All makes sense to me. The room is not quite as bad as I seem to have indicated -- the glass on the back wall is only from about 9ft up to the peak of the ceiling at around 19 or so. Not great, but not as quite as bad as a full glass wall (As if that would be a bad thing, I do sometimes do things other than grin in front of the stereo).
More I think about it, I'd have to agree that it seems the two most obvious culprits are the room itself and isolation issues (or lack there of). The room needs work, no question about it. The general tenor of the responses reinforces my suspicion that, until I suck it up and face the room issue, I'm likely wasting money by throwing it at other things. Project 1.
Isolation-wise, while the Salamander is hardly the last word in stability, I happen to like it. I'd likely benefit from doing better than the vibrapods under the Meridian, though (my sole concession to isolation). Any pointers on best bang-for-buck isolation items? Call it project 2.
The upgraded PCs are in the bag, paid for and in the mail. Power issues ("Project 3") is in a holding pattern. (So you know, they're 4 Reference Gold PCs from Custom Audio, two stock (for Bryston and RGPC) and two fully upgraded (for Meridian and Rogue)). Should have them later today.
As far as ditching the Rogue (apparently encouraged prior to the Bryston), the Rogue was a relatively recent addition and, in my opinion, was a huge step in the right direction. I love a warm and engaging sound. Although it seems I've not communicated it well, I'm looking for lush warmth AND detail, but if I had to sacrifice one for the other at some level, I'd take the warmth. Prior to the Rogue I had a VTL preamp, and the Rogue is a huge improvement in both detail and warmth, a win-win. The Rogue stays (for now).
Unfortunately, I don't think I can describe what I'm looking for any better than I already have. I want more vibrancy and engagement, but I can't put my finger on what's lacking to get me there. Could be detail. Could be pacing and microdynamics. On some tracks, at some points, the PRAT on the main rig is noticably off -- just a microsecond behind itself. All of these seem to gesture more towards better isolation and cleaner power before more aggressive room treatment -- which is why I was looking down the road towards a more authoritative amplifier -- but, without question, Projects 1-3 are: room, isolation, and power, more or less in that order. Once I get those better sorted out, I'll worry about where to go from there. Thanks again (and, by all means, keep the pointers coming).
More I think about it, I'd have to agree that it seems the two most obvious culprits are the room itself and isolation issues (or lack there of). The room needs work, no question about it. The general tenor of the responses reinforces my suspicion that, until I suck it up and face the room issue, I'm likely wasting money by throwing it at other things. Project 1.
Isolation-wise, while the Salamander is hardly the last word in stability, I happen to like it. I'd likely benefit from doing better than the vibrapods under the Meridian, though (my sole concession to isolation). Any pointers on best bang-for-buck isolation items? Call it project 2.
The upgraded PCs are in the bag, paid for and in the mail. Power issues ("Project 3") is in a holding pattern. (So you know, they're 4 Reference Gold PCs from Custom Audio, two stock (for Bryston and RGPC) and two fully upgraded (for Meridian and Rogue)). Should have them later today.
As far as ditching the Rogue (apparently encouraged prior to the Bryston), the Rogue was a relatively recent addition and, in my opinion, was a huge step in the right direction. I love a warm and engaging sound. Although it seems I've not communicated it well, I'm looking for lush warmth AND detail, but if I had to sacrifice one for the other at some level, I'd take the warmth. Prior to the Rogue I had a VTL preamp, and the Rogue is a huge improvement in both detail and warmth, a win-win. The Rogue stays (for now).
Unfortunately, I don't think I can describe what I'm looking for any better than I already have. I want more vibrancy and engagement, but I can't put my finger on what's lacking to get me there. Could be detail. Could be pacing and microdynamics. On some tracks, at some points, the PRAT on the main rig is noticably off -- just a microsecond behind itself. All of these seem to gesture more towards better isolation and cleaner power before more aggressive room treatment -- which is why I was looking down the road towards a more authoritative amplifier -- but, without question, Projects 1-3 are: room, isolation, and power, more or less in that order. Once I get those better sorted out, I'll worry about where to go from there. Thanks again (and, by all means, keep the pointers coming).