I have a movable listening chair and Wilson recommend a listening distance about 1.2 times the distance between the speakers from the midline. So I tend to move the chair forward a little, but there’s not a lot in it.
My wife is very minimalist - her inspiration is Axel Vervoordt - we recently rebuilt most of the house and there was no way she was going to let an interior designer loose in the place. She did most of the design, so there was no chance of a random pair of speakers landing here. She saw the Wilson Dark Titanium in the Central London dealer’s window and that was that. She was in town doing her thing and I was not part of the decision, but it is one I can happily live with. We had a demo and looked at the options like Franco Serblin, but she’d already moved on.
We do have some furniture coming in a month or two from a factory nearby to Franco Serblin.
Pretty simple set-up from bottom with Nucleus, Lumin T2 network streamer and Kinki Studio EX-M7 amp (no need for preamp as Lumin features Leedh Processing). Speakers are limited edition Vivid B1 Decade in Rosso Red (only 200 made). On the network side, I use an etherREGEN switch fed by a Sonore opticalModule (fiber) and recently substituted the internal clock for an AfterDark OCXO (oven-controlled crystal oscillator) reference clock, which has taken the system to a nice new level.
Lovely system. The Vivid’s are gorgeous. I’m thinking about modifying to a similar digital path as yours. Currently ethernet all the way and considering adding both the Sonore optical module and the AfterDark clock between the etherRegen, which I currently have fed into a Simaudio Moon 280D streaming dac. Amp is an Audio Note Oto SE Signature integrated. Honestly didn’t notice much of a difference when adding the EtherRegen, but I’m encouraged by your mention of the external clock providing further improvements.
Andy, thanks for the nice compliment. I really like the Vivid speakers – the B1Ds being my second pair – and can honestly say it’s end game for me. As for the UpTone etherREGEN and the AfterDark reference clock, you may wish to check out this rather lengthy thread on AudiophileStyle. There’s a lot to go through but it’s interesting reading, at least for me. UpTone’s enginer John Swenson has written this neat little white paper to help you through the process. The OCXO reference clock has made a real difference in my system. One can purchase a clock from the U.S. distributor with a 30-day money back guaranty.
Thinking I’m getting an example of what a treated room must sound like.
I’ve had Roon with Ethernet to a single Elac Z3 going in my Living Room for the last couple of weeks while taking it down to studs and concrete for a remodel. I noticed the music seemed to be sounding better with the wood paneling removed. Nothing left to reflect sound now with just studs and cavities filled with 3.5 inches of rockwool soundproofing insulation.
Guess I can enjoy the dead room sound for a few days while waiting for the electricians to replace all the 60 year old metal boxes, plugs and switches and run a new main.
Then I’m going to cover the insulated walls with 1/8 inch thick mass loaded vinyl. Will see what that sounds like before continuing with Green Glue Whisper clips and hat channels, a 1-3/4 inch air gap, then a first wall layer of 5/8 plywood followed by 5/8 Quietrock with green glue. Then 3 thick coats of sound deadening paint on the walls and ceiling.
I can only hope the completed media room will sound as good as it does now.
You are going to love it. This is speaking from experience having done nearly exactly the same thing in our house four years ago. We did the walls and the ceilings.
Terrific! Thanks for the link to the thread, I’ll definitely have a look. I confess I find many of the tech discussions to be a bit overwhelming at times, however I do manage to mine nuggets of very worthwhile information for the most part. Thanks again for the great info! And I look forward to auditioning a pair of Vivid’s someday soon!!
Andy, IMHO skip the lengthy thread and read the two-page John Swenson white paper. It’ll get you 95 percent there. Your big choice will be which clock to get. I chose a middle-of-the-road Emperor Signature, which exceeds the performance of the eR internal clock comfortably but isn’t over the top expensive.
Ah ok, that’s what I’ll do. Thanks for the intel. Btw, I checked the CTronic website and saw the wide variety of clocks, including your Emperor Sig model. What initially drew my interest was the Queen model, which was being marketed as the companion to the EtherRegen, so logically I was thinking in those terms.
From their site: “The combination of these unique, specialty devices (EtherREGEN & Queen Master Clock ) each performing their own very specific role allows digital audio to hit its true potential. This is digital audio at its very best. There isn’t a CD player or SACD player on the planet that can compete with this. I don’t care what they cost. This tech has made more than a few high end audio items obsolete”. Beyond the clock options, there’s also the LPS and cable add on’s, so i can see things adding up quickly. I’ll be sure to read the white paper.
Man, that thread you sent was a bit of war zone. The Believers vs the Non-Believers. It was getting nasty but an entertaining and insightful read regardless. And yes I can see it’s pretty simple to get the bits needed for cheap. Thanks again.
If you think that’s wild avoid the MQA threads😂
To be honest I was, relatively, open minded about the potential benefits but thought it was worth a try for a small outlay. My initial impression is that there is no perceptible difference but further assessments are scheduled.
Good to hear the combination works from someone that has done it and thanks for the reply.
I intend to do the ceiling but the timing is wrong for this go round. Too much for this old man at one time. I stuck my head up above the vaulted ceiling and didn’t like what I saw. The rafters run from wall level to the big steel I beam that spans the space then thin boards run across the rafters with the sheetrock attached to those. Looks a little light weight to me to hold the heavy soundproofing sheetrock and will require some additional framing before I would feel comfortable sitting beneath it. Thanks again…
I have the Kef LS50 Wireless II along with the Kef KC62 sub in my second (smaller) system and every day I am impressed with the amazing sound that comes out of this set up. That little sub is amazing and the LS50 speakers blow me away with the delicacy, details, and quality. Your room looks great!
