Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil

my kids have night lights that are similar to that turntable, it's just that they're animal-shaped rather than turntable-shaped, I will try to remember to look at them the next time I listen to some music

I should be receiving the sub sometime today, so in anticipation, I've been fooling around with the placement of the Polks. I pulled them forward by about 1/2 foot, which immediately reduced the boominess and added transparency, possibly too much but I'm assuming the sub will help fill that out. I also straightened them out instead of having them pointed in a triangle shape toward me to help emphasize the stereo image over the center. It's a pretty dramatic change soundwise and I'm not yet sure if I will stick with it, but it's good to know that it can be adjusted rather dramatically through small speaker movements.

yeah I have these bigass Paradigm speakers on stands in a room maybe 16 x 16? and inches of adjustment definitely make a difference

this was helpful in showing me how to think about it, I like the emphasis on trusting your ears as you adjust

https://imgur.com/MhkQwCo

one thing i'd really like to do is getting into room treatment, i.e. hanging carpets or other soft stuff up on the walls to reduce echo. of course they sell special audiophile foam stuff for this too.

I've been pondering this for my music studio room. It seems that a few well-placed high quality panels is preferable to putting a bunch of those inexpensive tiles up. I probably won't mess with it until I first replace my studio monitors because the ones I have now are garbage.

Generally I think reflections are the easy targets for room improvement - thicker pile rugs, a sheet of (even thin) fabric hanging an inch inside the wall, deadening material concealed on the underside of tables, etc.
Glad that getting the Polks away from the wall sharpened things up!

I got the sub, it's enormous! My biggest challenge is going to be figuring out how to set it so that it is audible without completely overwhelming everything else. Trying to keep it tight and punchy, rather than full house shaking rumble. This is resulting in rather dramatic shifts to the overall EQ scheme to help find the right balance. I have a feeling I'll be messing around with this for a while until I'm fully satisfied.

I would say to err on the side of house shaking rumble :)

this is pretty helpful on setting the crossover

https://www.svsound.com/blogs/subwoofer-setup-and-tuning/tips-for-setting-the-proper-crossover-frequency-for-a-subwoofer

on the level i sort of dialed it in just to the point where it was noticable

I think I have this mostly set how I want it. The big sub has a pretty different sound from the Edifier one, but it sounds good, more deep and rubbery vs the chest thump of the Edifier sub.

Here's what it all looks like, the sub is down on the floor by the right loudspeaker
https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mi08xg1wysms3uea2rllz/20240219_165934.jpg?rlkey=cb5dip7ovmrmpavxl2l1amozy

oh good, now I can stop holding my tongue about how wood paneling and carpet work pretty well with acoustics 😉

to say nothing of the acoustically beneficial properties of mickey mouse gnome figurines

I didn't really know if the wood is good or bad, I could imagine it reflecting some stuff but maybe not because it's more porous?

I was trying not to be creepy with "Wait, I know the room he's describing! I've been there!"

lol, it's a true statement and not at all creepy, mh happens to be the only ILX person to have visited the Moodles home, although a bunch of folks from here have seen this same room in zoom sessions

But why place the Eames chair off-center?!

it's the only place it will really fit in that room, photo was taken from the perspective of the big sofa on the opposite wall where I spend most of my time, there's a cluttered coffee table next to the Eames chair that I moved out of the way for a better shot

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C20vGfiv1qK/?igsh=dHVlbDMxeGY4bndk

this is primo snake oil

https://www.musicdirect.com/equipment/accessories/audio-additives-sorbothane-6-x-6-damping-sheet-each/

on sale!

if you’re not using damping sheets are you even really listening to music?

the word “thereby” does a lot of work in these pitches

You need the cold-pressed sorbothane otherwise it can really mess with the soundstage...

the fact they are 0.125 inches thick is so hilarious

Sorbothane is a legit shock-absorbing material - watch at 1:48 for the attempted hand-smashing (it's actually pretty impressive):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVN98EwM3l0

yeesh

Hate the marketing, not the material! Hahaha

Place them anywhere you have vibration and let your components deliver better performance.

pretend you don't have any context whatsoever for the above sentence.

seems quite rude + intrusive now, doesn't it? with all due respect, what could you possibly know about my components?

sorbothane does seem pretty cool. unfortunately the link posted seems to be the going rate

goddamn it I'm gonna end up buying this crap

Pretty easily debunked - sorbothane is a high impedance material for physical vibration, so it would absorb vibration passing from one thing to another. You can't place it on something and expect it to "suck in" vibration, or stick it to something vibrating in the hope of damping it down; mass is pretty much the only way to do that.
Also worth pointing out that sound is, y'know, vibration, so I wouldn't be keen on a material that absorbed ambient vibration around my audio system.

i was thinking it'd be good to use as speaker feet? or turntable feet?

For sure, I’m just guessing they hope people will use it like magic stones

xps according to sorbothane.com, it can be used both for vibration isolation and vibration damping, so not sure that is correct:

https://www.sorbothane.com/technical-data/articles/vibration-damping/

Is it named after Kevin Sorbo

lol

Urethane is named after Kevin Sorbo's urethra

pls stop posting about that person. thanks.

xps I think that describes two different modes of reducing vibration between things, not sucking it out of the air. I’m sure it would prevent e.g. sound from bouncing off a surface (which is also a coupling thing) but I strongly doubt you’d unwrap a sorbothane mat and the room would go quiet.

people I think we all need to consider this incredible breakthrough: I present the ground box.
https://www.entreq.com/en-GB/products/ground-boxes-17667704
Sceptical? What if I told you that

By attaching an Entreq ground box with Eartha cables to your gear, you can eliminate high-frequency pollution, resulting in more detailed and clear music. You will experience a better flow, more air, and improved dynamics.
It's like driving a car with the handbrake on and then releasing it, everything works smoother.

oh I need a whole bunch of these

they tried not to advertise their prices but I can't be deterred in my pursuit of a box with some plates in it https://www.futureshop.co.uk/brands-category/entreq/entreq-grounding-boxes

reminds me of an orgone box https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgone

New username harvested from the ground box website...

hat tip to the "Eartha" cable name