This weekend some people met for something like a “workshop”.
Who attended:
I read most of the posts in the Linn owners club in this forum and got many ideas how to improve my system, but post myself very few posts due to lack of time, therefore I want to give something back, means: maybe somebody gets an idea what he can improve further at his music system based on what we experienced and achieved during this weekend.
History and motivation
Finally, I want to say THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH to: Peter, Ben Webster, Klaus and Paul! Without the help, expertise, and contribution of everybody mentioned above, this outstanding result would not have been possible.
Who attended:
- @Ben Webster , in former times owning 350s for ½ year, for many years now owning Komris, be-amped with 4 Solos, Preamp and DAC from SPL, 3 re-clocker, LP12
- @Peter_P , owning Komris with Organik Tuneboxes, 2 x 4200, KSH/3, LP12
- Klaus (not on this forum), very experienced electric engineer, self-build 2-way speakers, self-build class A mono blocks with 400 Watt – very dynamic system with great enjoyable sound
- Myself, owning Komris for appr. 11 years (starting with Index, then Katans and later 212s with 2 Sizmiks), Organik Tuneboxes, 4 dynamiked Twins, KSH/3
I read most of the posts in the Linn owners club in this forum and got many ideas how to improve my system, but post myself very few posts due to lack of time, therefore I want to give something back, means: maybe somebody gets an idea what he can improve further at his music system based on what we experienced and achieved during this weekend.
History and motivation
- The journey started 1,5 years ago when I visited @Paulssurround in Vancouver and he praised Gaias for loudspeakers, so I purchased two sets of Gaias but never installed them until now.
- Later I read in this forum about the great improvements Paul and the gang in Vancouver got from the Tranquility Pods, therefore within the Christmas promotion of Synergistic Research I purchased 7 pods but did not yet install them until now.
- I read about the 360 as the successor of the 350 and asked myself: How do they sound, how do they compare to Komris?
- I read about the improvements when using the fibre input of the KSH/3.
- I read recurring opinions against Space Optimization.
- Arrival of Peter Friday afternoon, installation of the Tranquility Pods from Synergistic Research and installation of the ADOT MC02 audiophile grade optical fibre kit (copper to fibre transformer, refer to http://www.admm.uk.com/adot.html) supplied by a Ferrum HYPSOS power supply (according to Peter better then e.g., SBooster) and in conjunction with an ifi LAN Silencer and an ifi DC iPurifier 2
- Saturday prenoon: Audition of the 360 at a Linn dealer
- Rest of Saturday: new positioning of Komris, Space Optimization, assess the contribution of the pods
- Prenoon of Sunday: Decide about the Gaias
- Audition of the 360s: Ben Webster, Peter and I were attending this audition; the 360s where just running the 4th day, had no Space optimization applied and even during the audition the dealer moved them around, also the room was a little bit boomy and reverberant. To me the 360 showed their potential in terms of spatial sound (I could locate every instrument and the singer very precisely), the music was 100% decoupled from the loudspeakers and the 360 showed huge dynamics including the ability to move large amounts of air – very impressive! They were not (yet) very tuneful and enjoyable which I account to the suboptimal placement and not yet burnt in. I can imagine that these speakers might be able to deliver outstanding sound if burnt in and set up properly …
- Coming home Klaus joined us. All attendants were seeking and discussing how to improve the performance of my system and it was Klaus who insisted on moving the Komris further away from the back wall – the front of the Komris were something like 85 cm away from the back wall. Klaus and Ben Webster also insisted on switching off Space Optimization.
- So, we switched off Space Optimization and to move the Komris we remembered the Gaias, so we installed the Gaias (instead of the spikes, which were without skeets directly located on the parquet which is directly glued to the suspended floor) and moved the Komris around what we did for what felt like several hours: we moved them back and forth, much further apart, then again little bit back closer to each other, started with very few toe in, increased toe in significantly. Finally, at 107 cm from front of the Komris to the back wall (22 cm further than before), some cm further apart (mid tweeter to mid tweeter now 258 cm) and a significant toe in of appr. 5 degrees (same as before, we tried less) the sound snapped in: the singer could be localized precisely in the middle, the soundstage opened up, some background instruments went far behind the speakers, everything could be followed better than before, and the room modes (remember: SPACE was switched off) were rather limited (sitting appr. 4 m away from the tweeter).
- Then we did some testing: SPACE with new parameters (location of speakers, … ), starting with 70% absorption, reducing to 63%, further to 58%, and compared it to Space Optimization switched off. The room modes were really limited due to the existing room treatment and proper positioning of the Komris, so we asked ourselves whether we need Space Optimization at all. Finally, three of us compared blindly: Space Optimization reduced to 0% and Space Optimization switched off. All of us – also Peter and myself who where Space Optimization evangelists before – agreed, that Space Optimization switched off provided the most engaging and easiest to follow tune!
- As the Tranquility Pods where already running since Friday evening, we decided to have a look at their contribution to the overall result. Klaus (remember: Our electrical engineer) asked how they work, but nobody could explain it in a way which made him believe that they could improve anything to the overall result, even the description on their home page wasn’t clear for an electrical engineer. We heard a track, then cut the connection from the pods to the power supply and the grounding and replayed the same track. WOW – something changed significantly to the bad – the sound became more boring, the hights less crisp, we couldn’t enjoy following the tune as before! Klaus was very very surprised, as this was against everything he expected, he jumped up and had a look at the pods, unfortunately the electronics are potted, so you cannot open the case and have a look what's inside and get an idea how that might work, Klaus said: Whatever those voodoo devices do – it is great and very beneficial!
- On Sunday just Peter and I remained, we played some bass heavy tracks with the Gaias, then removed them and replayed the tracks. We both agreed that the sound with the Gaias was a little bit smoother, but we also agreed that the sound without the Gaias might be closer to the original, and with the spice located directly on top of the parquet the tune was more attacking, more precise and more engaging.
- Proper room treatment is the basis (before I had 1 second for RT60, refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverberation#Reverberation_time, which could be reduced to 0,5 seconds some years ago)
- Reduced RT60 in conjunction with proper placement of the Komris allowed us to switch Space Optimization off. I was surprised and to some extend irritated, that Space Optimization switched off is better than Space Optimization at 0% - for me, this is an indication, that Linn should improve the algorithm further and / or work on the parameters for time of flight and so on. I was for many years in the camp of “pro Space Optimization” but definitively changed my mind yesterday.
- I cannot answer which enhancements (fibre and DOT, pods, placement of Komris, Space Optimization off) accounts for which amount of improvement, nevertheless: The overall end result is just jaw dropping, I never heard my system or any other system sounding so good, it was such a step forward, really in a complete different league! Even tracks I didn’t like (Freddy Quinn, Reinhard Mey, … ) became engaging and enjoyable for me! A holography, always enjoyable and very easy to follow tune!
- Working and bringing together so many views and worthwhile experiences was key to achieve this large step forward. Compared to what we heard Saturday prenoon: 360 might be better then Komris at the bottom line when set up properly and burnt in, but as long as my Komris perform at this level there is no need to change anything …
Finally, I want to say THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH to: Peter, Ben Webster, Klaus and Paul! Without the help, expertise, and contribution of everybody mentioned above, this outstanding result would not have been possible.
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