Showing (off) your Roon setup - description and photos [2023]

Quite a tube collection. Me like.

Did you find any differences? I run Mullard EL34s and let it go at that.

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Yes, differences are there between various brands, mostly subtle, but every once in a while, pretty drastic. On my Doge 10, swapping out the Psvane KT-88s for Tung-Sol KT-120s was pretty drastic. Those KT-120s have some real punch :blush:

When I buy, either from Viva Tubes (mostly) or Upscale Audio, I do get matched sets to help minimize harmonic differences. As you can see, there are many quad sets, but I usually use two of a set on the left of the Freya, and then pick two of another for the right set on the Freya. I do all four sometimes too.

Most recent purchase was the Linlai 6S7N sets, as they are apparently a spin off of Psvane. I haven’t had them long, so not enough hours on them yet, but first impressions are positive.

Electro-Harmonix has a very nice tone in their 6S7Ns and their 12AT7s and 12 AX7s.

Hmm, surprised about the PSVane, but KT-120s do pump up the power. I use EL34s because they are supposed to be the most musical (or so they say :slightly_smiling_face:)

I buy all my tubes, among other things, from Upscale. My PrimaLunas autobias, so buying in pairs isn’t a necessity.

I do get cryo, but that’s mostly a superstition.

Have fun.

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My Schiit loves 1940s vintage Ken-Rad black glass military tubes. Track down a pair or two. I’ve tried many.

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You might find this interesting. It’s a long read, but well worth the effort:

http://www.audiotubes.com/el34.htm

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Thanks for the source. A lot of info. I’ll keep it in mind for next time.

Edit: Just checked the price list. Wow!

Have posted my setup previously, but with GIK quadratic diffusers, which I installed before the Grimm Audio MU1 (server/streamer/endpoint/DDC) and Shunyata Denali joined the team (Mola Mola amps and DAC, which also controls volume). The diffusers were coming apart (factory-installed hangers were splitting the MDF). Surprisingly, the sound was more to my liking when I removed the damaged GIK diffusers but the highs were a bit off. The Vicoustic absorber/diffuser panels work much better in my room. Not pictured: TabbyDamper. He was somewhere else up to mischief when this photo was taken. Enjoying the music.

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@Rnlifer
I like that cabinet. Is it a repurposed something?

Thank you. My drawing of the piece was based upon book cases that the carpenter had made. When I discussed the wrought iron feature with him, which was unique to this design, he said, ā€œI might have something that will work.ā€ So, it is possible the iron work is repurposed.

I do like the lived-in look and, of course, the dimensions exactly fit the space. Not bespoke audio furniture, but something I personally prefer. It is very solid and dead-on level.

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It’s excellent

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Have you tried those diffusers in the alcoves?

When my treble has been a bit off, in my case drawing attention to itself, I’ve found a degree or two of toe-in can help tame it

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Thanks for the recommendations. My past experiments with toe-in didn’t seem to change much. But the diffuser/absorber panels between the speakers not only fixed the slightly unnatural highs, it improved the clarity of the mids and lows too (although less so).

It was surprising to me that when I took down the previous quadratic diffusers the result was greater clarity. But it reminded me that all the materials and objects in the room absorb sound. In the end, the diffusers falling apart was a good thing since I would never have thought about removing them to hear the difference. The sound was not bad at all, and before I added two last pieces of gear the diffuser made a positive difference.

I think that since the room is open to other rooms (as you can see the wall behind the speakers is open at the top and to the right) some of the usual placement difficulties with speaker placement are ameliorated.

For example, the left speaker is too close to the corner of the room (for a traditional rectangular, closed room). Yet, the bass isn’t boomy. As a Jazz fan, I listen to a lot of upright bass and it sounds very close to live (to my ears).

But this is just a way of analyzing the sound. What is important to me is a lively and like-live sound that allows me to get pulled into the music. Fortunately, that is the final effect of the room, speakers, acoustic treatments and gear.

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No problem, your post struck a nerve :grinning:

A while ago, I couldn’t understand why my soundstage was so much worse than my friends

Long story short, I’d just over treated my room - I stripped it out to only two diffusers behind my Quads - and bingo!

More recently, I’ve been trying to correct an irritating tendency for (some aspects of) some tracks to pull forward into the speaker - mirrors on my diffusers helped to ā€˜centre’ them on the rear reflection point

I also toed the Quads in slightly and brought them slightly closer together ~ 80mm ish. My logic being to reduce any first reflections from the side (although Quads mostly ā€˜beam’ fore and aft)

That has improved things, but there is more tweaking to be done!

Regards
Andy

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Look Holmes! :man_detective:

Signs of compulsive Audiophilia…

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Yup - I have similar marks across my floor!

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Is it interesting, what caused such a strange position of the speakers?

Not compulsive at all. I use a laser level, laser distance meter, builder’s line and a great big carpenter’s square to ensure my speakers’ distance and angle to the listening position are as close as possible to each other.

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Or, lazy me, one could DSP correct the speaker distance and stop moving furniture. :hear_no_evil:

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I do all that - then use Room Perfect :nerd_face::+1:

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Sometimes was moving furniture around with household members still in them…

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