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Labarum
26-02-2009, 13:41
Soon I will retire to an old house my wife inherited in Nicosia.

My lounge system will work well in the new lounge which has similar proportions and has a nice wood floor.

The house has a conservatory which is rather long and narrow. It has a high concrete ceiling rather than a glass roof - the solar gain would be to great! During the day it is a lovely place to sit, but in the hot months (except in the aerly morning) the aircon would preclude any serious listening.

Now, what should I do in a space which is all glass and concrete with few soft furnishings?

The initial solution will probably be a Squeezebox Boom - my only access to radio stations to my taste and in my language will be via the internet.

In the longer term I will look for a better sound. Squeezebox Classic, Standac or other external DAC, and either suitable amp and speakers or active speakers. But what and how? Speakers mounted high on the walls above the windows seems to be an option - there is two foot of concrete between the top of the windows and the concrete ceiling. I would have room for a subwoofer.

How do high mounted wall speakers work? I only have experience of ear level floor/stand speakers shooting straight at my ears for good imaging of classical music.

What would be a good way forward to good classical listening in such a space.

Covenant
26-02-2009, 14:50
Does the glass extend to floor level? If so and its single glazed I expect high level speakers are your only answer. If there is low level brick or concrete then normal floor standers would do-perhaps without rear ports.
At the risk of being pedantic its not a conservatory if the roof is solid-sun room is the normal term.
I think this calls for a few of us to make a site visit to evaluate the problem over a few glasses of wine. :lol:

muffinman
26-02-2009, 14:55
Have you listened to the room yet?
My system is in a brick/glass box with ceramic tile floors. Only the 2 seater sofa and a (rather large) dog to act as absorbers. My point is-it may be fine

Labarum
26-02-2009, 15:17
At the risk of being pedantic its not a conservatory if the roof is solid-sun room is the normal term.


To be even more pedantic it's a "jameria" - but I am sure the spelling of the modern Greek word is way out - it probably starts with a Gama. (And, by the way it should be "it's" and not "its":ner:)

I have my eyes on one of the two stables to turn into a den and listening room. You wouldn't be as close to the house in there, Covenant :) And fresh orange juice is a close as you will get to ethanol. Me tee total - why would anyone want to drink paint stripper? :lolsign:

More seriously, the windows extend down to within two feet of the floor. It was built in the 1950's, so no double glazing. We may fit that, and may drop the windows to the floor - advice needed on solar gain! Even without that, floor standers would be lower than ear height, just as ceiling speakers would be above optimum.

The room is fairly narrow and has a staircase rising to an upstairs bedroom. A compact staircase would solve a lot of problems, and make the space much more usable. The whole thing is a design nightmare. If we could get it right, full length thermally lined curtains could make the room very pleasant after dark, even in the winter. Curtains changes the acoustics rather! (Wood burning stove is what my wife hankers after!)

But from this list, advice of high speakers and hard surfaces would be valued. I really have no experience of the Bose scatter-gun approach to stereo. I have always sat at the apex of a sacred triangle!

Labarum
26-02-2009, 15:26
Have you listened to the room yet?
My system is in a brick/glass box with ceramic tile floors. Only the 2 seater sofa and a (rather large) dog to act as absorbers. My point is-it may be fine

I have visited the house for 25 years - know it well, inherited it recently.

As you say acoustics may be fine. It does not sound lively.

It speaker type and positioning that makes me scratch my head.

Covenant
26-02-2009, 15:40
"jameria"-thats a new one to me. Just me be fussy after years of submitting applications for building control purposes. You are as well to correct my lazy english-my wife is an english teacher, a good job she doesn't see this; although some people on this and other forums seem to ignore grammar altogether and I find I have to read their offering at least three times to make sense of it.
A glass of wine is one of life's great pleasures and nowhere is nicer to drink it than in Cyprus. I stayed near Lara bay two years ago.
Just a point on floorstanders-mine are quite small and are intended to be angles back by 5-10 degrees so that the sound reaches you as intended sitting down. I made a simple T shape in wood with feet for this purpose.
Send a sketch if you can-I am sure we can offer some advice on room redesign.

DSJR
26-02-2009, 17:52
One speaker suggestion which you can take or leave, but please read me out, is B&O.....

The above maker's 4000's, 6000's and 8000's are metal cased (so no wood deterioration in such an environment). The Beolab 8000's work along a long wall and the 6000's are perfect in corners. The 4000's sound really good, are available for not huge amounts used and can look unobtrusive on the wall (brackets are available I think).

The sound is very good if you set them up right and for "general" listening I'd say they're more than fine. In fact, the 4000's could give a certain well known (on other forums) UK assembled "active speaker with DAC" a reasonable run for its money.

I'm assuming here that you don't want a system to pull the music apart in this conservatory. The above speakers don't at all, and neither do they sound bland and uninteresting if you use them as intended (the 4000's and 8000's have the ultimate edge, but the 6000's have been tweaked I understand since I last sold them). Buying used is the best bet as they have increased in price remarkably in the last twelve years approx.....

Go and hear some at least before condemning them out of hand as "pretty-Fi" please.....

Labarum
26-02-2009, 18:52
Interesting what you say about the 4000's performance compared to the active boxes with DAC made in the Cotwolds!

I have been wondering what active monitors from the music industry could manage. But black is not ideal. Some come in white and silver, I think. I have wondered if any such boxes have internal DACs that will better the DAC in a Squeezebox.

And a surround sound 2.1 setup might serve. - samm scattering speakers and a subwoofer.

I had also wondered about a Fostex DIY design - long and narrow floor standers like the B and Os.

Some of those Fostex designs use a pair for drivers pointing in opposite directions as a dipole - I don't know how that would work placed centrally in a long gallery.

These could be interesting http://diyaudioprojects.com/Speakers/Tobler-ONE/ , white, and lost in the corners.

I could get 1/4 wave pipes, horns or even suspended open baffles in the high roof space, but, at I said I am used to sitting between a stereo pair - I like to be able to hear each instrument in a string quartet, and hear it correctly placed.

Wharfedale, years ago, had a simple design with an 8/RS/DD stuffed i the top of a concrete pipe - anyone doing that these days? This design used a conical sound reflector.

What about a Paraline type design (now I am showing my age) with the sound reflected off the window.



I have lots to do before addressing the issue, but it's good to thinking early. The Cyprus market is not big, so local choice would be limited, and shipping from UK expensive once I have sent a container.


Thanks, Dave. I would never dismiss your opinions!

Ali Tait
26-02-2009, 19:06
I've heard a Red Wine Audio modified Squeezebox in my system against an unmodified Beresford 7510.The conclusion was that they sounded exactly the same.The same conclusion had been reached with the same trial in a different system.Given that the Red Wine mods were quite extensive and included Black Gate caps etc. and a battery supply,it would seem that a Beresford would comfortably outperform a standard Squeezebox.I haven't heard the aforementioned active boxes so can't comment on them.I know others here have heard them,perhaps they could comment.