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Looking to improve my system

I have been a member for a while and check the forum listings daily. My first posting. Looking for some advice on tweaking / improving my system which I started a couple of years ago

Before this I had a Denon amp, CD player and some JBL 4412 speakers inherited from my father-in-law, RIP.

My current system is


Primaluna EVO 400 and  Arcam A49

Q-Acoustic Concept 500 speakers

LKS MH-DA004 DAC

Bluesound Node 2i

Pro-ject Carbon Espirt SB turntable


QED XT40 speaker cables.

Blue Jean coax and RCA

Audioquest Yukon XLR

Signal Power Cable on the amp (can't remember which one but cost about $100)

The other components are using original power cables.  

Furman PL-Plus-C

GIK acoustic panels (bass traps in back corners. 7 other panels in the room)


The room is 12 X 19. 8 foot high ceilings. I sit on the long wall so I’m about 8 feet from the speakers. The speakers are an equal distance from the side walls. Today they are about 7.5 feet apart and toed in slightly. 15 inches from the wall


Mostly listen to the Bluesound either streaming through Amazon or Neil Young Archives and a hard drive or Network drive which contains my many CDs ripped to FLAC files through EAC. Very little vinyl.

My musical tastes vary

Classic jazz - MIles Davis, Art Blakey, Bill Evans but also Joshua Redman and Diana Krall

Classic and Grunge Rock - Stones, Beatles, Pink FLoyd, Led Zeppelin, Talking Heads, DIre Straits, Pearl Jam, Alixce in Chains

Acoustic music - David Grisman / Jerry Garcia Bob Dylan, Bluegrass, Neil Young.

Indie Music - Ryan Adams, Bon Iver, Lord Huron


So what is the problem? Not really sure. There are moments that are really good, but to be honest it seems never as good as a live performance.  (Not sure if you can really  reproduce the live experience and I have been to poor sounding live shows )  I would  say it does depend on the recording. Talking Heads -Stop Making Sense Psycho KIller and David Grisman / Jerry Garcia The Thrill is gone recordings are great. Miles Davis- Kinda Blue and BIll Evans -Sunday and the VIllage Vanguard are really good. But much of the rock music and indie stuff (except maybe for Bon Iver) can be lacking.


What is the problem? Not always sure but maybe a separation of instruments, or that some instruments get lost and others are too prominent. In the Miles Davis song “So What” I  love to listen to the bass, drums and piano in the background while the sax and trumpet are playing. Sometimes, even in that song, those background instruments get lost, especially the drums. Rock music is worse, Seems like no separation. Just generalizing here.  I would almost rather listen to this music in my car.

Also some music can sound harsh, at times. What I want is to not be thinking about the system but just enjoy the music and feel like I’m being enveloped by the sound. To not just hear the sound but feel it.


I feel I am set with my amps. I want the Concept 500 speakers to work but also looking at the Klipsch Forte III. (I think the Cornwall IV are too big?) Or maybe something else? Also not sure if I would change the DAC or streamer. Have looked at the Furman Elite15 PC but not sure if I want to go that way. I plan on adding a dedicated 20 amp circuit. Not sure about adding higher end cables. I don’t want to re-ignite a battle. While I can’t wrap my head around some of those cable upgrades it is more from lack of experience. I wish I could compare speaker wire, connectors and power cables, just not sure how. There was a suggestion from GIK to add some additional panels to the ceiling and more bass traps high on the back wall .


Sorry for the long post, I know there are a lot of you out there with so much experience and knowledge and I will take all suggestions openly. If there is anything I have taken from reading the posts in this forum, it's that people are passionate about their music.



stalajkowski
stalajkowski OP
4 posts
 

Thank you all for taking the time to share your experience and knowledge. I know everyone has a different take on this and I appreciate hearing different viewpoints. It’s good to hear other people are going through the same journey.


Just a few things. The room is carpeted. I will try to move the speakers to the short wall. There are some features of the room. No electrical outlet on the only wall that works. A large walk in closet door, windows and built in shelves on the long walls that would not allow me to move my GIK panels to the mid- point reflection on those side walls and the door would now be in in the back corner so no bass trap there but I can speak to MIke at GIK (who has been great) to see if I can work those issues out.


I have a Klipsch R-105 subwoofer for my movie set up and tried that, didn’t feel it added anything and then tried 2 subwoofers (albeit a cheaper one) and liked it even less. The AudioKineis subwoofer swarm system does seem intriguing.


I have thought about changing the Bluesound streamer but so many people review it favorably and it sounds like I should work out the other things first. But I can see an upgrade, in the future, so thanks for the suggestions. The Bluesound is wired into the Network drive but I also have a SS hard drive directly connected to the Bluesound. While I agree a weak link could be the service, in this case Amazon, I also subscribe to the Neil Young Archive service that uses high resolution audio. At times there seems to be a difference but other times not really.


There is something very unique about live music, that can only be experienced at that moment. It's the venue, the performer, people at the soundboard, what you might be drinking or smoking, your seat, who is in front of you, the weather and what happened that day. Hard to reproduce some of those things at home. Can’t wait until live music is back.


Thanks again for the advice. I’ll keep you posted when i find something that works.



winnardt
174 posts
 
For live performance sound, another vote for Magnepan. Few other speakers can do imaging as well as Magnepans. For about 10K (maybe less), you can pick up used 20.7s. Now realize that Magnepans are 4 ohm speakers with low sensitivities, usually around 86 dB, so some power is necessary. And they also sound best with a subwoofer. 
mossyrocks
19 posts
 
Not as technically versed as most of these responders. I have found that cables can make a significant difference. The advice I received was to start with the preamp to amp, source to pre,
and try to use the same cable brand / quality for each. Some audio stores will let you try different cables on trial to swap out - worth the effort. My two cents.
dayglow
1,951 posts
 
My first question is are you using the EVO 400 as a preamp and the Arcam A49 as the power amp? Your Q Acoustics Concept 500 are an excellent value when regarding price/performance ratio. From what I have read and heard over Youtube the Concept 500 is relaxed/polite with a slightly recessed midrange and toned down tweeter, not the best choice for rock recordings. The first thing you need to do is figure out your weakest link. IMO your sources and cables need to be upgraded. Your strongest components IMO are your Concept 500's and PL EVO 400. Do you want to invest in  streaming/dac or upgrade your phono set up? If you feel your system is to soft add some aggressive cables like Nordost ect, Remember everything matters having a balanced system with no obvious weak link should be your goal. Let me know what you think and I can give more specific advice.
stalajkowski OP
4 posts
 
I am not using the PL and Arcam together, DId not know I could, Is that an option? Just letting folks know that I have both amps. And like both amps for different reasons. I don't really want to upgrade the phono. Just don't listen to vinyl enough. but yes to the streamer. I don't believe I saw any comments on the  LKS MH-DA004 DAC, not sure how that compares to others,  though I have seen many different suggestions for DACs in past posts. The cable suggestion sounds interesting, I will check them out. Right now I am looking at changing the layout of my equipment in the room (placing speakers on the short wall) and see what tweaks to the acoustical panels would help. I feel if I can get that down then I will be in a better place to assess the sound once the room is in order and then change pieces  accordingly. Thanks again for your help 
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