The Horror

Spend some time with your room acoustics, speaker setup and choice of listening position. More than half of what you are hearing is your room and rest assured, hotel rooms are not ideal so there is reason for hope. Optimize what you have, you will be surprised. Drop a six figure system into poor room and you get poor sound.

@audiodidact

Seriously, start over with your room and your setup. Like many on this thread I’m sure, I hopped on to see if you had your system online and you do. Thanks, that helps those who want to be of help. The presence of photos also helps....and informs, so thanks for that as well.

That’s why I suggested that you work on setup and acoustical treatment. I was trying to be kind but the way you have your system setup in the small alcove just amplifies your potential for trouble preventing your system from performing to an appropriate standard for your enjoyment. Additionally, and I can’t speak for everyone...Maggies in your room as pictured may not be ideal. The challenge is you wont know until you begin the proper setup process. Sometimes the room dictates the compromise and sometimes the ideal optical system placement is at odds with the ideal acoustical setup for best sound.

Please take the wise advice offered by @tvad because you have some great gear. In fact, I would take almost any wager that in a few hours some of us could rearrange your setup, apply a few tasteful acoustical treatments and you wouldn’t believe how great your gear and room would sound. The only thing I know for certain is that it isnt your gear holding back what is possible, its your room and setup. If you absolutely have to have it set up in exactly the current configuration, Maggies may not be choice A for you. Since none of us know your room, all advice (including this post) is purely guesswork.

In summary, you presently have a fine system that is handcuffed by the way you have it set up and the absence of appropriate room treatments. Good luck!

@audiodidact perhaps you might consider sending these photos to GIK and get their opinion. Everything we post is pure guesswork and most likely a shot in the dark, which regrettably would be a continuation of your current strategy.

From the photos, it seems as if you have alot of reflective surfaces with alot of irregular angles. I’m not sure, even if treated, whether Maggies would ever perform at their best. Repeat: buy Jim Smith’s book, get some visual advice from GIK but from the photos, youve got a number of challenges ahead. You have a great deal of gear and TV between the speakers, which are inset within an alcove, a fireplace to the left, some funky drywall angles, no symmetry, etc.

You’ve committed the same sins we all have at one time or another. Early on, I had stacks of gear purchased without a strategy, with no idea whether there is system synergy but hey, an anonymous reviwer gave it high marks in his/her room with his/her gear. Have you made a list of your audio priorities? Calculate your budget (including the resale value of everything you’ve got) and start from there. In order of importance, treat the space acoustically, then choose speakers to work with the room, then the proper gear to drive them.

Today, rather than the stacks of gear and a mosh pit of cables everywhere, mismatched due to a lack of a proper plan, I now have a pair of speakers, an integrated amp and a dac and I’ve never enjoyed better sound in my home. I decided I would rather own one exceptional item than three or more average items. If you have a plan and a strategy to reach the goal, you will likely find that you will increase performance by subtracting variables and from the photos, you have an opportunity to achieve addition by subtraction.

@audiodidact @tvad has given you some great advice about booking some time with Mr. Smith.

I'm certainly not pointing any fingers at anyone on this thread with what Im about to say but I've listened to some pretty nice systems in pretty terrible rooms. I try to be polite but there are alot of bad rooms depicted in some of the system photos and everything is system/room dependent. Just because a panel is in a photo and the person says it sounds great now, dont think that buying one will solve anything. You need the right tool for the job and you simply dont know the right tool yet. You need information and a plan. Your room, gear, goals and desires are different than theirs. In fact, I took down the photos of my system room because people would write and say "I'm thinking of buying X, Y or Z and I wanted your thoughts" or "I see you have a whatchamacallit DAC and I was thinking of buying one". Everything matters, it isnt complicated, but you have to be purposeful. The one that gets me is when someone says hey, you have xyz power cables, how do they sound? They may or may not have similar gear, room, goals etc but I try to answer what are you trying to accomplish and its usual crickets. All cables dont improve things. Same for dacs, other gear, acoustical treatments. As proof of concept, have you ever heard anyone say that things sounded terrific right out of the box and went downhill as the unit broke in...

@audiodidact Throwing a blanket over the TV might (or might not) make it suck less. LOL. Change nothing until you have a plan and are armed with proper advice. Its fun to sketch and come up with ideas but I certainly wouldnt commission anything until you know exactly what the end result will be. For instance, your sofa may or may not be helping. Different fabrics have different reflectivity and absorption properties and you will be surprised to learn that rugs, drapes, furniture and carpeting all contribute to the acoustical space and none of them, none...will deal with bass issues. That only comes with proper and strategic trapping. If your room needs it, and they all do, then that will be your starting point....Dont start this journey with only a partial plan.

GIK Acoustics 

ASC 

@mrdecibel Your series of preceding posts are unfortunate.

@mrdecibel …. other than your comments toward @tvad being unkind and completely off topic for the purposes of assisting @audiodidact with his queries, your posts were unecessarily snarky and mean IMO. I’ve admired many of your posts in the past and you are better than that. The Audiogon community is better than that.

Thanks for the sentiment everyone, I just miss when we could all kindly agree to disagree. Apologies to the OP as its his thread. Peace to all involved.

@ap1 while you might be trying to be helpful, your advice above ($20k entry point, Luxman or Accuphase) is somewhat narrow and wide of the mark. The OP was seeking help understanding what about his setup was holding him back. Its the room combined with a buffet of gear which either does not have synergy with the room or with the other gear or both.

While there are many great speakers for the arbitrary budget you just established and while both Luxman and Accuphase are fine brands with excellent options in their lines, there are many others here who have heard both extensively and chosen other brands…and vice versa. To the OP, stay the course and address your room and acoustics…only then will you alone know appropriate next steps.

The automotive equivalent of what happens on Audiogon:

Person A: I have a beater Chevy pickup truck, it hauls alot of stuff in the back and does so easily. All I have to do is put gas and oil in it, don’t worry about scratches...it the perfect vehicle. I once tried to haul a bunch of stuff in a $150k Porsche 911 and it just couldn’t do it. The beater Chevy pickup is a better vehicle.

Person B: I have a friend and his cousin’s ex-wife’s sister in law says that her Chevy pickup embarrassed and just laid waste to a $150k Porsche 911. Anyone who spends $150k on a car is wasting every penny they pay above the cost of the Chevy pickup.

Person C: Yeah, I drove a $150k Porsche once on this well graded dirt and rock road and it handled like shyte.

Person D (Amir from ASR): Yep, we measured the Chevy Pickup and indeed it measures bigger and sturdier in all ways vs the $150k Porsche. In addition, everyone on my site has piled on the Porsche owner, which indicates as well that the Porsche owner values the wrong things.

Person E (who happens to apply context, understanding and use cases to the topic): I’m glad you are each happy with your choices.