• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

These super high-end systems that sit on the floor

Weight, close to speakers = short speaker cables, heat dissipation for space heater amps, and aesthetics.
 
MikeCh said:
Why do lot's of people with high end boutique equipment seem to place all the amps and sources on the floor in a dedicated listening room? Usually, the equipment is on a 2-6" riser. Are these risers typically an isolation device of some sort? Are there advantages to this practice?
Click to expand...
I could be wrong but I think Mike asked a legit question - don't see why this has to be turned into another thread where the comedians crap on 'high-end' systems or their owners.

I sometimes have amps on the floor for the following reasons;

- they are monoblocks and having them sit near the speakers and crossovers makes for very short speaker wire runs.
- They are heavy, awkward lumps and I like having them firmly planted on the floor, not high up on some precarious rack.
- If they are going to be high up, a rack that isn’t precarious is usually expensive and that is not where I like to spend money.
- I have them essentially in front of my speakers – I want them low, not in front of the drivers.
- I don’t play with them, just turn them on and listen – they don’t have to be easy to touch.
- I have a dedicated listening room where I just listen to music – my wife doesn’t care about aesthetics and my young daughter doesn’t play in there.
- I like how they sound on the floor with various isolation and coupling techniques.

You could say my turntable is on the floor too but I’m including the low Torylte stand and maple platform it sits on as part of the turntable assembly – always sounded better to me this way than on a rack.

I have an inexpensive Lovan racking system that could let me stack everything up high but I like it split in 2 positioning my equipment low – the stuff I rarely play with on the bottom shelves (DAC, phono-stage, tuner for 1 station, etc.) and the stuff I touch higher like a top loading SACD/CD player. Since the equipment is low (mostly out of the way of the speakers) with front-top access to the stuff I touch, I get to position the often used pieces like the pre-amp in the center and closer to the listening position – less of an issue with my new Joule Electra pre-amp that has a remote volume control but convenient none the less.

The equipment is mostly out of the way of the speakers, room tuning devices are a touch more effective, wire runs are shorter in some cases and isolation/coupling devices seem to do their thing better.

In a nutshell; it’s cheap, convenient and for various reasons lets my system sound better to me which is all I really care about in my room – music.
 
Yes Billfort, it was a serious question (that I knew would draw other responses as well.....and that's ok :banana:). Thanks for explaining how and why you do it that way, which makes a lot of sense as you've explained it. BTW, your system looks gorgeous! :thmbsp:
 
I count 3, perhaps 4, out of 23 responses as humorous, and I'd characterize them as light-hearted (vice mean-spirited) anyways. Given that, I don't understand the 'thread crapping' comments.

BTW, Happy Thanksgiving.
 
"Tell me, has it ever occurred to you folks why hi-fi addicts always sit on the floor barefoot?

...

Have you ever priced a set?" - Unknown
 
If I sat my gear on the floor the kids (and the dog) would stomp all over it, probably dont matter for my mid fi 70's setup. :no:
 
Billfort said:
I could be wrong but I think Mike asked a legit question - don't see why this has to be turned into another thread where the comedians crap on 'high-end' systems or their owners.

I sometimes have amps on the floor for the following reasons;

- they are monoblocks and having them sit near the speakers and crossovers makes for very short speaker wire runs.
- They are heavy, awkward lumps and I like having them firmly planted on the floor, not high up on some precarious rack.
- If they are going to be high up, a rack that isn’t precarious is usually expensive and that is not where I like to spend money.
- I have them essentially in front of my speakers – I want them low, not in front of the drivers.
- I don’t play with them, just turn them on and listen – they don’t have to be easy to touch.
- I have a dedicated listening room where I just listen to music – my wife doesn’t care about aesthetics and my young daughter doesn’t play in there.
- I like how they sound on the floor with various isolation and coupling techniques.

You could say my turntable is on the floor too but I’m including the low Torylte stand and maple platform it sits on as part of the turntable assembly – always sounded better to me this way than on a rack.

I have an inexpensive Lovan racking system that could let me stack everything up high but I like it split in 2 positioning my equipment low – the stuff I rarely play with on the bottom shelves (DAC, phono-stage, tuner for 1 station, etc.) and the stuff I touch higher like a top loading SACD/CD player. Since the equipment is low (mostly out of the way of the speakers) with front-top access to the stuff I touch, I get to position the often used pieces like the pre-amp in the center and closer to the listening position – less of an issue with my new Joule Electra pre-amp that has a remote volume control but convenient none the less.

The equipment is mostly out of the way of the speakers, room tuning devices are a touch more effective, wire runs are shorter in some cases and isolation/coupling devices seem to do their thing better.

In a nutshell; it’s cheap, convenient and for various reasons lets my system sound better to me which is all I really care about in my room – music.
Click to expand...

So shorter high-level speaker wire runs are better than shorter small-signal wire runs for best fidelity in your experience?
 
I like the way it looks.

Arrangement of audio equipment racks (and any furniture, for that matter) should be aesthetically pleasing AND practical. I like Bill's arrangement, but, I also like Wards setup on the granite (marble?) topped sideboard (buffet?) table. 2 completely different attitudes, yet both beautifully arranged, and, (I would assume) both very functional.

Just my inflated $.02. :D
 
Billfort said:
I could be wrong but I think Mike asked a legit question - don't see why this has to be turned into another thread where the comedians crap on 'high-end' systems or their owners.

I sometimes have amps on the floor for the following reasons;

- they are monoblocks and having them sit near the speakers and crossovers makes for very short speaker wire runs.
- They are heavy, awkward lumps and I like having them firmly planted on the floor, not high up on some precarious rack.
- If they are going to be high up, a rack that isn’t precarious is usually expensive and that is not where I like to spend money.
- I have them essentially in front of my speakers – I want them low, not in front of the drivers.
- I don’t play with them, just turn them on and listen – they don’t have to be easy to touch.
- I have a dedicated listening room where I just listen to music – my wife doesn’t care about aesthetics and my young daughter doesn’t play in there.
- I like how they sound on the floor with various isolation and coupling techniques.

You could say my turntable is on the floor too but I’m including the low Torylte stand and maple platform it sits on as part of the turntable assembly – always sounded better to me this way than on a rack.

I have an inexpensive Lovan racking system that could let me stack everything up high but I like it split in 2 positioning my equipment low – the stuff I rarely play with on the bottom shelves (DAC, phono-stage, tuner for 1 station, etc.) and the stuff I touch higher like a top loading SACD/CD player. Since the equipment is low (mostly out of the way of the speakers) with front-top access to the stuff I touch, I get to position the often used pieces like the pre-amp in the center and closer to the listening position – less of an issue with my new Joule Electra pre-amp that has a remote volume control but convenient none the less.

The equipment is mostly out of the way of the speakers, room tuning devices are a touch more effective, wire runs are shorter in some cases and isolation/coupling devices seem to do their thing better.

In a nutshell; it’s cheap, convenient and for various reasons lets my system sound better to me which is all I really care about in my room – music.
Click to expand...

Billfort that system you got there could sit on my floor anytime.:yes: Heck even the floor looks like beautiful furniture.:thmbsp:
 
soundmotor said:
So shorter high-level speaker wire runs are better than shorter small-signal wire runs for best fidelity in your experience?
Click to expand...
I’ve read that shorter speaker wire is preferable to short IC’s but I’ve only done limited comparisons of this and only in low power SET tube based systems.

When I tried it in a configuration I considered ‘fair’ (the same wire and terminations with only the wire length variable) I seemed to prefer the short speaker wire approach but the difference (if any) was very subtle. A few points though; the layout I have and the amp input jack locations meant the difference between ‘long’ ICs and short was 1.5m verses 1.0m and speaker wire varied by only a few feet. The pre-amp used was also comfortable driving long ICs (although .5m of wire shouldn’t amount to much of a difference) and I had no shielding issues with the wire used.

A high power SS system, longer wire runs, a different (or passive) pre-amp or different wire might make for different results but I was quite happy with the monoblocks sitting near the speakers. I also don’t loose any sleep when I use slightly longer speaker wire for a stereo amp sitting on a low stand in the center – the difference to my ears in my system is pretty small.
 
Klownschool said:
Amp is cooler and happier =)
Click to expand...

Hum. No super high end system here. But what's the temp difference between the floor and say three feet off the ground? I'm sure there's a difference, but if it matters enough to design your whole room around it, why not notch the a/c down one degree? Seems a lot easier. I just can't imagine that it makes enough difference in the real world to matter. But a lot of that "super high end" stuff has little to do with the real world.
 
Fast_Eddie said:
Hum. No super high end system here. But what's the temp difference between the floor and say three feet off the ground? I'm sure there's a difference, but if it matters enough to design your whole room around it, why not notch the a/c down one degree? Seems a lot easier. I just can't imagine that it makes enough difference in the real world to matter. But a lot of that "super high end" stuff has little to do with the real world.
Click to expand...

Although the post doesn't say, I would bet the issue is not the difference in height but getting the amp out in the open instead of enclosed or semi-enclosed (as in a rack with a shelf just an inch or two above the amp). Not sure what your last sentence has to do with the thread, btw.
 
Because they like the way it looks (not everything on the ground, only the really heavy stuff)
and I think imaging also has something to do with it. If you haven't got much space (i.e. when you're in a pretty small bedroom, like me), and your gear has to be between your speakers, I try to keep them as low to the ground as possible, so there is virtually nothing sticking out between my speakers...
just like big TV's have a bad effect on imaging too when they're place between your speakers...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom