Thanks - I agree, I wonder if they’d sound better closer together too, though moving all the electronics would not be fun.
There are 2 reasons for the initial SBL speaker position.
1 - They were running in another room until recently, though were in the current room originally. I moved the SBLs first, electronics later, and as the projector was already in place for reasons of symmetry I placed them at either edge of the projected image where they wouldn’t affect it. (The left Epos now slightly clips the projected image when something 16:9 is shown).
2 - The equipment is on a mixture of fairly low stands, nothing fancy, again partly to keep things below the projected image. I needed a large gap as I was uncertain how I was going to arrange things but it was an attempt at power supplies/NAPs on the right with sources/pre to the left, and I didn’t know how many ‘tables’ would be required or exactly how things would fit/connect given the constraint of interconnect lengths and I started placing tables/boxes from left to right. All a bit of trial and error. A couple of items still need something to site them on, especially the recently uncovered CD 3.5 which is on that plastic box, and there is currently a bit of space to the right of the SBL on the left.
Previously the electronics were in an alcove to the right but there is too much stuff now to fit there. I may be able to rearrange things a little, but sofas span the rear bay and left wall (with a door), and there is a log burner to the right with two alcoves either side.
WIth the room doubling for AV and audio duties there is a degree of compromise. Still undecided if I can be bothered with rear and centre speakers which I had before or just stick with stereo and projected image. I’m sure many will find the lack of a projector screen strange, but the plain wall works extremely well in my view.
Oh, and finally yes it’s quite untidy, it’s not intended to be like that forever.
This to me is a basic amp, pair it with some efficient speakers , a good CD players (Naim CD5si) and say a Rega 6 , yes you would have a really good audio system for most smaller or medium sized rooms.
We are very lucky with systems on this forum , but back to a basic audio system would still make more satisfied knowing it was better than 90% of what passes for muzak in other people’s homes
Maybe the thread title is misleading, I was really thinking of reverting to a more basic separates system (potentially using stuff I already have) and then maybe adding things back gradually to try to figure out why things don’t seem as enjoyable as they ought to.
WIth more and more boxes it really becomes difficult to see the wood for the trees when you think something intrinsically isn’t right. There are all manner of optimisations I could employ to improve things in an already good sounding system I know, but when you feel something is not quite right to begin with you want to get to the bottom of that first.
I think this has been my assumption for quite some time, essentially that one component isn’t working well or is actually ok but isn’t working well in the context of the whole system.
Although I’ve had much of the kit for 25-30 years it was virtually all in storage 5 years ago, and it was the Nova purchased then that really rekindled my interest in trying to modernise parts of it. There had been a long period when I’d simply reached a level I was content with things and hadn’t paid much attention to post olive era Naim kit at all. The Uniti series ticked a box at the time as I’d never really considered streaming a serious proposition until Qobuz offered lossless and hi-res downloads for the UK.
FWIW I think your SBLs are too far apart. Hard to tell but your room looks very ‘live’ sounding. Your room also looks quite large. All three factors work against SBLs working at their best. Not sure this helps much AC, just my musings from your photo.
Slightly confused now as the thread develops. Are you looking to fault find your active system or are you looking to simplify?
You have an excellent starting point for the latter with theLP12 plus scdr/282/one of the 250’s. Add a suitable speaker for the room on demo and you have something to compare.
This is also my experience. There are so many poor recordings out there and a good system makes it more difficult to look past and ignore the faults. I have often questioned if something is off with my system after failing to enjoy a couple albums only to put a well recorded album on and all is well again. A few well recorded albums are essential to benchmark you system.
Thread title probably does not help. Already edited once. Open to suggestions to change it.
I’m trying to troubleshoot the active system in essence, and to do so I was wondering about going back to a simple separate passive setup and adding things back from there to try to establish if there is a specific culprit.
I think it’s starting to look as though it might be the SBLs - it could all be due to their almost 3m separation, though I’m probably sat 3m away when listening.
There are a lot of inconsistencies - some things sound fine on the SBLs or improve changing what the Powerlines power or swapping an extension lead for another for example.
When things sound good on the SBLs they are generally far simpler recordings which I’ve always enjoyed anyway - Carol Kidd or Shelby Lynne type things for example. With more complex music it becomes harsh/forward and soundstage seems compressed.
It would be a shame if it’s the SBLs having recently got a SNAXO 242 to replace an ancient unserviced NAXO which was a prior candidate in my mind for the harshness I’ve mentioned in an older thread.
I guess it would not be too difficult to try out the simpler comparison? The only other way to compare the sbl’s is to try them on someone else’s active set up, if there is anyone nearby and willing.
Last week I found myself asking why All About Eve’s ‘Scarlet and Other Stories’ sounded so bad. Admittedly I’d not played it for quite some time on vinyl - poor pressing being shown up or maybe somewhat worn? It has a mix of fairly acoustic tracks and some heavier ones. The vocals just didn’t grab me as they used to years ago, the simpler tracks I could take or leave, the heavier tracks just lacked drive and sounded harsh compared to how I remembered them. Tried streaming from Qobuz and not much different. Honestly wondered if my musical tastes have simply moved on from a band I enjoyed as a student.
WIth the Epos speakers doing mid/bass duties however soundstage was fuller/deeper, much better bass, mellifluous vocals as I remembered them years ago - the album sounded ‘right’ again.
It’s tricky that isn’t it - chances are transporting them any distance will mess up the gaskets (assuming they’re ok now) and if mid/bass drivers are bad I might have trouble sourcing spares as I believe Naim no longer have any in stock.
As much as I’d love to, a speaker upgrade simply isn’t feasible in the short term.
If it is the SBLs then the ES14s may well suffice for now - then there’s the question of which speakers and a thread on that suggested you’d really need to spend a heck of a lot to better the ES14s which I have always loved even if they are a bit coloured.
I’ve never had the ‘bung in’ either (nor was I advised to by the dealer years ago) - I see yet further joy attacking the rear ports with straws I bought for this very purpose a few years ago after recommendations here.
I’m trying to muster up the energy to do so and shift the SBLs out of the way to be honest. It’s probably far easier than I think, but I need a clear head to re-do all the connections required for passive. Others are out this afternoon so I may give it a whirl shortly.
My quick and dirty test the other day sounds so unexpectedly nice I’m not in a rush even if it might sound better.
I need to find the spikes for the bottom of the Epos stands too unless I stick them on some rather nice sand filled Atacama stands I recently fished out of storage.
I guess the question here is, what sort of level of gear were you using back then and can you approximate that now? If you want find out whether you’ve changed or the hifi more, you may need to step back and see if you suddenly fund that album enjoyable on something far more basic (less capable) than what you have.
