02-Nov-2015, 19:18
Womaz,
Many things can affect the sound of the system and 'a touch of brightness' could be adjusted with cables, or it may be in some other part of your system other than the Dev.
I know that in the past, when I've moved my system around the house, the presentation of the sound always changed; soundstage/ image size (which doesn't matter too much to me, usually), the sense of space and all the other, finer points that we tend to listen for. If I could get rid of the dining room table and put my system there, I'd have a much better result than I do with my system in the living room, where it is now.
But to your point about brightness. A while ago my favourite dealer played some tracks for me in a very small room, about 10' x 13' max, and it was a surround sound system, with two subs, and Monitor Audio loudspeakers. He also had some plants, rugs, and acoustic panels on the walls. The first thing I noticed was how quiet the room was; just sitting there without music. The road noise evident in the main room was reduced in volume to a surprising degree. I mean, the quietness was really noticeable. Secondly, when some snappy music was played (Fireflies, by Owl City) the volume could be turned up a lot without a feeling of being overwhelmed. I believe completely that this capability was due to the absorptive elements in the room. The typical reflections that give the 'ringing' and even a kind of phase or timing confusion were effectively gone. That little room had none of the sharp brightness that I would have expected, nor the booming bass.
I am only offering this experience to pass on my own experience about the effect a room and the reflections can have on what we hear. I too like the spare, modern feel but it is not acoustically sympathetic to hi-fi. I think rjrw44's point about the room being as important as a component is a good one, and a good way to look at it.
As I said, I don't have a lot of flexibility in my own set up and I am convinced that I could have a better sound if my living space were different. But some in my life feel we need a dining table, and that a living room needs chairs and couches for guests.... strangest thing.
Many things can affect the sound of the system and 'a touch of brightness' could be adjusted with cables, or it may be in some other part of your system other than the Dev.
I know that in the past, when I've moved my system around the house, the presentation of the sound always changed; soundstage/ image size (which doesn't matter too much to me, usually), the sense of space and all the other, finer points that we tend to listen for. If I could get rid of the dining room table and put my system there, I'd have a much better result than I do with my system in the living room, where it is now.
But to your point about brightness. A while ago my favourite dealer played some tracks for me in a very small room, about 10' x 13' max, and it was a surround sound system, with two subs, and Monitor Audio loudspeakers. He also had some plants, rugs, and acoustic panels on the walls. The first thing I noticed was how quiet the room was; just sitting there without music. The road noise evident in the main room was reduced in volume to a surprising degree. I mean, the quietness was really noticeable. Secondly, when some snappy music was played (Fireflies, by Owl City) the volume could be turned up a lot without a feeling of being overwhelmed. I believe completely that this capability was due to the absorptive elements in the room. The typical reflections that give the 'ringing' and even a kind of phase or timing confusion were effectively gone. That little room had none of the sharp brightness that I would have expected, nor the booming bass.
I am only offering this experience to pass on my own experience about the effect a room and the reflections can have on what we hear. I too like the spare, modern feel but it is not acoustically sympathetic to hi-fi. I think rjrw44's point about the room being as important as a component is a good one, and a good way to look at it.
As I said, I don't have a lot of flexibility in my own set up and I am convinced that I could have a better sound if my living space were different. But some in my life feel we need a dining table, and that a living room needs chairs and couches for guests.... strangest thing.
Damon
Powernode, NAD M32, Cambridge CD transport, Analysis Plus, Nordost, iFi Nova, CSS Criton 1TDX, KEF C62
Vancouver, Canada
