suggestion;
2.- Move the curtains to the middle ... 1 m from each side, so behind speakers you will have curtain ... and keep the view ... So glass will be less / reduced but as well view will be ...
This can be easy for doing and effect have to be OK ....
Music First ...
Vlado
OscarH
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

Hi Vlado,

Thanks for the input. I will experiment more with the subwoofer. I would be happy to remove it if I find i don't need it - no system should be more complicated than necessary. It can go in the TV room which has a smaller amp and speakers connected to the TV/Bluray/PC. Not that it's really needed there as that room is small...

The current curtains are very thin so their damping properties will be modest. But I will more carefully evaluate the effect of having them positioned behind the speakers.

There's also a "piece of mind" aspect in listening - you can relax more when you know you've ticked certain boxes that you categorize as 'right'. Like in the evening, when the home settles and I take the lid of the turntable. I sometimes take the front cloths off the speakers, even though I can't tell the difference, because it signals to me that I'm about to focus on music. Maybe moving the curtains can become part of that routine.
OscarH
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Re: Oscar's system and first world problems

Post by OscarH »

I’m gonna have to update the system description.

This “Dual Stereo” digital front end started playing music tonight.

I should get some sleep... more impressions in the coming days.
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