Whether you have a dedicated room or not makes ALL the difference. Paul says this at the start of the book, and that it is most often the case, my dealer says it’s a major factor.
I think the book is aimed mostly at larger rooms with no wives getting in the way and full-range systems. A lot is about getting the bass right, not really an issue with C7.
Personally, my choice of full-range speakers was based partly on their bass not being very aggressive and their being relatively easy to position.
For Harbeth, I would suggest at least 12" from the wall and at least 10 degrees toe-in, preferably aiming the tweeters over your shoulders (i.e. a few feet behind your head). Otherwise, do what the leaflet in the box says.
I’ve experimented extensively with placement and room treatments and I have the C7s dialed in to the point where (in my nearly 50 years in this hobby), I’m the most pleased I’ve even been with my system.
I measured my SHL5+ with REW and found how unfussy they are. The big improvement I achieved was by changing them from firing down to across the room. So that must have reduced the first reflection. Paul deals with the first reflection in his book, something to do with mirrors.
I think Paul mentions that you can get really good results with fairly modest kit and expensive kit will sound rubbish in a poorly set up room. He’s not the first to say this, probably the 4,823rd person and counting. I reckon Harbeth are the pinnacle of great sound for the price, especially C7 and M30.2.
There’s always something better. Wilson are better than Harbeth, but they cost a bit more. What is surprising is actually how similar they sound. Harbeth are plotting some new things with the engineer they hired from Spendor. A 3-way speaker with the 5" Radial from P3ESR and an 8" paper bass driver, plus a bit of Alan Shaw magic, would a lovely speaker make.
The mirror method of identifying first reflections is not only simple, but highly effective - especially for those of us with non-rectangular rooms without parallel wall.
First thanks for a well written and informative book.
I think @Poul should have waited to release the book until the CD was ready.
The selling point for me was the speaker setup procedure and without the CD it’s useless.
Are there a waiting list for the CD. Also can we download the CD as flac? I don’t have a CD player.
Looking forward to trying out the speaker setup procedure
The book refers to 15 tracks. They are set-up tracks, not demo tracks. For set-up, mp3 or AAC is more than sufficient. They could just be put on the website or YouTube and could be cast via airplay or chromecast.
They are demo tracks, actually. There are a few, like phase checks, but for the most part they are all artist recorded high end tracks. And great music as well.
Not so happy -)
I have already bought the book and now I have to buy it again to get the CD?
Also there are two different bundles, can you explain the difference.
Is one only SACD and the other PCM?
I must be missing something. When I go to the webpage, there is the option for disc only, book only, download only, disc with book, and of course download with book.