Made Major Upgrade at $0 Cost in 1 Minute
I’m working my way up in digital audio. A few posts here have helped me along. I have a challenging listening room with much glass and a concrete floor. I’ve worked on adding area rugs, pillows, speaker placement, etc. - but am not willing to make major changes such as drapes or full carpeting. There’s no place for panels, as all of the wall space is glass.
My room is big - 20ft by 40 ft - so I’m listening in a near field setup. I tend to listen at lower volumes, partly to keep my wife happy. My favorite music is jazz vocals.
I haven’t visited any audio stores or shows - I live in a smaller city - so I really don’t know what high end audio sounds like. I’m missing my hearing in high frequencies - sometime I can hear the hammer “clunk” hit a high piano note without hearing the note. Oh well, maybe for me a brighter sound is better.
I bought some Moondrop Blessing 2 IEM’s and heard some wonderful audio quality on Tidal. On my main system, there were some occasional percussion sounds that sounded lifelike - as if they were made right next to me. But overall my sound tended to be a bit muddied, and especially vocals - my favorite music - did not stand out. This seemed odd to me because reviews of my B&O “pencil” speakers said that they excel in vocals.
I’ve also worked on upgrades like a new DAC, LPS for my Node, new router and a fiber optic link. I just bought a UMIK 1 and plan to experiment with REW this winter.
‘Reading led me to the idea that maybe I had too much sub bass. I have 2 sealed subs - 15in and 12in. The volume on both were set at the 12:00 position. Putting my ear next to them led me to believe that the volume matched the rest of my system. As an experiment, I turned the big sub down to about the 10:30 position. The result was a Major, Unquestionable improvement overall in my sound quality. Vocals came out front, even at lower volumes. Muddiness disappeared. There was much more nuance and detail in individual notes. The music was much more interesting, engaging, and less tiring to listen to. I could hear new instruments in the background that I never heard before. I want to listen more often and longer. The improvement was much greater than any of the individual changes I mention above. Funny…it cost $0 and took less than 1 minute.
Thanks to everyone on this forum who has given me comments and advice. I’m working my way along. I don’t know if this recent upgrade will in the long run become “normal” for me, and I will eventually become less than happy with my sound quality. But for now, IT’S GREAT!!
Same. Turned crossover down and then turned up sub volume/gain. Big help when I had the sub hooked up. |
20x40 room is a beast of a room to deal with. I beg to wonder if your subs are capable of effectively pressurizing a room that big. I listen in low-level nearfield as well albeit in a much smaller space. I experimented with several small subs that were appropriate for the size of my room but never was satisfied with the results. When I upgraded to a Rel carbon special that I was when I realized what room pressurization, soundstage depth and overall ambience is all about. It was a complete game changer. That being said, if you’re not getting a “oh $h*t” difference when you turn your subs on you may need to revisit placement or replacement. On another note, your power amp is another major contributing factor to sublime low-level listening. A lot of amps need to be pushed to be appreciated. Using an amp that excels at low volume performance is an absolute must have. FWIW. |
@jl1ny Good comments. My 15in and 12in sealed subs are turned down now so I don’t notice them. When I put my ear near them, I hear some output. For music with lows like an organ I hear the sub bass. My speakers and subs are all powered, so I don’t have a separate amp. I never thought about some amps being better for low volume performance. Can subs pressurize a room at lower volumes? I only have the Node N130 as an input, so I don’t have a preamp. I have read that some say a preamp makes a big difference in supplying a better signal to the amps. Right now, I don’t have a good way to listen on earphones. I’m also thinking about room EQ. So an RME Adi-2 DAC is in my sights as it has both EQ and a headphone amp. The RME also has a setting for low volume listening which I may like. |
just to clarify, subs should be felt not heard. With your sub on, from your listening position you shouldn’t hear music coming from the sub but you clearly detect a shift in the ambiance/sound pressure of the room. Music should sound heavier, more dimensional. That’s the best I can describe it. Everyone’s set up and room is unique so I can’t say if it’s achievable with your room/gear. I don’t see why not, but It takes a TON of trial and error. There’s a bunch of videos on YT regarding speaker & sub placement, not to mention a wealth of information here on Agon regarding subs. I had spend countless hours on speaker placement only to make the biggest improvement using a $15 laser pointer. Good luck. |
