A fine sounding system

[Jesse111]

After many hours of break in and tweaking, I have found my preferred placement of the Maggies with the JC1's. I must say, I think I may have the most realistic performing system in the world.

Ok, perhaps the best in my neighborhood at least. But truthfully, the near field listening of this system will distort your senses. The life size soundstage and presence is astounding. As you can see in the pics, I found that tilting the Maggies slightly forward caused the stage to rise up to a more realistic point versus eye level. It also offers a slightly more revealing sound as well. This is one thing that most speakers can not do because they aren't tall enough. Ever notice the downward angle of the tweeter and mids on the top of the line Wilsons Alexandria? There's a very good reason for that.

Imaging is up there with the best I've heard. Detail is clear and revealing yet not the least bit harsh which I attribute much to the McIntosh MCD/MDA1000 source componant. The JC1 delivers the power and precision that I wanted so with the sweetness of the Mac gear and the phenominal performing capability of the Mag 20.1, I must say the JC1 fits in the system like a member of a tight knit family and as a whole the system just has to be heard to be believed.

[nicholtl]

Wow, now that's what I call a dedicated listening room.

But what's with the weight stack?? Extra "acoustic treatment?"

[Jesse111]

Wow, now that's what I call a dedicated listening room.

But what's with the weight stack?? Extra "acoustic treatment?"

You betcha. Without my weight set in the room the whole soundstage completely collapses. :rofl:

Truth is, I have two of my favorite things to do in the same room. Weights and music. Mix them both together and life is good.

Now if I could just fit my Jeep Rubicon and my Harley Road King in there. But then again with all that quality defraction the sound just might be too good to handle.

[RebelMan]

Where the heck have you been dude?

[Jesse111]

Where the heck have you been dude?

Hello my friend, I must admit it has been some time since my last post. I've been seriously distracted with life's issues but nothing of serious concern. Just work and other responsibilities. As you may remember, I endured some financial reverses several months back but I've since sold my company of 23 years and things are looking very well. So that has really been the most time consuming issue and it is now in the past.

Through all of those issues I've been fiddling with my system a few minutes here and a few minutes there and now I've nailed it. I'm finally just listening to my music. Of course as a music enthusiast I'm certainly still critical about listening but it's nice to feel the contentment of pure musical enjoyment and being able to just sit there, in the chair, with a beer and enjoy if I need to.

My 800D and Mac 501 system gave me the same feeling actually. Both systems offer their own strengths. That system was very lush and musical. I could live with it forever no issues. But this system with a smaller monetary investment has proven to be a bit more to my liking overall. To my ears I hear a tad bit more resolution and a more realistic and consistant soundstage especiall when the instrument presentation is close to the speakers. With cone and dome style speakers the stage and imaging shrinks to the speaker cones as it gets close to the speaker. The Mags with their line drive ribbon eliminates that issue completely for me. But this requires a near field listening position while the 800D shows it's strengths with a few more feet of distance to play with.

Good to hear from you Rebelman. Any changes or mods with you?

[REOFan]

All I Can Say Is . . . Cool!

Jesse111,

Nice pics! The set up is fascinating. I always enjoy looking at pictures of other systems, rooms, and set ups. I, too, was going to comment on the weights, but Nicholtl beat me to it. (My Total Gym and other equipment is in an adjacent room.) I am glad to hear the JC 1s are working out. I just wanted to say, "Thanks for the update."

[Chris D]

Awesome, dude. You should add your pics to the Parasound picture thread here.

I'm jealous, and I wish I could hear it, too! I don't get to N. Carolina much, though.

[Jesse111]

Awesome, dude. You should add your pics to the Parasound picture thread here.

I'm jealous, and I wish I could hear it, too! I don't get to N. Carolina much, though.

If you ever do happen to get out this way I'll be offended if you don't stop by. However Peter lives in the same town and I'm working on getting him over here to critique my system. He's hands down the JC1/Magnepan aficionado.

Good idea on the picture thread. I'll take a few more after I clean up the room and put myself in the pic with the system.

[RebelMan]

Good to hear from you Rebelman. Any changes or mods with you?

First, Jesse I must say that you have been missed around here. Second, I am glad to see that you are back in action both here and in your home world.

I have always found the soundstaging from well made and well placed planar's to be spectacular. Hence, I can relate to your enthusiastic description of your system. Which is why I really enjoy reading the feedback from people, like you (and miss it when they are absent, hint-hint, LOL), that have reached the level of satisfaction with their system that you have, and your enthusiasm about it is infectious.

Some people, like my wife for instance, will never get it nor understand the connection we have in this hobby and that it goes beyond the material and is about the music and nothing but the music. While your lack of presence in Club B&W has been a loss it's good to know that you have found a good home where you’re are now, and that is all that matters. And if I ever make it to NC you can count on me looking you up. I would love to hear your awesome setup. :T

As for me, things are status quo with the family, home and work. As far as system changes go, I have added a PS3 (not sure if you knew that already) and recently sold my center channel (HTM3S). I am planning to add the HTM1D at some point in the future ( as you know I am a 50/50 guy ) and I am making plans to replace my SSP-300 with an SSP-700 sometime next year, hopefully when it makes its' debut. In the mean time I have been adding quite a bit of Smooth Jazz CD's and Blu-ray discs to my collection of media and I am working on "domestically approved" acoustical treatments too. :B

Welcome back man!

[Peter Nielsen]

Hey Jesse,

Your inbox is full. I could not send you a PM 8)

I'm curious what your careful placement of the speakers and room treatments have done to the sound. The location of the speakers on the long side of the room is of course ideal for the stereo image.

I wish I could place my MG20.1s on the long side of the room, but since my current setup serves as HT with the screen on the short side, it's not an option. I find that the stereo image is much better in my living room where I have a pair of B&O RL45.2s with a Rotel amp. The reason is that the speakers are placed on the long side of the room.

Likewise, it would be interesting to see what you have to say about the sound of my digital amps and room correction.

Peter

[Jesse111]

Jesse111,

Nice pics! The set up is fascinating. I am glad to hear the JC 1s are working out. I just wanted to say, "Thanks for the update."

Thanks REOFan. Yes, the JC1's are just great.

First, Jesse I must say that you have been missed around here. Second, I am glad to see that you are back in action both here and in your home world.

Welcome back man!

Thanks for the kind words and the encouragement good buddy.

Since you have experienced the ability of top quality planars then you certainly do know how magnificent the soundstage can be once the placement is right and if you are ever in the hood you definitely better contact me. For the past 2 days I've been just sitting in my perfectly placed chair and absorbing the music in a way that has just about brought tears to my eyes a couple of times. While the search for the right gear can take years and is part of the fun, you are correct sir when you say; "it's about the music and nothing but the music." The B&W bunch are definately hardcore music lovers.

I miss those jousts between you and Kal Rubinson. Man I tell ya, just when I thought he had you cornered, you'd come out swinging with some audiophile logic and techincal facts that would leave me shaking my head in awe. I remember that little tone control shoot out you guys had a few months back.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=22071&page=2&pp=35

Even though I sided on the tone control side at the time, you're argument was the main reason I re-evaluated my system and began my search for higher end componants and ended up with a $15,000 CD player. Don't ever tell my wife this story or she'll never let you come over.

I read your post over there on your issues with the HTM3S. Having had the entire 803S surround system at one time as well as the 800D's, I can testify to the magnificent musicality of the 800D and support your move to get the HTM1D. A heck of a lot more expensive but well worth it I would expect. That Marlan head makes a huge difference and the Diamond tweeter as well. The synergy would be there and personally, if I was in to home theater or multichannel, I settle for nothing less.

SSP 700? Interesting. Haven't heard about it yet myself but I'll check it out. Classe gear is top notch. I had the M-400 monos and they are wonderful amps.

Nothing shows off a system like smooth Jazz. How about a few recommendations? It's not my primary music genre but I have some. Jerry Seh from the McInstosh forum sent me Chesky's " The Worlds Greatest Audiophile Vocal Recordings" and since then I've purchase two more Chesky Jazz recordings.

[Jesse111]

Hey Jesse,

Your inbox is full. I could not send you a PM 8)

I'm curious what your careful placement of the speakers and room treatments have done to the sound. The location of the speakers on the long side of the room is of course ideal for the stereo image.

Likewise, it would be interesting to see what you have to say about the sound of my digital amps and room correction.

Peter

I had no idea I had allowed my message box to get so full. I've cleared it. Thanks for letting me know. As for the placement of the speakers, it has been a painstaking process, even frustrating at times. But in the end, once you find it, it's all worth it. I was constantly struggling with a few things that I could not get to mesh properly. The soundstage height, slight brightness and imaging.

Off axis position led to a higher stage and less fatigue due to the non direct impact of the ribbon. Although magnificently musical it did not quite give me the detail I wanted. Another shortcoming by having them virtually facing straight out instead of toed in, was that I got the sense of a phase alignment issue that kept bugging me. When there were instruments played heavy to one speaker side, I became more aware of the speaker and was distracted from the music. Something just isn't quite right to me when Maggies are not toed in.

Toed in to direct on axis position allowed for further physical separation of the speakers thus enlarging the stage. The speakers become more transparent as well. But it also caused the stage image to drop to an unacceptable level as if I were in the cheap seats up high in an arena looking way down on the performers or the musician were all 3 feet tall. Furthermore, harshness would fatigue me after awhile since I prefer near to mid field position for the front row feeling and the enveloping effect if offers to me. The JC1's helped somewhat with this issue but could not cure my problem.

So as time went on I found that while the best performance was attained by straight on axis position (I'm looking directly at the ribbon tweeter) I had to somehow raise the soundstage. By tilting the speakers forward, the percieved point of radiation relative to my ears raised. The more I tilted the higher the stage went. It took no time to nail down the proper tilt. As a result, in most recordings the kick drum sounds a few feet off the ground while the singers sound anywhere from 5 feet to 7 feet tall as if on a stage. It feels as if I'm on the front row. It's amazing. Long live 2 channel!

As a side benefit from the tilt, the imaging focused tighter thus allowing maximum physical spread between the speakers further enhancing the soundstage realism.

The last issue to deal with was the slight harshness. Enormous detail but to me it was unrealistic. So after much thought I happen to remember the Ohm resisters that come with the Magnepan 20.1's. I never thought I'd use them but I decided to give them a try. Well, after installing them and firing my system back up I instantly new I had finally nailed it. The lush musical B&W like sound that I love so much was back, the enormous soundstage (width and height) that I need to truly enjoy music was there. Bass is one of the 20.1 strengths when place correctly. The bass is enormous and as you know, accurate beyond belief when placed properly.

Considering I have owned a pair of 20.1's in the past, Finding the perfect placement for me took fiddling with it for about a year. A long time for sure but it was fun along the way and well worth the final result.

As for my room treatment. All I needed to do was to quite the echo and brightness down just a bit. So I threw up some quality accoustic foam in a few of the corners and a few reflection points. Seems to have done the trick. Cheap and not scientific. No question it could be better but I'm ok with it.

I'd really enjoy checking out your system as well. Saturday afternoons are good for me. Send me an IM and we'll hook up.