Interesting Stuff I Found

Over the past few weekends, I've been working through Paul McGowan's new book, The Stereo – Unlock the Secrets to Great Sound. I decided to take notes along the way, and these eventually worked themselves into a book review that I thought I'd share with our members. Here's a link to the first part:

https://blog.dsnyder.ws-e.com/index.php/2021/05/29/unlocking-great-sound-with-paul/

Links to subsequent parts can be found at the bottom of each post.

In short, even if you've been at this hobby for decades, I think you'll learn a few useful tips for wringing a bit more enjoyment out the equipment you already own. Cheers.

-- David

Hey David,

Thanks, this is interesting, please continue with the posts. I'm curious to hear what you think when you explore other positioning formulas and to know where you finely settle. I tend to think the room is so unique that the right formula for your room may not be the right one for another room. But it makes for fun experimentation although it's time consuming.

BTW, attached is another method you might want to try called MasterSet that Sumiko released maybe a decade ago.

For another long and technical read on the subject you might pickup Toole's book Sound Reproduction - Loudspeakers and Rooms. 

Robbie

Hi Robbie,

Thanks for having a look. I agree that the dimension particulars are highly room-specific, but the approach that Paul describes should work well in any reasonably sized room.

I actually had time to publish part 5 today:

https://blog.dsnyder.ws-e.com/index.php/2021/06/12/unlocking-great-sound-part-5/

Hoping to get a final part up later this weekend in which I'll share my listening impressions and some actual music. :)

Cheers.

-- David

Hi David,

It's not so much dimensions IMO, but the often un-equal opposing wall construction, often a mixture of interion and exterior walls, usually with differing window placement or lack thereof on the opposite side. It's these factors that make me like the MasterSet concept for the final placement after using geometry for a rough start.

I think I may have to get Paul's book though as it sounds like he's prescribed a set of listening tracks to use as comparisons with different placements that I haven't seen anyone else do although Jim has quite a list of tracks and specific things to listen for on each of them that is useful to helping you know if you've got things right. If he wasn't so pricy I'd have him come set up my room. A point I do agree with you on, one needs to use REW as most of us don't have the ears or memory to discern accurately enough. I made the cardboard device to set toe-in pictured in the attachment. Hang it from the ceiling so that it bisects your ears. Use a laser centered on top of your speakers with a square and you can get them really equally toed.

That cardboard device is amazing. Well done!

Let me know what you think if you decide to pick up Paul's book.

https://www.psaudio.com/products/the-audiophiles-guide/

Thanks, I think I will order it when the SCAD is back in stock.

It may be a while before anyone in the AAC can fly out to San José for a listen, so I'll share a few binaural recordings to give you can get a tiny sense of how the Loft sounds after I worked through Paul's book. Put on headphones and crank it up a bit for best results. Here's the first.

https://youtu.be/fSTA_Z4YD8I