Marc Mickelson
October 1996
My listening room? Still finding its identity. I moved my equipment in roughly two months ago, and I have since spent lots of time just listening to music--lights off and no one around. Yes, I've done some tweaking--notice the thick acoustic foam in the corners--but because I was without a system for such a long time (4 months for pete's sake), I've been getting to know my CDs again. And don't forget the reviews.
Marc's Listening Room
The walls are double 1/2" drywall and the floor is cement--under the carpet, that is. Thus the room is solid, and I can say without hesitation that it's the best-sounding room I've ever had. It's also my first room with dedicated power lines, two 20-amp jobs with bright-orange hospital-grade outlets. These were cheap to put in, the greatest expense being the 10-gauge wire that brings it all home. However, the perceived change to my system's sound was small. Maybe my power's squeaky clean to begin with--or filthy dirty--but the dedicated lines just didn't make me hear things anew. I did notice a lowering of the noise floor, but I haven't gone back to the single 15-amp circuit to test this impression. Maybe my line conditioner is more integral than I thought.
Overhead Diagram of Marc's Room
I'm absolutely in love my ProAc 4s--and, yes, there are wedding bells in the air, smarty-pants. I've mentioned my other reference components ad nauseam, but for the record: I use a CAT Signature linestage (tricked out with NOS Telefunken tubes and Ensemble Tubesox), Quicksilver M135 monoblock amps, a Timbre TT-1 DAC, a Wadia 20 transport and a Lightspeed ISO 9600 power conditioner. The amps and transport sit atop Bright Star bases--with the transport further protected against vibration by a Townsend Seimic Sink and Bright Star Little Rock, which altogether (goodies and transport) weighs well over 100 pounds. I use Tara RSC Generation 2 interconnects and speaker cables, and Purist Audio AES/EBU and Wadia AT&T digital cables. What's missing from the picture are the Clayton Audio M70 monoblocks--which are no longer foster children. That's right--I'm adopting! My admiration for these amps only grows--in direct proportion to the increasing length of my listening sessions and the ! joyous detriment of other aspects of my life, like interaction with people. Bah!
I have an immense CD collection--over 1000 strong and always growing. I listen to rock, jazz, folk, classical--the works. Favorites? Too many to mention, although I do especially admire Dylan, Tom Russell (buy Poor Man's Dream and you'll buy them all), P.J Harvey, Tom Waits, Marcus Roberts, Michelle Shocked, Devo, Steve Earle, Coltrane, Rollins Band, Shaver, and Bach's keyboard works--among others. My collection has relatively few sonic blockbusters, so I need a system that doesn't make already meager and poor recordings sound worse, OK? Seems simple to me: move away from pain and toward pleasure, especially with something you do for enjoyment. If you want the truth, no matter how ugly, go to the mountain, man. Give me beauty any day.
So there you have it, my audio home sweet home. It's not as big as I'd like it to be, has no furniture except for a simple futon couch, and the drywall seams are less than perfect (but perfectly reflect the person who crafted them). When the lights go out, though, you'd never know any of this--or care.
...Marc Mickelson
marc@soundstage.com