Bob's Adventures in System Building
REFERENCE AUDIO – WITHAM ESSEX
BOB’s Review Series - No 55 – BOB’S ADVENTURES IN SYSTEM BUILDING
For the best part of the three years or more that I’ve been writing this review series I’ve covered a wide variety of equipment. Some reviews have been written in the showroom but by far the majority have been written at home using my ever-evolving personal system as a reviewing tool. You won’t have seen me reviewing big and heavy amps and speakers very often because I struggle getting them in and out of my car to take home for review, so I’ve tended to listen to the more manageable equipment. I also don’t want my listening room to forever look like work in progress. That got me thinking about what constitutes the core of my own system, the bits I own and have invested in, how I started and why I have ended up with my current and hopefully last home system.
This is my own personal storey, it has taken place over the best part of the last 50 years and has proved challenging, rewarding and frustrating in equal measures and of course very time consuming. I’ve had many changes of direction along the way but fortunately I have (mostly) avoided dead ends. Systems generally evolve over time and can start with an idea sparked by a friend or family member who introduces you to a better sound or it can be your own doing. My journey started in the mid to late 60’s when dad first brought home one of those square suitcase type of boxed record players, the ones that could stack singles, ours was a blue one. Soon after this evolved into a radiogram, a Ferguson I think, that had stereo speakers, a radio, turntable and amplifier in one stylish cabinet. My first system started in 1975 and comprised Armstrong 600 series amp and tuner, Dual turntable and Celef Monitor speakers, all purchased from Speakers Corner in Walthamstow, anyone remember it?
My Journey
If there is one thing I have come to understand and value more than anything else over the years of being a committed audiophile is that we are all different and that means my choices are not your choices and my circumstances are not yours, and my journey will be very different from yours whether like me you started decades ago or if you are a relative newbie to system building. These differences apply to all thing’s audio as much as they do to all other aspects of life but in audio the one thing that mostly sets us apart is our choice of music.
Sometimes customers and friends simply look at me with an exasperated expression when I tell them I like Country music or Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, The Beatles and Melissa Etheridge. They struggle with the concept that to me Jazz really does sound like a plinky plonky warmup session rather than a proper musical event and that classical just doesn’t live in my world. We are all different and if you have given up on this article at this point, I fully understand. Now if you are a connoisseur or 70’s soul music or the Blues or Prog Rock, you’d find me much more attentive.
One thing as audiophiles as well as lovers of music we do have in common is the desire to assemble the best audio system at home that money and room limitations can buy. For some this might mean multi-channel AV or Cinema but even today most people still prefer good old stereo and that’s where my boat docks. If I was to start again today from scratch with sufficient new funds, would I still buy the same system? The answer to that is probably very much dependant on what equipment my favourite dealer stocks and sells. It’s virtually impossible for any one dealer to cover every piece of current audio equipment, there is simply too much of it, and its just not possible for us to listen to every possible combination even after visiting many dealers. So, at one and the same time our choices are vast and limited.
System building is therefore somewhat challenging be it a one-off purchase or something undertaken over months or years, and it can get more and more complicated the more ‘advice’ you seek or are offered. Individual choices also change with time and circumstances and innovation and technological advances all play a part. If asked to give some basic bullet point advice on system building, I would start with the following:
- Have a budget in mind but be prepared to over or under spend once you start auditioning.
- Visit a few dealers but settle on the one you prefer and trust to help you build a system for today and long into the future.
- Ask your dealer sensible questions, build a relationship with them, and listen to what they have to say, but be prepared to change from your original thoughts and keep an open mind.
- Do some homework but don’t get all hung up on specs, they rarely tell you anything about the sound.
- When upgrading always strive to improve, don’t go round in circles, or make sideways moves when changing components. You are just throwing your money away for little long-term reward if you do.
- Don’t discount single manufacturer systems, they often sound better than a pick and mix system. Keep an open mind on this.
- Explain your musical preferences to your dealer so that he can help you build the best system to suit your preferences. Rarely can a system excel across all genera although that is something worth striving for and many will lead you to believe it can and should be achievable, I remain on the fence on that point. Your musical preferences must be considered to ensure you end up with the right system for you.
- If streaming is not your thing, then be sure to bring along some of your own vinyl or CD’s to a demo (USB sticks full of music seem like a good idea but in practice they rarely work in the showroom).
Music Matters
Obvious really but for most of us it’s all too easy to get too fixated on the equipment, especially when going for a demo. This was brought home to me many years ago when I was at a demo with a good friend who was deeply into 70’s and 80’s soul music when a well-known and reputable dealer we were with for a demo told him that the only way to really appreciate the equipment and the system we were listening to, was for him to listen to a different type of music. At the time we were both shocked by his attitude and eventually took our business elsewhere but the more I have thought about this over the years the more I have started to understand where he was coming from. Although his rather blunt attitude at the time seemed hard to swallow, I can now see what I think he was trying, rather ineptly, to express. I believe he was trying to say that it’s difficult for a system to excel at everything it is asked to play and that it needs to be built with your musical tastes very much at the front of decision making. If you are a heavy metal fan, or if you listen to music at what most of us would consider to be insane volume levels, and some do, then asking that system to also excel at intimate jazz sessions or classical or chamber music is going to be a big ask, not impossible but also not easy to achieve. And the reverse is also true, a system built to play classical at its very best is unlikely to satisfy the heavy metal listener. Explain this to your dealer when first asking for a demo and let them help you start building a system for you based around your choice of music. If you love deep dub music but it only constitutes a few small percentage points of your regular listening sessions don’t make it the be all and end all of your system requirements. In the long run it doesn’t matter that much, it’s the other 97% that matters most.
On the basis that we agree that choice of music is essential to good system building how should you go about putting one together? Rarely are we able to build a system in one go and then keep it for the long term, most of us build systems over a lengthy period (decades in my case) and change it often but look again at point 5 in my list above and always try to move forward, not go in circles, sideways or even backwards. Have an open mind to the possibilities and don’t dismiss single manufacturer systems, they can be a truly rewarding experience.
Buying a system from scratch is probably the easiest way to build a complete system but not many of us are lucky enough to be able to do that, or want to, preferring the excitement of building it and developing it over time and when finances and circumstances allow. Whichever route is appropriate always think ahead, prepare a shortlist of equipment to listen to, keep choices to a sensible small number to avoid confusion and fatigue and most importantly build a system comprising likeminded and similarly priced components. Building a vinyl-based system is very different to building one based on streaming so make sure your dealer understands your preferences. A system needs a great deal of balance to sound its best so don’t spend £20k on speakers and a similar amount on amplifiers and expect a £500 streamer or CD player to do them justice. The best approach is where available funds are sensibly distributed. I know this is not always practical as the upgrade path doesn’t always allow it but it should be the end goal target. Well into the 21st century we are happily no longer in the flat earth days of the 70’s where we were often advised to throw almost all our money at the source which in those days was almost certainly a turntable and build a system based on 80% turntable and 20% everything else. Don’t dismiss the importance of good cables and equipment stands, despite what some may tell you or what you might have read on forums they really do make the difference between a great sounding system that can deliver a full-on emotional listening experience and one that struggles to hold your attention. Make sure you budget for this and don’t consider cables and supports as unnecessary accessories. They carry the lifeblood of your system.
Most importantly remember that better doesn’t always mean more expensive so don’t get talked into spending more than is necessary just because you can. If you are coming from using a system that’s 20 or 30 years old, it’s worth noting that technology and manufacturing capability have moved on so much in recent years that you might not recognise the ‘modern’ sound of equipment so be prepared to be excited and disappointed in equal measures. Equipment designed and made today would not have been possible just 5 or 10 years ago and this inevitably means that the look, build quality and sound of today’s systems might not be what you were expecting especially if you have lived with the same speakers or CD player for many years. Times change, equipment improves, your musical taste changes, your financial situation changes, recording and mastering techniques change and so does your home life and lifestyle, and this all makes system building fraught with pitfalls along the way. A modern system can surprise with its dynamic capabilities, tighter and sometimes deeper bass and with its ability to offer outstanding clarity and detail right across the frequency range. This might leave you feeling that modern systems are too bright or that they lack bass extension but please persevere because it’s all too easy to confuse brightness with detail and dynamics for lack of deep bass. Don’t expect those 30 year old 12” paper coned bass drivers built into lightweight thin walled square sided cabinets to sound anything like a pair of modern curved boat shaped heavy and well-engineered speaker cabinets with carbon fibre, ceramic or aluminium 6” bass drivers and with diamond tweeters instead of soft domes.
Imagine if You Can:
My Hi-Fi journey started with my first proper separates system back in 1975 but it wasn’t until 79 that I knew I was always going to be trying to get the very best sound I could afford. Back then I had just started college and spent most of my first year’s funds on a complete Toshiba Aurex System 15 whilst retaining my Celef Monitor speakers from 1975. I had been buying albums for many years before that first complete system was put together and music has always been a big part of my life. I became a teenager in the 60’s and The Beatles were a big influence on me but 1971 was the year for me. I can still remember with fondness the moment in 71 when I was really moved by music for the first time when listening to ‘Imagine” by John Lennon. Not everyone’s cup of tea I expect and I’m sure you all have your own not-to-be-forgotten first moving musical event. Since then I have been on a quest for audio nirvana, building and changing system after system but always with the aim of improvement. I’ve mostly succeeded but It’s not always been easy to avoid making changes that end up not being the audio improvement I had been hoping for.
Have I now arrived at my final ultimate system? Final, probably yes, ultimate; never. I will probably never give up the quest for better sound but for me right now this is my ultimate expression of a job well done. Not a starter system that’s for sure but it has been in the making for the best part of 50 years and I’m very happy with the result.
Enough Power?
Over the years I’ve played around with amps that produce very few watts and more than a couple capable of pulling a horse draw cart or two. I’ve never got into the low powered 7w or less SET valve amp camp but have had a couple of those 1,000w biggies. I’ve tried fully valve rigs and those with a valve ore driving a solid-state power amp so why then have I settled on a big hot 45Kg amplifier that puts out just 50W into 8 ohms, albeit in pure Class A? Because it just sounds so very good and has proved more than capable of driving my less than efficient Marten speakers to ear splitting levels without distortion or breakup of any kind. It has great dynamics and can be run in low or high bias mode. As this amp doubles its output into a 4 ohm load, I’m assuming it delivers around 75w into my 6 ohm speakers. My advice is not to get too hung up on power outputs and don’t get mislead by speaker specs that say they are 1000w speakers. Nothing like that exists without the power to drive them, those supposedly 1000w speakers will still work very well with 30w, they just won’t play to silly levels without the amp distorting and they won’t have the great dynamics they can deliver with more power.
All amps have their place in the right system and for the right music, we recently sold a pair of efficient Cube speakers to a customer who uses a 4w valve amp and not long before we sold some Michi monoblocs that break the 1,000w barrier. They both have their place in the right system and for the right owner, one is not better than the other, they are just different and need to be in a system built around their capabilities.
Entry Point or End Point
Although my latest system could never be described as entry level in terms of general affordability, and I know I am extremely fortunate to have been able to build it over many years, it does comprise the entry point for separate pre/power amps from The Gryphon range and my speakers are in the lower mid ranges from Marten in terms of both price and size. My mains leads, speaker cables and interconnect leads are from the Jorma range but again are very much in the entry to mid points in their range. Indeed, if I was able to build a system comprising the top products of just these three manufactures it could easily have a seven-figure ticket price. So, whilst my system is of a high standard and high cost, I know it could easily be improved just within the manufacturers ranges I have chosen, but at a cost far above my spending ability. Not an endpoint system just yet then. A second point to remember is that I use my system regularly as the basis for equipment reviews and it helps me to have a well understood and relatively stable system as a reference point for those reviews. I know from experience that there are many alternatives with better sounding amplifiers, DACs and speakers out there, some at the same or lower price points and some very much more expensive. If there wasn’t that strength of diversity what would be the point of our hobby?
A Voyage of Discovery
I first came to streaming curtesy of Innuos long before discovering Gryphon and Marten and have worked my way up their range from Zen through Zenith to Statement which was the top of range until the new and improved Statement Next Gen was released last summer. Innuos are leading the charge towards ever improving streaming capability and with providers of music such as Tidal and Qobuz and management systems like Roon and Roon Arc the future is bright for streaming. CD is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and is still a source to be reconned with, Streaming is getting close but high-end CD Players such as the Gryphon Ethos are doing their bit to keep good old red book CD ahead of the pack.
The first piece of the jigsaw that led to my current system, the piece that came and never left was the Marten Mingus Quintet speakers, I had never heard a pair before and have only heard them once since and that was at the Munich Hi-End show in 2022 where Marten was showcasing their MkII version. I’ve owned them for around 3 years now and they have been the cornerstone of all my listening and all my reviews. The only speakers I have heard that I know would better them in my system are the Marten Tenor 2, but they are higher up the range. Slowly the rest of the system has fallen into place, and I have tried to keep it simple in terms of box count and to keep it aesthetically pleasing. I have long been an advocate of system building from just one or two manufacturers, recognising that a certain synergy exists between manufacturers own components and that some pieces of equipment gel with their sisters and brothers better than with other makes. I accept that not everyone agrees with this train of thought and I’ve met many audiophiles that won’t even consider having two components from the same manufacturer, but I will always defend my corner here because I’ve experienced one brand synergy first hand on many occasions.
There are however not many companies able to provide an entire system, Gryphon and McIntosh are two that spring to mind by providing source, amplifiers, DACs, phono stages, speakers and cables and Gryphon even make equipment stands. Marten only makes speakers, but they do have an association with Jorma cables, using them internally with an upgrade path too, hence my extensive use of Jorma cables in my system. Innuos however only make streamers and REL only make subwoofers and they are both very good at it too, making some of the very best available today.
Over the last few years I have been trying to simplify my system as much as possible by reducing box count whilst upgrading as many components as possible to achieve what I consider to be the best I could achieve today within the funds I have available. My aim is to this being a final system for me. Am I there yet? I can’t say for certainly and working in the industry does feed my addiction so it may still evolve from here. Right now it does everything I need to enjoy long and rewarding listening sessions at home.
48 Years in the Making:
The system I have assembled is firmly based around my own personal musical preferences, my home environment and family needs. For many I’m sure it won’t meet their musical aspirations, or work in their room and will probably be lacking something that they are seeking. We all have different priorities and demands but what we all have in common is a desire to assemble the best sounding system we can within constraints imposed upon us. My system currently comprises the following items:
CD Player and DAC: Gryphon Ethos CD/DAC
Streamer: Innuos Statement (Pre the Next Gen PSU upgrade)
Streamed Sources: Tidal, Qobuz and Statement hard drive managed by Roon
Pre-Amp: Gryphon Essence
Power Amp: Gryphon Essence Stereo – 50w into 8ohms Class A
Speakers: Marten Mingus Quintet (Mk 1)
SUB: REL Carbon Limited – soon to be changed for a REL Carbon Special
Cables: Jorma Mains and Interconnect Cables Throughout + AudioQuest Diamond USB and Ethernet
Power Supply: IsoTek Aquarius V5 Mains Block. SBoosters on network switch and Home Hub.
Equipment Stands: Gryphon StandArt – 5 tier double width version.
Accessories: Synergistic Research Purple Mains Fuses Throughout and Gryphon Black ST Spikes under all equipment. English Electric 8Switch network switch.
For the Technically Minded:
Marten Mingus Quintet Speakers – Designed and made in Sweden this is a 5 driver 3-way floor standing speaker comprising Martens renowned 0.75mm diamond tweeter and 125mm ceramic mid-range driver. The three bass drives are 175mm using Accuton cell technology with aluminium drivers that are very different to look at than most traditional bass drivers. Unusually the crossover is a first order three-way design. The speakers measure 28mm x 107mm x 38mm (WHD) and weigh in at 60kg each and are rated at 6ohm impedance and 87dB sensitivity. Mine have been upgraded with the more recent Marten badged IsoAcoustic isolation feet now becoming common across the Marten range. The Mingus sit above the Parker range and below the Coltrane range in Marten’s current portfolio. A version 2 is now available.
Jorma Cables – Jorma is a Swedish company that make premium quality audio cables including those for speaker, interconnects, ethernet and USB and they have a 6 strong range – Trinity, Duality, Unity, Origo, Prime and Statement in ascending order of performance and cost. You will find their cables used extensively by Marten inside their speakers as standard and with many being upgradeable with Jorma Statement cables.
Gryphon Essence Pre and Power Amps – Gryphon are a Danish company, and the Essence is their entry point to sperate pre and power amps. Below this in their range are two integrated amps, the Diablo 120 and 300 and above the Essence sits the Pandora/Antileon and the Commander/Apex amps. The Essence preamp is a dual mono configuration that shy’s away from any frivolities such as balance and tone controls, headphone outputs and mono switching. It has 3 inputs on RCA one of which is also a tape in and also has 2 inputs on XLR. It has a tape out on RCA and main output on XLR only. It also has L/R sub outputs. It can be fitted with either an internal Gryphon phono stage module or a Gryphon Zena DAC Module, but not at the same time. The Essence stereo power amp is rated at just 50w into an 8ohm load and doubles that into 4 ohms, but this is a pure class A amplifier and that 50w together with massive current delivery is more than enough for most applications. It can be run in either low or high bias mode with high bias offering the best pure class A performance but at a cost of extra heat output and power consumption. Gryphon also produce a monobloc version that has virtually the same performance in terms of output but of course you need two of them for a stereo system. The Essence power amp only accepts balanced inputs on XLR.
Gryphon Ethos CD/DAC – The Ethos is listed as a CD player by Gryphon but it’s better to think of it as a CD/DAC because it has arguably the best onboard DAC Gryphon currently make, and it can therefore be used to support other equipment such as a streamer via its USB input. Whilst Gryphon also makes the Zena internal DAC module and the stand-alone Kalliope DAC both currently run the slightly older ESS Sabre ES9018 DAC chips whereas the Ethos uses the more recent ES9038 Pro version, in fact it uses two of them, one per channel, and each have 8 DAC modules in the chip. The CD Player is however just a CD player, it does not support SACD or any non-Redbook CD format including DVDs etc. Gryphon have installed the newly developed CD Pro 8 transport by StreamUnlimited from Austria in the Ethos that was designed by the very same people who were responsible for the renowned Philips CD Pro 2 drive back in the day. Inputs include the USB as well as AES/EBU on XLR and BNC but not Toslink. It also has a digital output. This is an upsampling CD player capable of user selectable upsampling CDs or any of the digital inputs to PMC 384kHz or to DSD 128. Definitely the best CD player I have heard and now the only CD player in the Gryphon portfolio.
Innuos Statement Streamer – Innuos from Portugal only make streamers and all but their entry price units come without onboard DACs. The Statement is a two-box unit with the lower and slightly taller power supply box containing most but not all the power supply components. It is linked to the upper box with two short custom-made umbilical leads which are now available in longer lengths to allow each box to sit on its own shelf rather than one atop the other and this is how I am using it. I have the original Statement, the Mk 1 if you like, but they now also offer a Next Generation model with improved and updated PSU at extra cost and upgrades from MK1 to MK2 are now also available to existing customers. Both boxes have upgraded internal components so it’s not possible to use the new bottom box with an old top box. I’m currently on the waiting list for the upgrade. The Statement is just a streamer with input on Ethernet and output on USB and Ethernet, it doesn’t do wi-fi of Bluetooth and won’t work reliably with Spotify. It comes with 1, 2, 4 or 8TB internal SSD hard drives to store music ripped from the onboard CD ripper or uploaded via USB. I have ripped around 1200 CDs in non-compressed FLAC on my 1TB unit and it is still showing that it’s only 47% full so don’t get too carried away with large hard drives unless you are really sure you need one. It is also capable of acting as a Roon Core, so no separate core is needed with this streamer if using Roon. Innuos have developed their own App called Sense and in use it is virtually as good as Roon.
REL Carbon Limited Subwoofer – REL only make subwoofers and the Carbon Limited was a run of just 200 units developed to test the practicality of using carbon in their drivers. It has a 12” carbon main driver and proved to be a huge success when launched, selling out quickly. It has since been replaced by the Carbon Special which is not a limited edition but has both a carbon main driver and a carbon passive driver firing downwards. When setting up a REL sub please remember not to set the crossover point too high and the volume level too low.
Gryphon StandArt Equipment Rack – Some rack manufacturers go for lightweight stands; some go for wobbly isolation, and some go for mass damping. Gryphon’s StandArt’s fall heavily (pun intended) into the latter category and are a modular design allowing for bespoke assembly configurations upwards and sideways. They are heavy, solid and don’t bounce at all, they also make stands for stereo or monobloc amplifiers. The legs are filled with dry sand and the shelves which attach to the legs with substantial bolts are described by Gryphon as ‘a triple, constrained layer damped sandwich consisting of a top plate of Kerrock and a bottom layer of compressed high-density MDF, joined by a thin, non-resonant layer of sticky, black, highly viscous bitumen for optimal resonance control and mechanical damping’. I found they take several days to start performing at their best after first installation and this might be to do with them coming up to room temperature and settling into position after which they make a significant improvement to overall sound quality.
IsoTek V5 Aquarius Mains Block – I am very aware that the word on the street is generally that your power amplifier is best connected to the wall socket rather than to a mains filter or protection block. The thinking behind this is that these mains blocks, by design, reduce the dynamic capability of power amps. Having discussed this with amp designers I kind of understand the science and thinking behind this belief but then I say just listen for yourself. Today manufacturers like IsoTek have advanced their designs to the point where I can hear real benefit from connecting my power amp to one of the two the high current 16A outputs on my Aquarius V5. The V5 also has four 6A outputs dedicated to source components. Just try it for yourself to see if you agree. Each outlet has its own filter network and is isolated from the other outlets and that instant surge or spike protection is worth the cost of the unit just for peace of mind alone.
Working in Harmony
For a number of components assembled from one or more companies to work together as one they must ideally have a level of like-minded design philosophy to deliver for the owner the best reproduction of music at home. That’s exactly what this system does for me and I’m sure it will work just as well for many others. There will of course be many for whom this system doesn’t float their boat, and this is a good thing, it’s this level of diversity that sets us all apart and makes the world we share so much more interesting. The system has to be right for you the owner and putting it together can be a lifetimes work and that journey has to be rewarding to keep you interested and keep you buying new music.
A well planned and assembled system must work in the room it is destined for and be capable of playing well in all genre of music, but it’s not necessary in my opinion for it to excel in every genre. I have read many reviews where the writer is of the opinion that a great system is only great if it excels in playback of everything the owner chucks at it, but I remain to be convinced that the elusive ‘Goldilocks’ one for all system exists. Cars are the same, they all get from A to B but it’s how they get there that matters most and how important that is to the individual will always depend on personal taste and circumstance, and so it is with audio equipment. If you don’t listen to much Jazz, what does it matter to you if your system excels at it but if you mainly listen to Motorhead or AC/DC at high volume then it’s essential your system can meet those demands. Go with what you like and build a system around it by finding components that don’t compromise for you.
My system offers me that elusive emotional engagement that makes listening to my music such a big part of my life. It can do dynamics, has a great soundstage, is inviting, involving, relaxing and challenging all at the same time. Does it excel at Jazz or movie themes, I couldn’t say because it doesn’t need to to float my boat and that doesn’t make it a bad system, it makes it a great one for me and I’m the one that matters here.
Coming of Age?
As discussed, there are many ways to build a system, some come about over many years and through many iterations, and some are the result of investing in a new complete system as a total one-off purchase from scratch. For me this system has been constantly evolving for almost 50 years and of course what I have today bears little resemblance to that first investment. But in some ways not much has changed, I still have an amplifier and traditional speakers that are not too dissimilar in design (but not execution) to my first system. The most significant changes coming about from manufacturers using new materials, new methods of construction, innovation and advancing technology. Of course, in 1975 no one had even dreamt of Compact Disc let alone streaming. The internet and indeed home computers were still way in the future and would have seemed like something from a future Sci-Fi movie back in the 70’s. Very few audiophiles were even experimenting with cables, stands, platforms, spikes etc back in the 70’s. QED, Monster and Supra being amongst the first brave enough to venture into the black art of cable manufacture. The most significant change over the years is where our music comes from, how we store it, how we buy it (or not) and how we own it (or not) and what medium or mediums we use.
Anyone born less than 25 years ago probably can’t conceive of a world without mobile phones, laptops, iPads, streaming and network storage yet there are many of us for which anything other than vinyl storage and playback was the only format available when we first got the hi-fi bug and started building a home system.
I can understand why some of us still hold onto the memory of or even seek out that longed for piece of equipment we wish we could have afforded back in the day. For me it was a missed opportunity to buy a second hand Nagra Reel to Reel tape deck complete with 10 ½ “reel adaptors and a mint Trio L-07D turntable. Both were on sale at a second-hand dealer in Peterborough where I was working as an architect at the time, the year was probably around 1995, unfortunately I couldn’t afford them at the time. But here is the clincher, today there are very few poor pieces of audio equipment being made and most of it looks good, is incredibly well put together, rarely goes wrong, offers great value for money, and most importantly sounds great. I know many of you will be thinking your 30-year-old speakers just sound so much better than anything you’ve heard from today’s manufacturers and to some extent I can understand that point of view. But here in 2023 manufacturers can use methods of construction, components and materials not even dreamed about 30 years ago and this allows them to produce musical events in our homes that even 5 years ago wouldn’t have been possible. Those 30-year-old speakers are probably starting to deteriorate now, amplifier components are reaching end of life, volume controls are getting gritty and speaker driver surrounds are gradually crumbling to dust. Not always apparent to look at and because they deteriorate gradually it’s not always noticeable that the sound quality is slowly getting worse until that day when a component fails completely, and they just stop working. Just look at how cars from 30 or more years ago just fell apart with rust whereas today you rarely see rust on modern cars, but those older cars were also easy to work on and the same goes for audio equipment where reliability is generally better today, but they are also less easy to repair because of integrated circuit design and miniaturisation of parts.
The Room
Rooms matter. It was more than 30 years ago now that we built an extension on our home and my first consideration even back then was to build a listening room with ‘correct’ dimensions, whatever that might mean. It was harder to research back then before the internet took off and before Google was in everyday use. But even today there is no hard and fast agreement on what constitutes the best ratio of ceiling height to room width to room length. I still favour a slight tweak to the Golden Ratio (1-1.6-2.56) that says the room height is the most important and deciding factor so that the ideal room width is 1.6 times the room height and the ideal length is 2.56 times the room height. The tweak I prefer still says the room height is the deciding factor, but the room width is the height divided by 0.6 and the room length is the room width times 1.62. All very similar really.
Speaker placement within the ideal room is another matter and not being a great fan of the big American company speaker placement that entails walking and talking and minute placement adjustments I go for the much easier 1/5 room width and length for speaker placement and 1/5 room length for the listening position and I find this works well for most setups. Note that speaker placement measurements are always from the centreline of the tweeter on the front baffle not from the back of the enclosure. I’m pleased to say that all those years ago I mostly got it right, but ceiling height was always my limiting factor, so my room is just a little shorter in length than ideal, my room is 2.4 x 4.0 x 6.0 HWL. Also remember that the ideal seating position is also critical with it being 1/5 of the room length from the back wall.
Like everything in audio there is never an absolute right or wrong way to do something, but some ways are more right than they are wrong so experimentation is always advised as is the final minute shifting of speakers. Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to design their room from scratch and must instead live with the constraints available at home. I’m not intending to go into this in too much detail here, I’ll save that for another day but if I was to give a simple 5-point guide it would be:
- Try and avoid a square room especially one where the ceiling height is the virtually same as the width and length.
- Don’t put great big speakers or subs in a small room. You need good height above speakers.
- Take advice but be prepared to experiment with speaker and seating positions.
- Boundary reflections are a good thing, otherwise you might just as well settle for a good pair of headphones but don’t go overboard with room treatment. If you played your system in the garden, it would sound awful.
- Don’t expect deep bass in a small room, physics has a lot to say about bass propagation in an enclosed space and it’s usually the room not the equipment that restricts good clean deep bass in small rooms.
I hope this rather longwinded chat about how I built my system has been of interest to you, I’m sure you all have your own stories to tell and you may or may not agree with me on how to build a system. If you read this all the way through, well done. Now have a nice cup of coffee and put some music on. As the Americans are fond of saying “enjoy”.
Bob – Reference Audio – March 2023