New speaker placement and wires.

Gentle reader, if there be any of ye,

A couple of co-workers have expressed their fellow interest in stereos and music, and one also brought in his old Leica M3 to show me. What a thrill it was for me to handle and try out one of those historic and significant cameras!

The other one asked if there were any new postings on my blog. So here I am making one.

Nancy, at my request, got me the one thing I requested for Christmas: Jim Smith's book Get Better Sound. Available at Get Better Sound

Following Jim's considerable advice, I realized I could not achieve the sound I was seeking with the stereo in the living room. The transfer to the den was chronicled in my post called Massive Changes: http://therobbcollections.blogspot.com/2010/05/massive-changes.html

On that page, you will see the last picture has the BOSE 301s turned to the inside some and the DCMs flat on the floor and closer together. Take a look at how they are now:
I've moved them farther apart, and following Jim's advice, took great pains to make sure they are both exactly the same distance from the walls and corners. Also, using a laser level, I have the tweeters pointed EXACTLY at my ears both horizontally and vertically.
I also bought spikes for them and they are "grounded" to the wood floor beneath the carpet. As you can see, I placed the speaker switch on top of the sub-woofer and wired it so that the DCMs are #1 and BOSEs are #2 with their wiring going through the sub-woofer's variable crossover.
The DCMs are more efficient than the BOSEs therefore play louder. This placement has definitely improved the DCMs sound and soundstage. I'm happy with them again.
Also, the BOSEs are now exactly parallel to the walls so that their "Direct-Reflecting" design works to it's best effect. Ideally, they should be the same distance from the side walls, but I had to mount them where the studs are. While the right front tweeter does not point exactly at my ears like the left one does, the wide dispersion of the cone, yes cone, tweeters more than makes up for that. BOSE has always used cone tweeters.
There is nothing inherently wrong with cone tweeters. They are cheaper to make than dome tweeters and some feel the dome by it's converse domed shape has better dispersion that cone tweeters. That may be true, but BOSE has added "lenses" to the tweeters front and rear that help dispersion.
The DCMs, you may recall, have horn-loaded tweeters. Very few expensive speakers use horn-loaded tweeters. Klipsch being one maker. But JBL in their five figure K2 and Everest speakers do as well as horn-loaded mid-range speakers. Altec-Lansing of course uses both in their commercial speakers (think: stadiums and concerts). Their Voice of the Theatre classic speakers for home do as well. Anyway, a bit of a tangent there, the DCM's tweeters disperse quite well, but they will never beat the BOSE 301s for wide soundstage.

Now, I also replaced the 12 gauge twisted pair speakers wires I bought via eBay for $60 for 200 feet with:

Monster Cable Ultra 600 THX Certified 14GA Speaker Wire 40 FT Package


This 14 gauge Monster Cable Ultra 600 ultra high quality speaker wire is THX certified to deliver the best possible sound through your home entertainment system. This speaker wire is CL3 rated for in wall installation. This speaker wire is made for high quality speaker connections and delivers increased current handling for more power resulting in deeper bass and higher highs.

• 40 FT Length Single Run 14GA Speaker Wire
  
• THX Certified for Ultra High Quality Sound
• UL CL3 Rated for In Wall Installation
  
• Large Gauge Precision Wound Strandings
  

Thanks be to Monster for the above description. It list's for $60 for forty feet. Plus it is 14 gauge, slightly thinner. However, the THX certification indicates the wire to be of a much higher standard than the blue and silver wires. Here are some close-ups:The top photo shows the old on the left and the new on the right. The camera focused on the leather rather than the wire, but I couldn't see that until opening it in the computer.
The bottom photo shows the wire and what looks like a third silver wire in there. It's actually fabric, what it's for, I do not know.
One thing where the old wire is better is the silver wire is in fact silver plated copper. How they can plate wires that are as thin as hairs, I don't know. Silver is a better conductor that copper, but not by much.

Note, I referred to the wires as "thin as hairs" and it may be thinner in both brands. It is thought that electricity flows along the outside of a conductor. That's why they make the wires as thin as possible. They together have much more surface area for the current and signal to flow on.

That is why many small ice cubes cool faster than several normal sized cubes. Much more combined surface area touching the drink.

Lastly, wherever possible, I always use top-quality "Banana plugs" for speaker connections. Double ones if that is the spacing on the device. Again, much larger surface area and stronger connection than "spring" speaker terminals.

Thanks for looking!

Scott