Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Stereo System & The Apartment






A few interesting looks at the stereo system in my apartment. The stereo receiver is a Marantz 2235B from 1977. the speakers are RCA speakers from...well, whenever. And the turntable, of course, is the Pro-Ject Debut III. It's a terrific little setup - note the speakers are off the floor and away from the walls. Turns out I was very lucky, as this apartment is just perfect for a stereo system. I'll just need some new speaker wire, and a couple interesting little tweaks which will improve the sound - a cork board platter for the turntable mat, for instance, and a custom method to "float" the components, by resting the turntable on parts that will cancel out extra vibrations....vibrations that interfere with the sound of the music.

Room acoustics and canceling vibrations are the two main challenges in improving your stereo sound. Fortunately, these goals are far cheaper than simply paying for more and more expensive equipment. You're far better off working to optimize the equipment you have - work on your current system before spending a fortune on hideously expensive speakers and turntables. Yuck - this is such a rich man's game.

Oh, and here are some photos of the apartment from different angles, just so you get a sense of the living room. I really need to work on improving the acoustics in the apartment; removing all that needless echo that dampens and muddies up the sound. I have some good ideas for soundproofing, while keeping a sense of style. Once we add some picture frames and plants, the sound will really be something.




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