Not at all. Actually, quite the opposite.
People seem to be upset when I ignore their posts because they continue to address comments specifically to me while writing about things that I have already said don't interest me.
They assume that I'm going to take an interest just because they have one. And then expect me to respond. There is no reason I should. Nothing really to say about a subject that I have already declared of no interest.
There is no reason that should offend someone.
And a lot of these comments are just people trying to show off their knowledge of a subject. I don't need to be a part of that. However, they are certainly welcome to do it without involving me.
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This thread now seems to be in circles, though some of them are interesting.
So I decided to go back to Post#1 to try to find something new.
Going from your supplied room dimensions, you have 924 cu.ft. in your room. This is a small room volume. Then you will have some things in the room. The minimum is the audio system and a chair to sit and listen. There might be other things too but they are not listed. Everything takes up space.
I have a pretty small room at 13'x14'x10'. To the naked eye my room is not all that much bigger than yours, though it has a taller ceiling. But in calculating the room volume I have 1920 cu.ft, over twice the size of your room.
I mention this because I listen to the same music that you do. I do not have a particularly large sound stage, as you define it. I have placed my speakers optimally according to the method I sent you earlier. I have floorstanding 2 1/2 way speakers and a subwoofer. I use a GanFET Class D amp. I have a Marantz Ruby player. I have pretty good sound quality. But I do not have a big sound stage, certainly nothing like a concert hall in any way. It's barely the size of a solo instrument player.
And then there's your room, your small 2 way Piccolo speakers, AV receiver and no listed source. And you wonder why you have small sound. You sit 4 feet from your speakers, very near field and almost headphone like as in very up close and personal. There is not really much you can do. The size of your room is the most overriding consideration in everything. You may get better sound quality with speaker/amp changes, but it's not likely to get bigger in size. I understand this is not what you want to hear. You cannot make the room bigger.
Perhaps one thing you could try, though a longshot at best, is to try to get speakers that are designed to be placed against the wall. This couples the speaker to the wall using the wall kind of as a speaker baffle. It might make for a bigger sound. But of course there are some sound quality trade-offs when you do this.
Perhaps Meniscus could modify the Piccolo design for this. My first DIY speaker was a Meniscus design and Mark was good to deal with in all regards.
Steve
You started the thread asking for help, I'll make an analogy about it. A motorist was cursing because a wheel had been stolen from his vehicle - with its four nuts / bolts - while driving on a distant and inaccessible route, it was only a few minutes in which he stopped to urinate on the side of the road. He is far from any repair center and cannot ask for mechanical help because his cell phone ran out of battery! He exclaimed: What I can do? I must continue my journey! After a while a homeless man approaches the situation and tells him: "Take your spare wheel, remove a lug nut from each of the other three wheels. Install it and you can be on your way!" Your answer : Get out of here you ignorant homless ! Pride is blind.
😳
The difference between you and the people talking to you is that you are the one asking people for help, and they are the ones attempting to help you. It's your gig to do your part as the host of the discussion to take care of the details, not theirs. All you've gotten out of any of this is that you might try the port some day, and an opportunity to indulge yourself in your sense of entitlement to be served by others.
Byeee.
On the other hand, there were also some other people in this thread that seemed entirely too abrasive about their manner, who I do think need to take a look at how entitled they feel to be paid any particular attention to at all. Not me, though.
Byeee.
On the other hand, there were also some other people in this thread that seemed entirely too abrasive about their manner, who I do think need to take a look at how entitled they feel to be paid any particular attention to at all. Not me, though.
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Fairly close description, except I sit about 7 feet from the speakers, not 4 feet. And it doesn't sound like headphones at all. Or up close and personal either. The image appears between the speakers and pretty much along the front wall, which is about 10 feet from me. In fact, in some operas the singers appear to be even further away and behind the front wall when they move deeper into the back of the stage.
So, I'm not totally displeased. My only goal is really to make the image bigger and deeper, if that is possible. To provide more of a sense of being in a concert hall. Maybe that is too much to ask or expect. And maybe this is about as good as I can get it in my listening room. I just want to take it as far as is reasonably possible. Although it's possible that I am pretty much already there.
TL;DR
The metronome speakers are known for fantastic imaging - there is a long thread here on the metronome. Good bass as well. Fostex speakers are not that expensive. (I've build three pair and can vouch for them)
You still don't understand what has transpired here and how it has grown way beyond my initial request.
True, I started this thread asking for help in deciding between new speakers or a new amplifier in order to expand the sound stage. It's right there in the title if you care to read it.
And after a short time, I got exactly the response I was looking for. The best answer is new speakers. I acknowledged that and appreciated the help in getting there.
But there are some posters here who want to continue to discuss the room, speaker positioning, listener location and other items that I have said repeatedly I do have any interest in pursuing. Moreover, I don't see any reason why I am obligated to respond on a subject in which I have no interest.
The problem is that these people, despite being told multiple times that their comments are outside of my subject and interests, are offended if I don't respond to every one of their posts. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way. Just because I started the thread, I have no obligation to respond to comments that are outside of the scope in my original post. If some people are offended by my lack of response, it's too bad, but I can't help them.
That's not even close to being the case. This thread has helped me to decide on which way to go, new speakers or new amplifier. And that was its purpose to begin with. So, it has been completely successful for me.
The issue of which particular speaker to use is still open. Some suggestions have been made and I am considering them along with some of my own ideas. I have no illusion that an easy answer will pop out of this discussion. And the idea of trying a port with my current Piccolos did not come from another poster. It is one of the two design options that were included with the speaker kit.
What has happened is that some people have been offended when I didn't respond to their posts. Primarily posts that were not directly associated with my interests. Sorry if they are offended, but there is no obligation here for someone to respond to everything just because they were the one that started the thread.
Here is a timely video just posted on YouTube today by Paul McGowan of PS Audio on the very subject of sound stage size being discussed in this thread.
I recommend watching it. And notice how Paul rejects a lot of toe-in as being desirable contrary to a number of posts here promoting it.
I recommend watching it. And notice how Paul rejects a lot of toe-in as being desirable contrary to a number of posts here promoting it.
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Okay, I kind of made a couple miscalculations, but not by much. You are sitting at the point of the triangle with the speakers rather than a couple feet closer. However, that does not make your room any larger. You need a larger room for bigger sound. You can make some sound quality gains, but they won't make the sound much bigger at all.
https://www.psaudio.com/product-category/loudspeakers/
I don't know what he knows. I don't know what you know. I barely know what I know.
I don't know what he knows. I don't know what you know. I barely know what I know.
I have not watched the Paul McGowan video. But just by looking at the first posted link, the room size is way bigger than the OP room size of 11.5'x10'.
Getting back to the OP issue(s)..........................................
I just have one more thing. From what you wrote in your reply to my thread, you have the speakers along the 10' wall. Have you tried placing them along the longer wall? If you keep the speakers the same 2' from side wall, you will get 7.5' spacing between speakers. That will change things a bit, though not terribly much from my experience.
Okay, you did post above that you didn't want to discuss speaker positioning. I did mention that and think it relevant.
Good Luck.
Getting back to the OP issue(s)..........................................
I just have one more thing. From what you wrote in your reply to my thread, you have the speakers along the 10' wall. Have you tried placing them along the longer wall? If you keep the speakers the same 2' from side wall, you will get 7.5' spacing between speakers. That will change things a bit, though not terribly much from my experience.
Okay, you did post above that you didn't want to discuss speaker positioning. I did mention that and think it relevant.
Good Luck.
Yes to the baffle idea - also you might try to put the speakers pointing 90 degrees with reference to the wall and trying out a cardboard reflector joining them having a slight outward curve. In small rooms the stereo image may surprise you.
Oh and I've never in my long life heard any sound stage differences that matter between high quality amplifiers. Speakers, placement and room acoustics are - in my experience - 10 times more likely to influence the result you're after.
I would say two things. First, try and borrow a straight up but powerful stereo integrated amplifier, like HK 990 or PMA8000 - stereo vs surround.... something bad happens with surround processors in stereo IMO. Further, try any speaker that measures really well, like a smaller waveguided speaker, as maybe this one:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...5-bookshelf-speaker-review.14745/#post-458254
IMO - an even frequency response both on and off axis, is so important for the sound to "escape" the speaker -both keeping the sound where it is recorded, between the speaker, around, past them and all that - depending on what the recording dictates 🙂
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...5-bookshelf-speaker-review.14745/#post-458254
IMO - an even frequency response both on and off axis, is so important for the sound to "escape" the speaker -both keeping the sound where it is recorded, between the speaker, around, past them and all that - depending on what the recording dictates 🙂