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All these speakers - my head is spinning!

Krosya

Krosya

Well-Known Member
Hi all,
About a year ago ( or slightly more) I got back into Vinyl and vintage audio in general. Since then it has been a rollercoaster of amps, receivers and most of all speakers. And this forum is where I get most of my information about the equipment. Pouring over the reviews and opinions. Slowly I even learned how to re-foam speakers - something I never thought I'd do. I didnt venture into re-cap yet - mostly because I dont know much about soldering not am I fully sold in a real need for it. But maybe one day.....
But anyway, I would like to thank everyone for your help and opinions - it really helped me to get off the ground and start enjoying this hobby.
Now begins the long and boring part, so some of you may want to move on to a different thread. ;)
If anyone is still here - following are my thoughts on things in general and in some cases more specific.
While find it to be fun to try different speakers, - with different amps/receivers, in different rooms, different music, positioning, etc, I find myself more and more confused and at times frustrated.
First, there are so many different things I read about here and it would be nice to try - where I live there are practically no places to do so. While I know we do have some people around that know some serious audio (based on few rare posts on local CL), it's really hard to find most of the things I hear about from forum members.
But even if I do find something interesting (I did get lucky a few times since getting into this hobby), with most vintage stuff - I always wonder if speakers sound as good as they could. I mean, I may like them very much - but in a back of my head I think - maybe they can sound better. And sometimes they do - in a different room or hooked up to a different receiver. By now I have developed this GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) and have several pairs of speakers as well as amps/receivers, - just enough to keep myself busy switching things back and forth. And as got one of my friends into this hobby as well, he does the same thing, so we periodically borrow each others "toys" to see how they sound. All this makes my head spin!
I keep telling myself - I should just find something I like and stick to it, stop upgrading or switching things around, yet I keep doing it. I even try to make some rules to my illness - not buy certain brands or sizes of speakers (doesnt always work - sometimes I just cant say no to a good deal).
Even with well regarded speakers, like Klipsch KG4 I cant figure them out - they sound great in one room, but with CD/DVD or as HT, but not near as well with TT. In a different room and different amp - it's like a whole different speaker! - nothing sounds right with it. Yet in a third location - it's yet another sound.
I just want a set of speakers that sounds good with everything and in any room! Is that possible? I do have a couple that came close - Mirage M360 and Realistic Optimus 5b. These seem to be my most universal speakers. Advent Heritage are not too bad. But others (and some I really like in those setups/locations, I just stopped messing with them anymore), like my rare Synergistics or Jensens, are very particular as to what drives them and where they are located.
So, if someone is still reading this - let me ask you - Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Is there a set of perfect speakers that I can just hook up to anything , place in any room and just focus on music and not moving things around and drive my wife crazy with yet more speaker acquisitions?
 
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Eventually the gear buying will wind down, if that's what you want. Sounds like you're in the fortunate financial position of being able to pursue the hobby. I think that when we have that freedom, and are in the early stages of this hobby, we're likely to get into it like crazy.( I'm not in that category moneywise, which is probably a good thing). You've been finding out what you like and what you don't.
There are folks here on AK who have a system- or two or more- in each room. Others have rooms stacked floor to ceiling with collected gear. Its a different hobby for everyone.
Maybe take the best of what you have right now and agree with yourself to just live with it for a while. Take a month off from acquisition and just listen to music.
 
There is no light at the end,there is no end,it goes on and on.Just kidding.Your just going thru what most of us do,it's part of the hobby.Trying to reach audio nirvana.For myself I have slowed down buying gear unless of course it's a great deal I can't pass up.
But for the most part I have plenty of amps and speakers and turntables blah blah.I'm doing room treatment now and it makes a huge difference in the way your gear performs,I also use a speaker switcher thingy with 4 sets of speakers on it that really makes it convienient auditioning all my speakers without unpluging things.I guess what I'm saying is that I'm quite satisfied with my system save for the occasional tweeking.Get some aucoustic pannels and start placing them around your room you will hear what I'm talking about.
 
There is always light at the end of the tunnel. The real question is "will you reach the end of the tunnel?"

I would mention a few brief points.

a) The room is an integral and important component in any audio system using loudspeakers as transducers. Change the room and it may well change the whole character of the system.

b) There will always be systems and gear that sound better than yours, always. This hobby inspires and drives serious innovation. Today's revelation is tomorrow's obsolete.

c) Avoid fairy tales like "synergy", one of my pet peeves. There are real, and empirical reasons why certain gear works well together, and why other gear doesn't. Learn about the parameters that most audibly interact with each other, and you will be able to make very accurate predictions about how certain pairings might, or might not bode well together. Trade mystery for enjoyment and understanding.
 
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You sound like many of us.

Time to lay down some ground rules to make sure you keep things real and under control. Here are a couple to consider:

1. Never sacrifice your main listening area/room for the sake of "more" gear. All it does is degrade the experience. Plus you look like a hoarder to just about anybody else that might visit.
2. Along with room treatments for improved acoustics, make sure the room is also a nice place to be. Nicely arranged, good pieces of furniture and especially a good chair or two in the listening position. Helps with the WAF thing as well.
3. Roll or rotate in your different speakers. Don't set up a bunch across the front etc. Find a place to store or locate the stuff that is out of rotation other than in your listening area.
4. Try to discipline your buying by not doing so until you sell something. Not the other way around, which usually ends up with you not selling to make up for the buying.
5. You can make it a game or challenge yourself by always making your next purchase a higher value. Never go down. Of course this can be segregated into each type of piece as well with different value points.
6. Create a spreadsheet with an itemization of all your pieces. It is just good to have in the event something happens and so you can keep track of it all, but it will do something else as well that you will realize once you do it.
 
Is there a set of perfect speakers that I can just hook up to anything said:
No. You're doing it right though. Will you get tired of it before you find it, time will tell. Visual art looks different in different rooms, audio's no different.

What get's our attention often won't keep it, shiny objects can become a distraction. Making recommendations on something that involves so many variables is a crap shoot and very personal. Get to know the tonal characteristics of your gear, mix and match and don't be afraid to let some good stuff go if it doesn't speak to you. Variety is nice too, different eras, different sound, keeps it fun and honest.
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I agree with the advice of never going down in value/sound quality, unless you REALLY want to EXPERIENCE the gear people talk about. If so, that's cool. Otherwise, what's the point? I've seen guys on here that have entire households, hundreds of pieces of gear that are mid-fi at best. If mid-fi is all one can afford, that's fine. But he had tens of thousands of dollars invested in this stuff. I had to ask myself, why not just buy one really great system?

My other piece of advice, and one that took me a while to learn: Try to find the light as soon as you can. Once you have a really great system, just stop for a while. Listen. If you really enjoy hunting, and buying, and selling, and experiencing different equipment, and that's the joy of this hobby for you, fine. But if the joy is in listening to MUSIC, you'd be better served by just having a good system and relaxing a little. Just listen. Preferably without a room full of gear in every corner.

I can tell you from experience that ALL speakers sound bad when they're being compared directly to one another. It's because our ears don't have a chance to adapt to them. Speakers that I've been listening to for a few weeks will be sounding awesome to me. I'll just be connected to the music. I'm not listening for this flaw or that. I'm not interested in sonic effects. I'm interested in how Sonny Rollins handed the solo off to Paul Chambers. That's what makes me happy. Then I'll think I want to try a new set of speakers in the system. All of a sudden the old ones sound terrible! Then I bring them back in and the new ones sound terrible! Now I'm listening to some crappy Holly Cole audiophile recording to see how the lowest bass frequencies compare between the two. I'm moving speakers back and forth frantically trying to discern little tiny differences when I finally realized I'm STRESSED OUT. That's not what this hobby is about. Hobbies are supposed to make you happy. So just make sure whatever you're doing is making you happy.
 
1. I have parted with gear simply because the market values it more than I do. This has occasionally helped me be more particular, about price and quality, when aquiring gear. Knowing there is an interested market should it not meet my needs/wants is a plus.
2. This hasn't stopped me from acquiring modest projects for furthering my repair and restoration skills. I couldn't do this without the generous help and knowledge available here on AK.
3. If my speakers can't be optimally placed and enjoyed, then it is time to remove some gear so they can be enjoyed or they get moved on. I have one set of speakers that won't leave due to sentimental reasons only. All others are fair game for moving on if not meeting my current needs.
4. If parting with gear, then I do give a nod to keeping the higher quality gear as long as my ears value it above the market place.
5. I find selling to have a good effect on my listening experience. I know that they are just things designed to bring listening enjoyment and others await discovery.
 
I guess I am in a "hunting" or "trying things out" stage - just added a Klipsch KG4 (have another thread on those) and HPM 40 to the mix. All so very different, but fun to compare.
 
Tom Brennan said:
Tattoos have become conventional and bourgeois, the way to look weird now is to not have them.
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Yes, all the way. Used to be, a tattoo was a badge of honor, or a sign of accomplishment. My uncle Bubby (RIP) was a sailor, so on his forearm....yep, you guessed it....an anchor.

Now, tattoos are akin to "Participation Trophies", or as I often say, "I wanna be different and edgy, just like everyone else".

Off topic, I know.

To the OP, enjoy the ride, and be honest with yourself. You'll decide what to keep, and what to pass on. I'm 15 or so years into this hobby for serious, and I'm paring down quite a bit. Good luck.
 
Drugolf said:
Time to lay down some ground rules...

6. Create a spreadsheet with an itemization of all your pieces.
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I maintain spreadsheets for speakers and amplifiers, and I track purchase price, date, and status (in-use, loaned out, sidelined, awaiting repairs, etc.). It's immensely useful to gain a big-picture perspective on all the gear, and allows me to rank pieces by importance and value.
teal'c said:
Moving speakers, especially the big ones, is good exercise and good for your health.
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I bought a Magliner hand truck for this very purpose.
 
There are many ways to enjoy speakers. What may stress one person out may fascinate another for hours on end. I would not enjoy spreadsheets, and I am only a little interested in valuation. I do love to listen carefully to complex mixes and compare what stands out in one speaker, as opposed to another and make value judgements and decisions. I love to allow a speaker to grow on you. To slowly reveal its sonic palette as I listen to old favorites in a new light. I have a friend who is an engineer and a retired speaker designer. He has great measurement tools. That can be fun too.

Over time, with careful listening I have found that each speaker has it's own voice, and many different voices avail you to different aspects of a mix. It gives us fresh perspective on music that we love and may be otherwise very familiar with.

I have found that some speakers may be mediocre or even poor in reproducing detail in complex mixes, but downright fun when pushing pop tunes in the background. An example of this would be the Fisher XP-9.

On the other end of the spectrum one might find a speaker that presents breathtaking detail but all that information might tire you out quickly. Genelec studio monitors for example. Most speakers are some sort of compromise of those extremes and there are many many successes at finding a sweet spot. But none are definitively best. I have found this to be true at every price range that I have been exposed to. Even speakers that cost well into the six figure range.

My approach to this problem is to have as many speakers as I can comfortably store in my home. I am an artistic type and I love a beautiful house. So I cannot be a hoarder. Nevertheless, I currently enjoy a rotation of about 7 sets of speakers. I have some restorations in progress and I will probably thin the heard when those are done. I have really been enjoying the Boston Acoustics A series sound. I also own modern speakers that represent a heftier investment. I enjoy them all. Not all speakers do it for me though. I am done with Advent speakers for example. There are only a couple of JBL models that I would consider owning, and they are not the most expensive ones. On the modern end, I didn't care for the Sonus Faber or Vienna Acoustics speakers that I have heard or owned.

I am fortunate to have a couple of very nice and irregularly shaped rooms that are excellent acoustically. That is a definite factor in getting the best out of each speaker.
 
I used to hoard stuff and I've had lots of great gear come and go that I lusted for when I was a kid. I've got a small group of things at my best friends house and then my rig at home. I've not bought much of anything major in last 5 or 6 years but about to buy a new Bob Latino VTA ST-120 amp kit and build a pair of Klipsch Belle clones. Other than that, I'm just enjoying the music now more than chasing after stuff. Was fun while it lasted.
 
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