my Sierra-1 et al story

[Mr.Lawrence]

What color is the fabric covering the acoustic panels on your ceiling? That pattern looks the same as the fabric covering the panels in my office cubicle.

Hmm, I wonder if my office mate would notice if a few of her panels were missing???

[Mia & Lana's dad]

That's Guilford of Maine Timberline Twig. It's an option offered by GIK Acoustics.

[Mia & Lana's dad]

Got some clarification from Audyssey on the Integra/Onkyo implementation of the flat curve:

Audyssey: Onkyo decided to automatically switch to the Audyssey Flat curve when you turn on THX and switch to the Audyssey curve (with HF roll-off) when you turn off THX. This was not our decision... So you can only get Flat with THX turned on. If you want Flat for (2-ch) music then you will have to take measures similar to what you describe below. A 2 dB treble boost should get you very close.

me: Is there a possibility of getting a flat curve without the high end roll off? I read that THX modes do this for multichannel on the Integra, and that adjusting treble tone control about +2db would help for stereo music. I really would like to graph a flat response though.

Also, repositioned the subs around and got a flatter response although it is about 2db hot up to 100hz. I rearranged the mains slightly and saw some improvement there too. I'm just splitting hairs now while waiting for my sound anchors. My wife was dusting today and she disrupted the previous front stage configuration, so of course I had to redo everything better than before!

Curtis, I ordered Wei Li Red Cliff Capriccio K2 HD CD from Acoustic sounds. Should be here tomorrow along with a few other must have SACD's.

[curtis]

Curtis, I ordered Wei Li Red Cliff Capriccio K2 HD CD from Acoustic sounds. Should be here tomorrow along with a few other must have SACD's.

Good stuff...pretty "ethnic" though....will be interesting to read what you think. My Father liked it a lot, and played it for a friend that plays the guzheng.

[Mia & Lana's dad]

I'll have an ancestral appreciation for it because I have some Chinese blood too somewhere along the family tree on my father's side several generations back.

[Maniac_Matt85]

Sir,

That is an amazing set-up.

[Mia & Lana's dad]

Good stuff...pretty "ethnic" though....will be interesting to read what you think.

Beautiful music, conveying the story behind each track. Pacing is perfectly timed and evokes the appropriate emotion. Rhythmically complex and harmonious throughout, the skill and talent required to command the guzheng with precision and fluidity is a wonder to behold. This K2 HDCD recording captures Wei Li's performance faithfully and rivals resolution once reserved for only the best SACD's played on my system.

The guzheng solo isolates the artist and his instrument so that they may be experienced as one. This opens the door to hearing vast subtleties in tone and inflection even without any voices present. This is accomplished through intricate percussion where sometimes the initial pluck can be distinguished in advance of the ensuing note or chord. The versatility and range this instrument is capable of producing is limited only by the one playing it. Astounding and dynamic, fast and full - the guzheng will certainly entrance and reward its listener with sweet sounds.

[Mia & Lana's dad]

SHIELA update:

Movies - Intelligibility and dialog has improved exponentially! I'm talking serious chills that never fail to make me sit up and say wow, listen to THAT!

Multichannel Music (as well as movies/concerts with lossless soundtracks) - again, the center array really shines and commands attention while the L&R array's complete an enormous wall of sound. The new experience is total immersion. Whatever is played through the system has something I've never heard before and that is the sense of being pulled into the song so dramatically, as if the artist's voice and instruments were charging the room with its own gravitational field.

2-channel music - Expounding on the new phenomena, center vocal/instrumental imaging is the strongest I've ever experienced. It is downright spine tingling. I had no idea that the arrays would drastically improve depth and separation. The stereo field is powerfully anchored and with excellent recordings, gives multichannel a run for its money - the arrays are really _that_ good. After reading around the forums, I had to pick up the following CD's: Jesse Cook - Frontiers and Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love. These two really highlight what I've been trying to describe. There isn't just a window into the music anymore, but a holographic gateway that invites you to escape. As I tried to convey to Dave on the phone earlier today, it is scary good.


And now for the next round of upgrades.....

I have three of these scheduled to arrive tomorrow to power the SHIELA-LCR front stage! They are the wyred4sound ICE Cube SX-1000 power amplifiers. Rick Cullen of Cullen Circuits was very accommodating and provided all the information I needed to decide in favor of mono's vs. a multi-channel single chassis unit. I have to admit though, before calling him, I was pretty set on dedicated amps for the divine triplets wanting to try something different. I will still keep the NAD M25 for the 4-channels of surround (for the time being, haha).

[curtis]

Cool! Now we have to find out if the Wyred4sound doctored modules sound any different than my undoctored modules.

[Mia & Lana's dad]

Sure Curtis! I'm just going through the w4s thread on avs and some say the ice amp modules need 400 hours of break-in? Did you find this to be true?