Synergy - how to get there

Hello all, Gammmajo says: "It really takes time to hear the effects of change throughout your entire music collection and personal moods. Be attentive to room effects throughout the process. Big smiles of satisfaction even weeks after making a change are a good sign you are on track".

Yes that is very true. Due to this it is very difficult to extract all a system is capable of if things are changing all of the time. Here is my way of achieving synergy. One of the things that you have most control of is the volume control. This is what I do, I keep the volume control set at the same level for every LP (every LP is played at the same volume level, I never change the volume level for any recording), every time and any time I listen. Thats right when I start listening I adjust the volume control upwards slowly to warm the system up. This gives the tubes time to stabilise, the platter has time to spin freely, and the dynamic drivers time to warm up also. This takes about 45min to an hour and the system is at its best within 2 hours where it really does not improve after that.
What this does is manifold. One is the reference level of listening as I tune my system to 83db at 1000hz. This enables you to listen at a reasononabl level for all recordings and you soon realise which recording engineer got his levels correct and the one who did not. This gives plenty of headroom for dynamics and variations in recording levels.
Secondly it gives your ears a reference as you listen to the recording at the same level every time therefore enabling you to hear subtle changes in sounds without being affected by volume changes.
Another effect is the system to room interaction as this method encourages you to set the room acoustics and the bass levels to a neutral point in the room that is correct. This way you adjust the bass level or crossover points (if adjustable) and even speaker positioning that is optimal for this reference level. Otherwise if you listen to the same recording at different levels it will sound different and you can or will adjust the system to a moving target, which is difficult to hit.
Of course this only works if you are activly listening to the music not using it as background music. There are other points to consider and reasons for doing this but that is enough for now.
Bob

Hi Gammajo, Yes, for myself, since I only listen all out, it is important that the volume be set correctly. My suggestion is that when you do indeed sit down to listen that the system is set at a reference volume. This is something that takes awhile to find and in the beginning it itself can be a moving target. Ultimatly this is how I feel you can get your system to be at its best in terms of dynamics and frequency response. If you do listen non-critically do not attempt to adjust your system in any manor if you believe that the "one volume theory" is going to work for you.
You are also correct in your assement of not changing components or system tuning for a time period. It is important for you to get a handle on the sound and also a chance to listen to the music without driving yourself nuts and spinnning round in circles. Great advice
Bob

P.S. This is mainly my "theory" though I have seen some references to it elsewhere on the net, though never here. I developed it though my constant listening sessions over the last couple of years and it does indeeed work very well for me. That being said I have never been able to convert anyone so I my be totally full of.....
Also here is a question for you how does one compare one recording against another if the volume changes and therefore the bass response of the system, room interaction or just the recording especially with LPs. How does one compare a system against another or even a new piece of equipment if you change the volume level by 3, 6 or 9db (or whatever) and have no audio memory of the sound at a reference level. There are many (other) implications in "my" theory.

Bob

Hi, I think that synergy has more to do with making your systems components work together the best that they can. You cannot make your system sound like something it is not capable of or make it sound like someone elses system even if you have the same components. So I guess that its "I like my system because I have made it to sound the way I like to listen and have the componets act in synergy with each other".
I try to offer info which can help on this musical journey not to hinder anyones progress down that road.
Bob

Hello, I think what I was trying to get at was that a system of components can get to a level that is optimized perhaps as best that it can be, within its limitations that are inherent in any design. Secondly that a good listener can bring out certain good points of a system to improve his listening experience and also suit his listening goals and preferences.
Bob

Hi Doug, Well said. My main reference to synergy is fine tuning all of the components, as they are single components within a system, but if you get it correct the whole is more than the sum of its parts. You can obtain this by tweaking each component in relation to each other by manipuating its various features (controls, tonearm/cartridge parameters, room tuning, volume, crossover points and levels etc). Maybe some people dont believe in tweaking?
Bob