Well, we all know room matters a lot, don't we? Yet, exactly how much was unknown to me in spite of hundreds if not thousands of hours of tinkering with it. This is perhaps the greatest audio discovery I've made during the past few years.
You see, my hybrid electrostats used to sound different every day, maybe even different from one listening session to another during the same day. I couldn't believe it so I thought it must be an illusion; then I blamed the inconsistent quality of the electricity; then I gave up searching for an explanation and just tried to swallow my frustration. You see, I'm very sensitive to the tonal balance and each one of these changes did upset this balance. Sick and tired of this roller-coaster, I was contemplating selling my speakers.
Then, a few months ago, everything clicked into place. I don't have a dedicated listening room, my system resides in the living room. Every now and then, someone, even myself, removed, added or moved around an object in the room: removed a thick book from the right side bookshelf that also serves as a diffuser of sorts, put a cardboard box on the wooden table to the left thus making it somewhat less reflective, changed a bit the position of the curtain in front of the window, moved around a piano stool with its sound absorbing surface over the reflective wooden floor to the left and so on and so forth. Each one of these changes in the acoustic environment was audible to me, I just didn't know why I was hearing a difference.
I still cannot understand why would the difference be (so) noticeable, my mind says it's quite ridiculous (I mean, OK, the electrostats are particularly sensitive to the environment IME - as opposed to what some people are claiming - but still, even so: one pathetic book from the bookshelf?!?) My audiophile friend came over and confirmed I am not hallucinating, and he doesn't get it either. So for the past few months I've been playing with making small (I emphasize, small) changes to this acoustic environment, with two very positive outcomes:
1. I have managed to improve the sound of my system to the point that I'm enjoying it much more than before
2. I have learned what kind of acoustic effect each of these changes results into. Consequently, I am now able to restore the sound balance to a very satisfactorily degree every time something or someone upsets it - which is to say, every day. As a result, now I'm fine tuning the room before each listening session, much like a guitar player re-tuning their instrument!
So I'd like to encourage each one of you, my fellow audiophiles and music lovers, to play around with your acoustic environment. Pay attention to the treble extension, bass fullness, lower midrange body and presence, soundstage and imaging, transients' roundness / sharpness etc. They can all be impacted by small changes in my room. Depending on your speakers and room, you might be surprised to discover the same!