5 Easiest Steps to Setting up your Stereo

Hi! Guys,
Here is a simple way to improve ur system.

Its a good way to wring a bit more performance out of your system without spending much money, in some cases you can make improvements without opening your wallet.

Here's a couple of quick, simple tips on how to get the most out of your stereo system. For the purposes of this exercise I will assume that the system is correctly wired, with speakers in phase(positive wire to positve terminal, vice versa). Now you know why I called my company Absolute Phase.

The ideal listening position is at the tip of an equilateral triangle. That means if you form a triangle with your speakers as two corners with you as the third, all distances being equal. I know this is sometimes difficult to acheive, but if done correctly will greatly improve imaging. Experiment with placement, it will be worth your time. Try toeing your speakers in (some are not supposed to be toed-in as they are designed to be kept facing straight like Murthy's KEF's)


. By that I mean angle them into your listening position. My tip is to position the speaker so that you can't see the side of the cabinet, only its face. Experiment - try to get a good balance between image stability and the spaciality. See if your speakers work better closer or further from the rear wall. Same with the side wall. Try to make the distance between floor, rear and side wall different in each instance. And 9 times out of 10, speakers sound best when firing down the longest axis of the room. Never keep the distance from the back wall to spk and dist from the side wall to spk the same.


Try taking off the grilles. Most times, speakers will benefit from this, giving more air and immediacy to the treble. This is not always the case. Again some spks makers do not recommend removing the grills as they are designed that way.I find metallic domed speakers can benefit from the grilles in place, especially if the system tends towards brightness.(like the Cadence Arita & the Diva)


Good stands are a must.(c my earlier post on spk stands) This is not really an option. The only time to put bookshelf speakers on a bookshelf is whilst your waiting for your stands to be delivered. Good solid stands will improve bass depth and tightness. This extends to equipment supports too. Further more, like all good drinks, floorstanding speakers must be spiked. Again, there will be a payoff in the bass end of the spectrum, with a tighter and fuller sound.

Something I saw yesterday just shocked me: I had a glass of water on my system rack and I was playing the ProAcs at a decent volume and was amazed to see ripples in the water inside the glass, by this you will physically see the amount of vibrations that spks can induce in rack, no wonder when you isolate the system it sounds better, dont trust me then try it ur self.

Get the best cabling you can afford. I know its an old saying, but the system is only as good as the weakest link. A cable is really a filter in your system. You want it to take as little away from the music as possible. Sometimes changing the cable is a bigger improvement than changing a component. Cabling makes a huge difference, anyone who says otherwise is deaf. And by the way, thicker is not necessarily better. Generally if a system costs Rs 1 lac keep atleast an extra Rs 10k for cables. Generally I keep 10% for cables.

Try a power conditioner like the Finesse made by mutthy, or upgrade the mains cable, again try the finesse pwr cable. I was sceptical of this, but its a real improvement to your system. Try it and you will see for ur self. The cheap cable that is supplied with the unit can be changed for a better one, with a number of manufacturers making IEC mains cable. It really helps to reduce background noise and opens up the top end of the system.

Rules in India are meant to be broken so go ahead and do whatever you can to get the best out of ur system. Find what works for you. I hope this has helped. Drop me a line if you have any further questions on system setup!

Rgds

Prithvi

Hi! Nagaraj,
Was fun doing the sand filling. Great to know it made a difference.
Rgds

Prithvi