Towards the end of last year I made a modest investment in my 2-Channel and 5.1 Theater system. In my case I am fairly new to higher end audio and I don't have a dedicated listening room so I knew I had some room challenges.
I spent about 3 months educating myself and moving things around to the point that I thought I had things sounding pretty good. However, I knew I was probably missing out on some things and started looking for a good reference on audio fundamentals and proper system setup.
I stumbled upon Jim Smith's book in another forum where it had come highly recommended. After doing additional research I decided to purchase his book. What sold me is his straightforward approach to system setup and getting the most out of your current system prior to investing in additional upgrades. I figured this would be a good sanity check to make sure I was not overlooking the basics and determining my system "baseline".
Upon receiving the book I read it from front to back. Jim suggests this isn't necessarily the best approach but for me it was all very interesting and I was intrigued to keep reading. Even the sections that seemed trivial to me shed new light on the topics. It is a very easy read and provides helpful diagrams and recommendations for testing your system.
I spent about a week implementing Jim's recommendations all the way from making a grid, positioning my speakers and subs, checking polarities, rearranging my acoustic panels, etc. At the end of the week I had dramatically improved the musicality of my system using Jim's very simple steps. For me it was more than worth the cost of the book and it will continue to serve as my reference when making any changes.
In my case I may have realized larger benefits due to my "newbie" status and less than ideal room but this book really covers the fundamentals that all systems can benefit from. I continue to investigate some of the more advanced topics in the book and look forward to additional system improvements.
Highly recommended.
