It is all about the ‘Room’, thinks Toole.

Judging from many of the posts on Audiogon, Shadorne, I think it's mostly a hobby about fools' gold, mysticism for the gullible. Toole's advice pretty much comports with what I knew about psychoacoustics when I was active in the field, but it's not nearly as sexy as whatever latest widget has become available. We need to get our heads straight and start listening to those power cords.

db

the most important developement in hi fi gear(yes its still hi fi) in over 25 years is burle maple veneer.

Well Shadorne, as Toole points out some of what we consider " good" sound quality is " governed by a cultivated taste". We have been taught that an elevated midbass is "good". If you don't have it it sounds "thin". Live rock concert mixes pound this into our heads.Certain speaker manufacturers now build this into their products. Unfortunately there is no off switch when you don't want it. " Reviewers" tell us that cables will " elevate our systems to a whole new level.( BTW if this is ever true then imho there is something seriously wrong with your system). People who spend the big bucks confirm this and inform us that yes indeed it was worth it . Who in their right mind is gonna tell anyone they just dropped 20 large on a power cable and they couldn't hear the difference. ( I know they can make a difference but it is SUBTLE ) Audio magazines encourage this as their existance depends upon it. This is what I call the Robert Parkerization of audio. We make our lists and we buy the ones that are 90+ points and feel some superiority over those poor souls who can only afford something in the mid 80's. Wine prices are profoundly affected by the ratings ( which are plastered all over their adds ) and outfits exist which consult with growers on how to blend spefically to increase their Parker scores. Nothing about "tranparency to the source" which is also a part of wine evaluation. If you just blindly follow the ratings your gonna get screwed if for example you like Burgundies. Any of this sound familiar ? I've optimized my room the best I could. Any more and my wife will kill me. Despite this the sweet spot is not as large as I would like it to be. Earlier today I had tears in my eyes listening to Wynton Marsallis playing " where or when" from the sweet spot. Two nights ago I sat 7 feet further back with a freind of mine on a couch to listen/watch the J.B. dvd. It sounded like crap. There is no cable, hell there is no speaker , anywhere which could have the same profound effect as 7 feet and a poorly set up space. - Jim

Just got the book and have read some of the parts that most interested me. Some of my take aways:

* Reflections, in particular side wall reflections, are not the enemy. They can add a sense of spaciousness to the soundstage. Toole pretty clearly recommends against using side wall treatment for stereo, in contrast to just about every room set up guide I've seen. I do think I was probably overdamping my own room with treatments.

* If you are going to put some sound absorbing material on the walls, use at least 4" of material. Othewise you get uneven dispersion since you are not absorbing enough low frequencies and are probably doing more harm than good.

* The idea of ideal room dimensions is oversold.

Except for a few places where he has "memos" in shaded boxes, the book is not written in a cookbook format that is easy to get straightforward recommendations out of. A lot of this stuff is somewhat subtle and not very cut-and-dried.

The book does seem biased toward multi-channel sound and home theater. I imagine that many sound engineers find stereophony old hat and are impatient with its many flaws.

That all jives with me.

I have my Walsh omni speakers within 2 feet of sidewalls in two separate rooms and this does benefit sound stage width. For more directional designs, more lively sidewalls might be needed for similar effect.

Some people do like their sound to come from in between the two speakers though.