I enjoyed coffee with Diana Krall this morning. Well, at least when I closed my eyes it
felt like she was in the room
More on sonics later in this post. First...
I did a quickie set-up last night, just to see what happens. Here's a brief overview (see pictures below)...The tri-corners are very nice. Good fit and finish, and they look sharp in the corners. I'm planning on painting the front wall black, so the plasma, panels and wall should blend-in nicely.
I put the 242s on the horizontal, centered about ear height. Currently they are leaning on folding chairs. They too have a nice fit and finish.
The two Monster traps are propped up on cubes against the back wall. The fit and finish was not to the same level as the other products. The fronts tend to bow-out in the middle, and the panel depth is not consistent between the two units (the depth varies at least a 1/2" within a single unit), so these were the biggest disappointment in terms of cosmetics. Not only that, but at 7.5" deep, even if they were perfectly shaped, they are the least attractive part of the set up. But I want is to improve SQ -- and my wife didn't vomit -- so I'll compromise on aesthetics in trade for improved sonics.
Current set upDriver position (from the center of the Hemp Cone):
- ~6 foot separation
- ~ 39" from side walls
- ~ 45" from back wall
- ~ 4-4.5 feet from listening position (ie. near-field)
- The sub is just to the left of the left speaker, and out approximately the same distance from the back wall
Sorry the pictures are so dark, but they were taken in haste this morning...
SoundWow! Oh, I said that in my previous post. So how about this, these panels make a huge improvement -- in everything!
I can go right down the list...
- Greatly improved detail and resolution (music is less 'cluttered')
- Much improved image in terms of pin-point placement and instrument separation
- Image is wide, but not very deep (Bryan warned me that getting a deep image would be difficult in such a small room)
- Vocals and acoustic instruments are much more natural (the hardness mentioned in one of my earlier posts has pretty much disappeared)
- Acoustic bass is taunt, with an excellent center image and great 'feel' when fingers touch strings or strings are plucked aggressively
I spent the first couple hours playing with placement. But once I found a workable arrangement, it was tough to leave the room.
Biggest limitations...
So far I have not played with the sub in terms of placement or settings. I would also say that deep bass is the weakest area at this point.
While vocals provide a beautiful center image, and acoustic guitars, woodwinds and strings sound natural, the nearfield listening position can result pianos sounding tonally accurate, but the image is bigger than life (i.e. the left hand sounds natural, but the bass notes (when engineered to come from the left speaker) spread the piano over a 12-15 foot spance.
Whats next?1.) I'd like to get Bryan's recommendations for speaker and sub placement to further improve the sound
2.) I'm not sure how to hang the 242s horizontally -- Stretching a wire between the two (horizontal) hooks on the back of the 242s does not leave much room to suspend the wire from a hook on the wall. Maybe use
two wall hooks spaced about as wide as the two panel hooks???