Back in February we were visited by our clients on a mission to improve and simplify their main Hi-fi system. They had recently decided to join forces and create one statement home, with music being a huge part of their life a new audio system became an exciting proposition and a welcome distraction from day to day building works.
First things first, a trip to ‘The Barn’ was organised and they became one of the first visitors to experience our new “Classic Room” from Januarys expansion here at Feltimores Park. We had set up a few systems to whet the appetite with a focus on streaming along with the facility to rip and store their expansive CD collection.
Upon initial discussions Spendor were deemed the perfect speaker to begin the demonstration, the A7’s were in place and the customers were immediately engaged. As you’ll see later the D7.2’s ended up being the weapon of choice with the customers “staggered by the difference” they made over the A7 for what felt like a very reasonable increase in cost. Being British was a great selling point for Spendor and partnering them with Chord Company Epic cables continued that particular theme.
The systems all set for the in-store demonstration.
Having put our patriotic hats to one side for a minute, we explored the Danish Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 and TDAI-3400 streaming amplifiers with the latter being a clear winner. Lyngdorf’s Room Perfect system was a big selling point here knowing hard floors would be present in their newly refurbished home along with other unavoidable hard surfaces. Room Perfect uses a microphone to measure your room in multiple random locations to build a 3D picture of your space and tailor the sound to fit the environment, however challenging. The Lyngdorf amplifier, the TDAI-3400 in this case then processes this information to even out any room nodes or “awkwardnesses” so you hear the music without compromise. Having used this in several locations now we can confirm it’s about the best on the market, and to top it off – you don’t need a programming degree or any additional kit to do it!
Having enjoyed a tailored demonstration where the Speakers and Amplification were chosen we decided to discuss CD ripping and other benefits a music server could bring.
The Innuos Zenith became an essential part of the system, one of those you almost couldn’t do without… The Zenith rips, stores and serves up your CD’s without compromise, a quick showing of their excellent interface proved how quick and easy the process would be. Roon, as it so often does played a huge part in their discovery and this is another huge benefit of Innuos as it was configured as the Roon Core, a required element of the system to run Roon’s truly excellent user interface.
Onto installation, a key part of our offering here at ‘The Barn’. We pride ourselves on service, from initial demonstrations to final fitting and commissioning the system.
IsoAcoustics GAIA III Isolation feet, perfect for hard floors providing a sonic improvement to the Spendor D7.2. A very popular upgrade for less than £400!
Room Perfect measuring on the initial visit to get us up and running, the trick is to get the microphone readings positioned randomly and not focus on typical listening spaces.
The installation itself was split into two visits, we ran Room Perfect twice and did manage to achieve better results on the second trip. There were more soft furnishings on the more recent visit and the kit had time to settle (“run in”), the customer also had the TV ready for installation so the second trip involved us integrating this with their Lyngdorf TDAI-3400, Blu-Ray Player and Apple TV, thanks to them wisely opting for the HDMI module for the modular Lyngdorf amplifier.
Whilst it wasn’t originally part of the discussions, we couldn’t help but “big up” the other benefits of Roon and in particular how well it could integrate with other devices around their home. Suddenly a single zone system was expanding into other rooms which could all have the same user experience with the kitchen and downstairs office solutions simple to land on. The Naim Mu-So QB2 is an elegant solution requiring just power to create a multi-room system without any headaches, both look fantastic in their environment and very little real estate had to make way!
The second Mu-So QB in the kitchen, we had to step back for a picture to show you just how compact these are. Fantastic for smaller spaces and secondary systems!
Even we didn’t expect the next stage, having hinted at a possible “Den” upstairs we suggested a “mini version” of their downstairs system could be created. The original idea was to use a TDAI-1120 with a smaller pair of Spendor’s but we ended up at the Excellent BBC style Spendor 4/5’s with another TDAI-3400, this time housed in custom joinery which allowed them to be partnered with a Lyngdorf BW-3 Subwoofer. Room Perfect does an excellent job with integrating subwoofers and this was no exception, having proved this upon final install when we decided to show the customer what happens when you turn the sub off!
Graeme preparing for the kit to be concealed beneath the desk in the Den.
The Spendor 4/5 “BBC Monitors” with the very compact Lyngdorf BW-3 Subwoofer.
Initial run of Room Perfect in the Den. Graeme is optional although available for the right price!
Room Perfect microphone takes readings in multiple random positions, whilst you (obviously!) wouldn’t expect to be this high listening the system it’s needed to “build” the room. The whole room is taken into account rather than just a sweet spot, however you can still tailor the system to what Lyngdorf refer to as a “focus position” for solo listening sessions. Different filters can easily be applied allowing you to choose your Room perfect mode to suit the occasion.
The Spendor 4/5 and Lyngdorf BW-3 Subwoofer perfectly nestled in their new home, within the custom joinery. It was a pleasure to work with the drawings and ensure we chose the best speaker/sub combination for the application.
A “proper” music fan with a great collection of books to read, this was one of the main driving forces to get a system in the “Den”. A great space to sit, read and enjoy the music with a totally different vibe to the downstairs system.
The journey from initial discussions to in-store demonstrations, custom joinery diagrams and wiring plans made this an in-depth but thoroughly enjoyable project we’re pleased to share.
The final result is a four zone multi-room audio system with Roons class leading integration. With various spaces to enjoy music whilst cooking, working or relaxing we know this will provide entertainment for years to come.