New photos of Randy's system ...

[Randy Myers]

Not sure where to put system photos. I for one love looking at photos of other members setups. If we don't have one yet (and I might be blind and missed it) I suggest a thread for people to post photos of their systems...

Anyway, some updated photos of my loft library sound system....

 

[Audioseduction]

Re: New photos of system

Nice clean looking system. I can see you gave it a lot of thought about your system. The proper location to post your system is under: AudioShark Members’ Systems

 

[Randy Myers]

Re: New photos of system

Duh... sorry... knew there must be one on here somewhere. Wonder if there is any way of moving this thread to that section .... Joe? Mike?

 

[joeinid]

Re: New photos of system

Moved

Done and well done! Thank you again!

 

[audio.bill]

Very nice Randy, you've continued to improve your system in a very consistent manner. Enjoy the tunes!

 

[Randy Myers]

Very nice Randy, you've continued to improve your system in a very consistent manner. Enjoy the tunes!

Thank you sir!

 

[Randy Myers]

Some new photos.... The Tiki PC is now running as a Roon Headless Dedicated Server.... the Surface Pro 3 is the Roon Contoller... welcome to my humble Loft Library!

 

[Randy Myers]

I added some Kimber Kable speaker cables into the system. I have had a couple people ask how they look so here are a couple pictures.

 

[mep]

How tall are those stands Randy and how far are your ears above the middle of the driver in the KEF?

 

[Randy Myers]

They are a tad low. I did not want to get the port on the back firing into open space of the loft. the couch sits fairly low so ear level is only a few inches above the driver. With how good the sound stage and dispersion is I have not noticed it being an issue. When I am doing serious listening I lean way back anyway ....

 

[mep]

Using my calibrated eyeballs, I thought the stands weren't all that tall and your ears would be above the drivers. I had custom made stands by Sound Anchor when I owned a pair of the LS-50s. Getting the drivers up to the right height makes a difference. The Sound Anchor stands also weighed about 60 lbs each and provided a super-stable platform for the LS-50s to sit on which also improves the sound.

 

[Randy Myers]

The absolute center of the drivers are 26", my ears are at about 35" - 36". So they are a tad low, but seem ok. The top of the port is at 31". The loft wall is at 36". I don't want the port to fire any where close to the open space. KEF makes a big point about positioning of the port.... I also have built the entire system from scratch over the past few months so I had to make a few compromises. I wish I had a more ideal situation but this seems to be the only room in the house that I can make a sound system work. If we ever have a new house built I have already let Cheryal know that a sound room would be an absolute ...

 

[kzhtoo]

What is the reason for not wanting the port to fire into the open space? If anything, that should be a plus, no? Please do note that I'm not familiar with KEF porting philosophy. But a lot of speakers, including mine, benefit from getting away from the front wall. Unless of course you want the room gain.
I also see you have a small Rel sub which should help the bottom end enough not to rely on the room gain.

 

[Randy Myers]

The KEF speakers use a flex tube port which also affects mid range. They have inserts to tune the port if you have to place them too close to the wall, however they feel reflection off the wall is important if I understand what I read correctly. They recommend placement at 500mm (20") or so from the back wall...

They also do not talk about aligning the drivers with your ears but instead recommend placing the speakers on a 18" - 24" stand. My stands currently sit at about 20"... They seem to have a very nice sound stage and the placement of vocalist and instruments appear to be at times above the rear wall. I would not mind getting them a tad higher but they are not bad how they are.

 

[CPP]

The KEF speakers use a flex tube port which also affects mid range. They have inserts to tune the port if you have to place them too close to the wall, however they feel reflection off the wall is important if I understand what I read correctly. They recommend placement at 500mm (20") or so from the back wall...

They also do not talk about aligning the drivers with your ears but instead recommend placing the speakers on a 18" - 24" stand. My stands currently sit at about 20"... They seem to have a very nice sound stage and the placement of vocalist and instruments appear to be at times above the rear wall. I would not mind getting them a tad higher but they are not bad how they are.

Randy when I had my LS50's I used a 24" stand, made by Sound Anchor, they will actually make and height you want.. I had a 4 post model. What a difference when you have a stand that puts that driver at your listening position. http://soundanchors.com/products/2087/kef-ls50

 

[Randy Myers]

As has been requested of me, here are some new photos with the latest configuration, new amplifier, disc spinner, etc....

 

[chops]

Looks really good, Randy! Bet it sounds just as good! Hopefully before too long, I'll have the silver version of it in my system.

 

[Randy Myers]

Thanks Charles. I am really enjoying the system! I think you will like the improvements of the ST-500 mkII over the ST-250. EJ said there is a very marked improvement in the mkIIs. Of course, it will take a long while for the amp to settle in. In the manual it states a 300 hour break in period. EJ told me it is closer to 500 hours for the amplifier to completely gain it's top performance.

You probably started right out with the ST-250 completely broken in by your brother. Tony told me they have had people return pieces thinking there was something wrong since they are bright and a little harsh out of the box. Getting through the break in is essential to really appreciate how good the Wyred equipment is. I am not sure if their amplifiers take a little longer than other companies. It seems higher than most, but I can attest to how much breaking in their equipment takes. But it is well worth giving it the time. I am sure that most people would not believe how much of a marked difference in sound happens over the first 100-200 hours (200-300 on the amplifiers).

 

[MDP]

Looking good Randy :congrats:

 

[joeinid]

I find, especially with Class D, that break in seems to take forever. Even after being off for a while, a good day of use seems to be necessary to bring them back on line. My Nords now are superb, especially for the money spent. They embarrass amps costing many times as much. I'm sure the W4S amps will be great, like mine, given time.