Dynaudio Owner's Thread - Page 111

Folks, here's Bill Mac's system. A beauty.

Will,

Thanks for posting the pictures of my system. I am very computer challenged and have yet to tackle posting pictures. I wanted to post my HT/Audio room as to get suggestions on room treatments. I want to try to keep it as tasteful and simple as possible. I assume that panels should be on the wall behind the R&L front and center speakers. And some sort of bass trap for the left front corner. I have seen some corner placement treatments that are cylinder shaped (pie shaped on the inside) to fit tightly in the corner. This is the route I would like to take as a straight panel in the corner would come too far into the room. The room is not the best as one side is open and placement for the L front speaker is close to the couch. But I do find the SQ to be very good but thought some room treatments might make it better. The inwall speakers are not used anymore as I had a Yamaha 3090 with front effect speaker outputs.

I have been doing some reading on a few sites about room treatments but I am pretty much still in the dark as to what would be best in my room. I would like to keep cost to a minimum as my budget was shot when I bought the C1s. I would appreciate any advice on treatments and their placement.

Thanks, Bill

Bill, you have a gorgeous setup there. I am no expert but it doesn't look like you need serious sound proofing except for the left corner. Maybe a bass trap and some decor matched panels on the wall behind the speakers. Now I can understand why you need to tuck those spk wires inside the tube stand, it looks much better. Congrats.

[quote=dynlunatic;15123612]Bruce,
The 2.8 used the original Esotar tweeter which was the predecessor to the current Esotar2 tweeter and was used in the original Confidence 3's and 5's. The 2.8 was a two way with an 8 inch bass driver and 8 inch passive radiator, it was an incredibly detailed and musical speaker but limited in dynamics when compared to the 3.0 and 3.3. The 2.8 was at the time a marriage of the Contour and Confidence technology, kind of a crossover speaker but the 2.8 did not stay in production as long as the 1.3,1.8. 3.0 and 3.3 as I think it was a little misunderstood. I have included a link to the information in our archives regarding the 2.8.
QUOTE]

Mick,
Thanks for the great info ! Yes, I'm still happy with them, and they are just like the picture, beautiful cherry, and oh so detailed musically!

I don't really think the Contour center I bought to go with them (also cherry) sonically matches all that well though. Any ideas on another model dyn center that might match better with the 2.8 tweeters ?

I also still have the dyn 1.1 monitors I used for surrounds, but my current room doesn't have a place for these to go, so I'm considering the IC17. Since they will just be surrounds for HT, I expect they will match well enough sonically, don't you think?

Must say, enviable job you have there, Happy Thanksgiving!

Regards,
Bruce

Vin,

Thanks. My thoughts are the same as yours hoping that minimal amount of panels will be helpful. It does look better with the cables through the stands, a little work but well worth it.

Take care, Bill

Bill -

I'm no expert either, but I'm with CLS on this. I think a couple of 2-4" deep panels on the wall behind the speakers is all you need in there. I'm not even so sure that you need a bass trap, unless you feel that the upper bass sounds out of balance with the mids. A smaller bass trap is not going to reach much below 80-100 Hz and anything below that is best to use EQ (unless you are doing a dedicated room from scratch).

Tim,

I have no EQ capabilities for 2 CH as I am using the Bel Canto PRe3. For HT I am using the 805 which I am using Audyssey and a subwoofer. What I find when listening to 2 CH bass response is more pronounced from the left speaker as it is located near the corner of the room. Where the right speaker has no room wall (or corner) at all. I thought maybe a bass trap in the left corner would equal (or help somewhat) out the bass response in 2 CH. Also with the sub in the corner might help with that as well. With HT I find it sometimes easy to locate sub and LFE not dispersed as well as it should be. But again I have zero room acoustic treatment experience.

Bill

Bill, forget the room cluttering traps and panels. Experiment with a different speaker cable and inter connect on each side to make the output sound the same from both speakers. No doubt this will work as many clain that cables have audible differences.

I see. Well a trap could help, but I wouldn't just buy one that fits. You need to know the range of bass frequencies that need to be reduced and use a trap that targets those frequencies. To do this, you will either need to hire an acoustician to measure the response of your speakers in your room, or learn how to use something like "Room EQ Wizard". REQ is freeware, but you will need to invest in a mic, a mic preamp, and possibly an external sound card for your laptop.

Alternatively, you could buy a bass test-tone CD and use an SPL meter to plot the frequency response.

Bill Mac
Very nice/clean setup sir. Your room looks very cozy, and I love the wood floor.

Here are two things you can do when listening in 2ch mode that will make a big difference;
Move your coffee table, and cover your LCD with a thick blanket.

This has to have the nicest people of any forum on the AVS. I have been reading this thread for about two days now. No Trolls, No A$$h&les, I mean you guys have your stuff together. I am looking at replacing my B&W 805's with the C1's and wanted to know if anyone here has had a chance to do a comparision between these two. I have a JL Audio Phantom F112 that I use with the B&W's, I am trying to get the smooth tweeter of the silk dome, but yet keep the definition I have in the midrange. I have not had a chance to hear the C1. Are they simular or just too far apart in sound, that I need to drive 150 miles to listen. Just asking kind people.

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the kind words. Yes the coffee table has got to go maybe after the holidays. We are thinking of some kind of ottoman to fill the space. Covering the plasma is is a good idea but with my luck I will jar the panel of its mount. So I will have to deal with the reflections off of it.

I looked at both your HT and 2 CH rooms, very nice. Very well treated as well but I want to keep the treatments in my room to a minimum. Will not be as effective as your rooms though thats for sure.

Bill

Glenee,

You are right the Dyn thread is a safe place to be. A great group of members and we all try to help each other out. I have not heard the 805s so I can not help you there but I am enjoying the C1s very much. I am sure there are a few members here who have heard them though. I have been looking at the F112 but it is not in the cards right now. Excellent sub and I would bet it would be great with the C1s.

Bill

This is one of the nicest forums I've ever participated in, no trolls and i think the average Dynaudio owner are much like the civilized Danes who make them.

Zues, sorry I missed this, yes I wish you guessed it : ) Mcintosh sound is a very pleasant discovery for me.

Recently I heard a Macintosh 6500 integrated driving a Focus 140, it was sweet and very musical, the pairing looked great too, the modern, contoured lines of the 140 beautifully offset the angular retro Mac. And those blue power meters are seriously gorgeous.

You guys just don't know how truly refreshing this is. I have been a member here for quite a while, as you can tell from my post count of 319 in 3 years. I mostly read. I don't care for all that other stuff. I'm a smooth sound man, you know like a smokey ole bar room at 1 am in the morning, my taste don't lean toward that in your face sound, although when I was Young couldn't get enough of it. Like Solo Guitars and smooth female voices.

New stereophile issue is out, has the sapphire been reviewed?

NO.. The new issue (December) has a Thiel CS 3.7 on the front and I did not see anything about the Sapphie inside. The Sapphie I think will be the next month, or January with a cover shot if the resources are correct.

I had a chance to look at acoustical products from ASC, GIK and Real Traps. The ASC Fractional Quarter Round is the shape of bass trap I was looking for. But from the cost of some of their "B" stock items it looks like the Quarter Round will be out of my price range. The Real Trap products look nice but fairly expensive as well. GIK products look very well made and are very affordable. The Tri Trap bass trap is $258.00 for 2 traps. The 242 acoustic panel is $164.97 for 3 panels.

Has anyone bought any products from GIK? I think I will give them a call and see what would be best in my room. My thoughts are a Tri Trap in each corner and a 242 panel behind each front speaker with one left over for a reflection point on the back or side wall.

Bill

Sorry guys, it is actually in the January issue which hits the stands in the middle of December and you are correct as it will have the Sapphire on the front cover.

Thank you for your sincere comments, I think I can speak for everyone on this thread when I say we are really all just a big group of friends that enjoy listening to music and sharing our experiences. I was in retail prior to working for Dynaudio and in addition to carrying Dynaudio I was also a B&W dealer. The 805 is a remarkable speaker and in fact I would have to say it was always my favorite B&W. However, the 805 like many B&W speakers can be fatiguing after listening for a while and I attribute most of this to the hard dome tweeter. As a side note, despite carrying MANY other brands of speakers in addition to Dynaudio over my decade or so in retail, Dynaudio has always been my speaker brand to own, yes I'm slightly bias but ther is some experience to back it up. The C-1 is truly better than the 805 in every way possible, dynamics, detail, musicality, non-fatiguing listening and depth of soundstage. No disrespect to the 805, but C-1 is truly a world class bookshelf speaker and I definitely recommend taking the time to listen to them.

Bill,

I have purchased all my treatment panels from GIK. They are easy to work with and provide a lot of guidance along the way. They are/were less expensive then the other two companies you mention. As some of the other guys have suggested, a frequency plot is a nice thing to do.

I have a pair of Real Traps behind my C1s.

Hi Charles,

Glad to hear that GIK was good to deal with. I have to admit I am not sure on how to go about doing a frequency plot. I have heard it mentioned but not sure if it is something I could do with my poor computer skills.

Bill

Hi Will,

Are you using the ones that hang on the wall? Did they help with overall SQ?

Bill

You can do a bass frequency plot with a piece of graph paper, an SPL meter and a CD with bass frequency test tones.

http://www.realtraps.com/test-cd.htm

Tim,

Thanks for the link. It looks like something that I can handle (I hope). You guys will have me to Jr. Audiophile status before I'm done!

Bill

Mick, do you think the sapphires run might definitely be extended? I read in a Sam Tellig article how John Atkinson hates reviewing limited run products because by the time the reader sees the review the product may be sold out.

Maybe Stereophile knows something : ) with this editorial stance why put something on the cover if it wouldn't be abvailable.

Omigosh Mick, what am I talking about? I forgot you work with Dynaudio and aren't just a dealer, c'mon man spill it : )

Hi from Vienna

Since years, I own a Facette, 42, 42c, 2x Sub 20a combo,
sounds fantastic driven by a TAG McLaren amp rig.

Recently, one of my subs started to develope some crackling noise about every 5 min.,
even when the input is shorted; seems to be a problem in the amp section.

Sending the sub to a Dynaudio repair center is no option,
cause the shipping costs ( weight+insurance ! ) would ruin the repair/shipping cost balance.

As I am an experienced audio technician, I would prefer to repair the sub by myself.

So, anybody out there with good connections to Dynaudio
to get me a Sub 20a service manual/schematic ?
I would even sign a NDA regarding the amp schematic.

Of course, I could dismantle both subs and do an A/B comparision, well ...

TIA

Gary G. ( ... saving for a Sapphire upgrade ... )