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Damn you, Jon Marsh. 
I had my Aleph J on the bench for a cap upgrade when the power went out. What to do with my time waiting for it to be restored? My girlfriend is out of town so furniture got moved to the back of the room and the couch and speakers moved to the Cardas prescribed positions. The speakers had been the Cardas width bit only 3 feet from the front wall (Cardas says 8.5') with the couch about 10 feet back. Power came back and I started playback from the server in another room. It was I immediately obvious that the sound was different.
The play list was just random tracks that JRiver picked, not chosen for recording quality. Oppo BDP-103 as a preamp to Honey Badger. (Least preferred configuration) sin in the sweet spot and Wow! Imaging far better than I remember getting from the Schiit Momby DAC (which easily beat the Oppo but is still out on loan). Amazingly lifelike images with way more depth than with the speakers nearer the walls.
It's going to be hard to go back. Somehow I think I'll lose the "we don't need a dining table in the great room" argument. I can see myself moving furniture around when she goes to work. The only down side is in HT mode I'm so far from the front wall a 60" TV seems small. A 140" screen would be about right. Although in the usual spot the front of the speakers is a foot or more in front of the equipment rack in between I think I need to clean that space out and move gear to the corner.
I had my Aleph J on the bench for a cap upgrade when the power went out. What to do with my time waiting for it to be restored? My girlfriend is out of town so furniture got moved to the back of the room and the couch and speakers moved to the Cardas prescribed positions. The speakers had been the Cardas width bit only 3 feet from the front wall (Cardas says 8.5') with the couch about 10 feet back. Power came back and I started playback from the server in another room. It was I immediately obvious that the sound was different.
The play list was just random tracks that JRiver picked, not chosen for recording quality. Oppo BDP-103 as a preamp to Honey Badger. (Least preferred configuration) sin in the sweet spot and Wow! Imaging far better than I remember getting from the Schiit Momby DAC (which easily beat the Oppo but is still out on loan). Amazingly lifelike images with way more depth than with the speakers nearer the walls.
It's going to be hard to go back. Somehow I think I'll lose the "we don't need a dining table in the great room" argument. I can see myself moving furniture around when she goes to work. The only down side is in HT mode I'm so far from the front wall a 60" TV seems small. A 140" screen would be about right. Although in the usual spot the front of the speakers is a foot or more in front of the equipment rack in between I think I need to clean that space out and move gear to the corner.
Welcome to my world, with all it's pleasures and issues... (PS, I've been living here since the early 80's... why do you think I had to give those big speakers to Charlie Hansen way back, after I got married?) (Charlie's wife is much more understanding, but then she knew what she was getting into, from the get go, and it's how he makes his living).
that's all I usually tell people, just try this once... I mean, it's not as if I'm selling drugs to them or making anything off this... it's just an opportunity. Furniture and speakers on casters, definitely has some merit...
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