Hello all. My question is this, it's quite a long one so please be patient.
My problem is I don't have the luxury of having a dedicated listening room. My setup is at the end of a 'through' lounge / dining area / kitchen with an archway just behind the listening position and a further archway through to the kitchen. To the left of the hifi is a piano! (yikes), to the right is a wooden wardrobe. Sadly neither the hifi nor the piano can live anywhere else. Here's a photo: [image: http://www.mikejcooper.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/misc/hifi.jpg] My system is as follows Squeezebox 3 (playing flac) Cable talk interconnects Audiolab 8000A amp QED silver speaker cable Acoustic Energy Aegis 3 floorstanders The sound is OK but not stunning - it varies hugely according to genre. I listen to all types of music - anything mellow and lacking too much complexity eg easy listening, piano / cello music is warm, reasonably detailed and enjoyable. Rock however is quite an unpleasant listen. To describe the overall sound (apologies if I dont use the correct terminology, I am a noob when it comes to pretentious hifi jargon!) The bass is very boomy and overbearing Mid range is muddy Treble is sadly lacking in presence and there is very little crispness to it. (I usually find that I have to max the treble on the amp and reduce bass to minimum, even this doesn't bring a huge improvement) I appreciate the listening environment is poor, and I am sure I must get all kinds of resonance from the piano. I would therefore welcome opinions as to whether there is any real point in upgrading either amp or speakers given my limitations, or should I just get myself a new (and most likely cheaper) hobby and try and be happy with what I've got. If you think an upgrade would be worthwhile then I am thinking that the main weakness is the speakers, and wonder if I would be better off getting standmounts - given the size / shape of the room and the overbearing bass. I am also aware of the fact that my amp is now about 10 years old. I would be willing spend around 2 grand (pounds sterling) in total for new amp, speakers and cables but dont want to throw good money away if it isn't worth my while. Oh and if you are wondering I am not fussed about creating a 'home cinema' despite the fact as you can see there is an LCD hdtv on top of my rack (am happy enough just having 2 speakers plugged into a standard hifi amp). Cheers -- Butane Bob ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Butane Bob's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3403 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=22717 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
