Audio Asylum - Inmate Systems

Densville 's Living Room System
IP Address: 68.142.46.175	Last Update: July 26, 2009 at 15:23:09
Amplifier:	Audio Advancements Trimax 807 monoblocks
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	sonic euphoria plc (balanced)
Speakers:	meadowlark shearwater hotrods
Sources:
CD Player/DAC:	cairn fog 2 with Soft 24/192 upsampler
Turntable/Phono Stage:	none presently
Other Source(s):	none presently
Other Accessories/Room/Misc.:
Speaker Cables/Interconnects:	Analysis Oval 8 speaker cable. DH Labs air matrix balanced (cairn to plc), DH Labs air matrix single ended (plc to trimax)
Other (Power Conditioner, Racks etc.):	Racks: Lovan Classic II 4 shelf audio rack (no ballast), Mapleshade 2" maple platforms on vibracones (tips up) as amp stands. Speakers on 1 1/2 inch brass disks instead of screwed in feet.
Tweaks:	Mapleshade Audio Isoblocks (3) on cairn, vibrapods paired with vibracones under the plc (3sets), mapleshade brass surefoots v.3 under trimax (3 under each). Maple shade heavy hats (small) under each speaker (4) between speaker base and maple platform. One large (flat) heavyhat on the cairn, two small (flat) heavy hats on the plc.
Room Size (LxWxH):	22 x 20 x 8-16
Room Comments/Treatments:	The room is irregularly shaped with a steeply sloping ceiling (starting low, 8', and climbing from the speaker wall). Floor is wood with a large throw rug. Speakers are placed 37 1/2" from the back wall, and the left speaker is 4 1/2' from a side wall. Overall acoustics aren't all that bad, not too much echo, although there's a tendency towards accentuating trebles in volume, although not especially in brightness.
Music Preferences and Comments:
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	classical (all sorts), classic rock, a little bit of country/folk.
System Goals/Comments:	engaging listening experience. System that accurately captures dynamics, rhythm, and timbre of music in a transparent, deep soundstage. Holographic imaging a plus, but not of first rate importance. Want to avoid an overly forward or overly warm presentation.
System Strengths:	After a lot of tinkering with speaker positions, there's a broad, and respectably deep soundstage (not the very best I've heard, but nice). After retubing the trimaxes, timbre is superb on all instruments, especially pianos and strings. System conveys a realistic sense of rhythm and timing. The sound is non-fatiguing, and not overly bright. Instruments are are easy to distinguish without being artificially separate. Ambient noise, decays, etc. have become respectable, but only with a change to the analysis plus cable. Overall, an appealing system for classical music on a variety of scales, and good for solo guitar/singer performances. Basically, it's a nice system to listen to, very engaging on acoustic music. Not bad on rock that's not overly hard driven
System Weaknesses:	The system really doesn't shine on rock music or electronic music, although. It lacks what one might call 'crunch'. It's not grating to listen to rock, but it simply doesn't engage you in the way that classical music does on the same set-up. More specific problems: while the vertical sound stage has improved with a change in speaker cable, the speakers remain very sensitive to placement in that regard. It is difficult to get the best out of the bass and the sound stage. Depth going backwards is good, it isn't especially good coming forwards, although again, the oval 8 cables have helped with this. My biggest ambivalence about the system's sound, at this price point anyway, is the bass. The bass goes low (the engineering measurements from one review suggest 25 hz) and sounds natural, but it has an understated character that sometimes sounds just right and sometimes sounds a little quiet.
Video/HT System: None