Futon acoustics... a story.
mmcculloch
Posts: 22
Hello all,
Since I have somehow (I forget how/why) stumbled into an audiophile forum (and I'm way outta my league), I figure I may as well tell this story which has been in the back of my mind for years. If anyone will be able to relate, it's the people here...
I'm half sure I'll either get blank stares or mocking giggles for this, or as a newbie with no cred I will be totally ignored, but here we go nevertheless.
About 6 years ago I had a stereo system that most everyone here would probably pay to get rid of - though to me it sounded great (the benefit of never having heard better, I think). It was a Technics component system; the speakers were a bit too big to call bookshelf but too small to call tower. I think the bass drivers were 8", the mids looked more like large tweeters, and the tweeters were frankly useless. Anyway, I had very little furniture so they were probably either on the floor or on boxes at the time.
Now, my sofa was a folding futon bed. The front of it was a plank of lumber about 6" high which ran about 3" above the floor. Now imagine this sofa facing the speakers, and then imagine lying on the floor in between the speakers and the sofa, with your feet toward the speakers (which are against a wall) and your head almost touching that plank that runs along the front of the sofa. At some point I found myself lying in that position, listening to music...
And I was blown away. With the wooden board of the sofa right behind my head, me lying on my back looking up at the ceiling, centered between the speakers, the imaging was incredible. The soundstage exploded around me. It depended on the music, but for some songs I was hearing instruments (or synthesizers) all around me, in ways I'd never before experienced. The song that really blew me away was Idioteque from Radiohead's Kid A (Everything in its Right Place was awesome too).
I wouldn't necessarily say that the soundstage was more realistic (I wouldn't really know), but I loved the sound. It was a no-brainer to see that the sofa behind my head was responsible for those acoustics, but I was astounded that such a simple, low tech device could produce such a powerful result.
I only lived in that place for a year, and since then I've never had the same set up, but I've never forgotten that sound.
Tonight I was listening to Kid A again, and remembered that experience. There was a big breadboard sitting on the coffee table in front of me, so I picked it up and held it behind my head. The effect was there, but not nearly as pronounced. I guess if I fooled around enough, I could reproduce it.
Well, that's my story. If you made it this far, thanks for letting a newbie blather all over your nice forum a bit. And if anyone can relate to this experience, I'd love to hear about it. Maybe you already get such amazing imaging from your kick-**** two channel systems, but I've not had that pleasure (although my new RTi8's sure sound damn sweet to me!).
MM
Since I have somehow (I forget how/why) stumbled into an audiophile forum (and I'm way outta my league), I figure I may as well tell this story which has been in the back of my mind for years. If anyone will be able to relate, it's the people here...
I'm half sure I'll either get blank stares or mocking giggles for this, or as a newbie with no cred I will be totally ignored, but here we go nevertheless.
About 6 years ago I had a stereo system that most everyone here would probably pay to get rid of - though to me it sounded great (the benefit of never having heard better, I think). It was a Technics component system; the speakers were a bit too big to call bookshelf but too small to call tower. I think the bass drivers were 8", the mids looked more like large tweeters, and the tweeters were frankly useless. Anyway, I had very little furniture so they were probably either on the floor or on boxes at the time.
Now, my sofa was a folding futon bed. The front of it was a plank of lumber about 6" high which ran about 3" above the floor. Now imagine this sofa facing the speakers, and then imagine lying on the floor in between the speakers and the sofa, with your feet toward the speakers (which are against a wall) and your head almost touching that plank that runs along the front of the sofa. At some point I found myself lying in that position, listening to music...
And I was blown away. With the wooden board of the sofa right behind my head, me lying on my back looking up at the ceiling, centered between the speakers, the imaging was incredible. The soundstage exploded around me. It depended on the music, but for some songs I was hearing instruments (or synthesizers) all around me, in ways I'd never before experienced. The song that really blew me away was Idioteque from Radiohead's Kid A (Everything in its Right Place was awesome too).
I wouldn't necessarily say that the soundstage was more realistic (I wouldn't really know), but I loved the sound. It was a no-brainer to see that the sofa behind my head was responsible for those acoustics, but I was astounded that such a simple, low tech device could produce such a powerful result.
I only lived in that place for a year, and since then I've never had the same set up, but I've never forgotten that sound.
Tonight I was listening to Kid A again, and remembered that experience. There was a big breadboard sitting on the coffee table in front of me, so I picked it up and held it behind my head. The effect was there, but not nearly as pronounced. I guess if I fooled around enough, I could reproduce it.
Well, that's my story. If you made it this far, thanks for letting a newbie blather all over your nice forum a bit. And if anyone can relate to this experience, I'd love to hear about it. Maybe you already get such amazing imaging from your kick-**** two channel systems, but I've not had that pleasure (although my new RTi8's sure sound damn sweet to me!).
MM
Post edited by mmcculloch on
Comments
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There was a company that made echo muffs, similar priciple.mmcculloch wrote: »Hello all,
Since I have somehow (I forget how/why) stumbled into an audiophile forum (and I'm way outta my league), I figure I may as well tell this story which has been in the back of my mind for years. If anyone will be able to relate, it's the people here...
I'm half sure I'll either get blank stares or mocking giggles for this, or as a newbie with no cred I will be totally ignored, but here we go nevertheless.
About 6 years ago I had a stereo system that most everyone here would probably pay to get rid of - though to me it sounded great (the benefit of never having heard better, I think). It was a Technics component system; the speakers were a bit too big to call bookshelf but too small to call tower. I think the bass drivers were 8", the mids looked more like large tweeters, and the tweeters were frankly useless. Anyway, I had very little furniture so they were probably either on the floor or on boxes at the time.
Now, my sofa was a folding futon bed. The front of it was a plank of lumber about 6" high which ran about 3" above the floor. Now imagine this sofa facing the speakers, and then imagine lying on the floor in between the speakers and the sofa, with your feet toward the speakers (which are against a wall) and your head almost touching that plank that runs along the front of the sofa. At some point I found myself lying in that position, listening to music...
And I was blown away. With the wooden board of the sofa right behind my head, me lying on my back looking up at the ceiling, centered between the speakers, the imaging was incredible. The soundstage exploded around me. It depended on the music, but for some songs I was hearing instruments (or synthesizers) all around me, in ways I'd never before experienced. The song that really blew me away was Idioteque from Radiohead's Kid A (Everything in its Right Place was awesome too).
I wouldn't necessarily say that the soundstage was more realistic (I wouldn't really know), but I loved the sound. It was a no-brainer to see that the sofa behind my head was responsible for those acoustics, but I was astounded that such a simple, low tech device could produce such a powerful result.
I only lived in that place for a year, and since then I've never had the same set up, but I've never forgotten that sound.
Tonight I was listening to Kid A again, and remembered that experience. There was a big breadboard sitting on the coffee table in front of me, so I picked it up and held it behind my head. The effect was there, but not nearly as pronounced. I guess if I fooled around enough, I could reproduce it.
Well, that's my story. If you made it this far, thanks for letting a newbie blather all over your nice forum a bit. And if anyone can relate to this experience, I'd love to hear about it. Maybe you already get such amazing imaging from your kick-**** two channel systems, but I've not had that pleasure (although my new RTi8's sure sound damn sweet to me!).
MM
Welcome to The Polk forum. -
A lot of people don't have TONS of space to setup their dedicated 2ch systems. Having the rear wall VERY close to your listening position helps to make the first order reflections less noticeable. Also, laying ON the floor, you probably got REALLY good bass, and any mistakes the speakers were making - you were so far off axis you didn't get to hear them. I can go into phase and time, and make the post unreadable - but nutshelled you should get it.
Echomuffs have nothing to do with what he is talking about. Echo muffs where u-shaped chunks of acoustic foam placed BEHIND the speakers, to kill second order reflections and help with standing waves in rooms where you might not be able to optimally place the speakers. Some people were stupid enough to use them with Maggies and other dipole speakers, defeating the design of the speaker in the first place.
The room is usually the forgotten tweak for most audio systems.
Cheers,
RussCheck your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service. -
Amen. Dale Earnhardt. Goodnight.The room is usually the forgotten tweak for most audio systems.~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Sometimes when I'm in my chair in the "sweet spot", I'll clasp my hands behind my head, with my palms open right behind my ears, and I can hear it make the sound much more present and lively. I have to admit it makes a huge positive difference that is more pronounced and enjoyable than any upgrades I have done. If you haven't tried this, give it a try. It's free...
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When Ka7niq mentioned "echo muffs" I pictured something that I dreamed up when this happened, which is something like headphones except with a small reflecting panel that sits behind each ear, instead of an earphone. Basically just something to simulate the plank of wood. But then I figured it was probably more than just the wood behind my head; the whole room and speaker/listener placement must have played a part.
By the way, regarding Idioteque, irrespective of whether anything is behind me bouncing the sound back, I have to say that if you have good imaging and sit right in the sweet spot, that song sounds crazy good.
MM
