audio reproduction gear, music and other stuff
The importance of symmetry, in terms of equal distance of the loudspeakers from the side walls, derives from the fact that what we hear is not just the direct sound from the speakers but also the reflections from the room’s walls. The first wave reflections are especially important because they contribute to the spatial quality of the stereo image and its tonal richness.
Continue reading “Audio Reproduction in Non-Symmetrical Situations”
One of the exceptional recordings I have had the pleasure of listening to recently is Jake Shimabukuro’s concert release, Live in Japan. This recording marks my first encounter with the Japanese-American ukulele player, born in 1976 in Honolulu, Hawaii. I have to say that I had never taken the ukulele seriously as an instrument until I listened to this album.
Over the weekend, I decided to swap the positions of my audio system and listening sofa just to see how it would affect the sound. I had been concerned about the limited space between the speakers, but it was simply impossible to increase the distance between them any further without interfering with the door area. The challenge was to keep the room’s functionality intact so that the door remained fully accessible.
Convenience of use and playback performance were the main considerations that drew my attention to the idea of buying a dedicated network player to replace the PC I had been using. After researching the market for an affordable device capable of streaming digital audio over a local network or from attached USB storage, my choice was basically narrowed down to two contenders — the Auralic Aries Mini and the SOtM sMS-200, both priced below 600 euros. I decided to give SOtM a try because of its seemingly better build quality and greater versatility.
Over the last year, I have been involved in several DIY projects that I would like to briefly present. DIY is usually an inevitable part of the audiophile hobby, often driven by the urge to experiment and try unconventional concepts that are not normally part of mainstream commercial production aimed at larger market segments.
