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A seemingly illogical demonstration

I did a quite interesting and thought-provoking demo in front of Klau and Heyman. I applied Franck's reference feet under-neath the control center of my Plasma Television. I repeat I put the reference feet under-neath the control center of my Plasma television. The control center is a small aluminium box located close to my left speakers.

It is not one of the components of my audio system. Heyman and Klau may have a thought that I am crazy for a short moment. We hit the play button. We were playing Dave Brubeck Live in Carnegie Hall and Jazz in the Prawnshop. The difference is big enough to shock Heyman with a weird expression on his face. I will not go into the details. But we should question why?

Our audio system should extend into the room, including objects that are under heavy energy attack and hence causing vibration and resonances. They are part of the system that we should deal with, not just the audio system alone. The more reonating sound we can get rid of, the more direct sound we can listen and hear. The better objective conclusion we can draw.

If I did not apply the feet under the TV control center, Klau and Heyman told me that they thought system sounds timid to them. After the experiment, the whole conclusion changes. But would we suspect the TV control center? No. We are likely to draw conclusion in relation to what product brands are used in the system.

This demonstration is thought provoking. I think it is good to share this there.

PT

Comments

  • PT,

    That is interesting, so it seems everything in the stereo room affect sound to some degree.

    That made me think of another question. I heard different opinions on cables arrangement, some said it is better to lift cables off the floor, some said lay against the floor; some took pain to have cables not touching one another, some do not mind. What is your take on this?

    Robert
  • Robert,

    Good question and observation. It depends on the material of your floor. If the floor material is say, tile or such as hard solid walnut in my case, it is better to lift the cable up the floor because the resonances of the floor will feed back into the sound via the cable. These resonances are microscopic and can only be detected when they are tackled.

    If the floor material is very soft, for example, a piece of carpet ( again depends on material used and thickness) vibration of the floor will be minimal. In this case, you need to try whether there are notable improvement by lifting them up.

    There does not exist a general of thumb to do this. It depends largely on room acoustics.

    PT
  • PT,

    I remember reading from an article in the Stereophile magazine some time ago, it stated that because air is the best dielectric---none conductor, it is the best to lift cables off floor and surround them with air. And I know many audiophiles took it as a rule. However, I also heard lately that lay speaker cables along the floor gives more bass, which I did try and found it seemed to be true. That is, more bass in my case, but not necessary be better or worse.

    Like you said, there is no general rule, and there are so many variables. I remember my system used to be lack of bass, and I, under your suggestion, tried using a combination of half interlaces and half other footers to reach a compromise. Now, with my current gears deliver sufficient bass, I found a full set of Franck's interlaces under my speakers give the best result.

    I wonder have you ever looked into active room acoustic correction devices?

    Robert
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