Audiophile Problems (and Solutions)!

[@donjohnstone3707]

I helped make my listening room better by stringing clothes line across it in three sections and hanging up some of my clothes along it, which helps keep reflected sound under control and provides a useful indoor drying area on rainy days.

[@Labor_Jones]

to get my Turntable to play I had to wrap it in heavy curtains till I found something different, but better.

[@Labor_Jones]

@@keplermission4947 I'm pretty lucky I have a plus 60 years plus (what they use to call) a Radio/T.V. Repairman with his own shop still open 5 days a week. .... He's been setting up turntables for decades. I'm trying to talk him into building me one based on his years of experience. .... He's over 80, I think if I can come up with a 'Grand' he'll start on it.... .... I don't know if I would end up with what I spent, but I have something no one else ever had. I had an AR TT I bought in late 69 I loved and treasured. I bought another one recently, but honestly it doesn't live up to my expectations. Anyway.... I still have it, but it's sitting around waiting to played.

[@colanitower]

My first system from 1978-1980 doesn't drive me crazy, so I keep it. No corrections or fixes necessary. Very relaxing.

[@squallywally]

Don’t worry, be happy. We get to a point and think ah man this sounds great then we start worrying about can this be better instead of just enjoying what we thought was great

[@kostasjezuz4846]

I have none of these problems. My girlfriend is my problem, I can't properly listen to music with her around, which is integral to me being in a good mood, as she always complains about music selection, levels, why we don't watch a movie instead etc it's driving me nuts! Oh, and getting behind the rack to change something as well...

[@NickP333]

Agreed, Steve. Less is more as far as room treatment. Just having stuff in your room can effect sound for the better sometimes. The longer I’m in this hobby, the more I’m drawn to lower powered amps paired with higher sensitivity speakers. DIY’ing stuff is becoming more and more appealing. I’m enjoying that approach all the more as time goes by. Thanks, Steve!

[@3dimensionsofmusic3D]

Hey Nick 😀. Always good to see you. I'm on the other side of the spectrum. I have 💪 amplification and towers in one room (dimension) and the KEF 5s in another room. A third (dimension) 😆 has my original Harmon Karden reciever / CD with my '85 Polk RTA12Cs that I cannot part with. Never boring 😀.

[@NickP333]

@@3dimensionsofmusic3D Hey, Greg! Good to see you out here in the wilds of the interwebs too. Sounds like you’ve got a pretty killer rig, man! Our hobby can be pricey but well worth it. Mines not exactly low powered yet, but I’ve got a super rare pair of old Pioneer drivers and compression horn tweeters from 1959 to put in a folded cabinet once it finally warms up. I’m running some big Tekton speakers (95dB sensitivity) and 40wpc tube mono blocks, which I moved to from a brute force Parasound amp. Still running my tube pre and tube phono pre from a couple of TTs. Ahhh….I see why you call yourself 3 Dimensions of Music! lol I’d like to try the SET amp thing for a longer time, but I was able to borrow a friends 300B amps for a few days, and they sounded glorious. See ya around, man! 🙂🎶🔊✨

[@3dimensionsofmusic3D]

@@NickP333 WOW Nick it sounds like a great setup. I've heard lots of great things about Tektons. I'd love to hear it. Yep that's what 3D is about. Thanks for your comments. Greg

[@NickP333]

@@3dimensionsofmusic3D Hey, Greg. I meant to tell you about the vintage Marantz 2220B amp that a friend and I fully refurbished. 20wpc, and the sound is amazing. More than enough power for my Pendragons, and with a flat EQ has plenty of punch and midrange goodness. I think a lot of it has to do with my tube based pre and phono stage going to my Tektons.

[@3dimensionsofmusic3D]

@@NickP333 That is fantastic Nick. My first quality piece for audio, when I was 15 yrs.old, was a Marantz integrated. I've always loved Marantz products - great musicality. Since retiring I have upgraded to McIntosh SS equipment. I have a MA8900 integrated (for the KEFs) and a MC312 (for the towers). During the last year I got a Sutherland Insight phono pre with LPS onboard. It definitely raised the bar on my vinyl playback. If you have a CD collection, I highly recommend the Audiolab CDT. It's amazing what CDs sound like with this affordable upgrade!

[@DjRjSolarStar]

Yeah, I've realized this too over my audio journey. I remember when I upgraded my car stereo from cheap Jamo overstock drivers and a $100 MB Quart amp, to Dayton Reference drivers and a $800 Zapco amp, even though most music sounded superior, some music just never sounded as good again. When I have the space some day, I would like to have multiple pairs of loudspeakers in my home theater room to be used on different types of music.

[@BenjaminHare]

That anxiety that starts with "I should move my speakers," but after doing so the sound doesn't improve. Then you move them back to the original position before you fiddled but the sound is still off. "Great, I just messed up my system." Weeks go by and you're still trying to get back to the original goodness. I'm tortured by this.

[@lanemiddleton9]

A possible solution ? Mark your original speaker position with tape on the floor before you start moving the speakers. That way, if you prefer the original location - voilà, back they go. Happy listening 👂🏼

[@guystpierrecomposer]

Great advices! I kindly disagree with the room treatment point. I would say it can be (in some room) the first thing to try. But don't try to go further than 80% of fixing because the 20% left will cost you way to much money. As a sound engineer working from my home studio I experienced night and day difference with the same speakers with room treatment.

[@markt4385]

Yes, even some experts miss the importance of room treatment... when professionally applied, it can make the night and day difference you referred to! People always think that they are hearing gear in a room, but they are really hearing the room with gear in!

[@guystpierrecomposer]

@@markt4385 I have 3 setup (studio, TV 5.1 and Living room) In my living room 14' X 32' with a 12' ceiling with big wood beams - sofa, library, rug ... no need to room treatment. But especially in a 12' X 16' standard ceiling and drywall, you need something. The simple test is to clap your hands... if it's sound like shit, the speakers will to ;)

[@markt4385]

@@guystpierrecomposer Exactly!

[@petekutheis3822]

After declutterization of the space....

[@FOH3663]

Maybe I mis-heard... I thought he referenced room correction as opposed to room treatment. Room Correction, ie, algorithm DSP manipulation in both time and frequency domain... ie.; Audyssey, Dirac, Trinnov, etc.

[@robertwang7825]

I had a system from 2007 and only started upgrading it from last year. First by getting a DAC ( my CD player was irreparable ) and getting into streaming which is truly convenient and sounds pretty good. Then I got the Kef LS50 metas that really was another level. Ofc I treated the room as per Steve’s suggestions ( velvet cover for coffee table and TV , large carpet, 3D wallpaper , isolation for spkr spikes ) I also added a sub which did improve the sound. Now I’m looking at an amp ( Willsenton R800i ) and a better DAC ( Denafrips ) and sub ( Rel T5X ) Finally experimentation is the key esp spkr placement. Silver wires was really good. It’s a journey and I’m helping my son with his first system ( some of my stuff and new gear). Enjoying music everyday. Thanks to you Steve.

[@coolmickey68]

the Schiit equalizers have saved me on both systems. My rooms suck, also helps with less than perfect recordings. I also have to do near field listening in my music room. bottom line after the sytem is up and running, the tweaks come in, and yes they really work. Great vid Steve

[@mr.george7687]

This is the reason why I have multiple types of speakers & amps ( Tube & Solid state). Tubes for acoustic music, SS for rock!

[@moonphaser3304]

Always the voice of experience!

[@riccitone]

Thank you…this will help us maintain perspective while considering important solutions 🙏🏼

[@martytoo]

In semi-retirement not having a perfect system is a good thing. Changing things is fun. Change equipment locations, change music sources, buy new gear, buy vintage gear. There's always something to look forward to. Just this week I had Macy Gray in my room. Never met her before but now I can anticipate moving into a space to hear her live. Change is good.

[@IGBPI314]

Looking forward.. still 10 years to go unfortunatelly..

[@martytoo]

@@IGBPI314 I'm lucky enough to enjoy working half time. I'm well above retirement age.

[@LA-db9xj]

Enjoying being a full-time retiree. Not interested in working...AT ALL!! Playing with all of my "toys" is my job now. Between two HTs and a music listening-station I have plenty to keep me busy.

[@martytoo]

@@LA-db9xj Two Handi-Talkies?

[@thirdkey9]

Indeed on mixing it up. I was looking at some vintage stuff to shake it up and came across a few diamonds in the rough. I got a vintage techniques EQ through a guy who refurbishes and repairs speakers and components as a post retirement hobby. Not sure if it will find some permanent home with the system I’m building now but it is effective and a lot of fun to mess around with right now.

[@OldTooly]

You've seen my crazy oversize system (system of the day after the Van Alstein review video) that I sit very close to. It was the complete solution to the room that is impossible to deal with, and multipurpose rooms are never best for speaker performance. For decades I tried to overpower the room and ruined my ears. Now I'm happier with my multi speaker, configurable into a variety of possible ways and can get the sound I had back in the early 70's, or clean pristine sound for classical chamber recordings or fine jazz etc. or just rock the heck out of the room. I'll never stop experimenting but I'm really happy with the present setup. And it ended up with 2 tube amps and 2 solid state amps. SS alone just doesn't go the extra mile for the fine pure low fatigue highs and mids that make you feel like you're there.

[@austinlibby7025]

Again your expertise equal to mine I’m 79 years old and work 13 years of age with Saul Moran’s helping him create the sound that he was looking for in Marantz guarantee I’m one of the first to have quad ESL‘s in my living room prior to you having one they were fantastic and I listen to a lot of rock and I’m an A&R guy in rock ‘n’ roll at the time and produced quite a few records in the 70s and 60s quite a few I’m not gonna name names but you’ll be familiar with them and they were great for rock ‘n’ roll

[@gregorypatton360]

My biggest problem is that some recordings have a locked in center image while others seem to be left or right focused. This really drives me nuts. I was constantly moving speakers, swapping tubes, changing cables etc. Eventually i just learned that some albums just arent recorded to sound the same. I try to fight the urge to start changing my system around when this happens but still find myself tinkering around from time to time.

[@OldTooly]

I had a similar experience and I went crazy for a few weeks. I was sure my system was at fault. Listening to a Mozart Symphony, no matter what I did the image was constantly to the left. I swapped and pulled wires tubes preamps, reloaded drivers on the computer, reloaded the software and just couldn't fix it. Then I was studying the various configurations of the symphony orchestra and downloaded images of the baroque and romantic and classical instrument placements and it suddenly occurred to me. The piece I was listening to was overwhelmingly being played by the violin section, with support from the violas. The entire violin section is ON THE LEFT SIDE. I had built a system that was revealing an image quite close to the actual performance, a Deutsche Gramophone recording of the Berlin Philharmonic. The relief was amazing.

[@martytoo]

@@StephaneVorstellung The Beatles early Capital albums were labeled Duophonic because the guys at Capital played with the tracks to make pseudo stereo dreck. I was lucky that I couldn't justify the extra dollar for the stereo/duophonic mix. I have mono versions of all those old albums. Crazy.

[@gregorypatton360]

@@OldTooly it definately seems to happen with my older blues and jazz lps. Those same records played in a secondary less resolving system seem less distracting. This usually would only add to my neurosis with my main rig.

[@gregorypatton360]

@@StephaneVorstellung this makes alot of sense. That mono switch would definitely come in handy on certain lps.

[@peterlarkin762]

@@keplermission4947 calling anonymous humans tiresome is tiresome.

[@AudioTnT]

Audiophiliac guru has nailed the secret to a happy (audiophile) life.."less is more". I long for the days of balance and tone control knobs. Now we need fancy interconnect cables, DSP room correction, vibration isolators to achieve "perfect" sound.

[@AudioTnT]

@@keplermission4947 u r sure? A mono switch would also be useful for early stereo records w hard left - right placement (e.g. vocals on left, instruments on right).

[@marklawrence17]

Hi Steve, I'm not clear on how you acquire equipment, but I'd like to see reviews of the Monitor Silver 300 $2600, the PSB Alpha T20 $800, the Triangle Borea BR08 $1100 and the Q Acoustics 3050i $1000. Four highly regarded speakers at reasonable prices. Made in countries that speak a reasonable approximation of English. Room treatments: One of the best is half cylinders. These can help with standing waves and reflected waves, but no one seems to use them. Highly preferred seems to be these prime-diffuser-reblatifier systems, which have at best a limited frequency response. Half cylinders work at all but the very lowest frequencies, like under 100-200hz. You just get a sonotube at home depot for like $10-20, cut it in half, glue on some appropriate fabric using 3M 77, and stand it up against the wall. Admittedly not as sexy as the cityscapes or alien writing cutout boards, but far cheaper and generally more effective. Also great is to drop your ceiling a few inches and put in an acoustic drop ceiling. The gap is important. Your whole room takes a huge step towards non-reflective. I have 9 foot high drop ceilings with 5 feet of clearance above them, and my room is where hand claps go to die. That's with wood floors, smooth walls, windows, and no other room treatments. I do have a throw rug and three couches - couches are better, acoustically, than chairs.

[@snakeoilaudio]

I have a solution for some (many) of these problems. Build your own stuff. Advantage 1st, you can tune it exactly where you want it to be. 2nd money isn't a problem anymore since you spend only pennies for the dollar. 3rd It takes a lot longer to complete your stereo than just buying it, so it keeps you busy. 4th the really good stuff isn't for sale anyways. 5th you start judging your stereo by sound and not by shiny surfaces. etc etc

[@carlosbauza1139]

It's a matter of Personal Preference. Steve's solutions are spot-on! Great!

[@robertyoung1777]

Standing waves - Steve is right on here! I place my speakers on the long wall, faces out about three to five feet. It sounds better than than having them on the short wall for me. Move your seating position forward and backwards to fine tune bass levels (just six inches makes a difference). Sit close to your speakers (five feet away). Place speakers close together (four or five feet apart). I’ve experimented with this setup for forty years and have always enjoyed it more than pointing speakers down the length of any room.

[@joerosen5464]

The long wall ALWAYS sounds better. You gotta have a pretty HUUUUGE room to be able to pull speakers 5ft. from the back wall; because ideally, you want to have that much room behind your head as well, all w/o literally sitting right in between your speakers! 7-10ft. away is an ideal listening distance from the speakers, assuming that you have "normal" ones & not GIANT ROBOTS. THE best solution for a lousy room is to put up those 4'x8', 1" thick (minimum) cloth-covered fibreglass panels that they used back in the 80's as "instant" office cubicles. Put 'em on every wall you can, there's NO SUCH THING as "too much"! This "Live End, Dead End" (LEDE) CRAP the studio maroons talk about is just that: CRAP. These panels cost around $100ea. if you can stand to loÖök at them, & they're best screwed into drywall or plaster & not left standing around precariously! This all assumes that: - You live alone or your partner values sound over aesthetics as much as we true Audiophoole types do.😂😂😂😬 - It's going to be YOUR long-term listening room, not ever a "family room". A man-cave, IOW. That "should" also help with standing wave issues enough to tame them, unless they're really severe at low frequencies. Then the solution is TUBE TRAPS; quarter-round fibreglass-stuffed columns you put in any & every corner of the room necessary. DSP room correction is AUDIO DEATH 😲😨😱😵 if you value analog sound & valve amplification. Ditto "conventional" graphic/parametric EQ units which cost a few hundred dollars & will reduce the sound of your $15,000 system to one that sounds like you paid a few hundred dollars for it...But if you want to hear a $500 system sound like a $50,000 one (or better!) then that's what those dorky 4'x8' panels will transform it into! And since you, uh, "probably" spent more than $500 on your system I can assure it gets even better.🌈🦄

[@dan-qe1tb]

Understand about full range electrostatics being weak in dynamics and bass when playing rock music. Best Buy has hybrid Martin Logans; the ESL-11A has, the best bass I've ever heard. I had walked into the back room when Metallica was playing, and my jaw had dropped, it was so clean and detailed. You have an engineered solution where the bass driver is designed to work together with the others. Even my Audeze LCD-Xs have bass that sounds sound muddy and one note in comparison. My Rhythmik subwoofer, doesn't compare, either. I had used REW extensively along with a miniDSP USB mike, with my dynamic driver Martin Logans. I had learned about resonances, room nulls, and driver interaction extensively. You can't equalize your way up, out of a room null. It's like a black hole. In my case, it was at 60 Hz. No wonder I had noticed more details in drum and bass guitar tracks when using headphones

[@TheMirolab]

+1 vote for Equalizers!! I've tried several studio EQs for playing back vinyl, and my favorite so far is the Vintage Audio M3D for $1400. It's a 6-band stereo EQ with one set of controls. The problem with many EQs is that they have separate L & R controls, and that's no fun to use. The M3D is super fast and easy to tweak, and each band is very wide for minimal phase shift. It's very transparent! It's strictly balanced I/O however. I have it right after my Parasound JC3 phono pre, and go balanced into my preamp.

[@jaakanshorter]

I've always felt that if your system starts to drive your music choices you F'd up. In the 80s and early 90s I listened to everything on my dad's ESL57s including rock, pop, new wave, etc... I just always wow by music on the quads. Currently I've only trash 1 CD after I got my Magnepans out of hundreds. And yes I'm still buying CDs. I did build an DLNA music server, uploading flac, in the last few months.

[@michaelivan9066]

A lot of great ideas for audio problems. Thanks yet again.

[@fabien7079]

Love my speakers, they play all type of music (Jazz, blues, rock, classical and world music) so well, they are very refine when required, extremely dynamic like live music (Not the same for sure), bass is so tight and detail, they still surprise me what they can do when they pressurize the room. Bought them not from review but from listening to them, they replace my Dunlavy IV-A... Cheers!

[@Roudaki677]

What a great topic, after 20+ years of living with Magnepan 1.6 and 3.7 as primary speakers, I am having the same doubts. I have pulled my vintage Altec Valencia and Celestion Dittons and questioning my love for my Maggies. A fundamental point that you clearly identified, is the variety of music I have, from classic jazz, to new wave to classic rock and not one type of speaker can excel at all.

[@mondoenterprises6710]

Have you tried a subwoofer(s) with them?

[@lerpack455]

My IMF 80’s speakers were in a large room with a wooden floor. When l moved, my sound room had a concrete floor. Of course the bass was tighter. l currently have an art studio with a lot of stuff like shelves on the walls. They absorb nicely my Klipsch 600m’s sound. Today while playing my organ through a Leslie speaker my wife had put a blanket over it covering the top horn. l left it in place and just lifted the front of the material to let the sound out. What a better sound it was! All interesting stuff Steve and we keep on learning. U.K.

[@ecyfoto]

Standing waves were a problem for me until I installed a second sub. Massive improvement. Not perfect but a huge difference.

[@markt4385]

Definitely works! Great advice.

[@FOH3663]

Agree strongly. Spreading subs across the room, either L-to-R, and/or Front-to-Back, addresses modal issues across that particular axis... particularly effective w/multi-seat HT apps. Selective Mode Cancelation is what Harman Northridge research calls it. Granted, mileage may vary, etc... as it's vital that the blend between the mains and subs is well executed... (throw in some LF decay control via bass-trapping, and Voilà; Bass Nirvana).

[@FOH3663]

@@keplermission4947 I welcome the discussion of all those other topics too. However, simply focusing on leveraging the physics involved in spreading one's LF sources across a room's dimension... it's a powerful tool that is always beneficial, without exception. (again, primary caveat being well executed system blending and integration). To your final point; due to modal challenges, all loudspeakers perform better in large rooms. (L, or LL, despite one being more common, both are perfectly acceptable. Commoner, me? Please, I'm no commoner, and you sir, you're not common either;) Thanks

[@ecyfoto]

@@keplermission4947 Well, I know what my ears tell me and your remark, in my case, is not relevant.

[@Extremesam43]

We can use that as a reminder. That some speakers play some genres better. We as audiophiles tend to forget that. We just assume that a great speaker will automatically play Beetoven or AC/DC equally well. We already know they don't but but we always forget about that.

[@joerosen5464]

Good speakers "should" play anything, any time. And great speakers like QUAD's do! If they aren't, it's YOUR fault, not the speakers! With a couple of minor, realistic caveats. QUAD's will only go LOUD. Not, f***ing LOUD. They work best in small-"ish" rooms. They'll do 95db c-weighted within 10' in a room of 300sq.ft. or so. They "only" go down to 35Hz confidently. If you need louder and/or lower, you should own a pair of JL subwoofers if you don't already. Then roll the QUAD's off accordingly. 40Hz for bass extension; 60Hz for Metalheads, maybe as high as 80 for DEATH Metalheads. Protect the QUAD's from deep bass with a HPF (have your friendly neighborhood audio technician put a suitably small input capacitor on the QUAD's amplifier for a transparent 6db/oct. rolloff as determined by the input impedance of the amp & the cutoff frequency you want. If the tech charges you more than $100 to do it, he's probably ripping you off. Or installing teflon caps...). You can't just use "any" amp on a QUAD. Trans-zipster amps sound thin & tinny, so guess what QUAD's sound like with them? 16/44 Dead-book digital sounds gob-awful through them, & higher rez digital isn't hugely better. Because QUAD's have 100 times less distortion than typical dynamic speakers do, & STILL 10 times less than the best of them do (pure beryllium/JM Lab, diamond-coated metal/Accuton=Tidal/Estelon or B&W "800D" series). As Steve noted, QUAD's are all about resolution, "transparency". IOW, QUAD's are all about GIGO. As in, "Garbage In, Garbage Out". And ALL digital, unfortunately, IS garbage! Don't EVER put your favourite dynamic speakers, especially horns!, side-by-side with QUAD's to do direct A/B's. Because you'll NEVER want to listen to those dynamic speakers again! Not the QUAD's fault that all else is garbage. Because unfortunately, unless it's another GOOD electrostatic (MURaudio, SanderSound) it IS. Once you upgrade your system to sound TRULY good, "suddenly" the QUAD's play everything truly well! But, I admit, it's much harder to find other components worthy of the QUAD's to match with them. But it can be done; you're just going to be auditioning ALOT more components that might just cost ALOT more than you originally budgeted for. Not the QUAD's fault. You want to own garbage & play garbage through them? Too bad! But they can, they will, & they DO play any & all genres of music with a degree of aplomb that almost no other loudspeaker can, save perhaps their superior predecessor (the original, 1957, QUAD ESL). I have a 300sq.ft. room, moderately damped, with a concrete slab foundation for my floor. And I play a much wider variety of music than just "Liona Boyd & her hammer dulcimer" or baroque chamber music; although yes, sometimes I play Segovia & Bach & Liszt as well. Alongside Miles Davis, from Kind of Blue to Bitches Brew to Pangaea & Star People...cranked! And Zeppelin & Floyd & Black Sabbath, too. And Beethoven & Mahler & Stockhausen & Cage. And I love my 90's techno-ambient: Future Sound of London ISDN & Dead Cities. The Orb: Blue Room, Little Fluffy Clouds, Pomme Fritz, Morphology. Stuff with LOUD sub-30Hz bass lines pulsing through it like a heartbeat, frequencies the QUAD's barely reach but play well enough at 85-90db WITHOUT subwoofers. Which I both do not have nor especially want, since even the superb offerings from JL Audio can't match the beautiful purity of what frequencies the QUAD's cover; & that just kinda ruins it for me. I don't have loud parties in my home. And if I did, I'd rent something else to abuse; partying ISN'T listening to music, it's PARTYING. Any loud noise will do, no drunken stoner cares about the midrange imaging when they're doing the Pogo anyway!💥 Finally, QUAD's play streaming & MP3's as well as any other good speaker can. It's far from high fidelity, the QUAD's reveal its true awfulness, so you listen to it for the background noise it is. From another room, while you cook or do dishes...

[@ridirefain6606]

Really appreciate this video. I also have frustrations with a lot of High End speakers. Many are designed to be precision instruments that sound good on Jazz, Singer Songwriter, and Classical content. Play anything else beyond that, they wimp out. I would love to see some more all rounders that do not roll off the bass at 30 HZ.

[@andrewaldridge4260]

Hey Steve, just started listening to your podcasts - you knocked it out of the park yet again. You mentioned Tyll in the CES one, it would be great to have a catch up with him if you're still in touch. All the best.

[@christophernoto]

A nice rundown of a big handful of issues! Thanks, Steve!

[@user-od9iz9cv1w]

Great to hear everyone's take on crazy. I identify with a lot of it. Overall pretty satisfied and just want to listen more than tinker.

[@pcm9969]

I have checked out a dozen or so audio reviewers, but keep coming back to the Audiophiliac. Steve has IMO the best balance in his reviews along with decades of experience. His philosophy about audio topics is priceless as well (his definition of audiophile is dead on). Thanks for your channel!

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Thanks Perry!

[@MichelLinschoten]

Just add subs to make up for the lack of dynamic range. It would put those quads way above box speakers . I had the esl57, my biggest conundrum was the ridiculous small sweet spot. Aside from it having a "aquired" taste look.

[@Roof_Pizza]

Perhaps bring your old speakers with you when shopping. Better at setting a baseline and you may even be able to sell them.

[@twostepped999]

Ps Steve I like that you have some solutions 👍🏻. A man with answers!

[@richardhernandez7741]

I have decided to click off any viewer system of the day that opens to reveal a room whose owner has not bothered to learn about system setup, particularly speaker placement. You have often remarked on this and I agree it doesn't matter how much one spends on hardware if they don't take the time to understand system/room setup. A modest system correctly set up will outperform $30,000 systems shoved between a corner and a cabinet every time.

[@larryshaver3568]

your advice shows a great deal of common sense

[@Moshavnik7272]

An issue that has always came up for me is that I have always have to accommodate my wife when it comes to speaker placement when ideal acoustics and furniture arrangement clash. In all the places I have lived in including my current house of 25 years, I have always had to compromise with sound quality when I had/have to let a sofa or side table get placed between my speakers who are facing speakers (DBX Soundfield 10). I don’t believe I have ever heard my speakers the way they were meant to be heard.

[@glenncurry3041]

I completely understand and sympathize with your Quad experience, I have Maggies. And the more I improve my system the more I realize how poorly recorded much of my stuff from back in the day is! So the decision becomes do I use a system that makes everything sound loud and impressive regardless of how bad the recording? Or a system that when a really good recording comes along, I can truly appreciate it! I am still in the "when it's right, it's right" mode. And put up with the less incredible to achieve the occasional outstanding. Some of my favorite albums have poor sound to the extent that I would question the system and play a known high quality pressing after to reduce the anxiety! I am currently in my 2nd audiophile life. Having had to leave it some decades ago for a number of reasons, life/ children.... , that exact extreme paranoid attention to detail. I was raising the arm half way through an album because I could hear dirt buildup on the stylus and it needed cleaning to finish the record! Now with kids out (with their own turntable based systems) I have been repairing my old stuff and getting some new. And my new frustration is digital destruction to everything. So many 50th releases that even though from master analog tape sources are not analog to the lathe. And it is audible! The Sgt Pepper is a perfect example. My original pressing, as bad as Beatle stuff was back then is better. Roy Orbison's "Love so Beautiful" sucks! But the Hendrix "Ladyland" box set? WOW! And one you missed completely? WAF!

[@glenncurry3041]

@@keplermission4947 Thanks for showing us all how much better you are than I! I will try to get closer to your abili... er ... I said I again! OPS!

[@hoobsgroove]

yeah I agree with you I listen to a pair of quad 57 and didn't do it for me I know Steve what speak you would like ?? you're like the JBL M2 with a BBS active crossover give it a go if you get the chance! if you have a analogue ideally, A speaker management system/ active crossover you don't need EQ you can do it in the speaker management system a good one will have a mic input and you can tune the room

[@alexstewart8097]

Room correction ...? Agree that interchanging A and B when needed, sounds good.Thank God for heaven and angelic music though. And ALways remember that some philiacs don't know how good they have it AL ready until it's gone...and then regrets set it...Shema!!!

[@dell177]

I think low frequency nodes (lower than 100-120HZ) can be tamed by DSP, you can lessen the peaks but can't do a lot with dips. REW is a great tool to look at room response but anything you do is only valid in one small area.

[@carmenandthedevil2804]

I loved my Quads. Windham Hill never sounded better. Now I own the Quad's with Ball's. Gale 401A's with three to five Hundred watts per side on a 30 amp, 240 volt separate power circuit.

[@seanmangan2769]

That is a GREAT shirt! It's such a work of art that your wife should sign it.

[@amosperrine1909]

Thanks for this, while I would not use the word "crazy" this vid makes clear that while we can agree on how something sounds what makes us different is what's important to us as listeners.

[@carlosbauza1139]

It took me Years to recognize my preference for imaging and staging, over full-range response.

[@arthurpendragon1610]

Same as your Quads Steve---I sold ultra high end in Manhattan and hated every single speaker we had for sale as they all sucked with rock. Too detailed and thin. No impact. Even had Marky from the Ramones come in to my store complaining he had been all over town and nothing "did drums" and I knew immediately exactly what he was complaining about. Took me years but I have built myself a Harbeth based system with additional midbass and sub bass drivers and separate four way amplification and finally I have flat response. EVERYTHING you play sounds dreamy. Three dimensional and solid. Lucky for me I realized the game was rigged early on and then I did something extreme to solve the puzzle. I feel for modern audiophiles that are limited in what they can enjoy. It's a crime.

[@hemicuda9510]

I agree completely on the difference in recording quality which can make your system sound either really good or really bad. I have certain recordings that sounds so bad it makes me wonder whoever did the mixing and mastering on it if they knew they had massive hearing loss! Lol But if I may make a suggestion for the standing wave problem, how about adding an extra subwoofer or two into the room and they don't even have to be that big and it really helps cure that problem at least it did for me.

[@mastaboog749]

I love your wall dampners! Also I felt the same way with my standard amp listening to old rock with my sennheisers and hifimans. Tho grados it still sounded great. I ended up getting a tube pre amp and it helped like crazy with those headphones that I felt like older music just sounded bad with. I'll do speakers some day.

[@joerosen5464]

In the meantime, try "dropping" $400 on a pair of Koss/Drop E95x's. The best damn headphones nobody seems to have heard of, despite being made in America by Americans, & in continuous production longer than Steve's ex-QUAD ESL-63's (since 1994!). If Drop isn't offering them on their site right now, you'll just have to save up $1000 to get the non-econo regular Koss model, the E950's. The extra $600 for the Koss version gets you a bonus external 12V battery & a very spiffy custom-designed Man Bag to hold the Headphones, a clutch of seedies, & THE dedicated energiser/amplifier (because they're PORTABLE electrostatics!!!, & they löÖök like Stax Lambda Pros, except they just CLOBBER them sonically with the best midrange & bass you have ever heard; better even than $6000 Abyss 1266's!). And they have a lifetime warranty! Which means something, since they've loöOöng figured out how to make them (as said: from 1994. Continuously!) & they've only been in business 60+ years now, so they'll be around to honour that warranty for probably ANOTHER 60+ years.😁 I know, I own them! And noooooo, I'm not some "social influencer"/paid shill, nor even an American. Just: A VERY SATISFIED CUSTOMER. Not that Grado headphones don't sound very nice & all, because they do. They're just not even remotely in the same league. For that matter, when was the last time you checked out Koss' other legend, the $40 Porta-Pros? They sound better than the SR60's & 80's I've also owned. Much better made, far more comfortable, better quality materials, equally neutral but cleaner, lower distortion/higher resolution mylar drivers, same CRAZY lifetime warranty (it even covers replacement foam earpads!!!😵😮). My pair is around 40yrs. old & still sounding awesome, & not leaving any black dirt on my earlobes yet either. Long live lost Koss!😉

[@3dimensionsofmusic3D]

Hi Steve. That's a beautiful system In Belgium. Beautiful country and excellent 🍺! Greg

[@robertm8518]

That shirt drives me crazy!! It’s great!!

[@stimpy1226]

My biggest frustration and complaint is that the quality of recordings is so variable that you do not know what you’re purchasing. Most systems are resolving enough to hear the differences and it’s very upsetting to just listen to one fabulous recording and then here second recording that sounds so compressed or so shrill that I finally understood that my system was not an issue it was the recordings.

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

So maybe your system is a bit too resolving. You need to dial it back. Quickest way, adjust toe-in, so you’re getting less direct sound.

[@stimpy1226]

@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac I consider my system highly resolving and that’s a good idea for me too do a little bit more tweaking. Thanks Steve.

[@TheMirolab]

100% agree!! So many new recordings of rock music that I really like, are not enjoyable due to excessive compression.

[@HouseofRecordsTacoma]

That's why a secondary or tertiary system is a must 😄.

[@osbert43]

Great answers to some common questions. I have to disagree with the Quad comments however, that they can't "rock". Playing the Who's Tommy (original UK pressing) on the ESL 57s with my Radford amp and a pair of subs in line...wow. Hard pressed to say they dont "rock". Fun for me is hearing the detail the Quads give and sounds that just never clearly made it to my ears with boxed speakers. Yes, I have a pair of mint Altec Lansing Santiagos in the other room that can go louder (which is fun sometimes) than the Quads. But they wont reveal as much. Some day, Steve, you will come back to the Quads!! LOL

[@Campbell1.]

What really drives me nuts is poor recordings, ESPECIALLY when you like the band or artists, and they sound; well flat and tinny ( like Led Zep for eg ). And I think that other albums that were recorded/engineered superbly about the same time!. or well before. To top this off, bad recordings that find their way into 24/96 and DSD formats, WOW " remastered" which in other words means it has been compressed down to crap because their initial sales were probably poor in the first place and need to market the new improved re-mastered version for additional sales. Campbell ( retired - mostly happy - Audio Engineer ).

[@JDG1971]

I've been an audiophile for a long time... Let's worry if we don't have food and drink... High-end is beautiful and you can go as expensive as you want... But complain and whine and not enjoy, does not make any sense. Many people can enjoy listening to music on the phone... Nothing wrong with that. But not for me. wuhahaha... I enjoy my collection and my equipment and my listening room and coffee beans☕😉

[@chaky1978]

Steve, question, define “ I don’t listen to very loud music “ can you explain in terms of decibels? New to channel, hooked , very good !!!!

[@xavierdavidson1861]

Steve, not related to this specific review however I’m not sure where to go to ask for your advice. I want to purchase a new set of speakers and my priorities are 1.imaging 2.soundstage 3. Palpable They will be paired with Marantz SR5008 ( willing up upgrade later but want to focus on speakers now) Energy ESW-10 sub Project DC turntable Room 16x13 living room with no wall on left side. Music will be r&b, classic rock, jazz& pop. They will be used for movies as well. Budget around $1500

[@josephrizk9850]

Used set of tekton Pendragons.

[@colanitower]

For the same music genres I got a pair of Wharfedale Lintons, a refurbished Denon PMA-1060 amplifier and a Cambridge Audio DACMagic100 for just that budget. For movies I planned to add a subwoofer but that appeared not to be necessary.

[@hobonickel840]

I'm planning my first audiophile setup ...I love all music I'm 50 and never had budget for a really nice setup ...all I can say is my muse tells me I need to have the decware Zen ...what are some good speaker models for the decware?

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Klipsch or Tekton and Decware makes speakers too

[@GentielioGaming]

Hi michael, i don't know you but great your in the video. I am also from Belgium. I didn't know Magnat also made hifi gear. i just know them from car audio when i was younger. Nice setup and the Shanling player looks very special!

[@theshootindutchman]

That was good stuff Steve, I enjoyed that 😊👍

[@scottengh1175]

My wife doesn't understand. Streaming on her iPhone is plenty good for her. She will play it over car stereo or little speakers at home and it gives me a headache. I like my 45 year old vintage system or 20 year old theater system, or CDs in vehicles.

[@DonnieMulligan]

Great stuff Steve. Very helpful! Keep it up!

[@JohnDoe-np3zk]

Background noise is annoying which means at this point tubes are out other than recording vinyl with a good tube section in my CV preamp and then playing back over solid state. Then the tube noise is expected and selected. Another problem lately is the noise through the Rega P3/Elys 2 a motor noise. Getting the TT as far away from speakers and the amps and keeping the wires as far apart as possible has made this humming noise tolerable now.

[@Labor_Jones]

_A WALL OF SOUND :) in a 6x6 room..._ I have Klips 600 on the sides & 2 JBL 100 Size Speakers in the Middle & SUB - 5 amps - & - Pre-Amp - Turntables - CD player - Computer controlled Digital - etc *_...... there is not much walking room left, but it ROCKS!_* .

[@JohnJohn-lk4lq]

No one cares

[@FOH3663]

Sounds fun, I'm glad you dig it!

[@Labor_Jones]

@@FOH3663 You can do amazing things with a Teardrop Trailer. ... those Alum Speakers Steve Reviewed. When I heard him describe the sound it reminded me of how the sound, he (Steve) was describing made me feel like that was the sound I was getting if you were inside one in those Cans. It's HYPONOTISING at times.

[@adrielrowley]

7:30 Well, my 1964 Telefunken console has all original tubes but one replaced over 30 years ago... Do tubes really degrade? 14:50 I would suggest it's a mindset. I know my system (not the console) could sound better, though don't have the money to do so. Instead, I am happy to have something which is good, there was a time when I didn't have a working system.

[@piglingbland8666]

The content in this video is equivalent to the B-Side of a 7 inch single.

[@somemovingpictures]

Familiarity breeds contempt. The grass is always greener. etc.

[@Extremesam43]

Switching between analog and digital music and their differences drives me freekin' nuts. My system is playing digital and it sounds phenomenal. I then put on a record and it sounds like crap. Then vice versa. If anything, I ve learned to at least expect it and make adjustments on the fly.

[@arkman8109]

Always have at least two systems. Or at least back up gear too swap out.

[@jonathansturm4163]

Steve is perfectly correct. I’m sill happy with my system that’s substantially remained the same since April 2000. How he knows is a matter for speculation. Is he psychic or does he just possess a good memory for my occasional comments here?

[@ianyates7742]

Hi Jonathan a bit late but happy new year hope you are all well down under yours Ian

[@Aswaguespack]

Steve Knows!

[@jonathansturm4163]

@@ianyates7742 I’m managing to soldier on my friend. Just setting up a new computer workstation with a Launchkey midi keyboard and a Microfreak digital synth I purchased to replace the guitar I’m no longer capable of playing. Needless to say that required a set of decent speakers and amp so I’m quite busy. Hope you’re well also...

[@ianyates7742]

@@jonathansturm4163 yes thank you I’have been waiting for a delivery from Amazon all afternoon now it’s time to walk the dogs, I now get a message it’s going to be hear any Time up until 8pm so it looks like the walks gone bye the way. My hifi has been on most of the day, so I’m definitely getting my money’s worth from it. I tried to play the guitar but failed miserably sorry it seems like your health has deteriorated but keep your chin up lad life goes on all the best your friend Ian

[@jonathansturm4163]

@@ianyates7742 I was actually the world’s worst guitarist. The pretty and talented young daughter of a friend is a very talented musician so my giving her the guitar has improved the world immensely.

[@ToadStool942]

Interesting. I wonder if one or 2 of the right subwoofers dialed in could have been an excellent addition to your Quads?

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

No, because the quads themselves are not dynamic. In my opinion tanning bass does nothing to change that.

[@Oneness100]

The room contributes about 50% or more of what you’re hearing or not hearing. Our rooms are not designed to have stereos inside them. Between the wall/ceiling design and construction, the room dimensions, and the type, amount and placement of room treatment or lake there of is what impacts on what we hear or don’t hear. Yes, matching the speakers to the room size/volume is a priority. Don’t put large speakers in a small room. Ceiling height is a real killer because we typically have ceilings that are the shortest distance and they are typically 8” or maybe 9” and those create low frequency problems that are difficult to treat. The other problem is what room treatment will actually fix the problem and not negatively affect the sound. If you have no desire to get room treatment, they you have to do near field listening, but you still need at least 4” between the speakers and the front and each side wall, and you have to sit really close to the speakers, otherwise you need treatment, but more importantly the right type, amount and placement. And it can get rather expensive unless you prepare and budget accordingly. Instead of calling room mode problems, a better term is calling them Axial room modes. Those are the most audible, they are the room modes between 2 parallel surfaces and they need to get treated as they impact the reflected energy and the mid’s and high’s, ESPECIALLY if you are listening to music with a lot of low frequency energy. Stay clear away from EQ unless you are just fine tuning and the problem is a small problem in the 3dB or less of a problem. Room correction? I’d also stay away unless the problems in the room are minimal and you’re trying to polish up a small 3dB or less problem. But to get the reflection treated, you need absorption or diffusion, but don’t add diffusion because it looks cool, do it AFTER you’ve treated the low end, and the mid-high frequency reflections from the side walls and ceiling. You also need the right type, amount and placement and that goes for everything. Just to give you an idea of how much each surface contributes to the sound is there are 6 surfaces, typically, and you divide 6 into 100 and that comes out to about 17% that each surface contributes to the sound of the room. Also, what surfaces you don’t treat will still cause reflections and/or low frequency problems. It is essential to treat at least 50% to even 70% of each surface. If you ever think that it’s over absorbing, then the problem isn’t how much, but what treatment you’re using might be the cause. People commonly use a material with the wrong absorption curves that might absorb too much in a certain frequency and that’s what is making it sound over absorbed. Or you simply need diffusion, the right type, amount and placement to open up the sound stage.. and always, speaker placement and listening position is critical, as well as having NOTHING in the front of the room other than you sets and speakers and try to minimize anything else whenever possible to cut down on SBIE and spurious reflections off the gear or furniture, knick knacks between you and the speakers. Get any racks of gear and put them behind you rather than in front of you. If you do need gear near the speakers keep them as low as possible. Low frequency problems? Think of those as pressure based and you need pressure based absorption to do the best job. The most effective type is diaphragmatic. And they are typically 100hz and lower. Mid range to high frequency problems? Above 100hz, but they are typically called 125hz and above.. velocity based absorption is best for that, but be careful about the absorption coefficient curves as using certain materials will either sound over or under absorbed in the 125hz to 500hz range. If you look at absorption coefficient curves of different materials, that’s where they typically differ. Diffusion? There are 5 strict requirements for TRUE diffusion. The ONLY type that satisfies all of those requirements is a Quadratic. Other types of diffusion typically do NOT create a true diffused sound field. With quadratic you can choose vertical diffusers for a horizontal sound field, or both vertical and horizontal diffusers for a 2 dimensional sound field that’s best used for the rear of the room. You also have to make sure you are using the right Prime number sequence for your particular room. Again, you need enough surface coverage so you don’t have a diffused sound being destroyed by reflected sound of an untreated section of the wall. Also, dry wall is a horrible sounding surface, so if you can use finish grade plywood, even better. Wood floors vs vinyl or tile. carpet is good for floors, especially a large rug over a wood floor.

[@FOH3663]

A lot of solid advice, ... you're right, if only more enthusiasts would pursue the un-tapped acoustic performance that's left on the table in their poorly treated/untreated rooms. Mammoth performance gains are achievable by implementing a few simple best practices. Also, I disagree with the speaker size, room size suggestion, there's no inherent disadvantages, challenges, etc, that accompanies large-ish speakers in small-ish sized rooms. I sure encounter that a lot online, but it's actually a well documented myth, an old holdover from 25yrs ago or so. As long as the loudspeaker's elements coalesce coherently at the listening distance, size isn't a relevant factor. Thanks

[@Oneness100]

@@FOH3663 I know an acoustic engineer that specializes in low frequency problems in a room and he’s built and tested several hundred rooms and has dealt with small room acoustics for many years. If you ask him, he’ll reinforce the reasoning behind matching the speaker with the room. If you heard one of his rooms, you’d be amazed at how much energy is coming out of even small speakers. Low frequency problems plague small rooms, and putting too much energy into a small room will just create peaks and nulls that require a lot of absorption. Even with small speakers, they can put out a lot of low frequency energy in all directions. The floor to ceiling dimension is typically the shortest dimension. Why put 6ft tall speakers with large or even lots of large bass drivers in a room with 8ft or 9ft ceiling? It just doesn’t make any sense. You want to put the least amount of energy into a room, otherwise that room isn’t going to allow you to hear what’s coming out of the speakers. I use that car stereo analogy where these guys are putting lots of large subs in a suv, cranking them up and. All you have is a big mess and you ca’t hear the mid’s, high’s,etc. I know that’s an exaggerated example, but it goes along the sam physics principals. Too much energy for too small of a space.

[@FOH3663]

@@Oneness100 Acoustic Engineer, or KZbinr salesman? As I've pointed out to him, I'm happy he's doing well, but he certainly shares incorrect acoustic information all too often. Thanks

[@Oneness100]

@@FOH3663 he’s better at figuring out how to treat a room than any other the others. You haven’t been in one of his rooms. I have.

[@Oneness100]

@@FOH3663 this in not the place for baseless arguments like yours.

[@bobb.9917]

OK…I was on the fence for the last 5 days about buying a Schiit Loki Max…(currently 6-8week wait to ship)… So Steve just pushed me into placing the order because I know that after this video the wait for a Loki Max will be at least 3 months!!! 🤓 THANKS STEVE!!! 😂

[@RJ_Chicago]

Steve, did you try the Quads with subwoofers? I have not heard Quads, but I imagine that their issue is similar to Magnepans….bass. No bass slam. There is no percussiveness. When I added a pair of REL T/9i subs to my former Magnepan 1.7i it *revolutionized* my system. The subs made a HUGE positive difference. I bet they would help the Quads.

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Well, Maggies are a lot more dynamic than Quads. I'd never live with stats again. Not saying subs won't help, just not what I WAS looking for.

[@markfischer3626]

I have no idea what audiophiles want or what manufacturers think they want that they design their products to. When I was 12 years old I heard stereophonic sound for the first time and loved it. That's when I became an audiophile. I knew nothing and learned as much as I could from "the experts" who knew everything. What they promised was "concert hall realism" from recordings in the home. Fast forward 13 years and I was a very well educated degreed engineer. I was eager to build a quadraphonic sound system which they said would fulfill their promises and my dreams. So I did and you know what? I immediately realized it sucked. I then realized that the people who conceived it, designed it, sold it, advertised it either had never been to a live concert and didn't know what it sounded like, were deaf as a tree stump, or were outright liars. Whatever they were, ignorance and incompetence was at the top of the list.... and nearly 50 years later IMO still is. And me? I had to figure it out for myself and go off in my own direction never looking back. I threw my audiophile hat in the trash and wore only my science and engineering hat ever since. Well whatever it is you audiophiles are looking for the fact that you are constantly searching for something better and buying an endless parade of the newest latest and greatest tells me you're never very happy with what you have for very long. It's pitiful but at the same time funny as hell for me to watch it to see how far lunacy can go. Imagine an $800,000 record player that weights 800 pounds. Not the whole system, just the turntable, arm, cartridge and the monstrosity it sits on.

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Here you are watching my channel. I am honored. But seriously quadraphonic was a very long time ago, and you’re still carrying a grudge. I move on from things that no longer interest me, saves a lot of wear and tear on my brain.

[@markfischer3626]

@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac I watch your channel because I like you and find you entertaining. I also like Herb. I don't feel that way about all people in this industry. Some of them I found detestable, some in fact instantly upon meeting them. I also don't take anything any of them including you two say seriously. I don't have a grudge. I'm explaining a critical moment in my journey exploring sound. Quadraphonic sound addressed a real shortcoming in two channel stereophonic sound that was undeniable. The realization when I saw that it didn't deliver as promised and fell flat on its face was that all of the people I'd met, read about, looked to for knowledge didn't know what the hell they were doing or talking about. They simply weren't up to it. I've worked in many industries, many where the best and brightest in their fields who were far smarter than me were advancing technology beyond its existing limits. Lots of them including Nobel Prize candidates. I also watch them on the internet and continue to learn from them. But the people in this industry no matter how highly respected they are by their colleagues and followers are not in that category. I view them as tinkerers. They try everything they can think of and when they find something they like better than what they had that's their new product. This is not engineering, it's not science, it has no goal, it's just kind of mental masturbation. A block diagram of a 2022 high end sound system is identical to its 1958 counterpart. A stereophonic signal source, stereo preamplifier, stereo power amplifier or two mono power amplifiers, two speakers, and wires to connect them. Even within its limited context, solving what I call the "they are here" problem where it would sound like musicians are in your room, the best such a system can achieve, they all fail because the people who design the elements for it seem to know practically nothing about sound and acoustics. As for the "you are there" problem of concert hall realism they're way out of their league. THat problem is orders of magnitude more difficult and complicated. Sometimes in a rare moment of truth you and others are honest enough to admit they failed. As an engineer myself who spend four of the most mentally grueling years of my life gaining my education in one of the toughest schools that existed and after a career that spans nearly 50 years, while many of these people in this industry are pleasant well meaning and try their best, professionally as I see it they are not my equal and I give them no professional respect for their demonstrated achievements. They are not really engineers as I see it.

[@mondoenterprises6710]

Good one, Steve. B/c of varying quality of recordings on cd I have to dial in the best sound via the audio and speaker menus quite often ie. should speakers be set to large or small, what crossover should I use with small, subwoofer levels adjustments which might be boomy with one cd or no sub bass whatsoever with another. And don't get me started on pure direct, 2 channel, afd settings, and the other filters, let alone engineer, flat, front ref settings, lol. And how many aspects of menus are inaccessible, or the poorly written avr instruction manual I read once a month and try to make sense of.

[@dougg1075]

Another Herb would be cool:)

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

I don’t wanna wear out his welcome. Of course, there will be more, maybe this month

[@FOH3663]

Without question, Herb is always a beneficial addition to the audio landscape. A national treasure.

[@mondoenterprises6710]

When you can clap and not have echo I believe that is good room correction, listening space.

[@astolatpere11]

👍👍👍 Thanks Steve!

[@billd9667]

Hoarders have the best rooms for hifi, if they can fit the system between the stacks of newspapers!

[@Aswaguespack]

And lots of different types of room treatments available 😂

[@galessi1226]

That's why my 1200.00 system sounds soooooo good........art books and magazines all over the place.....sleeping bag and pillows on the couch!!

[@Aswaguespack]

@@galessi1226 I maintain carefully placed stacks of books, magazines, and “stuff” of alternating densities in my listening room. When my wife fusses I explain that it’s my sound diffusers and bass traps. 😉

[@philcibley1804]

The room modes between 100 - 250 hz that muddy up my sound is my main complaint. I've started using headphones and smaller speakers with less bass as a result.

[@JoseGarcia-oo4mc]

Excellent

[@williamvezina1944]

Please respond! Getting unified b52 Elac to Pioneer thx94 Elite receiver 09 model. 140 -7, for 2 channel stereo, best way to hook up with the multi input receiver. I think speakers are hooked to front channel a and b.? Have small monster wire, will that work? Plan to wrap around terminals. Now the speakers are 6 ohms, my amp is 8ohm,do I need to change anything on my receiver. Or is that not an issue? I know this is alot to respond to, but getting unified this Friday! Please give me some ideas, thank you!! 🤘❤️

[@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac]

Hook up the speakers to just the "A" left and right channel outputs, nothing gained by using A + B (UNLESS you can learn how to BI-AMPLIFY the speakers (READ the user manual). Regarding the 6 ohm speaker rating, probably fine. BUT if the receiver automatically shuts down when you play really loud. If happens, you'll need to buy a different receiver. Yes, wrap the around the terminals, but be extra careful that NO stray copper strands are touching between the red and black terminals.

[@stephencharlton2024]

Excellent, thank you

[@johnsonadekunle7675]

My current issue right now is my room is too bright for my dynamic speakers but too warm for my Maggies.

[@gtodave6768]

Good day sir. I really,really, really do not like the idea of having to make adjustments and tweaks & casting spells just to compensate for a poorly recorded source!!! I dont like that I need to correct on my end what should or could have been done properly by the people PAID to do it right initially! I have so much music I love but hate the terrible way it's presented to music lovers! Guess it's time to invest in a Schiit equalizer !

[@damirhlobik6488]

The biggest issue with my gear is that i don'i have any issue. Is that an issue?

[@bikdav]

Admittedly, I’m not too far behind you on that.

[@zergbong]

a lot of these problems can be solved by DSP and measuring microphone which is way better than investing in EQ hardware

[@AllboroLCD]

Electricity and the quality thereof is the most common culprit of a system sounding better one day compared to the next. Im honestly floored that Steve has no power conditioning or regeneration products in his rig, Dirty, urine soaked NYC ConEd power is the WORST, throw ancient bldg wiring into the mix and thats a recipe for quite the hindered audio system!

[@tonyb.2483]

Fun Video!!!!!

[@larrywe3320]

OMG ! Steve said use an EQ :-)

[@pala23mj]

This is why we need more than one set of speakers….amps….etc. will we ever be satisfied??

[@louisperlman8030]

Lack of unlimited funds is definitely my number one problem 🙁/🙂

[@ihorp]

What frustrates me is not having gear to compare with what I have. Is it the speakers, amp, preamp, source that's causing the frustration?

[@Thebarleymasher]

Wild shirt!