The 'Dark' Art Of Room Acoustics!

I visualized it as subs being placed in the corners, but in front of main wall, which is like spreading stereo speakers very far till they reach close to.
I don't know how you visualized placing the subs "in front of the main wall" when I posted that the subs need to be on opposite walls, giving specific examples of directly to the left & right of the listening area OR directly to the front & back of the listening area.
Does the orientation of sub driver matter if it is front firing? Should it face the listener, or the side wall? Or is downfiring orientation the best?
Doesn't matter. At frequencies that low you're simply presurizing the room. No directionality, so it doesn't matter which way the drivers point. (Assuming you're not going to push the driver against the wall so it can't move.)
 
I bought a Zorrik 88 spray which is supposed to 'clean, protect, luricate and displace moisture' from electrical parts. Used it to clean all the contact points on the cdp, preamp, power amp and speakers. I also used it to clean the terminations of the interconnects and speaker cables. After cleaning all the points I rubbed them with a soft, dry cloth. I noticed an immediate and substantial improvement in the sound quality. For 80 rupees this is an inexpensive and useful addition to my hifi arsenal :)
 
wd40 is oil based. DO NOT and i repeat, DO NOT use oil based cleaners on electronic equipment. it will fry them. Electronic cleaners are alcohol based and evaporate as soon as they are sprayed. even iso-propyl alcohol will do. generally it is available at medical stores or you can get it from some mobile repairers shop.
 
Nature works its wonders in mysterious ways. I had finally (and a little reluctantly) made up my mind to change my amp, speakers and cables. Because my system was no longer doing everything I wanted it do. Boredom had set in and I was hungry for change.

A pm from Joshua and later a call from Magma informed me that Shanti aka Bhagwan would be passing through Chandigarh and that he would be getting in touch. I rang up Shanti and he came over to my place yesterday morning. After a leisurely lunch he got down to repositioning and tweaking my music system in the afternoon. And he did a fabulous job of re-positioning the VABBG's and tweaking my entire system. The change which he wrought to the entire experience of listening to music in my living room was truly remarkable.

By a conservative estimate there must be a 40-50% improvement in the SQ. My feeble attempt at practicing the dark arts of room acoustics could never have accomplished what he achieved in 45 minutes. He seemed to be absolutely sure about what he was doing. I happily sat back and watched and listened as my system acquired a new dimension, a higher fidelity, which was beguiling, seductive and highly addictive. Since late afternoon yesterday (with a pause from midnight to 5am to catch up on sleep) the music has been pouring forth like a river of liquid gold. A huge step up the stairway to high fidelity heaven.

Shanti

I hope you had a pleasant flight back to Mumbai. Thank you for listening patiently to what I and my wife desired from our music system. Thank you for actually making it happen so quickly. Instant gratification! So please accept a deep bow of gratitude for the wonders that you wrought in Chandigarh yesterday :clapping:

I hope you will have the time and the inclination to explain what was needed to be done in my music room and how you did it.
 
40-50% improvement ? :eek::eek: ... mein gott!

What were you listening to all this while? :sad: ... kind of, 3 junk boxes costing a thermonuclear bomb belting out 'average' musik. Ok .. Ok, the 'average' thing would be in the excellent league for most of us have-nots. Looks like I too have to invite over Bhagwan to do his little somethings on my yet-to-be-put-in-place, 'God knows how many notches lower to yours' music system.

But, great to hear the final result :clapping:. Have you memorized as to what he has done? You might need to replicate it over a glass of 'cashew feni' as things stand OR invite him over yet again. He might be able to stand 'coconut feni' ... as an incentive! :p
 
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... The change which he wrought to the entire experience of listening to music in my living room was truly remarkable.

By a conservative estimate there must be a 40-50% improvement in the SQ. My feeble attempt at practicing the dark arts of room acoustics could never have accomplished what he achieved in 45 minutes. He seemed to be absolutely sure about what he was doing. I happily sat back and watched and listened as my system acquired a new dimension, a higher fidelity, which was beguiling, seductive and highly addictive. Since late afternoon yesterday (with a pause from midnight to 5am to catch up on sleep) the music has been pouring forth like a river of liquid gold. A huge step up the stairway to high fidelity heaven.

...

O_O

SHANTI/BHAGWAN, here's an open invitation for breakfast/lunch/dinner at Kochi. And in between sometime, if you would deign to touch my lowly gear... :ohyeah: :p

@Ajay124, are you wavering from your resolve to sell the gear now?
 
Ajay - if possible, can you put in words what was missing from your system, what you wanted, and what have you got? I know its going to be difficult, but it would give us a lot of insight, as well as reading pleasure.
 
Nature works its wonders in mysterious ways. I had finally (and a little reluctantly) made up my mind to change my amp, speakers and cables. Because my system was no longer doing everything I wanted it do. Boredom had set in and I was hungry for change.

A pm from Joshua and later a call from Magma informed me that Shanti aka Bhagwan would be passing through Chandigarh and that he would be getting in touch. I rang up Shanti and he came over to my place yesterday morning. After a leisurely lunch he got down to repositioning and tweaking my music system in the afternoon. And he did a fabulous job of re-positioning the VABBG's and tweaking my entire system. The change which he wrought to the entire experience of listening to music in my living room was truly remarkable.

By a conservative estimate there must be a 40-50% improvement in the SQ. My feeble attempt at practicing the dark arts of room acoustics could never have accomplished what he achieved in 45 minutes. He seemed to be absolutely sure about what he was doing. I happily sat back and watched and listened as my system acquired a new dimension, a higher fidelity, which was beguiling, seductive and highly addictive. Since late afternoon yesterday (with a pause from midnight to 5am to catch up on sleep) the music has been pouring forth like a river of liquid gold. A huge step up the stairway to high fidelity heaven.

Shanti

I hope you had a pleasant flight back to Mumbai. Thank you for listening patiently to what I and my wife desired from our music system. Thank you for actually making it happen so quickly. Instant gratification! So please accept a deep bow of gratitude for the wonders that you wrought in Chandigarh yesterday :clapping:

I hope you will have the time and the inclination to explain what was needed to be done in my music room and how you did it.

Ajay, you have a great camera, dont you :ohyeah:
 
avidyarthi

40-50% are simply numbers which I typed in the heat of the moment. Lets just say that the changes were dramatic enough to warrant a thunderous ovation. And the coconut fenny may need to be replaced by a single malt. I kept David Oistrakh for the end and Mazher chose to listen to Julian Bream, who also sounded brilliant.

Dr. Bass

The widest lens I have is a 50mm. Even if I back up against the wall I can't get both the speakers into the frame as they are WIDE apart. But I will definitely post a few pics soon.

anm

I will write about the before and after of the sound when I have more time. I did not ask Mazher for explanations because I did not want to break his concentration.
 
Ajay, if I were you, I'd take some paint, markers and measuring tape and make all the changes/placements Shanti made permanent lest some unforeseen act ruin the current sweet setup.
 
By a conservative estimate there must be a 40-50% improvement in the SQ.

Shanti

I hope you had a pleasant flight back to Mumbai. Thank you for listening patiently to what I and my wife desired from our music system. Thank you for actually making it happen so quickly. Instant gratification! So please accept a deep bow of gratitude for the wonders that you wrought in Chandigarh yesterday :clapping:

Hello Ajay 124 !

I want to begin by thanking you;
It was you who welcomed me into your house...
I had a day to kill before I took my flight back to Mumbai from Chandigarh.
I was on my way home after 15 days in Ladhak - Zanskar [what a super place].....
I am also grateful to you for allowing me to experience your audio set up.
Not many people are open to those ideas.....
I am truly happy to learn that you & Vandana liked the result & that you will appreciate the music for a few more months before you want to make any further changes......

I will write more a bit later on this thread - I have just walked in home - after a really long trip & am exhausted;;
 
The lunch was a treat from Shanti in a nice local restaurant called Kebab Khan :)

:o

Sir,
You did not need to mention that;
It was just great to be a part of your family & spend some nice time listening to great music & sipping some nice SM's
The beer thought could have been replaced with some German Dark Beer - sorry - just kiddin;;;

I truly liked the time I spent with you.
You should try and get a few Forum Members / Audiophile to visit.
That way - all will 'benefit' [I feel] !!

:clapping:
 
shanti

After having savoured Erdinger dark beer, Heineken tastes quite plain and watery. I had only bought it because it was available at a hefty discount. Worked out to something like 70 bucks for a 330 ml bottle. I believe that Heineken is now going to be bottled in India. In future I will avoid fishing for bargains and stick to the brand I like. Erdinger Black and Hoegarden White. Yellow beers are history :)

Listening to The Who. Roger Daltrey is sizzling....Peter Townsend and John Entwhistle are exploding with energy.....and Keith Moon, the 'baap' (sorry for borrowing Mumbai terminology) of rock drummers along with Ginger Baker of Cream....is on fire.....I hope I die before I get old....I am talking about my generation....it's MY GENERATION baby! I feel like I am back in the teenage wasteland and 'old' and 'die' are three letter words which will only start mattering in the distant hazy future.
 
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Hey Ajay,

I remember discussing this and many others factors regarding your music system an year back on this forum. Remember the time when you were talking about sitting on the floor and listening to music while you were evaluating cables?

Setup of a system is a very misunderstood and hence often ignored aspect. Most people sell their gear without even extracting 60 percent of what it is capable of.

I have seen Shanti doing this miracle act once. You are in very capable hands buddy.

Cheers ! Have a good one ;)
 
Hi Ajay124


Great to hear that you are getting so much more from your system.

There is probably none better than Shanti on our forum when it comes to setting up a system. The kind of sound he gets from his system in his house is quite unbelievable, especially considering the size and shape of his room
 
square wave

Yes, I remember. I am blessed/cursed with the memory of an elephant :)

Folks who are fortunate enough to have Bhagwan coming over to set up their system should keep a CD of Eva Cassidy ready. Unfortunately the female vocalists I had were from a much older generation....Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone....Shanti finally selected tracks from Diana Krall's Live In Paris for the job. And much later when it was all done, I heard the thunderous opening of Mahler's third symphony exploding out the VABBG's with imperious power and clarity....and I knew that my humble hifi system had suddenly become very special.

Listening to my daughters favourite track.... And it's prime time....maybe the stars were right...I had a premonition...it's gonna be my turn tonight.
 
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square wave

Listening to my daughters favourite track.... And it's prime time....maybe the stars were right...I had a premonition...it's gonna be my turn tonight.

Beautifully phrased;

p.s. I like :- [for test & set up]
[a] Female Vocal
Kari Bremnes
Rebecca Pidgeon
Kim Karnes
Tannika Tikaram
Eva Cassidy
Mary Black [top line for me]
Male Vocal
Bruce Springsteen
Seal
Nusrat Fateh Khan
Friends of Charlotta
Bill Withers
Hans Theesink
Nils Lofgren
[c] Electronic & Mix
Yello
Michael Jackson
Madonna
Talking Timbaktu - Ali Farka
[d] Indian Classical
Madar
Rites
Meeting by the River
Darshan

These are tracks I use for 'set up' & test.
However, in this case - Ajay listens to Western Classical - so I played with songs / tracks that would bring out the best for that genre [what is liked by Ajay] !! ;)
 
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