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[(Josiah) (Peterson)]

Andy Peters wrote on Wed, 17 January 2007 18:48

Yngve Hoeyland wrote on Wed, 17 January 2007 11:13 Why do the audiophiles not use balanced connections in the first place? Because audiophiles are, by definition, unbalanced. -a

Ain't that the truth

-Josiah

[Tim Padrick]

Many Hi-Fi magazine reviewers and store salesmen can't hear differences in gear that are readily heard by the guys who travel around to manufacturers and distributors trying to sell advertising in said magazines, and the girls who work in the offices of the hi-fi stores.  (Experience, not conjecture.)

I've listened to tons of cables.  They all sound different.  Most of the ones with exotic materials and/or construction sound worse than ones that are nothing special.  (The commonly found 200+ strand 12 gauge speaker cable sounds worse than 56 strand 12 gauge zip cord.

One may indeed be foolish to buy expensive speakers.  The better the speaker, the more it reveals the musical inadequacies of the gear that's driving it.  Get the CD (or record) player that you think gives the best performance that you can afford, then select the rest of the system based on their performance with the selected source.

[Mark "Bass Pig" Weiss]

With speaker cable, it's all about current carrying capacity which is important for damping and good woofer control.

[Mike Butler (media)]

Mark "Bass Pig" Weiss wrote on Thu, 18 January 2007 02:33

With speaker cable, it's all about current carrying capacity which is important for damping and good woofer control.

And break-in period and directionality.  
                                     

[Yngve Hoeyland]

Tim Padrick wrote on Thu, 18 January 2007 06:35

One may indeed be foolish to buy expensive speakers.  The better the speaker, the more it reveals the musical inadequacies of the gear that's driving it.  Get the CD (or record) player that you think gives the best performance that you can afford, then select the rest of the system based on their performance with the selected source.

So what you are saying is buying a pair of high quality speakers (say e.g. B&W 802Ds) is pointless if your CD player and amps aren't top-of-the line too? I agree at some level, but I don't follow your idea of "buying speakers to fit the rest". My own listening experiences tell me that good speakers are a lot harder to make than good CD players and amps - and without doubt the speakers are what colors sound the most by far. And - how on earth do you A/B a CD player without listening to it through speakers? It's all interconnected...

I would rather pick a pair of speakers that I like first - and then match the other components to them.

[Yngve Hoeyland]

Tim Padrick wrote on Thu, 18 January 2007 06:35

One may indeed be foolish to buy expensive speakers.  The better the speaker, the more it reveals the musical inadequacies of the gear that's driving it.  Get the CD (or record) player that you think gives the best performance that you can afford, then select the rest of the system based on their performance with the selected source.

So what you are saying is buying a pair of high quality speakers (say e.g. B&W 802Ds) is pointless if your CD player and amps aren't top-of-the line too? I agree at some level, but I don't follow your idea of "buying speakers to fit the rest". My own listening experiences tell me that good speakers are a lot harder to make than good CD players and amps - and without doubt the speakers are what colors sound the most by far. And - how on earth do you A/B a CD player without listening to it through speakers? It's all interconnected...

I would rather pick a pair of speakers that I like first - and then match the other components to them.

[John Roberts {JR}]

Tim Padrick wrote on Wed, 17 January 2007 23:35

Many Hi-Fi magazine reviewers and store salesmen can't hear differences in gear that are readily heard by the guys who travel around to manufacturers and distributors trying to sell advertising in said magazines, and the girls who work in the offices of the hi-fi stores.  (Experience, not conjecture.) I've listened to tons of cables.  They all sound different.  Most of the ones with exotic materials and/or construction sound worse than ones that are nothing special.  (The commonly found 200+ strand 12 gauge speaker cable sounds worse than 56 strand 12 gauge zip cord. One may indeed be foolish to buy expensive speakers.  The better the speaker, the more it reveals the musical inadequacies of the gear that's driving it.  Get the CD (or record) player that you think gives the best performance that you can afford, then select the rest of the system based on their performance with the selected source.

It seems like we've been down this path before but perhaps the skilled reviewers and while I hate to say this, even store salesmen, are the more credible sources in this case.

JR

[Dave Unger]

I've just finished putting together my "home p.a."  All my connections are balanced.  I have an old Yamaha mv802 and run the subs off an aux!  Speakers are NS10Ms and are driven by a Crown D75A.  All pro live gear and sounds better than most "audiophile" systems I've heard.  

What I really don't understand with "audiophiles" is why their gear isn't rack-mountable.

[Andy Peters]

Dave Unger wrote on Thu, 18 January 2007 14:21

I've just finished putting together my "home p.a."  All my connections are balanced.  I have an old Yamaha mv802 and run the subs off an aux!  Speakers are NS10Ms and are driven by a Crown D75A.  All pro live gear and sounds better than most "audiophile" systems I've heard.

Heh, my computer gaming audio system is a pair of Infinity speakers driven by a D75.  Various computer outputs feed a Rane MLM82A which drives the D75.  Works for me.  One day I'll put in a switch box that disconnects the speakers so I can use the headphone outs and play Doom3 without scaring my wife.

Quote:

What I really don't understand with "audiophiles" is why their gear isn't rack-mountable.

Today's acronym: WIF (Wife Acceptance Factor).

-a

[Greg Cameron]

Dave Unger wrote on Thu, 18 January 2007 13:21

Speakers are NS10Ms and are driven by a Crown D75A.  All pro live gear and sounds better than most "audiophile" systems I've heard.

Hmm. While the NS10's are an industry standard for near-field studio monitors )because if you can get a mix to sound decent on them it will sound decent on almost anything), they'd be my last choice for a home system. I've always hated they way they sound.

Greg