Peter,
Your system looks very nice. The SS8 does fit well in your room and anhor the whole thing together perfectly. I also notice that you set up your speaker with the wider RAAL offset inside. Did you try to swap the left and right speaker the other way around, put some kind of thick blanket over your TV and pull your speaker away a little further into the room. I did all that and everything was noticeable better. On top of all that, I also put one 4'x4'x8” sound diffuser panel behind each speaker and run the SS8 with the open back open with no polyfill at all. Man, I am glad I did. I could hear big improvement in details and soundstage.
Actually, the tweeters are offset to the outside. I figured it gave me a few inches of extra width between left and right drivers. Given the limits of the space, it made sense to me.
I will certainly experiment more with the back grill, particularly when I get some treatments up. It surprises me that you get better detail with it off though. Soundstage, I can see, but I find a pretty big difference in detail with it on.
I went back and read Jim's advice on toe in. A bit different in that he recommends starting with no toe in. So I tried that. Surprise! The soundstage opened up
dramatically! I've never heard such a wide and enveloping soundstage. In fact, I actually got up to make sure I didn't have the surrounds playing by mistake. Spooky! With other speakers, no toe in means the sound seems to come from two separate speakers. Toeing them in the right amount clicks the image together but soundstage is more defined and centered. The SS8's can be positioned all the way from straight to pointing right at the MLP. The nature of the imaging and soundstage change, but they never just sound like two speakers. This is very nice.
I can try the speakers more into the room as an experiment, but there is not more room to push the couch back permanently. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I could push it way back and have the walking path to my office area in front of the couch instead of behind it. I would either need to find a way to have the screen move forward or get a 65 incher though.
I'll have to think about this more.
Similarly, I can experiment with a blanket over the screen, but not practical for regular setup - both in terms of putting it on and off and because most of my music is on the network and the screen displays my library and what is playing. I think I will start experiment with room treatments using simple acoustic tiles from home depot. They are cheap enough. Once I get a sense of what I really need, I could spring for the more expensive stuff (that stuff is both expensive to buy and very expensive to ship up here. I've not found anyone selling it here. (I can't complain too loudly anymore with randyr in the house as shipping costs can double for you up in Nome!)
Peter,
On some music I prefer the solid backs on, but I've gotten used to leaving the 'transparent' grill on and in my room that sounds the best overall. I'm glad they are everything you'd hoped for! I'm interested in your take on going from the McCormack to the BC's.
You are right about the sound, and the one thing I've noticed with them is all the detail I've never heard before. Everything in the recording is there. When I changed amps it became even more noticeable to me.
John
You are liking the Pass amps? They've gotten me intriqued with the idea of totally Class A in solid state. The 30 wpc (8 ohms) would have me nervous though. And the step up to 60 watt monos is way expensive.
I did switch over to the Bel Canto's last night. Listened for a while and switched back to the McCormack. Initially, I thought the BC's were cleaner, dryer, and with tighter bass. When I went back to the McC - I realized that they had been too bright and didn't really notice that much difference in the bass. The McC
is warmer and gentler on the high end. It has that quality that is often described as "musical". Listening objectively and critically, there may be some aspects that are better in something like the BC's, but overall, the McC is more engaging, get's me moving, helps me forget about the equipment, and is less tiring.
I am having a bit of trouble with perceived brightness. I'm sure it is my ears, which are unfortunately sensitive. I seem to have some hyperacusis. I was hoping the RAAL would be an answer to this with its reputation of being more laid back, but I don't think it is. Reducing or eliminating toe in helps. Room treatment I'm sure will help more. And working with electronics can still help. Actually, part of my preference for the back grill on may be that the relative level of mids and highs
increases with the grill off/transparent grill.
Another positive discovery, or report... My wife watched one of her British tv series and said the dialog was clearer. This is with SS8's and no center compared to the Paradigm's L/R/C. Tonight is movie night
so I'm looking forward to seeing how things are with a good sound quality movie.
..........Peter
No pictures this post!!