Bilbo

Be careful you don't mistake the presentation of an amplifier for problems with room acoustics. I have seen some friends burn serious amounts of money on new gear thinking it will fix the fundamental problems with the room. It never does in reality. There are various implementations of DSP that can help with room issues but some basic room acoustic treatment will be the best bang for buck in my experience.

I'm not a toddler but I can fall asleep with my system pumping through a playlist. I've woken at 2am to silence and staggered off to bed quite a few times!!! 🕑

Soundproofing a room is a big job and difficult to achieve. Think of a recording studio. High class studios use a room built within a room to achieve this. This is not really practical for a living room. Attenuating the transmission of sound between rooms is a bit easier. You could install in wall insulation between the two rooms which will provide a significant improvement by attenuating structure borne transmission. There is lots of information available on the web provided you are prepared to do some reading. With regards to the muddy bass, I would look to introduce some corner bass traps as the first step. Also speaker position is very important and from the look of your layout, speakers mounted flush with a wall (as opposed to in the wall like a recording studio) can cause all sorts of boundary effects that are detrimental to bass response. Again lots of info available on the web. My advice would be not to rush into this but do your research and decide on an appropriate budget using the various techniques for addressing room acoustics.

Hydrology hits the nail on the head! Follow his advice from 1 to 5 and you can decide for yourself. From my experience all cables make a difference - you just have to decide whether they make a difference (in a good way) to you. 😄

Item: Custom Made Zerozone R-Core 230V 40VA 1x12Vac Location: Brisbane Price: $60.00 (+ Postage) Item Condition: As New Reason for selling: NLR Payment Method: Cash, Paypal, EFT Extra Info: I bought this for a DIY 9V LPS but did not go ahead with the project. It is a very well built custom made unit with unloaded output of 12.4Vac so ideal for a 9V LPS application. I have bought several units from the manufacturer and they are silent with excellent build quality and perform very well. I am so impressed I have bought another two yesterday. The manufacturer provides the following information. Material: 1, Iron core --- Japan Nippon Steel imports of materials, the selection of top-level products for audio. 2, Enameled wire --- oxygen-free copper. 3, Lead-out wire --- US UL1015 standard. 4, The transformer internal materials used in all temperature above 150 degrees Celsius material. Photos:

Item: Nuvotem Talema Toroidal 230V 50VA 2x15Vac Location: Brisbane Price: $30.00 (+ Postage) Item Condition: Used but excellent Reason for selling: NLR Payment Method: Cash, Paypal, EFT Extra Info: I bought this from RS Components for a DIY 12V LPS project but changed to an R-Core instead and now this item is no longer required. Photos:

I also purchased one of these dual units after the first one as I needed more 12V supplies. The Geisler LPS is no doubt very good but my pocket couldn't stretch that far for three of them hence the cheaper option. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32767844733.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.14c662f6Za6Ipc&algo_pvid=d35f6cb6-d152-47cd-9ce6-491558b08f70&algo_expid=d35f6cb6-d152-47cd-9ce6-491558b08f70-1&btsid=1e9ce43f-b30c-4176-beeb-82fa69213080&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_6,searchweb201603_52

This is the one I bought and it does a fine job. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HI-END-100VA-Linear-Power-Supply-DC12V-5A-Ultra-Low-Noise-LPS-for-Audio-L163-33/111944028903?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 I have found docking stations sound better with really beefy power supplies hence my choice of this supply. Mind you when I bought it the price was $50 less but still represents good value.

I have tried many docks and the best one to date is this one. https://www.newertech.com/products/voyagerq.php Give a decent 12V LPS and it sounds even better.

Exactly right - I couldn't agree more. 😊 It's unfortunate that poor sods like me do hear a difference (real or imagined) and pay for the perception.

Rectifier tubes make a big difference (in a Supratek preamp). Stick a Mullard gz37 or gz32 (brown bases) in and hear the difference!

This item is sold pending payment. Thank you for your interest.

Item: Custom Steel Speaker Stands Location: Brisbane Price: $70.00 ono Item Condition: Fair (structurally sound but in need of a respray). Reason for selling: NLR Payment Method: Local Pickup - Cash (Too big to post) Extra Info: These stands are custom made to support stand mount speakers. They are 240mm at the top and 360mm at the bottom and 400mm high (including spikes). They are structurally sound but could do with a new coat of spray paint to bring out the bling. Photos:

Item: Turntable Wall Mount Shelf Location: Brisbane Price: $50.00 o.n.o. Item Condition: Good Reason for selling: NLR Payment Method: Local Pickup - Cash (Too big to post) Extra Info: I'm relisting this turntable shelf I no longer use and hoping someone needs one. I have no idea who manufactured it but the steel frame is very solid and the shelf is laminated board. The lower shelf is an add on modification for a phono stage or record covers. It could also be used to mount a home cinema projector on the back wall. The bottom shelf is mounted on long bolts and nuts and can be easily removed if desired. The top shelf dimensions are 350mm x 440mm and the space between the top and lower shelf is 105mm. The total width at the rear from the outer edges of the mounting plate is 600mm. Photos:

@Jon Snow Sorry I've not provided some support earlier but I have been flat out and no time for audio this past week so I'm glad you worked out the problem. Now here's a tip for you to try. @scumbag & @a.dent Instead of connecting an outboard hard drive to your SMS-200 using the two available horizontal USB connectors use the dedicated vertical output USB connection. (The one SOtM recommends for the DAC). In other words - swap your input and output USB connections. This follows the old Linn theory that the best signal should start at the source - in this case the music files on your hard drive. A friend told me about this, so I tried it and to my great surprise it sounded much better. The dimension/sound stage and timbral balance sounded far better. So easy to do and sounds much better (to my ears anyway).