What are you doing today that is Hi-Fi related?
- Thread starter Synaxis
- Start date
Raising my subs off the floor. Thanks for the idea Lee!
Yesterday swapped out cartridges on main turntable.
Just too hot here to do much outside. The man cave is a nice refuge.
Yesterday swapped out cartridges on main turntable.
Just too hot here to do much outside. The man cave is a nice refuge.
Well, not that old.I remember when the Nu-Vista first came out, I love the round look.
This one:
My niece came by this morning and she took some time to listen to the system. She wanted to listen to Taylor Swift and I got a little worried that her first impression to my rig may not have been a good one, as I don't recall having ever listened to her before on my rig (didn't know if it was compressed to hell or was mastered/recorded in a not so flattering way). About 2 seconds into the song, the sudden expression on her face said it all. I didn't even need to ask. She looked as if she had seen a ghost all of a sudden literally come to life in the room. I wish I had my camera ready because that expression would have easily said a thousand words.
Just that one look let me know I am on the right track.
Tom
Just that one look let me know I am on the right track.
Tom
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
I have my Subs on the Primacoustics Isolation Pads works nice.
Ha ha - Tom, I laughed out loud when reading your post. You’re most definitely on the right track. I love when these moments occurs. Keep enjoying those happy tunes
!/ Jk
The way I was taught by Jim Smith is to establish a center line and base all measurements from the centerline. This also enables precise measurement of the Magio Ratio of 0.83.
You use a white card with crosshairs on a tripod at tweeter level to do this. You fire the laser measure at the card (side illuminated by the Bosch laser level so you know it is right on the centerline within 2 mm) for the exact distance to the centerline. Both tweeters should be equidistant. Even slightly off will impact sound in our experience.
Note: the laser level is on one tripod and the crosshair plastic card is on another tripod.
You can test precise toe-in by measuring from the laser level to each corner of the speaker. Outer and inner corner distance to the laser level should match. I place the laser level just in front of the listening chair. I spent a little extra for the green laser which is 4X easier to see in the corners.
The Bosch I posted before does that very well. The way you deal with non-parallel walls is to measure at different points with the Bosch laser measure tool. We recently did a client setup that had a wall that was 0.5 cm off over 21 feet. Not a big enough difference to worry about.
The level makes sure speaker tilt and other changes are perfectly level.
Bottom line: a 16 point laser isn't necessary in this method. And it weighs more and adds bulk which is a consideration as I travel to clients. I am about to go to New York for a setup.
Last edited:
Tom,
Another question for you. How do you establish a centerline for the room without using the walls?
How would extra lasers help in that?
listening. LOTS of listening and discovering new music via Qobuz/Roon.
Previously...the switch is grounded using a very basic Synergistic Research ground block. It can be plugged into the wall or not. It worked well plugged in, but over time I heard something that didn't sound quite right. Removed the plug and the gear disappeared and some very engaging music appeared in the listening space. This typically happens late at night, but this was the middle of the day. All these variables are mind blowing. Need a noise diagnostic app.
Previously...the switch is grounded using a very basic Synergistic Research ground block. It can be plugged into the wall or not. It worked well plugged in, but over time I heard something that didn't sound quite right. Removed the plug and the gear disappeared and some very engaging music appeared in the listening space. This typically happens late at night, but this was the middle of the day. All these variables are mind blowing. Need a noise diagnostic app.
...if interested, or interesting, here is what I do.
I take the gross measurement of the room dimensions. Let's say it's 20' deep and 16' wide, for easy example.
I like to do front and back first. I measure, let's say, 9' from the back wall. And 9' from the front wall.
I do this twice, perhaps three feet from each side wall. So I have four 9' references: two each, from front and two from back. I use blue tape on the floor and make a good line for each measurement.
Next I measure the distance between the lines on the tape. Is it the same for each side? If it is, good. If not, I can decide where to interpolate and perhaps split the difference. That new line becomes my reference center line for front/back.
I use that reference line to measure to the speakers. I like this better than a standard measure from, say the wall behind the speakers. That may be OK, but I like a good reference line on tape.
You can do the same thing for the centerline on the other axis.
Now I find it easier to mess around with the lasers, hitting those tape lines, etc.
From there, as Lee mentioned, you can measure to both front corners of the speaker/footers and get a good number for toe-in or flat.
I cross-check tweeter-to-tweeter measurements, etc. against the reference line.
This method can also be modified if you have an odd-ball room, by coming off the "good" wall and ignoring the angle, bump-out, etc.
I have a bump-out in a front corner, and opposite back corner. And I have a long wall at 23 degrees.
Getting good center lines allows one to make accurate decisions when you need to be arbitrary, and perhaps ignore small irregularities.
I also use my laser from the seat position to shoot at the speakers, selecting some logical reference point on the speakers to check level (in addition to a level on top). It's interesting to see if you have a small height difference, even if both speakers are level.
Of course, there are many ways to measure things, but I cha-cha like this. It's a little nutty, but hey...
I take the gross measurement of the room dimensions. Let's say it's 20' deep and 16' wide, for easy example.
I like to do front and back first. I measure, let's say, 9' from the back wall. And 9' from the front wall.
I do this twice, perhaps three feet from each side wall. So I have four 9' references: two each, from front and two from back. I use blue tape on the floor and make a good line for each measurement.
Next I measure the distance between the lines on the tape. Is it the same for each side? If it is, good. If not, I can decide where to interpolate and perhaps split the difference. That new line becomes my reference center line for front/back.
I use that reference line to measure to the speakers. I like this better than a standard measure from, say the wall behind the speakers. That may be OK, but I like a good reference line on tape.
You can do the same thing for the centerline on the other axis.
Now I find it easier to mess around with the lasers, hitting those tape lines, etc.
From there, as Lee mentioned, you can measure to both front corners of the speaker/footers and get a good number for toe-in or flat.
I cross-check tweeter-to-tweeter measurements, etc. against the reference line.
This method can also be modified if you have an odd-ball room, by coming off the "good" wall and ignoring the angle, bump-out, etc.
I have a bump-out in a front corner, and opposite back corner. And I have a long wall at 23 degrees.
Getting good center lines allows one to make accurate decisions when you need to be arbitrary, and perhaps ignore small irregularities.
I also use my laser from the seat position to shoot at the speakers, selecting some logical reference point on the speakers to check level (in addition to a level on top). It's interesting to see if you have a small height difference, even if both speakers are level.
Of course, there are many ways to measure things, but I cha-cha like this. It's a little nutty, but hey...
Interesting approach, thanks. One reason for the tripod and crosshair card is that it easier to use a laser measure.
As I wait for the contractor to give me a start date for listening room renovation, all I can do is stare at the boxed-up record collection and head upstairs to stream on the meager 'system' in the living room.
...good luck! Holy Mackerel that's a lotta boxes. It always looks worse to me when they're boxed. You can't see the spines, colors, grouping on the shelves, etc. Just boxes. Gives me the shakes. Enjoy the upstairs system!
thanks for the well wishes! I'm starting to get 'the yips', whatever that is... Streaming Spotify is not my 1st
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |