2. speakers
  3. 1276010586

Merlins VSM placement question

Hi all,
I currently own a pair of VSM-MXe for a year now - Very happy with them after trying different front-end and preamp/amp
Despite swapping gear in/out, I notice that the soundstage is always somewhat narrow, too focus at middle (same plan with speaker).
My room is 23ft long x 16ft wide x 10ft high
Speakers are 7ft apart and 5ft from front wall (16ftwide wall). Listening seat is 7.5ft from speakers plan
The whole set up is 1.5ft off to the right of center axis of the room (due to door access)

I followed exact Bobby's instruction including toe-in angle using included tool

My question is did you're Merlins' owners followed exact set up instruction from Bobby, regardless of your room's dimension ? What's your placement dimension?

I want wider and deeper sound stage, not too forward
I have a feeling if I move apart extra 1ft between speakers, or set up the toe-in 3ft behind the seat, I would change the sound stage as I wanted

I have Jim Smith's Get Better Sound with me, but I'm kinda lazy unless I can see if it's worth the sweat

PS: I have tried Cary all-the-way (SLP05+CAD120S+306/200) with CGRs, and Sony 5400ES + ARS Sonum - with same stage sound
Please advice
Thanks
Thuan
128x128thuan98

Showing 4 responses by tvad

tvad
9,467 posts
 
I second the idea of purchasing the brass disc floor protectors, and I'll add the suggestion of applying adhesive backed felt discs to the bottom of the brass discs to facilitate sliding the speakers on your wood floor without scratching it.

Once you've found the proper placement, the felt can be removed.

The felt discs can be found in most hardware stores.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
06-10-10: Pubul57
I think decoupling can be a problem with certain discs.
Why would there be a difference in coupling capabilities/performance between different brands of brass discs?

I've owned a couple of different brands of brass coupling discs, including Audio Points, and I've never heard any difference among them. I'll admit I haven't spent hours A/B'ing. I don't have the patience.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
all these discs are not made of brass and not all brass has the same lead content.
right you are paul.
best, b
Bobbyapalkovic (Answers | This Thread)
I specifically mentioned brass discs.

I am aware that Audio Points brass is softer than other brass that I have used in my system. If the softness is due to the lead content, then I'm familiar with the concept.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
amount of lead in brass will have a lot to do with how these sound under your speakers because of their q and their specific needs.

Bobbyapalkovic (Answers | This Thread)
When I used Audio Points discs and no-name brass discs in combination with *non* Audio Points spikes I didn’t hear a difference between Audio Points brass discs and no-name brand discs, so for me in that situation it wasn't worth paying triple or quadruple for the Audio Points discs. I really believe the difference is so small, that spending significantly more money on the AP discs may lead to wishful thinking about their performance boost.

On the other hand, when AP products like brass cone footers are used together with AP brass discs, the results can yield bigger benefits. IMO, the footers play a more significant role in the results than do the small brass discs. Whether the sound difference is significant enough to warrant the higher cost of the AP brass products is up to each listener.
More to discover