Getting the Hi-Fi Mojo Back

[Macca]

I think these speakers are front ported chaps so not affected too much what is behind them?

Glass doesn't give any boundary gain though, lower frequencies pass right through.

[Alex_UK]

There are no curtains, unfortunately (despite the nom de plume Marco gave me years ago! )

James is correct, that the SP1's are front ported, so that may help, but the room has hardly any absorbent material apart from the rug. The yellow "cubes" are material covered, so I may try stacking the two spare ones on top of the ones behind the speaker later.

I've given the Bass control a boost of +2 and that helps - usually don't like tone controls but that's what they're there for! It was sounding very good just through the iPad headphones, I have a Fiio USB DAC to play with later. And that's part of the fun - all the experimentation.

The TV is only 65" Barry, probably looks bigger due to the angle I took the photo at. I could mount it on the wall to the left of it above the fireplace (the wiring is already there in the wall) but IMO it would be too high and you'd be craning your neck - although that would be ideal, with the speakers either side.

[Macca]

That we live in an age when a telly can be 'only' 65 inches across.

[Alex_UK]

That we live in an age when a telly can be 'only' 65 inches across.

Very true! One of my clients has a lovely converted barn with a big living room and his telly was over 100”!

I bought this one about 8 years ago when we were in the other house, I think it’s a bit big for this one, will probably go 55” next time. And it will cost £14.99.

[Tim]

Been thinking for a while that I miss my big Spendor SP1 speakers, they were in the spare room which is tiny, so they ended up unused and unloved for a few years.

Wonderful to see the Spendors back in action Alex.

And as someone who still hasn't got a TV . . . my goodness that's a big one

[Alex_UK]

Thanks, Tim, not very often I get told that!

Must say the Spendor/Sony combo is sounding sublime - and not been shouted at to turn it down… yet!

[Barry]

We have three TVs and all of them have a screen size of 31". We need to replace one of them, and when we do it will probably be a little larger, say 43". The viewing distance is about 8 foot, so the angle of view is about 17°, which I find comfortable.

According to general advice I should be using a screen size of 80" for an "immersive experience". That is not what I want: when I go to the cinema I like to sit as far away from the screen as possible and on bore-site. So no big tellies for me.

[Macca]

We have three TVs and all of them have a screen size of 31". We need to replace one of them, and when we do it will probably be a little larger, say 43". The viewing distance is about 8 foot, so the angle of view is about 17°, which I find comfortable.

According to general advice I should be using a screen size of 80" for an "immersive experience". That is not what I want: when I go to the cinema I like to sit as far away from the screen as possible and on bore-site. So no big tellies for me.

8 foot viewing distance you want 55'' to 65''. According to the chart:

[Barry]

Yes, according to the chart, for "cinema" viewing at an 8' distance I should be using an 80" screen. That is way too large for me.

The normal horizontal angle of view is about 200^o to 220^o, however only the central angle of about 60^o provides high resolution detail. Thus with a viewing distance of 8', that suggests a screen size of 60 - 61" - still too large for me.

[Pigmy Pony]

I sit about 8' from the telly, so our 65" is probably perfect for me. But Anita sits about 12' away, no wonder she used to moan about the old 42" one.

I think you quickly get used to whatever screen size you have. I remember going from a 21" TV to a 36" widescreen and it felt like we were at the cinema! But without some wally sat behind you loudly rustling popcorn out of a paper bag.