| Search | Login/Register
   Home » Audio Discussions » Romy The Cat's new Listening Room (479 posts, 23 pages)
  Print Thread | 1st Post |  
Page 18 of 20 (479 items) Select Pages:  « First ... « 16 17 18 19 20 »
   Target    Threads for related reading   Most recent post in related threads   Forum  Replies   Views   Started 
  »  New  Macondo Alternation. Extending the LF line-array..  Macondo and not only Macondo positioning...  Horn-Loaded Speakers Forum     8  151068  10-29-2005
  »  New  Midbass Horns and Real Estate...  Just a youtube video......  Horn-Loaded Speakers Forum     247  2145583  07-26-2009
  »  New  A playback and wrong notes...  Why is it not common practice?...  Playback Listening  Forum     5  57702  03-12-2007
  »  New  All Active! A DSET and multi-way acoustic system...  Hahaha...  Audio Discussions  Forum     14  125056  01-31-2008
  »  New  The “Dead Points of Live Sound”..  Confused...  Playback Listening  Forum     28  326322  05-14-2005
  »  New  Don't position speakers but create Sound in room...  Listener position...  Audio For Dummies ™  Forum     1  44939  06-19-2006
  »  New  About speakers Imbedded Macro-Positioning...  Big room AEZ...  Playback Listening  Forum     15  187846  05-16-2007
  »  New  Macondo’s Midbass Project – the grown up time...  Vitavox 15/40...  Horn-Loaded Speakers Forum     455  2974399  05-20-2010
  »  New  Another problem in my new listening room...  Bass Trap...  Analog Playback Forum     1  24386  08-24-2010
  »  New  Superbly interesting effect: Suspended decoupled floor ..  Superbly interesting effect: Suspended decoupled floor ...  Playback Listening  Forum     0  18106  10-08-2010
  »  New  About dymick sparkling...  About dymick sparkling....  Playback Listening  Forum     0  16890  10-29-2010
  »  New  Bass impact on Turntable: how to estimate objectively..  I have done some work on this in the past....  Analog Playback Forum     4  47598  11-01-2010
  »  New  I have a dream, the dream about a Chair...  A bit exaggerated to me....  Playback Listening  Forum     31  227549  10-29-2009
  »  New  Dedicated Music Room Build..  Show it....  Horn-Loaded Speakers Forum     6  61705  03-03-2011
  »  New  Listening rooms and composers...  On "typewriter music"....  Playback Listening  Forum     15  135850  05-16-2010
  »  New  How to play Bruckner Sound in Audio...  Being a pedagogical geniuses…...  Playback Listening  Forum     16  115458  06-15-2010
  »  New  Sound from behind a window...  Sound from behind a window....  Playback Listening  Forum     0  15062  04-24-2011
  »  New  Reinforced live sound in audio listening room..  Listening room acoustics...  Audio Discussions  Forum     4  37417  07-05-2012
  »  New  A listening room for a domesticated Cat?..  Eventually!...  Audio Discussions  Forum     283  952078  02-04-2016
  »  New  The ULF cannel for my new listening room...  The Organic Bass vs. ULF Drivers...  Audio Discussions  Forum     43  130734  07-29-2018
09-02-2014 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 426
Post ID: 21191
Reply to: 21187
A nice asymmetrical listening Room
fiogf49gjkf0d

Nope, it is not my listening room but I it is a very nice looking listening room, I hope to post it here. The room has very nice dealing with first reflections, ceiling and many other aspects. I wish the right speaker were further from the wall. The room look like also has two ULF modules. This is a good move but unfortunately the ULF are not time alight and it is quite "auditable". If someone knows whose room it is and would make me to listen it then I might educate the room owner what to pay attention regarding ULF delay and will point to him out what to listen to discriminate the difference. Unfortunately I will not have a solution.....

Wilson_Nice_Romm.jpg



"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
09-02-2014 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
ghpicard
Posts 12
Joined on 12-15-2008
Post #: 427
Post ID: 21192
Reply to: 21191
It's Jfretch's system.
fiogf49gjkf0d
From what he writes in Audiogon, it's an old version of his system. Now he has another pair of Wilson Audio speakers (Puppy 8's). And he lives in TX...

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vaslt&1028590273

Regards
   Gaston
09-03-2014 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 428
Post ID: 21194
Reply to: 21192
Looking from Massachusetts :-)
fiogf49gjkf0d
Ah, Texas, they are truly helpless people. They did not reach the level of humans evolution when such a fine things as bass time alignment would matter. They need to experience an influence of the Renaissance first....  Seriously, a nice looking listening room. I do like the ceiling a lot.

The Cat

"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
10-19-2014 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 429
Post ID: 21284
Reply to: 13235
Domestic games
fiogf49gjkf0d
The last month was strange. We undergo a minor house overhaul. It started from the fact that we looking around the house and discoed two extra bedrooms that we did not exist. The result was kind devastating – we completely remap the rooms of the house, moved furniture, redo the rooms and moved office to different location (that implies spent days to re-route all wiring). 
 
We still have our Listening Room and Opera Rooms. The Opera room got a new near-sexy bay window that in fact is openable and looks very nice. The Listening room got a new piano and remodeling of the music corner. That is very nice. Also, we decided to factor in the center listening room a permanent sitting area. Yes, the time when Amy first time entered my life and discovered a single listening chair in the middle of room is gone – that war my golden listening times. Fist we compromise sound with listening couch and now we have a whole sitting arrangement with couches, chairs, ottomans and tables. The parabolic defuses behind the listening spot is gone and now hangs in there some kind of tapestry… 
 
How all of it affected sound? Well, this is a complicated subject. I do note that sound change and that my listening hobbits change, which itself a part of much longer conversation.  Generally I do have the same core sound but the fine points are slightly less fancy then I would like them to be. The irony is that not Amy but I was the driving motivation for the room arrangement change. In my mind I was super successful to integrate a very high performance listening room (including the midbass horns!!!) in perfectly conventional living room and how I need to factor into my formulation a family live in that living room. When Amy move with me the part of our virtual prenuptial agreement was “Listening room stays, never vote republican, and never get dog.” So, for all intended purpose I do have the very same listening room, in fact she objected absolutely nothing. What changed were the people living around the speakers and theirs behavior in the listening room, the new listening room furniture is just a reflection of this process. Now I need to catch the acoustic signature of those changes and make Mocondo adjustment accordingly. I do not think that it shall be too complicated….

The Cat
 

"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
03-07-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 430
Post ID: 21589
Reply to: 13235
A minor collapse of major prenup.
fiogf49gjkf0d
I feel strange tonight. I woke up at 2.30AM to feed the diabolically-smiling baby and as Thomas went back to sleep I keep walking back and forth of the listening room for 2 hours, having quite bewildering feelings. As Amy the Kitten moved with me we had virtual prenuptial agreement that consists of just 3 sensible points: 1) The listening room stays 2) Never challenge authority of Koshka 3) Never vote republican. Nowadays the things look and feel different. Koshka is dead. The stupid and on name-only liberals bring up candidates make us to vomit and the last election we went for a republican governor. The last was the listening room….

No, I did not yet converted the wood from bass horns to a custom baby cradle but I do admit that the integrity (and sound) of my listening room is slowly being compromised.  Not that Amy does it intentionally or with some kind of detrimental intent. She rather does her normal female nesting, surrounding our life with pleasurable artifacts of her cuteness. However, if in our bedroom her cuteness manifest itself with a zillion freakishly-unusable pillows, puffy blankets and wall tapestries, (meaning with acoustically wonderful things) then in listening room her décor inventiveness goes from one very bad acoustic idea to another acoustically-worst.

The latest blow that my listening room endures is her attack on the small piece of wall behind my listening couch (use to be a listening chair). Whoever read my site for long time remember the amount of efforts I spent to discover the problem and find a great solution to the problem of my back wall reflection. Read the pages 10 to 14 of this thread and you will witness the discovery process. The curved, perforated arrays of fiberglass pipes was a phenomenal solution; it created a literally acoustically black hole in my listening room that made the sonic imaging in the room dark, deep and no-noisy.  Even those seemingly random plastic red leafs were not a “celebration of my gayshness” but rather a very strategically positioned acoustic devises that set balance between absorption and diffusion at upper frequencies.
 
http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Site_Images/NewRoom_AcousticTreatment_15.JPG

With arriving of Amy the fiberglass pipes behind the listening spot are gone and replaced with irrelevant tapestry – a huge sonic snip. The line of fiberglass pipes at the peripheral of the midbass horns is replaced with books - another sonic snip. And the last nigh the wall behind the listing spot, the most important wall in any listening room (and particularly in mine), got it new permanent candidate – a wonderful silk screened brass rubbing,….. which is acoustic nightmare.

Amy loves brass rubbing and I need to admit that this and many other her visual preferences were “too Catholic” for my Ashkenazim point of view. However, as time went by it kind of rub off of me (pun not intended). Amy love of those things has nothing to do with Churchism. Any half British descendant and her undergraduate degree were Midlevel studies. She just love all sort of thing that in my inflated mind associated with nothing but no less then inquisition. However, traveling with her across Welsh, Scotland and England, visiting their cathedrals and consuming the British culture (about which I was uninformed before) I did fall in love with that island, those people and begin understand and appreciate Amy’s love to Midlevel British art. Nowadays the brass rubbing does not stake me as hard as before and I need to say that the brass rubbing that she put behind the listening sweet spot is a pronominal quality (the picture does not do justice). Still, it IS an acoustic disaster and I only grateful that she agreed did not put it into a glass frame.

Room_Brass_Rubbing.jpg

I do not…. I love her, this is her house and I truly would like her to make her home to reflect who she is. The brass rubbing would not be my first choice at the most visually prominent wall of the house but if she feels that it has to be then I would not argue with it. However, this is supper important acoustic wall that shall be no only “pretty” but actually “functional”.  I do not know if is worth trying to delegate the concept of “functionality” to women….

The Cat

"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
03-07-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Paul S
San Diego, California, USA
Posts 2,657
Joined on 10-12-2006
Post #: 431
Post ID: 21590
Reply to: 21589
Functionality , Aesthetics, and Archiving Art
fiogf49gjkf0d
The fact is, this is a "shared" room that is also seen (by at least one principal) as a "public" room; this is your "face". We all (marrieds) make these compromises in our shared rooms. I chose the house I'm in now because it has a room that my wife was/is willing to regard as "mostly mine". But don't think for a minute that I've had much to say when my systems have been in the living room. I should add as a friend (and as a surviving long-sufferer) that once ground is lost it is generally not worth it to try overtly to recover it. Rather, try to be worthy of a gift of restoration.

Regarding the precious rubbing, is it possible that it would best be "kept in a safer place", for any reason, regarding (UV) light, dust, bugs, cats, toddlers, etc. etc?...


Best regards,
Paul
03-07-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
decoud
United Kingdom
Posts 247
Joined on 03-01-2008
Post #: 432
Post ID: 21591
Reply to: 21589
Dynamic screening
fiogf49gjkf0d
There is space for a set of automated vertical fabric blinds to be attached underneath the bookcase...it could even run the length of the entire space, including in front of the alcove. You can of course angle vertical blinds arbitrarily, and perhaps even introduce random angles with some minor modification, though of course that would make drawing them back trickier. Naturally, triggered to be automatically drawn only when the amp is on...
03-07-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 433
Post ID: 21592
Reply to: 21591
Actually this is very good idea!
fiogf49gjkf0d
 decoud wrote:
There is space for a set of automated vertical fabric blinds to be attached underneath the bookcase...it could even run the length of the entire space, including in front of the alcove. You can of course angle vertical blinds arbitrarily, and perhaps even introduce random angles with some minor modification, though of course that would make drawing them back trickier. Naturally, triggered to be automatically drawn only when the amp is on...

Hm, I do like it. So, I might put right over the brass rubbing some sort of removable blinds made from soft fabric tubes.  I have this type of blinds along the room windows and they work very well. I can even make vertical blinds that would form an arc over the brass rubbing. That would be the best as it would shape so necessary dome reflection but I did not see anything like this, particularly with acoustically effective blind’s louvers. The idea is very interesting however. If I do not find curved railing for blinds then I might make my own curbed bar and then just make my own vertical louvers and use them as a curved curtain.  I think it is doable and if I will be able to do it “pretty” then I can sell it to wify… and even to myself. 

"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
03-07-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
decoud
United Kingdom
Posts 247
Joined on 03-01-2008
Post #: 434
Post ID: 21593
Reply to: 21592
Volcanic fabric
fiogf49gjkf0d
You could use this material for the louvers:
http://www.ixperial.net/epages/63772936.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/63772936/Products/BANDMW0011
It woven from fibre created by melting volcanic rock. It has a curious bronze lustre, so would go very well with the brass rubbing, and it is certainly ancient...
It is safe, but you must be careful with processing the cut edges.
03-09-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
noviygera


Chicago, IL
Posts 177
Joined on 06-12-2009
Post #: 435
Post ID: 21597
Reply to: 21591
I should have done this.
fiogf49gjkf0d
 decoud wrote:
There is space for a set of automated vertical fabric blinds to be attached underneath the bookcase...it could even run the length of the entire space, including in front of the alcove. You can of course angle vertical blinds arbitrarily, and perhaps even introduce random angles with some minor modification, though of course that would make drawing them back trickier. Naturally, triggered to be automatically drawn only when the amp is on...

I think this is a very good idea. Romy, if you do install these blinds, can you please share your findings on how they work for your sound (I am talking about adjusting the reflection angle).
I can see this solution being easily "sellable" to the wife in the house, with lot of arguments for a "mobile divider" between two rooms. You have a baby now, right, so this divider always comes in handy to block sound from kitchen if baby is taking a nap.
03-13-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
decoud
United Kingdom
Posts 247
Joined on 03-01-2008
Post #: 436
Post ID: 21602
Reply to: 21590
Subduing the barbarity of function
fiogf49gjkf0d
Placing a tool, any tool, even one subserving a civilised function such as playback, within an environment where aesthetic criteria ought to dominate is always tricky. Fidelity to function is rarely attractive by itself, whatever contemporary architects might say, though I suppose it is better than bad taste. It is strange though, given the margins, that so little intelligent attention is given to simple things, such as the horrors of indicator lights. How hard can it be to do as I have done, and embed tritium glass vials in the controls? 
tritium.png
04-13-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 437
Post ID: 21625
Reply to: 13235
Some further thinking about integrated listening room.
fiogf49gjkf0d
I think in the realm of integrated listening and living rooms with full stack 7-ch installation and 40Hz bass horn I did accomplish a very commendable thing. You will hardly fine a listening room out there that would be as living-friendly as mine as the same time that will sound like mine. The attic- hidden, time aligned large horns were brilliant idea for sure. However, as time passing by and with accusation of baby, perspective babies, a van and the rest of the mid-age things I need to admit that SOME of the aspects of my integrated listening environment I find today need to be revised.   

Nope, I am still against a dedicated listening rooms but I do admit that the “listening ceremony” as I use to have it in past does not happening so often in my current life, because of multiple reasons. So, I am looking in my mind an arrangement that would be better fit, I do not see any for now. I still would like to have the listening room to be integrated with leaving room and I would like do not loos sound quality but I would alike also the audio element of my listening room to have way smaller footprint. Ironical my acoustic system is a perfect candidate to how I would like to have audio to be in my room (small footprint) but I have 14 components playback that takes too much room. I am looking of some kind non-compromise footprint redaction…

Thomas in front of Uperbass Horns.jpg



"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
04-13-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Jorge
Austin TX
Posts 141
Joined on 10-17-2010
Post #: 438
Post ID: 21626
Reply to: 21625
No worries
fiogf49gjkf0d
HI Romy,
As you know I have 2 kids, one is 8 and the other 3, they grew up around my system too, and they learn where to move where to touch and what not to touch, and it is great they have Access to good sound.
At the hardest time, when you cannot sleep, I would play some music and fall asleep on the first track and wake up when the music was over! Such is life.
But when I play music and they are around it is like a party: they start jumping up and down and dancing and running around.
I told both of them never to touch the tubes because they were hot, and they never did, kids are more intelligent than we give them credit for.
Once they had a friend over and he destroyed a cartridge... but not my kids and it was really my fault. The kid had never seen a turntable in his life!
My two cents, keep your system as it is, and enjoy it when you can: this too shall pass.
04-13-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
ghpicard
Posts 12
Joined on 12-15-2008
Post #: 439
Post ID: 21627
Reply to: 21626
Awesome memories
fiogf49gjkf0d
I have 3 kids, by now two of them are grown ups and the youngest is 10.
I will always remember lifting the eldest in my arms for him to be able to see the 45 SET on top of the FlexyTable, and he asked me why those little bottles had fire inside. I will always cherish this memory...

The only thing I did was to include grills in every speaker I built and had no grief at all.

Gastón
04-13-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
noviygera


Chicago, IL
Posts 177
Joined on 06-12-2009
Post #: 440
Post ID: 21628
Reply to: 21625
Optimization of space
fiogf49gjkf0d
Romy,
What worked for me may sound counter intuitive at first, but then everything worked out perfectly.Rotate the direction your speakers are pointing. In other words an example would be to rotate by a lot -- 45 degrees in relation to your room -- very extreme. But I am talking about much less -- 10 to 15 degrees diagonal. Yes you will have an asymmetrical, virtual, listening room. So what did this give me?....More room for audio components and a more compact "audio corner" for components.Better sound!Better room arrangement between sound system area and living area
Like I said -- counter intuitive but works. 
04-16-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Markus
Posts 68
Joined on 03-07-2007
Post #: 441
Post ID: 21630
Reply to: 21628
Child-ish considerations
fiogf49gjkf0d
When we had our son, I sold off all tube stuff because I did not want any high-voltage equipment where he could prod with a knitting needle and kill himself. It was a needless precaution. He responded well to my grave remarks about not damaging anything and not touching anything, not even the record player even though the rotating platter is immensely alluring to a child. The one exception was when he tried to crawl into the basshorn of the VOTTs I had at the time, but we caught that quick enough.

Better to be safe than sorry and all that.
04-22-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 442
Post ID: 21634
Reply to: 21625
Finding peace....
fiogf49gjkf0d
Well, after many considerations I am inclined to decide to go to “lessen footprint” direction. My “equipment corner” is making itself not too practical with all of those child toys and baby equipments that grow around my listening room like mushrooms after rain, not the last factor that Amy likes the breeding process and we might not stop on one baby. It has nothing to do with WAF, in fact wify does not know about it yet.   
 
The uniqueness of my “equipment bay” does allow me to position there a rack of 90” tall where I could load all my components. The problem is a place for TT.  It is something that I am strategizing now: trying to factor in 90” tall vertically positioned stack a TT such a large as Micro 8000 with Vibroplane… 
 
I do feel very sad about my current equipment rack. Years back when I approached Rick Cox and told him that I liked his rack but I would need something different he listen me careful and then said that he was waiting a customer like me for years and he always wanted to do something like this. The rack he made is brilliant, I truly proud of it even though I did not do it, but I think for now it will go to basement for a couple years. I even was thinking to put the TT on hold for couple years but I do not have peace with this idea.
 

"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
04-23-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
tuga


Posts 174
Joined on 12-26-2007
Post #: 443
Post ID: 21635
Reply to: 21634
"Fencing"?
fiogf49gjkf0d
Have you considered "fencing" your equipment bay?
Such a baby-proof fence might actually be made to look nice (more so in a large room such as yours) and you wouldn't have to reposition all your equipment and cables...again.

Ric

"Science draws the wave, poetry fills it with water" Teixeira Pascoaes
04-23-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 444
Post ID: 21636
Reply to: 21635
I need to build something custom
fiogf49gjkf0d
 tuga wrote:
Have you considered "fencing" your equipment bay?
Such a baby-proof fence might actually be made to look nice (more so in a large room such as yours) and you wouldn't have to reposition all your equipment and cables...again.

 Actually it is not about the "fencing": protecting the equipment or protecting baby. It is about a completely different objective. We are in process of building in basement a very nice dedicated play room but I do not like the subject of “dedicated play room”. It turn out that we like to spend time with our baby and we like to spend time in your listening room. So, it is naturally that we would like to have baby crawling and playing in the listening room. The problem that I do not want his toys, baby devises and all the rest that come with little people to clod the room. To have in the listening room a dedicated and well isolated location would be the best and my equipment bay is truly great location for it. It is octagon mini-rom of 9 feet diameter with 5 windows, fully heated. We got Infant 8-Panel PlaySafe Playard that would be perfect in equipment bay and would leave room for all those chars, swing, walkers and zillion other devises. That is kind of sad but this little man has more specialty chairs then I have protractors to align TT’s cartridges!

Thankfully, if I move all equipment to the very handy indentations in the wall that connect the equipment bay with the rest of the room then I think I will be able to pile up everything in there. We were visiting this weekend one local orchestra conductor who has a huge amount of audio and he had everything organized in two 72” tall equipment racks. It was impressive how little room it took. For sure he had very simple equipment: SS-only and digital only but the direction was I think lucrative. 
 
For me the key would be how to manage to stick TT into my 90” tall equipment rack.  I am keep strategizing and my leading idea is to have 38” stand at the floor with TT atop and then another 36” of rack to mount to the wall, that would leave 14” gap for TT need. I did not decided and I have some concerns. My CD transport is top loaded as well, so the access need to be accommodated to it as well… I need to build something custom….

"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
04-23-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 445
Post ID: 21637
Reply to: 21636
That is the idea that I am think for now.
fiogf49gjkf0d
Where the find a good vender who could do hollow, sand-fillable frame, and how to make the shelf easily adjustable… without paying thousands of dollars is the question…

BabyEqupmentRack.jpg


"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
04-23-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Paul S
San Diego, California, USA
Posts 2,657
Joined on 10-12-2006
Post #: 446
Post ID: 21638
Reply to: 21637
Stressed Skin
fiogf49gjkf0d
You MIGHT be able to lose - or at least limit - the diagonal braces with thick-walled tubing, "trusses", and/or "stressed skin" construction. A good welder/fabricator should be able to tell you more, and you are certain to have people who can do this living in or near a prosperous, populous city like Boston.


Paul S
04-23-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
scooter
Posts 161
Joined on 07-17-2008
Post #: 447
Post ID: 21640
Reply to: 21638
NYC elevators
fiogf49gjkf0d
I might approach the problem a bit differently. Think "space efficiency" and "space effectiveness."

In my travels, I have seen that a lot of Europeans and Asians live in very small spaces. Of course, the Japanese have their futon beds, which they can roll up and store in the closet. And the Europeans have "junior" sized furniture and appliances. Even in the US, many do not have the "luxury" of basement space. Space efficiency is required here.

But even living in larger places, I always spent 90%+ of my awake time in just a small area. Area that is just more comfortable and livable, we can call "good space." A large house also has a lot of "wasted space," the rooms and m2 that you don't use. Those extra bathrooms, extra bedrooms, extra basement space. That stupid entrance hall that impresses nobody...

Now I concentrate 90% of my efforts and investment on the "good space." And I just de-invest the "wasted space," minimal furniture, turn off the HVAC, minimal maintenance... This is space effectiveness.

So...as the listening room is the center of your family life, I think a paradigm change is warranted. You could allocate a given room's value to the amount of waking time you spend there. That means your "wasted space" basically worthless, and your small "good space" is a lot more expensive per m2 than you initially thought. Real estate brokers of course will vomit on this concept. However, as all the value of your house is in "good space" significant investment in making it more livable is warranted. And stop going to pottery barn to decorate that 4th bedroom nobody will ever use.

This could include more "radical" ideas than you are considering.

For example, the basement is wasted space, so my favorite idea is to install a few of those NYC-style equipment elevators. Those are the horizontal metal doors you walk over on the sidewalks in front of every little store in the city. Imagine pushing a button, the doors open and the the horns rise up from below. if you want to increase support, you can run downstairs and prop a 4x4 between the basement floor and the ceiling (actually the bottom of the elevator platform). If you want to save money, ditch the electric motors and install a manual crank system. If the basement is not tall enough, get someone to deepen it.

Another alternative you have mentioned is moving most of the electronics downstairs and monitor them via camera, thermal sensors etc.

Another alternative is just expand outwards for audio and baby toys.

I'm sure there are better ideas, but I hope this gets the ball rolling on some creative solutions to everyone's favorite listening room!
04-23-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
noviygera


Chicago, IL
Posts 177
Joined on 06-12-2009
Post #: 448
Post ID: 21641
Reply to: 21640
Kids toys and quantities.
fiogf49gjkf0d
I think it's very important to set some rules that will eliminate many of the above problems.  Toys and other kids related items and furniture that clutters up your valuable shared space:
1. At any given moment there should be no more than three toys around your kid. Yes, 3. Think about that.
all the other 112 toys/games should be in storage bin in the closet or storage room or under bed.
2. Do not make your living room into kids' toys/furniture storage room, use an adjacent space, use clear "container store" bins and put hooks on walls for kids chairs because only one/two chairs should be used at any given moment.
3. Do not rush into changing your current equipment setup, do the above two steps first.

I have done this and it works.
Gera
04-24-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,156
Joined on 05-28-2004
Post #: 449
Post ID: 21644
Reply to: 21641
Everything is completely reversible
fiogf49gjkf0d
Thanks, guys. They were quite valuable recommendations. I wonder how would I feel if Thomas what he begin to talk would inform me that I shall not have more than 3 tonearms on my turntable or more than 3 pressing of my favorite records…

The reality is that I am doing it completely voluntary and I am very enthusiastic to try this new vertical configuration. My current rack is super comfortable but it is so demanding room footprint wise. Also I do have a LOT of room around my right channel that is not being used. Literally, it is a short equipment rack with a few oscilloscopes, narrow frequency voltmeter, some projects aps and some other odd things. It should not be in the room to begin with and now I have found a way in that vacant location to put a different equipment stand what I “might” load most of my components. There is a lot of room around it and I might put PurePower unit and DAW outside of equipment rack and they still will be not in my way. I was planning last night and made sort of prototype and it looked very promising. 
 
I for certainly need to make a custom top plate for the rack. This will be 37 by 20 to accommodate TT and CD transport. The rest will be 6 shelves. I am thinking what kind frame to use. I can weld my own but I would need to have adjustable shelves – that would be very hard to make custom. There is an option to use something like Salamander Designs Archetype Type design. They are 5/8 metal rods with shelve between them. The good part is that I have in attic perhaps 15 of those shelve and plenty of metal rods. The bed parts is that this type assembly is kind of flimsy. Well, I wonder if do use the Salamander construction principle and load this thing with at least 700 pounds atop then would it give to the whole assembly some stability… I am really egger to experiment with it…


"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
04-24-2015 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
JJ Triode
Posts 99
Joined on 09-12-2007
Post #: 450
Post ID: 21646
Reply to: 21644
Racks and things
fiogf49gjkf0d
I'm not sure if the Salamander-style rack (wooden shelves supported by nuts and washers on threaded rods) will support 800 pounds, but if you put heavier items near the bottom then a wide heavy-duty version might be fine.  Besides Salamander, some other audio companies including Michael Green and Mapleshade use this approach.  The Mapleshade racks are particularly strong (2" maple shelves and 1" rods.)  Of course it may be cheaper to source all the elements from a non-audio hardware company and DIY.  It is true that these racks are not perfectly rigid but this may even be an advantage for decoupling from floor vibrations.  I know you are more a fan of mechanical grounding than damping or decoupling, but you may be able to find a way to turn the non-rigidity to some advantage, kind of like your "resonating OOPS."

I think banishing at least the test equipment and Pure Power to the basement would be a good way to go.  Later, when David is older and more mobile, you might also encourage him to transfer his "downstairs base of operations" to the Opera Room.  We always did this with our son:  audio is in the "fine" living room, video/toys/playstation in the family room on the other side.  He also has his own room upstairs of course.

Rgds
JJ
Page 18 of 20 (479 items) Select Pages:  « First ... « 16 17 18 19 20 »
   Target    Threads for related reading   Most recent post in related threads   Forum  Replies   Views   Started 
  »  New  Macondo Alternation. Extending the LF line-array..  Macondo and not only Macondo positioning...  Horn-Loaded Speakers Forum     8  151068  10-29-2005
  »  New  Midbass Horns and Real Estate...  Just a youtube video......  Horn-Loaded Speakers Forum     247  2145583  07-26-2009
  »  New  A playback and wrong notes...  Why is it not common practice?...  Playback Listening  Forum     5  57702  03-12-2007
  »  New  All Active! A DSET and multi-way acoustic system...  Hahaha...  Audio Discussions  Forum     14  125056  01-31-2008
  »  New  The “Dead Points of Live Sound”..  Confused...  Playback Listening  Forum     28  326322  05-14-2005
  »  New  Don't position speakers but create Sound in room...  Listener position...  Audio For Dummies ™  Forum     1  44939  06-19-2006
  »  New  About speakers Imbedded Macro-Positioning...  Big room AEZ...  Playback Listening  Forum     15  187846  05-16-2007
  »  New  Macondo’s Midbass Project – the grown up time...  Vitavox 15/40...  Horn-Loaded Speakers Forum     455  2974399  05-20-2010
  »  New  Another problem in my new listening room...  Bass Trap...  Analog Playback Forum     1  24386  08-24-2010
  »  New  Superbly interesting effect: Suspended decoupled floor ..  Superbly interesting effect: Suspended decoupled floor ...  Playback Listening  Forum     0  18106  10-08-2010
  »  New  About dymick sparkling...  About dymick sparkling....  Playback Listening  Forum     0  16890  10-29-2010
  »  New  Bass impact on Turntable: how to estimate objectively..  I have done some work on this in the past....  Analog Playback Forum     4  47598  11-01-2010
  »  New  I have a dream, the dream about a Chair...  A bit exaggerated to me....  Playback Listening  Forum     31  227549  10-29-2009
  »  New  Dedicated Music Room Build..  Show it....  Horn-Loaded Speakers Forum     6  61705  03-03-2011
  »  New  Listening rooms and composers...  On "typewriter music"....  Playback Listening  Forum     15  135850  05-16-2010
  »  New  How to play Bruckner Sound in Audio...  Being a pedagogical geniuses…...  Playback Listening  Forum     16  115458  06-15-2010
  »  New  Sound from behind a window...  Sound from behind a window....  Playback Listening  Forum     0  15062  04-24-2011
  »  New  Reinforced live sound in audio listening room..  Listening room acoustics...  Audio Discussions  Forum     4  37417  07-05-2012
  »  New  A listening room for a domesticated Cat?..  Eventually!...  Audio Discussions  Forum     283  952078  02-04-2016
  »  New  The ULF cannel for my new listening room...  The Organic Bass vs. ULF Drivers...  Audio Discussions  Forum     43  130734  07-29-2018
Home Page  |  Last 24Hours  | Search  |  SiteMap  | Questions or Problems | Copyright Note
The content of all messages within the Forums Copyright © by authors of the posts