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Shahinian Compass / Speaker Isolation

johnacurtis

pfm Member
Hello
I have questions about how to get the best sound from my Compasses.
I very recently bought a new Dynavector XX2mk2 cartridge and so far put about 16.5 hours on it.
It has a much deeper bass sound than my previous DV20x2L.
However, I am now getting a bit of room resonance and a bit of boomy bass. I did have my speakers straight on the carpet, but we have quite thick underlay and carpet, which means there was no real gap around the base of the speakers to allow the sound out of the lower chambers. I have now placed the speakers on top of some granite plinths that I had. This seems to tighten the bass a little bit, but still boomy, but I also realised that the speakers "rock" a bit due to uneven feet. So, I added some ordinary felt washers, the ones used for furniture onto hard floors. This has much improved the bass sound, but it is still very deep and resonates through the house more than it used to!
Does anyone know if there is a better way to isolate the speakers to sharpen the bass and maybe lower the sound through the house?
The granite plinths are just placed on top of the carpet, so they are not that stable.
Anyone with any good ideas?
 
Hi, I use the primacoustic RX series with my Arcs on a suspended wooden floor. Brilliant, but not cheap. Pick the size and orientation that works for your speaker and room.
 
Have you listened through headphones in case the problem is caused by the cartridge/tonearm/phonostage combo?

If that sounds O.K. do you have a suspended wooden floor? The hollow beneath the floor can be excited by the bass so will need some EQ or different speakers.

Cheers,

DV
 
Townshend Podiums, not cheap but pretty much sorted all my boom/rattling issues out. Coincidently I have the XX2 too but it did it for all sources. You’ll get a significant discount if you go to Townshend direct or if you’re patient they come up on forums/eBay, I got mine used off eBay about 60% of rrp.

There is a sizing/load guide so you know what to go for.

http://www.townshendaudio.com/hi-fi...e-cinema-vibration-isolation-speaker-podiums/
 
Unfortunately I don't have a headphone amp to try that.
I wonder if the bass will come into focus better once I have 30 or 40 hours on it, I know my previous DV cartridge took some running in. This is a different sounding cartridge though!
My floor is concrete with 15mm underlay and "new" carpet.
 
I use Custom Design speaker Irap platforms under my Arcs. However i don’t use the floor spikes, I’ve put a marble at each corner where the screw hole is.
My floor also has carpet and thick underlay.
 
Following DVs question about headphones, do you have a vinyl only system, or have you compared with digital sources? Sorry to make a blindingly obvious point, but have you tried changing the VTA to slightly tail-up in order to tighten the bass? Or would that brighten the sound too much?
 
I have really only got the problem with the vinyl side. My Roksan Caspian M2 CD player is probably just a bit "tighter" in its bass output, and radio is fine.
I do wonder if I need to wait and see what the bass is like after I have got more hours on the cartridge.
It doesn't sound bad too be honest with most albums and I wonder if I'm worrying over nothing!
 
Apologies if this sounds obvious, but have you double checked the tracking force? Perhaps check VTA as well. I can't remember if the XX2 is the same height as the 20. Once the cart is run in, these will have a fair impact.

Regarding the feedback, that's a possibility. Is your deck mounted on a floor standing platform and both on a suspended floor? If so, a wall shelf will make everything better.
 
I use Isonoe feet with my Duevel Planets (sited on wooden boards, sat on top of carpet). The feet are more appropriate for speakers whose drivers fire upwards than other speaker isolating feet. They make a worthwhile difference in bass tightness and overall clarity - certainly worth the £235 they cost. It seems logical to me that, since the designer of one’s speakers knew nothing about the room in which they would be used, they should be isolated from the room’s structure as far as is possible.

However, the bigger contribution to my system is made by a DSPeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 room correction processor. It is a powerful device which, apart from dealing automatically with room/speaker bass issues, is a useful programmable parametric equaliser, tone control, variable loudness compensator, you name it... I have had mine for 3 years and will never part with it.
 
Thanks to everyone for all your comments.
Too many things asked to answer every thing, but to answer some ;
My WT Simplex deck is sat on a "Hi Fi Racks" wooden rack, that is spiked onto the concrete floor under the carpet. I think it is fully bedded down as I used a fair bit of my weight to bed the lowest shelf!
The cartridge was set level using the small spirit level that fits on the cartridge body. The tracking force set at 2.0g with digital scales.
Now, as of this afternoon, I have re-set the cartridge to be slightly back end up, with the bubble just on the outer part of the centre circle marker.
That has actually made a small difference to the bass which has tightened up a bit and much less boom with better definition.
My thoughts are to leave it now to get around 30 hours + on the cartridge.
My dealer had suggested a wall shelf, but I think he may just be trying to get another sale! He also said the decks squash ball feet might need changing for new ones, but it is only 3 years or so old.
 
Thanks to everyone for all your comments.
Too many things asked to answer every thing, but to answer some ;
My WT Simplex deck is sat on a "Hi Fi Racks" wooden rack, that is spiked onto the concrete floor under the carpet. I think it is fully bedded down as I used a fair bit of my weight to bed the lowest shelf!
The cartridge was set level using the small spirit level that fits on the cartridge body. The tracking force set at 2.0g with digital scales.
Now, as of this afternoon, I have re-set the cartridge to be slightly back end up, with the bubble just on the outer part of the centre circle marker.
That has actually made a small difference to the bass which has tightened up a bit and much less boom with better definition.
My thoughts are to leave it now to get around 30 hours + on the cartridge.
My dealer had suggested a wall shelf, but I think he may just be trying to get another sale! He also said the decks squash ball feet might need changing for new ones, but it is only 3 years or so old.
Thanks for the extra info. There's no benefit in a wall shelf if your floor is concrete and unless you're playing the system at ear-bleeding levels, feedback shouldn't be a problem. The dealer's comments re: the feet are ludicrous, in my opinion. I suggest gentle tweaks to the cartridge set up will be the way to go. Easing off the tracking weight can also back bass output off a little but you don't want to go too far and run the risk of mistracking and damaging your records. What phono stage are you using, btw?
 
It's a Dynavector P75 mk4 in phono enhanced mode, set for low output carts.
I had thought about re-setting for higher output incase it it "too dynamic", but it should be fine. My amps are Townshend Allegri + into a Naim nap 250 dr using all Mogami cable and with EWA LS20 speaker cables.
 
If it's in phono enhanced mode then it's in "current amplifer" mode and the dc resistance of the cart sets the output (I think that's right) anyway, so that should be perfect. You can use the conventional circuitry, I'm aware of one or two people who do prefer it on the DV phono stages, although I leave mine (on a DV pre-amp) as yours is. A call to Pear Audio (assuming you're in the UK) and they'll tell you how to do it. They're very helpful.
 
Have played around with the feet on my Compasses! To add context, I bought these secondhand and I did notice that at least one of the plastic feet was "not quite as it should be"! Anyway, it wasn't really a problem until I tried sitting the speakers on granite plinths, where I noticed quite a pronounced "rock".
Called John at Pear to discuss replacements and isolation etc. Granite plinths not recommended, but up to me! Nearly ordered new feet, but was from the USA, so decided to "do my own thing".
I thought to use softer rubber feet or spikes. So, I removed all the existing feet that had been fitted differently over the years and instead, fitted M8 inserts.
Then bought softer rubber feet and spikes, to compare.
The granite plinths did not really work, so speakers are back directly on the carpet, with concrete floor underneath.
The rubber feet immediately "tightened" the bass up and even better, very little resonance heard through the house.
The spikes give more bass and started hearing rattles again in some wall cabinets etc.
Rubber feet are definitely the best. I still think I have too much bass at times, on some recordings, but it's far better than the original feet and certainly much better than with spikes! It is more controlled!
 
The Isonoe feet look lovely! I'm sure they would work really well.
My solution was over £200 cheaper though! ;)
Maybe one day!
 


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