Lack of depth problem

The coupling caps in the NP100 are Jensen oil caps and have been there for 6 months. So I think they should have broken in already. V-caps do take a long time to break in. I have a pair of V-caps in my 300B SET amp and they took 400 hours to break in. The first 200 hours were simply horrible....

I'll test my other tube amp over the weekend. One subwoofer is at an right angle to a speaker. I'll adjust it too and see (or hear) how it sounds.

I'll also keep moving the speakers forward and increasing the toe in.

The power cord for my NP100 is already a VH Flavor-4 PC! It is a fine power cord. It replaced a Shunyata Copperhead PC, which rolled off on the highs. Maybe I should put it back as a PEQ that Shadorne suggested?

This high-end audio hobby is expensive but interesting. There are so many things to learn! I built my first radio more than 30 years ago and built many amps as a teenager. At that time, I played violin, guitar, and trumpet. So I have pretty good ears for music. Then I went to college and got all my degrees in EE. But I am still learning many new things. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences.

What a useful and interesting thread, a lot of info here for us all. I would only add, that in my experience, amps and source are very important. Specifically, digital lacks depth except from the best players. That for me is partly why it lacks musicality. Vinyl has great depth, particularly on good recordings. I have some Wagner where the chorus sounds like it is in the next street. For me also, as others have said, good tube amps with good output transformers, also have depth. Again, for me, that is partly why I prefer them.

I have some Wagner where the chorus sounds like it is in the next street

good tube amps with good output transformers, also have depth.

Good point - the output transformer coupled with speaker impedance variation with frequency will generally have a marked audible impact on the SPL with frequency - this can change the soundstage depth much in the way the mix engineer applies EQ to individual instruments to get a desired depth. Bear in mind that the mix engineer will also play with reverb - stuff that is placed far back will have more reverb added and highs cut - stuff that is forward in the mix will have no reverb (like vocalist or lead guitar) and an upper midrange/treble boost.

Vett93, FWIW, in my set up the location of the listening chair is every bit as critical as the location of the speakers. I note you are moving your speakers about but you haven't mentioned moving your chair. Don't miss the opportunity to try this if you can do so. You might also get a little reduction in the 100hz hump as well. Might.

Hi Vett93
Last reponse was dd May 08, I was a bit to late to join in.

I made hewewith 2 portions of comments, may be biased with my own opinion, but I would like to share them with you :-

(1) I am addicted with audiophile for over 25 years. I had been using focal JM Lab Mezzo Utopia 2003-2004 with
tube pre- and power-amps. (A) I 've found "Utopia"'s are
typically not suitable for tube-amp's (may be there are exceptions )
I found them requiring More powerful and " fast" sold-state
amp to control. (B) the Mid's are too strong Vs the high
and low, sounding average more "upfront"and more " mingling" if the amp is not controlling tight. I had tried
to cope with these by tube-rolling, inter-connects, power cable changing. But not changing to sold-state amp as I
prefer the WE 300B tubes most. so finally I changed to
Verity Audio Parsifal Encore in 2004 , not to awiat for
breaking-in, the first hour I was relaxed and relieved
with joy. But with this message, I am not convincing you
to change speaker ( because of me ).
(2) The 2nd Part ( some theories now , more than opinion )
If you know something about the Fibonacci Formulae
(the Gold Ratio - which studies proved it applies to
financial, human mentality, physically too many
aspects of this Earth, or Universe ). It is true for the reflection of sound wave. Many Manufacturers' manual expressing the same ratio. may or may not knowing why, perhaps they only tried by repeated experiments.

use the golden ratio of 0.328 /0.500/0.618/1.618
(A) if you net ceiling height is 100 inches, the best distance from rear wall ( from the moving membrance of Mid range/ tweeter ) should be 61 inches , if this is diffcult
try 50-51 inches, 0.328x H for rear is not a good choice
unless it is a must, or it is a smaller 2-way speakers with
less low's carrying. If your ears and gears are "golden"
you may try the difference if H x 0.45 compared to Hx0.618 or 0.50 and you will see the reflection is different.

(B) Many manuals had use more often this formula to suggest
the distance to side wall, some are using
distance of 2 speakers apart (D ), side wall to centre of speaker ( actually sh be centre of tweeter - moving film ) D x 0.328
Some are using the total distance of two side Walls (D2 ), the the speaker is D2 x 0.328 to side wall.

If Alto Utopia is similar to the Mezzo Utopai I used before
Even with the ratio in my head, I still found some problem
at that year, as I cannot try 61 inches in my old house
( which I think may be the better ). If the rear wall distance can not help, try something to improve the "air-feeling", "more silent-background" . sorry Chinese is my only mother languge, I cannot use better words to explain. " more air " will make you feel the vocalist, instruments standing
a bit more part and distinguished from each other, like
"more depth in the sound stage " one could feel.

I had dedicated A/C Powers from the house Main, RGPC to reduce noise, CSE sine-Wave reformer providing better current to my Wadia 861 CD, and the Synergistic Research
Power Cell as the main Power-strip for the other gears.
try to see any of such kinds can help you.

Don't give up, as trying to upgrade ( within what's in
hand ) is more fun than to just to pay.