I desired tube influence, and chose the tube/ss setup to power up the speakers. I went Chinese for the preamp, and had some minor defects to fix, but it's cheaper than CJ, Mc by a ways. I had had Klipsch before and wanted something different yet classic; hence the Walsh drivers. I'm not disappointed. With the glass behind the speakers there's a lot of sound reflected back, which maybe flattens the soundstage front to back, I dunno, but from a distance it sounds like a concert hall. Sideways, the soundstage is enormous. All in all, a great room with a view for listening. All the glass is double paned but actually laminated safety glass works better to keep the noise in/out. My last purchase was the McCormick, an upgrade from my Sumo Polaris II. I listen to classic rock and jazz for the most part. IMHO, San Diego has the nation's best jazz station, 88.3 KSDS. Any suggestions for "next"?
System edited: Ordered and assembled a tiger maple and walnut rack from Timbernation, moving it to between the speakers where I can view it. Upgraded turntable to VPI Classic III, awaiting Lyra Delos cartridge. Changed phono stage to Liberty Audio B2B (class A).
I found this rack online, came in a box and I assembled it. It was inexpensive (about $200) but much better quality than IKEA for example. I'll try to dig up a link. Funny, my wife hates the rock (she's from New England and likes brick with mantles); I grew up in California and think it's cool.
Mjcmt, it sounded great from the beginning, but like all audiophiles I fussed over the speaker placement quite a bit. Since the 5000's have FOUR switches to adjust the deep bass, mid-bass, midrange, and treble that compounded the obsession, and putting the shag rug in and out didn't help. But all those factors pale in comparison to wifey, who has her own idea about what "looks" good and really doesn't care about what "sounds" good. Eventually, we came to happy neutral ground. Hey, other people should only be so lucky as to have this problem- my system gets praises form everyone who visits, and the experimenting was fun!
Well, since I have a VERY reflective wall behind the speakers to begin with (it's all glass) I thought that I shouldn't place them too much into the room as that might be too much. It turned out that just a little adjustment made a big difference. They now sit 20 inches in front of the glass. I can't really go much more in with my couch there. One other consideration is that my particular preamp is touted to produce a wide soundstage, which may contribute some. I do have the ability to draw the Roman shades down, which I will try in the summer, and this may alter the reflectivity and alter the ambience. So I was initially a bit hesitant to move the speakers in too much from the walls, but needed to place the away from the sides to put them in the room. Of course, in the interest of domestic tranquility, I need approval from my other half and can't get too extreme in my rearranging of the furniture :)
Thanks mapman for the suggestion. My older setup was with Klipsch speakers, and Paul Klipsch (who was no slouch) always emphasized corner placement next to the walls. I think that this was intended to improve the bass response, as Klipsch believed that the corners of the room would effectively act as giant bass horns and amplify the sound. Of course, he used this to advantage in his corner horns.
