10-Dec-2023, 22:46
As@David A says, your room looks to be a problem and treating that will most certainly give you the best bang for your buck. Try this little trick; take a couple of small cushions and hold them beside your head. That will block part, but not all reflections in the room. If that gives you an improvement, you can be damn sure your room has too many hard surfaces. Room treatment doesn't have to be costly. Anything that absorbs will help. The thicker the better. Have a go with whatever you have sitting around; Mattresses, thick blankets, an old doona, whatever. The first reflection point on the side wall should be the first place to cover. If you want to know where that is, sit in your listening seat and have someone slide a mirror along the wall. The point where you can see your speakers in the mirror is the first reflection point.
Another point can be where you sit. David already pointed to that too. Move your seat backwards and forwards to find where the bass sounds best. If there is no good spot for bass, ten bass traps will help, but in a room that size, I can't see it to be too big an issue. i.e. there will be some place where the bass sounds good, you just have to find it.
I have found 'Get Better Sound' by Jim Smith a very valuable book to learn all about speaker setup. In my opinion, what I've learned from that book has had a bigger impact on my sound quality than anything else I've bought, and it's the cheapest to boot. Over the years, Jim has found that if the distance between the two tweeters is 83% of the distance between the tweeters and your ears on average he had the best results. I used that as a starting point. Mine are now somewhere in the high 70% mark. Yours are at 70%, so try a little wider.
BTW, I find it quite stupid of Dali to tell you that you don't need toe in. Every room is different so every setup should be a matter of trial and error. Anyone who comes up with a set of 'rules' in my opinion doesn't know what they're talking about. I include the Wilson Audio Setup Procedure, The Cardas calculator and others. They are a starting point at best. Always play with width, tilt, toe in, back to from movement. Only by trying will you get the best results. It takes time and effort.
On the equipment front:
1. Your speaker cables probably don't help either. I've tried revealing cables and I've so far found nothing to sound more natural than my Canare 4S11 cable. It's cheap, yes, but it actually has some science behind it. Blue Jeans sells them all made up. If you want to do a bit of DIY, Cliff cables on the Gold Coast sells them by the meter.
2. I've never liked the Ethernet connection on the Devialet. USB sounds better, but I've recently tried the Holo Red streamer into AES/EBU and that sounds much more natural again.
3. I've found a good power conditioner to make a hugely positive impact on the SQ.
Saunter, I've listed everything above in a specific order for a reason. I reckon that this list should be looked at from start to finish in that order. There's no use buying any equipment unless you have a good sounding room and have your seat and speakers set up properly. In my opinion, when it comes to equipment, the three above should start with 1, but 2 and 3 can be swapped. Just be aware that a good power conditioner is a lot more expensive than the streamer.
Hope that helps. If you're ever around Northern NSW, send me a PM and come and have a listen to my setup. It'll all make sense quite quickly.
Until you have done any of the above, why not turn the treble down a bit? It's a band aid, but at least you'll be able to enjoy your music a bit longer.
Another point can be where you sit. David already pointed to that too. Move your seat backwards and forwards to find where the bass sounds best. If there is no good spot for bass, ten bass traps will help, but in a room that size, I can't see it to be too big an issue. i.e. there will be some place where the bass sounds good, you just have to find it.
I have found 'Get Better Sound' by Jim Smith a very valuable book to learn all about speaker setup. In my opinion, what I've learned from that book has had a bigger impact on my sound quality than anything else I've bought, and it's the cheapest to boot. Over the years, Jim has found that if the distance between the two tweeters is 83% of the distance between the tweeters and your ears on average he had the best results. I used that as a starting point. Mine are now somewhere in the high 70% mark. Yours are at 70%, so try a little wider.
BTW, I find it quite stupid of Dali to tell you that you don't need toe in. Every room is different so every setup should be a matter of trial and error. Anyone who comes up with a set of 'rules' in my opinion doesn't know what they're talking about. I include the Wilson Audio Setup Procedure, The Cardas calculator and others. They are a starting point at best. Always play with width, tilt, toe in, back to from movement. Only by trying will you get the best results. It takes time and effort.
On the equipment front:
1. Your speaker cables probably don't help either. I've tried revealing cables and I've so far found nothing to sound more natural than my Canare 4S11 cable. It's cheap, yes, but it actually has some science behind it. Blue Jeans sells them all made up. If you want to do a bit of DIY, Cliff cables on the Gold Coast sells them by the meter.
2. I've never liked the Ethernet connection on the Devialet. USB sounds better, but I've recently tried the Holo Red streamer into AES/EBU and that sounds much more natural again.
3. I've found a good power conditioner to make a hugely positive impact on the SQ.
Saunter, I've listed everything above in a specific order for a reason. I reckon that this list should be looked at from start to finish in that order. There's no use buying any equipment unless you have a good sounding room and have your seat and speakers set up properly. In my opinion, when it comes to equipment, the three above should start with 1, but 2 and 3 can be swapped. Just be aware that a good power conditioner is a lot more expensive than the streamer.
Hope that helps. If you're ever around Northern NSW, send me a PM and come and have a listen to my setup. It'll all make sense quite quickly.
Until you have done any of the above, why not turn the treble down a bit? It's a band aid, but at least you'll be able to enjoy your music a bit longer.
Lifetime Roon, Mac mini, int. SSD, ext. HDD, tv as monitor, key board and track pad on bean bag as remote,Devialet 200, Od'A #097, Blue jeans speaker cable,
Dynaudio C1 MkII.
Jim Smith's GBS.
Northern NSW Australia.
Dynaudio C1 MkII.
Jim Smith's GBS.
Northern NSW Australia.
