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New Rug, New Sound

Steppenwolf (1968) join Muddy Waters (1964) - "Hello little school girl" and of course...


...in those records that we aren't quite comfortable with.

I'm sure the Norsemen had some Saxon pillaging songs that were much worse.
 
Not to mention the live version of Stray Cat Blues where she's 'Just 13 years old'....
Cringe worthy, there are a few old songs with sketchy lyrics like that... and some artists with real ill intent who got away with it (Jerry Lee Lewis).
 
Room. Tied. Together.

Room-Rug.jpg




Man.
Very nice indeed. Well done. Partially inspired by this thread coupled by the shedding issue of the old wool rug for the past 2 years, I replaced the wool rug with a considerably thicker Ikea Vindum rug. Slightly larger floor coverage apart from the increased thickness, music never sounded so good. I'm in seventh heaven.
 
Over the years I’ve often wondered why so much emphasis was placed on “room effect” regarding sound quality.It simply never bothered me.As I upgraded my equipment over time I always,more or less,heard the improvements I paid for.I now have my B&W CM9 floorstanders giving me a gorgeous,detailed, mellow tone in my small 12’x12’ room.
But it only dawned on me recently ,when decorating the room,why I have been so fortunate with the sound.
Being of a certain antique vintage and old fashioned regarding home decor we have a heavy carpet on the floor with a sheepskin rug and soft furnished chairs.But probably most importantly,my wife likes very large and heavy velvet window drapes and pelmet almost floor to ceiling and covering 9’of the 12’ width of the room.
I had to remove the drapes and pelmet while decorating and immediately became aware of the reverberation and brightness of the sound while talking.
It only struck me then why I have been so fortunate with sound quality over the years.
It was the drapes “wot done it”:)
However,this ideal situation hasn’t prevented me from seriously considering a speaker upgrade at the present time but that’s another story.:cool:
 
I started a thread about a year ago about the benefits of a rug on the floor to improve sound and the majority of members piled into me saying I was spinning them a yarn.

Pah. Small change. I’ve convinced Mrs C we need a new carpet with thick underlay....
 
From my limited experience, the effects or benefits of the rug are more significant in a small room than a big room. If your speakers are in a small room close to walls, you will get a lot of reflections not only from the floor but the walls, and the reflected sound waves are usually detrimental to the clarity of the music. If the room is larger there is more room to mitigate the ill-effects with placement of speakers.

With higher levels of absorption with the thicker/larger rug, clarity in music is improved and you would be able to crank the volume a little higher before experiencing smearing of notes. In my smallish room, the result is quite audible. Sound of percussion and cymbals suddenly sound a lot clearer with improved clarity, very live feel as I listen at higher levels. Very nice. The overall sound is also more fluid and natural without the slight excessive hardness of the smaller and thinner rug.

Apart from the rug, like BrianPK I also have thick drapes and tall plants specially selected for the hifi placed behind the speakers which surely help a lot.
 
OK so I've just been to pick up the heaviest rug i have ever come across. Its 3.63m x 2.72m and I'd say weight is 60-70Kg, hand made Indian, pure virgin wool.
It's about 40 years old and in remarkable condition for its age. I may need @Rug Doc opinion on having it pro cleaned as its been in storage for a couple of decades apparently.

Anyhow here's a pic of my latest system upgrade... And wow this rug sounds amazing ;), what a difference... loving it, it's really brought the room and system together, man :)

Wait till you try thick wallpaper
 
That'll be the stuff made with special, directional fibres that cleanse the sound. £1000 per square metre to you, sir.

Hand woven on the thighs of Japanese virgins using only the finest 99.9999999999999% silver needles. Of course, if you're poor you can opt for the copper needle version and upgrade later on.
 


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