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Era 300 - need immediate help with stereo pair imaging

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buzz

In your 6x12 arrangement any speakers would narrow the stereo image a bit.

Voice control can be added to many arrangements. Even though FIVE’s are not directly voice controlled, adding a small Google device can fix that.

AppleMusic is available for SONOS. (I’m not a user).

ocean_tied
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Hey there! Thank you buzz!! 😎

Unfortunately, Sonos removed the Left/Right balance for Era 300s, so no joy there.

As for distance, I completely get what you are saying which works if I move speakers back in front of the sofa, but still have unbalanced proximity to one speaker over the other. Still great points you are making.

And, I won’t put up drapes or anything though that makes sense acoustically.

 

This room is about 19 feet long, 13 feet deep (speaker wall to back of sofa) and ceiling is split between 8 feet to 18 feet high); your point about Era 300s help tremendously!! 

”ERA 100 or FIVE’s in the vertical position would be a better choice than ERA 300.”

Based on your recommendation, and knowledge of this room size, would you recommend a pair of Era 100s (and likely a sub-mini) or a pair of 5s (would need to be vertical)? And would either become an issue if the distance between them was 6 feet or less (I sit approx 12 feet away).

 

FYI, I could do an NAD, but (like using the 5s) I don’t get voice assistant. And I don’t get Apple Music. I have no experience with Bluesound as an app.

 

Cheers!

Michael Amir

 

Ocean_tied
buzz

Mostly you are fighting with physics.

In arrangements where you are much closer to one speaker than the other speaker, the near speaker will dominate. On your sofa you’ll need to at least adjust the balance as you move your listening position. In an optimal stereo imaging arrangement you should be approximately as far from the speakers as they are from each other. 

Your space is very “live”. There are lots of reflections from almost every surface. A simple sound could be bumbling around for a significant fraction of a second. This limits your ability to localize anything and contributes to your fatigue. Speakers that distribute ambient sound are not a good choice for this room. Your Sonus Faber’s tend to beam at you and there will be less stuff whizzing around. ERA 100 or FIVE’s in the vertical position would be a better choice than ERA 300.

There would be a major improvement if you added a rug (with a pad), heavy drapes, or tapestries (with thick pads behind). This will tame the “live” but will not improve on issues caused by sitting too close to a speaker.

 

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