2. speakers
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Frustrated with the sound of my system

Here is my system:
Rotel RCD-965BX CD Player as transport
MSB Link 2 DAC
Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 Signature preamp
Classe 10 amplifier
North Creek Audio Borealis speakers (Custom built kit speaker...something close to a Proac Response 2.5 design)
M&K V-75 sub
Kimber and Cardas interconnects
Kimber 4TC/8TC bi-wire speaker cables.

Here is my frustration:
The sound, regardless of music, sounds stringent, hard, really lacks air, and is anything but relaxed. It is fatigueing. I can listen to my Grado 60 headphones on an iPod and the sound is frustratingly more relaxed and has what I would call air.

I don't think that my system is that outstanding, but it really seems like I should be more pleased with what I am hearing.

I would be interested in your thoughts on where the most likely opportunity is. I really like the individual components of the system (OK the Rotel/MSB set up is old and just OK), but all together they seem to be underwhelming. I am thinking it is either in improving the digital front end (new player or DAC) or moving to a planar speaker to get the sound I desire. I have thought about new player like an OPPO 93 or 95, perhaps a tube based player or DAC, or else looking at something like a used pair of Maggie 12's or 1.6's. I have always enjoyed the Maggie sound.

In either case I am thinking that $2k is the absolute max I would want to spend on any solution. Thanks in advance. If there are other questions I would be glad to supply details.
stuartbmw3
thusly
1 posts
 
I am a novice audiophile, but I would try one thing, it is simple and easy. If you are running all this on standard outlets as is normally wired into a house when built, most electricians will run 8 to 12 outlets on one 15amp breaker and if you are plugging all this into a few of these outlets but also have lamps and other "items" in the house plugged into this circuit also, you could be on the edge of your amp load and so I would run a dedicated 15 or 20 amp service line on a new breaker so that you are running all your equipment on its own circuit so all the juice is dedicated to just your system. Use hospital grade receptacles and you can try isolated ground receptacles as well. Seems to me you have nice enough equipment, could be a simple matter of current starvation? Easy enough to test.
carry on.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Spaz, Newbee, Almarg, We all know about the room and how important it is. We also know about speaker placement. Read the OP's second post. "I know the speaker placement is probably not ideal, but I do have some constraints based on room layout and aesthetics." Something tells me it's not going to happen.
spaz
105 posts
 
Stuartbmw3'..All the info on the cardas site is great and very useful,but try there method first.I tried it several days ago with my speakers and it didn't work.The calculations for there speaker placement put my speakers 4 ' from the side wall with only 6' between them.I gave it a try and it sounded horrible with my setup.Theres a lot of audiophiles that use this method with great success though.I think it's essential to creat a uniform triangle for you final setup to proper imaging..
almarg's avatar
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
Hi Ron (Rrog),

I agree, and I did notice the OP's statement that you quoted. However, it seems to me, and per Newbee's suggestion, that step 1 is to identify as precisely as possible the predominant contributor(s) to the problem. And moving the speakers way out into the room and listening from a closer distance, as an experiment, could very likely facilitate that process.

It seems very conceivable to me that the end result of those experiments could be a conclusion that the particular speakers are simply not suitable for the listening arrangement that has to be used. If so, replacing the speakers might end up being a course of action that would allow the OP to avoid a lot of unnecessary time and expense pursuing the myriad other suggestions that have been offered.

Best regards,
-- Al
jfz
570 posts
 
My thoughts are the room, and the quality of your power. The room has two identical dimensions, and one that is a multiple. This is very bad news for getting a smooth frequency response. As far as power goes, I'm afraid the only real way to know would be to get a very good power conditioner. Unfortunately, the good ones are expensive. You might want to try to audition (borrow, buy with return privilege, etc) a conditioner to see if this impacts your problem significantly.

Good luck !
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