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12 June 2000 "Re-Visit":
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Jon T. Gale's web site
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42yrs, married w/two wonderful girls, Kelsey (9) and Danielle (4). Residing in Dearborn Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. By day I set-up/program CNC boring mills, (The big stuff!), by night a music loving audiophile, crazed 3D graphic artist webmaster. I am also a contributing reviewer for SoundStage! Magazine. Early on in my twenty years in this endeavor we call high-end audio, (most probably forced upon due to finance restrictions!), I took it upon myself to do address the problems with the only component we, as home audiophiles, have any control over. The ROOM. I became quite fascinated with the speaker room interface, which is the major factor in the voicing of our systems. I have never lost that thrill of moving speakers around, adjusting room dampening etc. To the point that I find it very hard not to start "playing" in a new room. Most of my friends have now learned to just let me go while they rest and watch! My listening diet basically consists
of:
Here are some of my favorite evaluation CDs: For dialing in soundstaging, I like to use any Reference Recordings disc, especially Pomp and Pipes! MLP's Bach, Suites for Solo Cello, (Janos Starker). And, believe it or not, "Baby", by Yello. (This electronically generated disc is a good test for your speakers ability to "throw" phase manipulated images. Also a good test for mid-bass transient clarity. A simply indispensable test is the MATT test, invented by Acoustic Science Corp., for testing room articulation. Once you learn how to use this signal, your understanding of the rooms acoustic will never be the same. (Available on the Stereophile test CD2). System's Components The best component in my playback chain is actually my room. Or I should
say the room treatment. Fully outfitted with Tube Traps, and diffusers.
I have been in many rooms with far better equipment than mine, but usually
with improper or careless attention to the room itself. This results in
a needless degradation of the fidelity in which your given equipment is
capable of.
Jon's comments about his System: AA: "Jon, how would you describe your system's sound?" JTG: "Full bodied but resolving. Most any speaker in this room is very articulate. Imaging, which I highly prize, is excellent as this room delineates special cues wonderfully." AA: "Do you think there is room for improvement?" JTG: "A loaded question here :) The system is in flux at this time in regards to speakers. I'll make sure to update you when I hit on something! Also, while I'm waiting for the digital formats to shake themselves out in the marketplace, I will still like to have a go with one of the more affordable up samplers being released. Other than that, I'm having too much fun listening and tuning?" AA: "Have you got plans for upgrading?" JTG: "Yes, although I cannot play
in the same rarefied air as most of your friends on this list, I envision
"going around the horn" again in a system wide upgrade. It never really
ends no?"
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