Re: Overkill?

Well, this thread is going to get fun fast (hehe)...

1. Is it true that better speakers will give better sound? Well, maybe.
The issue is, what is upstream from them? If the Kenwood is trying to
make a great sound but this is being degraded by poor speakers, then a
speaker upgrade could be a revelation. OTOH, the speakers could actually
be masking all sorts of amplifier "nasties" (technical term, hehe) that
a more expensive (=revealing) speaker could highlight. The trick with
any system is to balance all the components so they complement each
other. Years ago, people would say stuff like "spend 50% of your budget
on the speakers", but there simply is no hard and fast rule like that
which really works. You'll have to use your ears, which brings me to
your other questions...

2. No, it's not *inherently* a bad idea to buy off the internet, but
it's harder with speakers than other items. Speakers are the most
"personal" of all components in a system. You really need to hear them
before you buy -- preferably at home in your system with your music.
This means you need to make sure your can return them if you find they
are not to your liking (watch out for re-stocking charges).

3. There are lots of ways to start: ask around, talk to friends,
"calibrate" your ears with live music, then decide what is important to
you. As you're on a budget, you'll have to trade-off one thing against
another. Base response vs. high-end, clarity vs. depth etc etc. It can
be time consuming, but it can also be fun. Also, don't write off "high
end" as expensive -- yes, there are absurd amps (e.g. the Wavac for
$350,000!!!) but there are many very good sounding bargains also.

Finally, try to let your ears do the choosing. Don't pay any attention
to the salesman, unless you are really sure you can trust him. Don't buy
based on specs, or the latest "buzz" feature or sticker on the unit --
buy on what sounds best. And remember, 2 *good* channels will always
beat 5 *mediocre* ones.

--Tim

Stephen Jackson wrote:

> Ok, you guys start talking high end audio.  I wasted my youth and
> money on
> restoring old cars.  Now I have kids, so I have not much disposable
> income.  Not crying poverty, but $1000 on audio gear is not going to
> happen.
>
> I currently have a Kenwood receiver and small Infinity bookshelf
> speakers.  I was assuming that I would get better sound by buying better
> speakers.
>
> So,
>
> 1.  Is this true?
> 2.  Is buying used speakers off the Internet a bad idea?
> 3.  Gathering that high end audio is a subjective experience, how can I
> find out what speakers I might be interested in?
>
> Thanks for any advice,
>
> --Stephen
> Still very happy with his Audiotron.
>
> At 11:35 AM 1/10/2005 +0000, you wrote:
>
>> Hamish Guthrey wrote:
>>
>>> A clinet of mine has a pair of B&W 802s running off a Plinius SA102
>>> power
>>> and Plinius CD-LAD pre (www.PliniusAudio.com).  We added an AT running
>>> through a Meridian 566 DA, with stunning results.  It would be
>>> interesting
>>> to see if a SPDIF mod for the AT is possible, as the TosLink
>>> connection is
>>> definatly the weakest link in the chain.
>>>
>> I looked into that a while ago. The output is on the board right beside
>> the toslink, just
>> needs to be soldered on. The hard part is that a couple of resistors are
>> missing but
>> if the AT board is simply built of some reference design (which it looks
>> like), it should
>> be possible to figure out which ones. There I gave up, I'm a software
>> guy, for christ sake ;-)
>>
>> I played with coax/toslink somehow on other things and I must say, the
>> difference is not worth
>> bothering (at least on my gear which admittingly is not in the class of
>> B&Ws and 566DA
>> [next step, but I'm torn right now towards Quads]). What made some
>> difference was
>> an expensive TosLink cable (stranded glass) which for mere 100$ or so
>> improved
>> what I hear compared to a $5 cheapo-plastic one.
>> The digital coax I have on all other gear often causes ground loops
>> and is
>> more fidgety (even gold-plated stuff needs to be reseted from time to
>> time, I opted
>> for pure-silver interconnects which I can _highly_ recommend if one can
>> bear the
>> price tag. That clearly
>> made a very noticable difference, more on the RCA preamp to amp than
>> digital
>> though. Beside healing the top register touch-of-harshness I had [albeit
>> normally
>> it is said that silver is bright!] I don't have to reset the connectors
>> since silver oxide
>> is conducting very well).
>>
>> From experience, I think that a mod that could improve the AT quality
>> significantly would be
>> a decent power supply instead of the chinese 5$ piece. Easy mod but
>> expensive [given
>> the price of AT].
>>
>>> Another client is using an AirPort Express based music system, running
>>> through a Benchmark Media DAC1
>>> (http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/digital/dac1/default.asp).  This is a
>>> top
>>> quality pro DA with a variable level, meaning he can run it straight
>>> into
>>> his poweramp.  Not the cheapest DA on the market (US$900ish), but
>>> even so it
>>> is excellent value.
>>>
>>> ....if only I could afford some of these toys in my own house... :)
>>>
>> Read the audio forums a lot and scour used-gear places. For maybe 20%
>> price of things
>> like B&W and Meridian you can achieve 90% of the results. From there on
>> you hone
>> your tastes and wait for your bank account to grow and your wife to
>> realize that you spending
>> the money on such gear is better than on red-light pleasures ;-)
>>
>> Actually, once you honed your tastes I found you need a room
>> to use the high-end stuff that you don't have ;-) Room modes start to
>> play a very large role
>> from a certain quality of sound on. Once your ear compares the boomy,
>> blooming bass
>> of average setup compared to a properly setup/corrected room it is hard
>> to go back.
>>
>>    your mileage may vary
>>
>>
>>    -- tony
>>
>>>
>
>