Hard to swallow, sorta

[roadie1]

I mean who can complain about Yamaha NS1000M's sounding good? I set out some time ago to put together a really nice "reference" system with what funds I had. Did all my homework, listened, read reviews etc. I finally ended up with a Musical Fidelity A5 integrated and some Gallo 3.1's.

Put the system together with a Rotel RCD-1072 CDP and had hopes of letting the fun begin. Ummm, didn't quite work out as I had hoped. The Gallo's are everything I'd read about and more. Fanatastic speakers but something ever so small was lacking. Just couldn't pin it down. Sooo.. I experimented with about all the speakers I have. Some Polk M7's, Klipsch RB5II's and Paradigm MiniMonitors and a few others. Then...

Tried my Yamaha NS1000M's, there it was! Everything I was wanting to hear came forth. So now what I'm having to eat is that a pair of 30 year old speakers that I paid half the price for of the Gallo's sound sooo much better.

I can live with it as I'm using the Gallo's with another rig and be quite happy that the legendary Yammie's live up to their name!....R1:yes:

 

[JimJ[VT]]

Eh, sometimes it works out that way.

If we all liked the same speakers, these forums would be supremely boring...

 

[gyusher]

You are used to them. . . Right or wrong you relate that 'sound' to being better.

Give the others a fair chance (several weeks). I've done this still thinking my old ones were better until putting them back in the system only to find they weren't as great as I thought. Screeching midrange was the forward sound I thought was better. . .in my case.

 

[Mark B]

You are used to them. . . Right or wrong you relate that 'sound' to being better.

Give the others a fair chance (several weeks). I've done this still thinking my old ones were better until putting them back in the system only to find they weren't as great as I thought. Screeching midrange was the forward sound I thought was better. . .in my case.

I think you've got it backwards. It's usually initial infatuation, and when the first blush is gone then the flaws become evident.

 

[roadie1]

You are used to them. . . Right or wrong you relate that 'sound' to being better.

Give the others a fair chance (several weeks). I've done this still thinking my old ones were better until putting them back in the system only to find they weren't as great as I thought. Screeching midrange was the forward sound I thought was better. . .in my case.

Nice to "meet" u gyusher. I'm about an hour south of you. I used to live in Reynoldsburg. Thanks for the response!........R1

 

[Squidward]

I think you've got it backwards. It's usually initial infatuation, and when the first blush is gone then the flaws become evident.

Couldn't agree more. I've liked many speakers that I initially discounted, and I hated some speakers that I've been all primed to love. Until you've hear/lived with/used a piece of gear, it's really hard to know if it's for you. The stories of unsuccessful "upgrades" abound, both here and other forums. This is a highly subjective hobby, and no matter how pretty or expensive a piece might be, it's impossible to tell how it sounds until you listen to it.

 

[cableguy]

Couldn't agree more. I've liked many speakers that I initially discounted, and I hated some speakers that I've been all primed to love. Until you've hear/lived with/used a piece of gear, it's really hard to know if it's for you. The stories of unsuccessful "upgrades" abound, both here and other forums. This is a highly subjective hobby, and no matter how pretty or expensive a piece might be, it's impossible to tell how it sounds until you listen to it.

Very well said.....I totally concur....:yes:


Bill

 

[ozmoid]

Couldn't agree more. I've liked many speakers that I initially discounted, and I hated some speakers that I've been all primed to love. <SNIP> no matter how pretty or expensive a piece might be, it's impossible to tell how it sounds until you listen to it.

Been there, done that, and all I got was these TERRIFIC SPEAKERS THAT I LOVE!!!

Of course, I also have the "Nearly terrific speakers that I can live with" and the "Pretty good speakers that I won't move out" and the "I can't listen to those for more than a minute" speakers that I'd feel bad selling because they suck, and the room full of ALMOST but not quite AS GOOD AS MY FAVORITES that I keep in reserve... just in case.

 

[gyusher]

I think you've got it backwards. It's usually initial infatuation, and when the first blush is gone then the flaws become evident.

Actually we are saying the same thing. . . If you are not thrilled at first then does that mean that you will like the speaker after you listen awhile??

I think we are both saying the same thing only from different viewpoints.

 

[Cosmos]

Interesting. Let me enter my two centavos...

Seldom, in my experience never, did I grow to like a pair of speakers that I didn't like initially.

I have, however, experienced the opposite and grown to not like speakers I initially thought were interesting.

Seems to me that good or bad is fairly easy to hear quickly, but great takes a while to develop from good.

There is one big variant though.. the room and setup you hear them in.

A system, IMO, is a balancing trade off.. Many factors collide to form what you hear.. but the biggest variants are the electro-mechanical devices (Speakers, Cartridges and Mics) and the room.

BTW, I am not surprised that the Yamahas won.. Good is good and great is great. The Yamaha's are great with one weakness (bass). They are one of the most electrostatic like box speakers I have ever heard. To me, that indicates low distortion and fast response.

 

[gamalot]

NS 1000s are a great speaker but there may be more to this.

We all change with age and speakers that might have sounded one way 20 or 30 years ago might be just the ticket to your ears today.

I have also found that every speaker sounds a bit different depending upon what amp/system you run them with and the room makes alot of difference as well.

Sound to me like you finally hit the right combination and that would be what I consider Audio Nirvana.

I love my big altecs but I sure wouldn't kick a pair of NS 1000s out.

Every now and then I fire up the old Advents and they sure do a nice job where ratteling the dishes is not needed.

Gary

 

[gyusher]

We all change with age and speakers that might have sounded one way 20 or 30 years ago might be just the ticket to your ears today.
Gary

I really enjoy some speakers today that I couldn't listen to when I was younger.

Yamaha, Polk, Advent are 3 that come to mind. Now I enjoy how they sound. When I was younger Advents sounded like other 2 ways. Yamaha sounded almost harsh from being so bright. Polks had a PR and in those days a PR was a sign of death to me.

My experience with Yamaha is the 690IIs that I had earlier this year. I thought them to be decent, pleasant to listen to, a little bright but much smoother than I remember.

I disagree that good is good and you know it instantly when you hear it. I listened so long to forward sounding Rock speakers that it was very hard for me to like the more accurate flat FR speakers. What I did notice early was the fact that you could listen to them for hours on end and still be able to listen more. No listener fatigue.

Today whenever I listen to what I liked in those days I find screeching midranges in speakers that are way to forward sounding for my taste.

Today what I do like is much more subtle and often it doesn't grab you right away. More like an awakeing as time passes and I start finding myself just grinning from enjoyment.

I also 'study' the sound I am listening to today looking for a reason either not to or to like them. The really good ones I find myself not studying but just listening with a grin on my face like I get from my La Scalas. Not the holy grail but wonderful for what I listen to.

This is how it affects me. I cannot say what someone else may or may not like only what I like.

 

[gamalot]

If you liked your 690s then I think you would be thrilled with 1000s.

I have never been a fan of Jap speakers and always prefered Altecs, Klipsh, JBL and Advents. I bought a set of hammered NS 1000s that worked great but needed lots of woodwork which I love.

I never listened to them until I had them looking like new and ready to sell for profit. I was completely stunned by the clarity and the total sound spectrum they covered. Was even more stunned when I cranked them up and they just got to sounding better with every watt. For a speaker not too much larger then my Advents I was in complete awe.

I know exactly what you are saying Guy. I had many rock speakers and at the time I felt they were great because they could push high SPLs. I still love my Altecs but every once in a while I love the sound from the Advents or my KEF Cantatas.

Gary

 

[gyusher]

My buddy has an 85 thousand dollar Dane "Evidence" setup and I have spent hundreds of hours just sitting and listening to what some consider to be the finest loudspeaker in the world. They are spectacular no doubt about it.

This guy is also a speaker builder fanatic. We used to setup double blind listening tests just to screw with his audiophile friends. We got the idea from several stereo shops who were at the time demoing the new Bose cubes since they had just hit the market.

Lets just say that in all our trials hardly anyone was ever right. When running amplifier trials no one ever got it right. Speakers were a bit easier but not near as much as one would think.

Take your favorite speakers out of their environment and set them along side of another one totally unknown to you except for the brand name and model. Let someone else switch back and forth. You may be surprised I know I was.

 

[2DualsNotEnough]

The right corresponding components make a big difference in the sound of speakers,for me.Ill try a new set of speakers on my cheap bedroom rig,and then try them on other systems in my house,and each time the speakers will sound much different.I know room acoustics play a big part,too,but in my experience,the right combination of components is the biggest factor in bringing out the best of any speaker.My Large Advents sound great with my CR-1020 receiver,and just OK with my bigger system,which is near-field listening.Only one set of speakers Ive owned sound consistently good on every system Ive put together:EPI 100's.
Jimmy

 

[jeffn]

I think peoples ears are the ultimate equaliser. I've swapped speakers and been underwhelmed by muffled bass or prominent midrange........ then you use them for a while and the ears adjust till they sound good. Swap back to the originals and it all starts over again.........
I think the ears adjust to allow best the enjoyment of music.......

 

[Yamaha1]

The Yamaha NS-1000 does everything with accuracy and ultimately, truth prevails over hype and vodoo tech.

 

[gamalot]

I think peoples ears are the ultimate equaliser. I've swapped speakers and been underwhelmed by muffled bass or prominent midrange........ then you use them for a while and the ears adjust till they sound good. Swap back to the originals and it all starts over again.........
I think the ears adjust to allow best the enjoyment of music.......

Excellent point Jeff. Some days my ears want to hear hard pounding southern rock and other days they just want some sweet female vocals. I do have my favorites depending on what music I feel like listening to and how loud I want it.

One of the best things I found with the NS 1000s is they covered the full spectrum and could be very accurate where easy listening was the order and very loud where hard pounding was my desire. I will always consider them very near the top of my list if I ever have to downsize to fit good sound in a room. We all have favorites and thats what makes this fun.

Gary

 

[JimJ[VT]]

I've listened to some subs that have come from the factory with little playing time on them, and the suspension was pretty stiff...after a couple hundred hours on them, I liked the sound a lot more. A lot of full range drivers do the same thing, Lowthers are known for hellaciously long "break-in" times before they tonally get to where they're going to end up.

 

[gyusher]

I remember my EQ days. . . I'd work and work all night until I got it right only to turn it on the next morning and want to puke it sounded so bad. . .

So many things can and do affect SQ. It also never fails that whenever you want to show off for a friend it just doesn't sound as good as it does after they leave. . .

I find it better to start gradually and work into what you want to listen to unless it is running in background mode. . . Personally I love to just sit and listen. . .