Isuses with HIFI in a conservatory

[andyjm]

After extensive listening and swapping about of components and dampening of the room I've reached the conclusion that something's not right with this setup. Amp or speakers? Who knows. For example listen to Tracey Chapman's 'Fast Car' - the intro is beautiful with nice bass and crisp vocals however as soon as you hit the 2 minute point it all comes undone and sounds harsh and seems to lose all warmth, bass and control.

David,

Before you put your hand in your pocket for new gear, move the setup into a room with a carpet, curtains and plenty of soft furnishings for a test. If it still sounds dreadful, then go buy more stuff, my guess is you will be amazed at the difference.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10203552373284939]

Thanks Andy yes I will do..however the system was bought for that room where I get peace and don't disturb the rest of the family . I will move it later today

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10203552373284939]

.

 

[Infiniteloop]

If you get the right speakers, there wont be any need of acoustic treatment, DSP or EQ. They will sound even better in a conservatory than in a regular brick wall room. They will sound lively, vivid, present and enveloping. Why would you want to suffocate that with curtains and sponges?

Vlad,

Do you own a conservatory? Mine is an echo chamber. Glass walls on two sides, pitched glass roof, bare plastered walls on two sides and a tiled floor. With an after dinner party group of 6 or more in there it is impossible to hear the conversations because of the echoes.

Any more than a single speaker playing quietly in the corner is a cacophony of sound.

And right there is the problem with buying HiFi by numbers...

 

[DocG]

Apart from the options mentioned before (room treatment, omnidirectional speakers, a headphone set-up, moving the lot to another room), I have yet another suggestion for you: treat the listening position, instead of the whole room. I'm thinking of a listening seat like the Alcove Highback Sofa, by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra. It will block a substantial portion of the reverb, generated by the room (you have to try one to believe how it really brings the noise down!).

If you keep the listening seat close to the speakers, and put a thick rug in between, you might end up with a pretty acceptable result. Add a pair of omni's, like the Davone Mojo, I mentioned in post #14, into the mix, and the result will be better still...

As with hifi: a demo is mandatory! *wink*

 

[DocG]

If you get the right speakers, there wont be any need of acoustic treatment, DSP or EQ. They will sound even better in a conservatory than in a regular brick wall room. They will sound lively, vivid, present and enveloping. Why would you want to suffocate that with curtains and sponges?

Vlad,

Do you own a conservatory? Mine is an echo chamber. Glass walls on two sides, pitched glass roof, bare plastered walls on two sides and a tiled floor. With an after dinner party group of 6 or more in there it is impossible to hear the conversations because of the echoes.

Any more than a single speaker playing quietly in the corner is a cacophony of sound.

Vlad, somebody recently suggested me some fine reading on the suject. Have a look! *wink* Also wholeheartedly recommended to the OP, btw!

 

[Vladimir]

If you get the right speakers, there wont be any need of acoustic treatment, DSP or EQ. They will sound even better in a conservatory than in a regular brick wall room. They will sound lively, vivid, present and enveloping. Why would you want to suffocate that with curtains and sponges?

Vlad,

Do you own a conservatory? Mine is an echo chamber. Glass walls on two sides, pitched glass roof, bare plastered walls on two sides and a tiled floor. With an after dinner party group of 6 or more in there it is impossible to hear the conversations because of the echoes.

Any more than a single speaker playing quietly in the corner is a cacophony of sound.

I don't own a conservatory (sunroom) and never seen one on our planet, dear earthling. We have no solar system. We are living on the vibrations between 7th and 9th dimension. *bye*

I really like having bare windows, tiles and such exposed to liven things up a bit. But you say you can't have a conversation because of echo? There is a solution for everything dear earthling.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10203552373284939]

So I've now tried the system with an old (1983) Audiolab 8000A and new Arcam FMJ A19 amp in place of the CA Azur 651W. The Arcam did improve the warmth of the sound and was easiest to listen too. So I'm now thinking about a an older Arcam power amp (my budget can't stretch to a new A19) such as the Arcam P90. In addition it's been suggested swapping the speakers cables from the biwired QED Silver Anniversay XT might help (any suggestions?)

 

[chebby]

http://www.whathifi.com/bw/p5-wireless/review

 

[CnoEvil]

You could look at Linn S/C, which comes in biwire (K400).

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Try a different source. Would be my suggestion - if all sounds fine with 'simple' music and go's pear shaped when things get busy - and your main source is soft streaming from a 'streaming service' it could be worth comparing results with a CDplayer.

If you have access to one give it a go.

And how far apart are your speakers to each other and from the walls?

Have you tried placing the speakers on wood isolating them from the floor - if you have an old work top lying around two 'tiles' cut to the size of the speakers may help. Sit on the speakers (or press them in) to ensure the spikes dig in then blu-tac to the tiles/floor.

Discrete too if painted black.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10203552373284939]

Hi yes not sure about the best way to isolate the speakers on a laminate floor. Currently they are on spikes which are standing on the supplied cups. Maybe blue tacking the plinths directly to the floor?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Can anyone advise whether there are specific considerations regarding speaker selection if placing a system in a conservatory? My room is approx 25 SQM and consists of a laminate floor, brick construction about 1/3 up the walls, windows all round and a solid roof. I set-up the following system: CA Streammagic 6 v2, CA Azur 651W Power Amp, & Tannoy Precision 6.2 LE speakers.

Simple, relaxed, acoustic stuff sounds OK. However anything more demanding such as pop, rock or dance music is not pleasant. There is a definite lack of warmth and a harshness to the music.

I’m not sure if any speakers would improve matters or whether I should really look to relocate the system to another room.

I haven't read the thread, so apologies if this has already been covered.

Other than using digital room correction (which has its positive and negative points), I would experiment with a few bean bags if you have the room. It is surprising how much higher frequencies can be damped with something like this, even if the majority of the room is still bare and reflective. I'll give you an example. Recently, a few black bin liner bags with odds and sods in were brought down from the loft, and to put them out of the way somewhere, they were placed in the bath. The bathroom is about 3mx3m, very reflective, and sounds like your typical bathroom. While the bags were in the bath, it was surprising just how much they "damped" the room, despite the bags themselves not being particularly absorbent, and the majority of the room remaining the same. I wouldn't have expected the change I experienced, and only stumbled on it by accident. Worth experimenting before looking at digital correction which could potentially have various negative effects as well as some positive ones.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Hi yes not sure about the best way to isolate the speakers on a laminate floor. Currently they are on spikes which are standing on the supplied cups. Maybe blue tacking the plinths directly to the floor? 

Isolating your speakers from a 'hard' floor is important.

Jenga blocks on blu-tac is another option. Just ensure the speakers are secured and rigidly set.

They'll lose control or energy if they oscillate 'bounce' around especially at higher volume.

You'll benefit from a tighter sound and a rug could dampen some of the reflections in the room.

Experiment with the distance between the speakers to tame the bass. Minimum 6ft or 2m apart if possible.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10203552373284939]

Well..bit of a surprise here! Have done various things including moving some beanbags into the room, tried other amps, run the speakers out of phase all night etc. When in the process of comparing amps I was always running the CA Azur using the XLR connector and using an old CA Pacific Interconnect (which I think cost about £25 back in 1990) with the other amps. Seems the sounds is a lot warmer with the normal interconnect with all signs of harshness almost gone! The XLR in question came free with the amp and seems to have no branding on it so I guess it's an El cheapo!

 

[bigboss]

Can anyone advise whether there are specific considerations regarding speaker selection if placing a system in a conservatory? My room is approx 25 SQM and consists of a laminate floor, brick construction about 1/3 up the walls, windows all round and a solid roof. I set-up the following system: CA Streammagic 6 v2, CA Azur 651W Power Amp, & Tannoy Precision 6.2 LE speakers.

Simple, relaxed, acoustic stuff sounds OK. However anything more demanding such as pop, rock or dance music is not pleasant. There is a definite lack of warmth and a harshness to the music.

I’m not sure if any speakers would improve matters or whether I should really look to relocate the system to another room.?

I haven't read the thread, so apologies if this has already been covered.?

Other than using digital room correction (which has its positive and negative points), I would experiment with a few bean bags if you have the room. It is surprising how much higher frequencies can be damped with something like this, even if the majority of the room is still bare and reflective. I'll give you an example. Recently, a few black bin liner bags with odds and sods in were brought down from the loft, and to put them out of the way somewhere, they were placed in the bath. The bathroom is about 3mx3m, very reflective, and sounds like your typical bathroom. While the bags were in the bath, it was surprising just how much they "damped" the room, despite the bags themselves not being particularly absorbent, and the majority of the room remaining the same.  I wouldn't have expected the change I experienced, and only stumbled on it by accident. Worth experimenting before looking at digital correction which could potentially have various negative effects as well as some positive ones.

(waiting for someone to accuse David of soliciting customers for his new bean bag business....)

 

[Infiniteloop]

Well..bit of a surprise here! Have done various things including moving some beanbags into the room, tried other amps, run the speakers out of phase all night etc. When in the process of comparing amps I was always running the CA Azur using the XLR connector and using an old CA Pacific Interconnect (which I think cost about £25 back in 1990) with the other amps. Seems the sounds is a lot warmer with the normal interconnect with all signs of harshness almost gone! The XLR in question came free with the amp and seems to have no branding on it so I guess it's an El cheapo!

Hehe. - Who says cables don't make a difference?

Glad you seem to be on the right track. *yahoo*

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10203552373284939]

Thanks! Was beginning to drive me crazy

. No to find a better, nice, warm interconnect!

 

[Frank Harvey]

(waiting for someone to accuse David of soliciting customers for his new bean bag business....)

Shameless plug - it's called The High End Bean Bag Company. We're only going to use the finest beans, of course.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Well..bit of a surprise here! Have done various things including moving some beanbags into the room, tried other amps, run the speakers out of phase all night etc. When in the process of comparing amps I was always running the CA Azur using the XLR connector and using an old CA Pacific Interconnect (which I think cost about £25 back in 1990) with the other amps. Seems the sounds is a lot warmer with the normal interconnect with all signs of harshness almost gone! The XLR in question came free with the amp and seems to have no branding on it so I guess it's an El cheapo!

Using the supposed better connections between two components won't necessarily give you the best sound, as it depends on how well the manufacturer has implemented them. XLRs aren't a common connection for manufacturers to use, and some will have more experience with them than others. Cables can make a difference, but I suspect the XLRs on the CA aren't up to scratch. The same can be said for digital outputs.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10203552373284939]

Thanks David...I'm not sure what type of XLR connect I was using and whether a better one would fair any better. All I know is that it's like night and day using the RCA lead!

 

[Frank Harvey]

As both the RCA cable and the XLR cable are inexpensive, I'm guessing the XLR connections and associated circuitry hasn't been well implemented. If that's the case, it's a dead feature. Unless there is some sort of fault with the XLR cable, stick with what sounds best.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Who would if thought that?

 

[Vladimir]