Re: Overkill?

Stephen Jackson wrote:

> Ok, you guys start talking high end audio.  I wasted my youth and
> money on
> restoring old cars.

;-) so you had your fun already

> Now I have kids, so I have not much disposable
> income.  Not crying poverty, but $1000 on audio gear is not going to
> happen.

ok

>
> 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?

yes, unless your amp is _real_, _real_ crap, investing in speakers first
is always a
better idea. Don't forget, the whole audio chain can be made digital
(even amps)
but speakers are and probably stay analog devices so each of them is
different
in what you get. Like wine, people differ in tastes in terms what speaker
'coloration' they like. And no, a speaker that 'perfectly' reproduces
sound is not
what you want, you would almost 100% guarantee not like it, especially with
a non highest-end amp and something like audiotron analog output. Just make
sure they are 8Ohm rating and not outrageously inefficent.

I recommend Harley's 'The complete guide to high-tech audio' as
a beginning if you want to get into it. Some of it is urban myths but
conceptually,
it's a sound book.

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

very. First, you don't know wheter the speaker is sound and 2nd, you
don't know
whether you will like its sound (pun ;-). Amp is less of a risk, those
babies go on forever and it's hard
to ruin them. I own some amps bought at 20c/$ of internet and they are
fine. 200$
can get you very far if you know what to look at and are lucky on the net.

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

Internet good place to start, some of the high-end forums but also
epinions and such.
There are couple of companies worth looking @ if you are into 200-400$
range for
speakers, Paradyne, Axiom & so on. Then audition with a dealer/shop.
Some people
offer you the possibility to send speakers back if you buy them of the net.

    -- tony