Setting up your system. Your questions answered...for newbies

[treitz3]

Good afternoon fellow Polk Forum members. I thought I would post this video for those who have questions about setting up their system. While this may be redundant for some, it sets somewhat of a good foundation for those who are new to this hobby. Over the years, we have seen thread after thread that seemingly ask the same questions over and over from new new folks that would like to learn about or enjoy our hobby. The video below might help answer some of those questions for those who may not be as experienced as others on this board. Please note - you may want to come back to this when you have some time to sit down and watch the entire thing. It's not a 5 minute video. It's actually a little over 48 minutes long.

Now, I will say that not everything presented is as black and white or set in stone as we'd like it to be and in some cases, his advice can be situation dependent but as a general foundation for achieving good sound, I felt this might be helpful to those who haven't been around the block a time or twelve. Enjoy FWIW to you.

I'd like to invite other Polk forum members to add anything to this thread that would be a helpful resource for new folks, assisting them in learning how to optimize their system.

Tom

[marvda1]

they should have the costs of each improvement change in the upper corner up or down. i bet the still points cost more than my system.

[txcoastal1]

i bet the still points cost more than my system.

Yes sir....He had 6 speaker pucks in the video for $4200...ouch

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-81969-s...-5-risers.aspx

[Conradicles]

Thanks Tom I will check it out.

[organ]

Do those things really work? I've played around with cheaper ones and never been able to tell the difference. The glass cd is interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[zane77]

I would really loved to have been there to hear the differences

[treitz3]

I will also include some more speaker set up links for your review. This goes a little bit more than beyond the basics but if you have one of these types of speakers or even if you are an experienced veteran of the forum, you may be interested in reading some of the links offered below.

SUMIKO speaker setup [not the real one from the MASTERS setup but one that you may want to read or try - The real Sumiko Setup will never be posted online as it is proprietary]
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=60819.0

TAD speaker set-up
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showth...-speaker-setup

THIEL speaker setup
http://thielaudio.com/THIEL_Site05/P...placement.html

MARTIN LOGAN speaker setup
http://www.martinlogan.com/pdf/manua...l_scenario.pdf

GENESIS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES speaker setup
http://www.genesisloudspeakers.com/w..._Procedure.pdf

AUDIO PHYSIC speaker setup
http://audiophysic.de/aufstellung/beispiel_e.html

WILSON AUDIO speaker set-up
http://www.wilsonaudio.com/pdf/manual_soph2.pdf

CARDAS speaker setup
http://www.cardas.com/pdf/roomsetup.pdf

EVOLUTION ACOUSTICS speaker setup
http://www.evolutionacoustics.com/su...ker-placement/
and go to the support drop down

Tom

[Ern Dog]

Great video. Watched the whole thing.

[Conradicles]

Finally watched the whole video. Notice no electronics were between the speakers.

[xftman]

Thanks! I will watch later.

[organ]

Some odd things I came across on the video. I thought I heard him say that the 60hz line power is a mechanical vibration? Another thing is he mentioned that when the system wasn't set up right, the song ended up sounding happy instead of sad.
No disrespect to him and his crew, but I think it's bogus. A sad song will sound sad on a pair of cheap ear buds or high end system. If it takes tens of thousands of dollars to bring out the emotions in music, I sure am glad I don't have his pair of ears.

[marvda1]

remember, he's an editor and may get a few things free

[erniejade]

interesting to watch.

[FTGV]

..I think it's bogus.

I tapped out early on this one.

[organ]

remember, he's an editor and may get a few things free

Tru dat.

I tapped out early on this one.

LOL However, the last part with the glass cd is quite interesting. First I've heard of it.

[FTGV]

LOL However, the last part with the glass cd is quite interesting. First I've heard of it.

I tried to hang in there but once the fancy little metal thingies went under the power strip I knew it was time to reach for my mouse and click the stop button.

[treitz3]

Well, I can't argue that one FTGV. Perhaps something like [[ http://dagogo.com/hb-cable-designs-p...ibution-review ]] would work a little better. Well, that is if you use a power strip to begin with. A dedicated line or line(s) with proper grounding phasing and techniques would be my choice over either, truth be told.

Tom

[FTGV]

Well to be clear it was the addition of the expensive fancy metal cones not his chosen power distribution device itself that convinced me he was headed in a direction that would likely not be the same as I would go.Now if he was doing a good tutorial on how improving the rooms acoustics can have very large sonic benifits,then he would have had my full attention.

[treitz3]

Actually, that's a good suggestion for this thread. Does anybody have a video we could include that can demonstrate a good foundation for room acoustics? Of course, this can be a highly debatable subject but just something that would explain the basics for the new kid in town would be nice.

Tom

[sodablue]

Well, I can't argue that one FTGV. Perhaps something like [[ http://dagogo.com/hb-cable-designs-p...ibution-review ]] would work a little better. Well, that is if you use a power strip to begin with. A dedicated line or line(s) with proper grounding phasing and techniques would be my choice over either, truth be told.

Tom

I have my electricity personally generated by gerbils in a cage. I tried squirrels but the crosstalk was terrible.

[Jhayman]

Oh my God, I'm shutting my yapper on this..
This is not for newbies..

[michael1947]

Great video, watched the whole thing and e-mailed it to myself. Thanks.

[audiocr381ve]

I tapped out early on this one.

Me too. Such BS.

[organ]

Now if he was doing a good tutorial on how improving the rooms acoustics can have very large sonic benifits,then he would have had my full attention.

I agree. I still watched the entire thing lol.

He also forgot to mention that placing the puck raises the height of the speakers. I'm guessing 2-3"? That alone will make quite a difference.

[Face]

I agree. I still watched the entire thing lol.

He also forgot to mention that placing the puck raises the height of the speakers. I'm guessing 2-3"? That alone will make quite a difference.

Depending on the speaker.

[organ]

True. I haven't heard them all, but only with Maggies and electrostats I couldn't detect a difference. I'm sure there are others. I feel sorry for the poor guy sitting on the floor.

[Face]

Driver type and orientation plus crossover order are the biggest influences, IMO.

http://www.musicanddesign.com/Power.html

[organ]

Driver type and orientation plus crossover order are the biggest influences, IMO.

http://www.musicanddesign.com/Power.html

Interesting, but can't say I understand all of it. All those math formulas reminded me of my EE classes. Thanks for the link.