Opinion: Turning Off the Filtering


Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to share with all of you some of my thoughts and one of the ways in which I most enjoy listening to music.

Have you ever spend a day in a noisy office, trying to talk to others? Or in a room with terrible acoustics, having a discussion? Have you felt yourself tired and exhausted after that? A lot of times our brain is working to filter out sounds in order to process words. To find the symbols which make up language in spite of the noise, reflections that we may find ourselves in.

This is what I most want to get rid of when I listen to music. It is why acoustics and speakers with dispersion control are so incredibly important to me. I want that utter ease, that ability to turn off all that processing and just listen. You may not have noticed this yet, so I'd like you to think about this, see if you can notice your brain shifting modes.

To me the best systems are the one's that are like being in the great outdoors. That feeling you get when your eyes can see for miles without interruption, but for my ears and brain instead of my eyes.

Is this you? Or did you not know this was you yet? :)


Best,


Erik
erik_squires
Hi Riley,

Sorry, I should have been MUCH more specific. :)

I was specifically talking about the room and room acoustics, not the equipment or the speakers I heard. But the tube pre/amp I heard were pretty damn good too. I think it was CAT pre and amp. :) 

When I say I strive for that, it is why I have so many GIK Acoustics panels and bass traps that move with me from apartment to apartment. 

Best,

E
Here is an article with several good pictures of the Magico room:

"Most of the time, when you listen to a loudspeaker, you're listening to the room," Wolf said at the start of our exploration. "It's very easy to measure a speaker above 800Hz, regardless of the room it's in. Below that, it gets tricky. Hence, the environment in which you listen to and test your loudspeakers is crucial."

https://www.stereophile.com/content/visit-magico-factory#2bbk4J2SpeQY84z2.99

I should also point out that Magico’s approach is unapologetically expensive. They test for and listen in IDEAL acoustic environments.

Hence, my biggest criticism of the S1 Mk II speakers is having a dispersion that is too wide for a "mini" speaker. But the other side of the coin is that you could argue that the speakers are perfect and the problem is my room.

Speakers and rooms need to match. Good acoustic treatments make rooms more friendly to a wider variety of speakers.
so which is your issue.....the speakers / equipment or the room you have everything in ?