New to this. How do I stack my stuff?


I'm new to hifi. I've asked a lot of questions here and some of you may already know my situation but I got the following by chance and for free: Audio Research LS16 tube pre-amp, Arcam CD92 cd player, Madrigal Proceed HPA2 amp. 

It is all up and running and I'm loving it. Now just trying to maximize the little things that I can. For instance, speakers had spike stands but spikes were missing so I made a set.

Now I read in the CD manual that it recommends sorbothane feet and says sound quality will be better.

I'm now figuring out that placement of components is important and that proper stands, expensive ones, are best. Well, expensive stands are not going to happen. But I can try to make accommodations that are cheap and won't turn the room upside down.

Here is how it is all situated now...let the ridicule flow, but keep in mind that I am space limited to a serious extent. Was not sure I'd get the system in my house at all:

The (very) heavy Proceed amp is sitting on a carpeted floor on strips of wood which raise the bottom of it well above the carpet. It is higher above the carpet than it would be above a hard surface just on its own feet.

The CD player is sitting on a small, simple, wooden, antique side table. It is sturdy. The pre-amp is on top of the CD player. I have no idea what this might mean in terms of SQ but the CD player actually puts out a fair amount to heat which rises up into the pre-amp of course. That concerns me.

So other than getting some sorbothane feet for the CD player, what else would be a priority here?

Finally are there issues with which cables contact which cables, how much speaker cables are looped, etc. (Most of the cabling is Transparent Super Bi-wire.)

Thanks for any assistance.
n80
n80

Glad that you and your wife are hearing differences, that's the beginning :)

For the sake of ease and simplicity.....my rather involved and lengthy discussion last night on room treatments  aside, I would suggest treating only the first reflection points in your room. These will be wherever the sound bounces directly off some flat surface, wall or ceiling to your preferred listening position. Have your wife sit in that spot while you move a mirror around the room walls. Any place where she can see either of your speakers in the mirror is a prime spot for treatment and there will likely only be a handful at most, which makes it fairly simple.......As for the ceiling, I believe that you stated they are fairly high, 10 feet? That's good and makes it a bit less important than the walls. A single panel  or possibly two, two feet by two feet, on each side wall somewhere between where you sit and the speakers......the mirror will tell you where.......will make an immediate improvement in what you hear and it's a start to better sound.........If you decide to try this, center the panels at the same height from the floor as the mid range and tweeters in your speakers......I understand that you are not an audiophile, but no one is until they catch the "bug"! LOL

As for any other tweaks, special footers, cables, etc. I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about that at this point, as these are likely to make less difference in what you hear than playing with your set up, as you have done, and perhaps adding a handful of panels to the reflection points I just mentioned...........As for the panels themselves, if you pick an attractive print at the fabric to to cover them, they can actually look pretty nice..........Think of them as framed "wall art", or functional pictures. That's how I described them to the ladies at the fabric store when they asked what I was making, whom I would have quickly lost if I started going into the whole room acoustics thing.

Enjoy.
Thanks shadowcat. The first reflection point on my left is curtains. On my right it is a 6x6' expanse of brick behind a large couch. That would be the main area that would need attention.

My wife is not going to go for panels, even decorative ones. But, as mentioned before, I bet she would allow me to hang one of her smaller oriental rugs there and probably on the other similar sized brick area that is closer to my listening chair. They make rods for hanging rugs so that they hang about an inch from the surface of the wall. Probably not optimum sound deadening but probably not bad either.
n80, I agree that you should hang something appropriate for the room's decor.
  My system is in my living room and I have a large tapestry hanging. It's very effective for improving mid and top-end response.

Yep. Tame that brick wall, though the couch will absorb some of the acoustic energy.