Equalizer or acoustic room treatment or?

I would start with Michael Green's basic package and see what this does. I have it and it helped my room considerably. It is inexpensive but effective. If you like the results you can proceed further with room treatments. I believe that the room treatment should proceed EQ as it is better to remove the problem than to try to cover it up. Good luck. Stan

Buy the set of Lenrd bass traps from Aurelex and put them in the front corners of your room stacked on one another.

This will warm up the sound, provide a better bass balance against the highs and open up the soundstage. I couldn't live without 'em.

Purchase a phonic paa-3 ($400) on ebay and measure your speaker / room interaction. Email me the results and I will be happy make some suggestions.

I believe your problems can be resolved with improved speaker placement.

Best Regards,

Jonathan Tinn
Blue Light Audio

(http://www.warrengregoire.com/hifi-stereo-sony-sacd-mod.htm) Pay particular attention to the paragraph regarding the OP amps Sony uses, and the TIM they generate. Intermodulation Distortion is a major cause of listener fatigue. Further info: (http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue6/stock.htm)

Martyhk0 said: "The sound is extremely accurate and revealing. Its so accurate I find it fatiguing to listen to."

Think about that sentence for a minute. You indicate that your reference is live music.

Do you find listening to live music fatiguing? If live is your reference you can't get much more "accurate" than the live performance.

(However, all bets are off if you're talking non-acoustic music since what is often found on recordings doesn't actually exist "live.")

Assuming that live music does not fatigue you, that means there is something decidedly not accurate in your current setup.

You've got some good suggestions above. Another one is I find many "audiophile" systems far too bright in comparison to live music. A bit of extra "oomph" in the upper range can make a system sound more detailed. This in turn is easily confused for "accuracy" when in reality it is different from the live performance.

I'd recommend that you borrow or buy a real time analyzer and get a good picture of your in-room response. It might surprise you. You've got enough invested in your system that it is certainly worth checking out.

Just one more option to add to your list.

First measure the problem with something like http://www.etfacoustic.com/index.html. Then ask RealTraps for an opinion. Provide them pictures and a diagram and see what they recommend. In the mean time check out this other free software http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/ Tweak, Tweak, and more Tweak.

Do the Snell speakers have metal drivers for the midrange? (I could not find them)

Also - is there anything crowding the speakers - any sharp surfaces nearby or a glass table in front of the listener?

Dump the Sony and buy something warmer.

If you've got speakers that cost $20 grand, I think you could afford an appropriate eq. The other approaches might work, but are probably more hit and miss, and in some cases it would be hard get your money back if not satisfied.

I for one am not convinced your room is imparting any real issues here. Doing some treatment might make a subtle adjustment, and it's worth doing (correctly) no matter what else is working or not working for you, but it's not going to change the flavor of the entire sound. I might get some people upset here but SS is known for being sharp, accurate, bright, revealing, etc. For some that's not a bad thing, but for others it is. It all depends on what you value as a listener. It seems like you have resources so you might consider a tubed preamp. I'm using a Modwright modified transporter and a Music Vault which has proven to be both more accurate and resolving, and much easier and more natural sounding than almost every CD player I found under $15k. In fact it's so good I'm considering losing the turntable altogether. Either of those might help you. If not you might need high power tubed amplification as well. Good luck!

If I may add, I have a music room that measures 12X20. I use it for listening and playing guitar in. I had a issue with booming sound. After trying different things, I ended up buying foam sound boards 2X4 and placed them in different areas including the corners. BIG HELP!!!!!
Got rid of the boom and created a more realistic sound stage. Foam panels were bought at guitar center. they run $27.99 a piece.

By the way I am running a Musical Fidelity A3 intergrated amp, Cambridge Audio CD player the 340 a DAC magic by Cambridge as well,a Magnum Dynalab MD90 tuner and a Pro-ject Debut 3 with upgrades running them through PSB Mini Stratus speakers with a Phase tech sub.

Hope that helps

Here is the name of the foam panels I purchased from guitar center to get rid of the boominess.

Auralex 2" Studiofoam Wedge

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Auralex-2--Studiofoam-Wedge-422624-i1134542.gc