[jriggy]

Hey all,

How do I achieve synergy?
What goes with what?
What do I do next?

 I am not necessarily new to this hobby but I am just now beginning to take it seriously and would like to start to take my system in the right direction... So far I have, besides speakers and recommended amp for them, been buying blind so to speak.

Here is my system as of now:

Platinum turbo moded Modwright Transporter w/ EML rectifier & Tung Sol 6SN7gt Round plates
NAD Masters M55 universal player
Cary Cinema 11 (no 'A') Pre amp
Parasound Halo A51 amp
Dynaudio Contour 5.4's
Kimber 8TC SC
Various cables, Grover SX, Reality Cables and others
APC J15  Power conditioner

My room is combination 2ch & HT. I am definitely ready for some acoustic treatments and have that ok'd with the wife. But where to go from there?
As you can see, until I found this place not to long ago, the system consisted of boutique acquirable brands and components only.

What would you do to my system next???

Should I do the treatments and take care of vibrations and such first?  A better pre with HT bypass for 2ch and leave the Cary in place for movies for now? Finnish out matching up cabling? better conditioner and power cables? I just don't know where to go right now!
Heres what I do know... I LOVE the MWTP, will be keeping the Dyn 5.4's for a while, also know I could do better with a new amp like a Simaudio (but$$$) for the Dyns (they need hi current and are evidently picky as to what powers them and brings their best out). I like the way my system sounds but for what I have in it, I feel it should be better... I *think* my ultimate goal is a laid back yet dynamic sound with a deep sound-stage (meaning depth more important than width imo)

Presently confused

Please help!

 Jason

[woodsyi]

Room treatment is a must to get deep sound stage.  Dynaudios from what I heard need a lot of adjustment in the room to get right and acoustic treatment would help. 

[ZLS]

    I agree with room treatment first.  the room is the constant, the equipment is the variable. 

    I would start with triangles that go in the upper corners in back of your speakers and equipment.  You can do these diy if you are so inclined, or there are various companies that have excellent products. 

    You will be astonished at the improvement in sound. 

[jriggy]

Woodsyi,
That they are! I have been spiraling them around an axis of inches trying to dial in their placement. I believe I have gotten the best compromises of width, depth and bass response at this point and am ready for treatments.
ZLS,
Im ok with getting treatments from company's. GIK has a few things I am interested in. Does anyone other than Real Traps sell tri corner triangles?

I have a room layout image ready for treatment advice from the acoustic circle.

It has been hinted to me before that the Cary pre and Halo A51  amp may not have a good synergy, I dont know. its a clean and nice sounding unit I just dont know if a dedicated music pre like maybe the Modwright 9.0se or another HTbypass pre would make a sizable musical step over the Cinema 11 pre or if the 9.0 would even be a good match with the Halo OR if I would be better off saving for a different amp...

What would one do next? After treatments.

I guess what I am trying to do here is understand synergy and where to upgrade from here, but it seem to me that one would just have to change out gear or audition equipment for a long time until understanding what type of sound characteristics fit with different traits from accompanying gear.

[Listens2tubes]

I too agree with room treatments. With fairly little treatment I was amazed at the changes in soundstage coming for my speakers. Not only width and depth but air and detail. Bass can be very overwhelming to the rest of the frequency response of the room. First reflections bring better focus and sense of space.

Next step would be dealing with vibrations

[jriggy]

I knew I would get a little difference but you just got me a little more excited to get on this.
Might as well tackle the vibration issues now as well then....

As far as learning synergy, are there any known standards or rule of thumb as far what sound characteristics goes with another? Or is it all personal preference and just narrowing down what one likes and dislikes?

Also still sorta wondering how much of a musical advantage a HTbypass pre added my chain would have.

Learning synergy seems like long road

[woodsyi]

Where are you located?  You may be able to audition one you know.

Room first, but I think a tube preamp might be good for 2 channel.   

[jriggy]

Im in Indianapolis... Would be great to find someone willing to lone me a MWI 9.0se to try out 

[jriggy]

Still wondering if synergy is purely personal preference to ones ears and tastes or if there are any rules of thumb or guidelines some may use when choosing gear to audition... Or possibly speaker dependent only? ie: matching amd to speakers is all that really maters.
It sounds to me, synergy is something learned over time while listening to many many set ups and less about certain traits of one piece of electronics not matching up with traits of another piece of gear...

Im trying understand this elusive subject

[K Shep]

It sounds to me, synergy is something learned over time while listening to many many set ups and less about certain traits of one piece of electronics not matching up with traits of another piece of gear...

Both...IMO synergy is the means to an end.  One first must know what his audio preference is.  I prefer the combination of tube pre amp/ss amp.  This setup delivers a specific audible signature.  Over time I came to understand what my audio preference is, through auditioning gear at audio shops and taking equipment home and listening in my system, my room.  I chose my DAC because it has an analog characteristic, less edgy which has worked quite well in my setup.

[werd]

Hi i kinda went all Bryston but before  i used to try and break it into three parts. I would look for dac and pre synergy, i then would look for speaker/amp compatibility. At this point you have taken 4 components and made it an issue of two. Then i would look  for these grouped combos that i thought would work good together. And of course the third part is cabling, and that can throw a wrench into everything.

It is so confusing and complex, i found it had to be broken down like this or things just got to hard to manage.

It looks like you've gotten the gear you so the next step i would do is try and establish what volume you listen at. a very important part imo of establishing synergy is getting handle on your listen and volume levels habits. You could very well be  commiting your room to a sound that maybe more suited to a high volume listening level. IF you do alot of late nite casual listening, applying absortion techniques wont satisfy your taste, that kinda thing


P.S

Just have fun and dont drive yourself crazy over it and become compulsive.

[jriggy]

you both bring up excellent points!

K Shep,
 I too have been interested in tubes @ the DAC & Pre and solid state @ the the amp... I did not really have a basis for those thoughts other than it seemed like a good way to have the best of both worlds.
I have listened to every speaker choice I have made in my room first but this next choice (a tube pre with HT bypass) will be a little bit harder to do and Im probably gunna have to buy blind or by recommendations only...

werd,
great advice on 'pairing' the components...

I listen at moderate levels i would say. hovering around 70db... Are you saying room treatments do the most good at higher volume? or are you saying some of my gear chosen, like my amp maybe, are more suited for higher spl?

[werd]

you both bring up excellent points!

K Shep,
 I too have been interested in tubes @ the DAC & Pre and solid state @ the the amp... I did not really have a basis for those thoughts other than it seemed like a good way to have the best of both worlds.
I have listened to every speaker choice I have made in my room first but this next choice (a tube pre with HT bypass) will be a little bit harder to do and Im probably gunna have to buy blind or by recommendations only...

werd,
great advice on 'pairing' the components...

I listen at moderate levels i would say. hovering around 70db... Are you saying room treatments do the most good at higher volume? or are you saying some of my gear chosen, like my amp maybe, are more suited for higher spl?

Yes especially if your are trying to  soundproof  to diminish  intrusion into other people's privacy. Sounds waves at lower volumes wont amplify the negative effects of the materials its coming in contact with. Better off using dispersion than damping like this ime.

[hmen]

Seeing what you already have I think the first thing you should do put up some room treatments. I was shocked at the difference it made in my system the first time I put bass traps in the corners. I used to hear people say that the room is 50% of the equation and I thought they were exagerating but now I believe it.