On the Floor

[TerryO]

not sure but it's pretty obvious....what I found from the first page of a Google image search for "audiophile"

The picture is of Pacific Northwest Audio Society member Mike Lavigne's room. This is an old picture as most of the equipment has been replaced/upgraded several years back. Other than the amps, Mike's gear is in the rack shown on the left side of the room.
Some of the acoustic treatment in the room has been changed for even better sound. FWIW: It's been listed on the the Athens (Greece) Audiophile site as one of the top ten systems in the World.

Best Regards,
TerryO

 

[mashaffer]

And here I thought it was some kind of sittin' on a mat cross legged eastern mysticism kinda thing. In my early years I had things set up that way due to lack of money for any furniture so the stereo on the floor and me in a bean bag chair. Today if I tried that I would never get out of the bean bag. Anyone else notice that bean bag chairs don't have nearly as many beans in them as the used to, and I have doubts that they are really beans anymore.

 

[donberry]

totaling out near 150lbs

shoot, 150 lbs, there are preamps here that weigh that much(seriously)

I do have to know tho - exactly where are the speakers ?

 

[RickeyM]

My gear is on low stands, between my Maggies. It keeps the cables short and the clutter between the speakers down (better imaging).

 

[bobbyonions]

I think most of the time it's because there is no money left over for furniture.

 

[bobbyonions]

Anyone else notice that bean bag chairs don't have nearly as many beans in them as the used to, and I have doubts that they are really beans anymore.

Bean counters at work,..literally.

 

[dusty42701]

I do have to know tho - exactly where are the speakers ?

Across the room.
Only the Cerwin-Vega speakers belong to me. The rest go to something else.

 

[jeremyjustic]

I think it looks cool as hell. dont know why , it just does to me. I think most people do it because that is what they think an audiophile system "looks" like.

I really love the look of the two speakers with two amplifiers sitting next to them.

 

[JohnVF]

I put my amp, CD player and preamp on amp stands yesterday. I'm looking for a credenza/rack that the preamp and CD player will fit in (they're really deep), and until I find that they're going to be on the floor. I don't like the look of most audio racks.

No 'audiophile' reason, though I'm sure the spiked stands offer better isolation. It just works in my place. All of the furniture is low.

 

[jeremyjustic]

I put my amp, CD player and preamp on amp stands yesterday. I'm looking for a credenza/rack that the preamp and CD player will fit in (they're really deep), and until I find that they're going to be on the floor. I don't like the look of most audio racks.

No 'audiophile' reason, though I'm sure the spiked stands offer better isolation. It just works in my place. All of the furniture is low.

John those little stands look great! what brand are they? I love the hardware

 

[mashaffer]

Bean counters at work,..literally.

:lmao:

I could not use those 2" high stands. Our Yellow Lab would be drooling right into the cooling vents.

 

[Dave C]

The money is spent on the gear, nothing left for a stand.

 

[JohnVF]

John those little stands look great! what brand are they? I love the hardware

Thanks. I'll have to see if they have any markings on them- they look home-brew, but a bought them used at an audio store because I liked the giant spikes. They're normally used as stands for my Quad 63s but I've decided to try them out for the reason they were built.

 

[Rex Aeterna]

reason why gear goes on the floor if your referring to amps is cause it allows for a better imagery and soundstage. makes the center soundstage more accurate and realistic.

speakers it depends. most bookshelf speakers or studio monitors go on stands but floor towers/speakers can sit on the floor cause of the tweeter's height is more directly pointing at listeners ears for best on axis response and clarity of detail retrieval.

 

[TerryO]

I've been to one fellow's place, that's just an absolute fanatic where his system is concerned. I mean, how many people have a permanent mic and measurement system installed right behind the listening position? Every change to the system is measured as well as evaluated for sonic merit.

To get to the main point, his speakers are diy, with 48 inch ribbon upper mid/treble, 12 inch lower mid/ upper bass and 2 15 inch isobaric woofers/ channel for bass. At the listening position it's flat to 16 Hz. He originally had mounted the amps, etc., in the center, but later welded up and micro-polished some aircraft aluminum tubing for his separate "amp racks" (for each channel) when he switched to a music server and firewire supported front end. The racks on each side are just behind the speakers and position each of the three Bryston monoblocks right next to the speaker module it's to drive. The amps are facing away from the speaker towards the back wall and have approximately 1.5 inches of 12 AWG speaker wire connecting the amps and the speaker input terminals. He stated that with speaker cables: "Price is no object, even if it's 69 cents per side!"The measurements showed a slightly better in-room FR and he felt that the sound was improved. If it hadn't been deemed an improvement, he would have ripped it out in short order and tried something else, as he's very particular and hyper-critical in regards to his system. I wish there was a picture of his system as it's quite unique, with multi-axis micrometer adjustments on the speaker modules for time and phase alignments, etc.

From the listening position the amps and racks are not visible where they sit behind the speakers. A visually clean solution (nothing to trip over) with some sonic benefits.

Best Regards,
TerryO

 

[d16rr702]

1.5" !?

 

[Mr. Lin]

So I get more exercise by doing squats at the end of the night to put everything away.

 

[Zygmo]

This reminds me of all the computer desks and cabinets that you see with the shelf for the case down by the floor.

I think, in a room with normal everyday use and especially one with carpet, equipment on (or even near) the floor is a no-no. Of course, if you can keep your music room laboratory-clean, and don't have someone walking near it, and steering a vacuum cleaner around it, fine. And, I disagree with the statement that placing a heavy piece of equipment on the floor is easier on your back than on a desk height cabinet. Try moving one from one desk high cabinet to another of the same height, and then try lifting, or placing one bent all the way over, or while on your knees. And you will have to move it again, at some point.

I consider myself somewhat of an expert on back pains (and how to minimize them), as I was a brick/block mason all my working life.

However, if you just like the way equipment looks on the floor, great!

 

[toxcrusadr]

TerryO, that sounds like an amazing setup I'd like to see and hear. Your description is so detailed that it's very easy to visualize.

RexAeterna: Can you explain the mechanism of improved soundstage by removing items from between the speakers? I will take a guess: it eliminates reflections from said items that would reach the listener at a different time delay as compared to direct from the speaker itself, thus 'muddying' the sound. I have way too much Stuff in my house to really try this, and rarely sit in one place and listen to music anyway, but I am curious why it works.

 

[d16rr702]

Looking through members setups....found a few more "low-riders".

The last one doesn't really count but it's pretty entertaining