but nirvana comes from just digging your stuff and the way it sounds, and most of all, collecting the music that best defines who you are....
Well said. Thanks for that reminder as it is easy to loose track of when you are so focused on the empty part of the glass, or the glass itself (the vehicle for delivery).
Dpac 996 - No kitty Litter. Maybe I need to train our Bullmastiff to use a litter box. Could be a stinky proposition though. How about a litterbox full of Brilliant Pebbles!?!?! How about Cocoa Pebbles, would they work? Maybe I should just stuff the pebbles into my ear canals to maintain phase coherence?
Newbee, my friend...not at all an answer worthy of large flapping elephant ears! Angst certainly factors into the equation when you are dealing with A. Nervosa. I've always been able to work with music playing, direct or indirect, it never seems to be a distraction for me. For my wife, who was trained as a musician, it is impossible (her mind follows the music). I actually get more done with music playing, than I do in silence.
As an addendum, it seems to me that the systems I recall working to greatest effect from a distance, all had some added muscle pushing the music, while those that suffered most when out of the sweet spot have been the lower powered systems of which I am most fond. That fondness seems to end when I leave the "sweet seat", as Newbee so eloquently put it. Perhaps it's just the added energy with which the sound waves are being pushed...or am I showing my complete ignorance in physics here?
GregM -I cannot imagine how careful speaker setup would have anything at all to do with how well the music comes off upstairs (for instance). Your other suggestions are more to the point, IMO. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your version of careful speaker setup as I'd associate that with their abiltiy to image and produce a beliveable soundstage, but not to be convincing from a far. One of the systems I recall (which I still have, but in a different location), was playing solo piano downstairs one day when we had some workmen in the house. One asked if there was a piano downstairs. We have a rather open and 'live' house that is rather small as well.
I also seem to recall a discussion with my friend, Howard (Boa2) where he mentioned that in moving from SET to a rather powerful SS amp in his system that he experienced more enjoyment from the perspective of just walking around, doing work around the house while listening, as opposed to critical listening. The SET system did not engage him as much from another room, and I also have the same experience with my SET system. I'll have to point out this thread to him as I'm sure he could chime in from his own perspective, which I may not be recalling verbatim.
Thanks for the input.
Marco