Re: Overkill?

My opinions follow. Highly subjective.

Stephen Jackson writes:
> 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?

Perhaps. The charm of speakers is, listening provides the answer quickly.

> 2.  Is buying used speakers off the Internet a bad idea?

I think so. You want to listen to them.

> 3.  Gathering that high end audio is a subjective experience, how can I
> find out what speakers I might be interested in?

Find a decent shop. Bring along a couple of CDs you love and know by
heart. Something where good instruments are played with skill and
verve. In the shop, ask about listening to a few speakers, and spend
2-5 minutes with each pair of speakers.

If the music sounds more musical than you're used to, you'll hear it quickly.

(If you get home and find out that the speakers don't bring out the
music as they did in the shop, you'll need an amplifier that isn't
consumerware. But that you can buy via ebay. A friend got a NAD 3020
for $20. That or an old Mission Cyrus is perfectly serviceable. Or you
can spend arbitrary amounts of money on something increasingly
high-end.)

Arnt