-
Feeling lucky? Check out the AK 24th Anniversary Giveaway thread and join in the fun!
Poor mans audiophile journey.
- Thread starter Lossless
- Start date
alanl
Active Member
You get my vote. I have two systems - one in the house and the other in the office and together they would not be "worth" more than $2-3 grand. Though one set of speakers was purchased new back in the 1970's the rest has been cobbled together from other people's cast-offs and/or relatively low-price second (try multiple) hand gear over several years..
Who cares what it cost if it provides the satisfaction of hearing the music you love in whatever fidelity you find acceptable?
Who cares what it cost if it provides the satisfaction of hearing the music you love in whatever fidelity you find acceptable?
WaynerN
Addicted Member
Well, I grew up a rather poor kid. Dad gone all the time on his job. I did all the work at home (lawn mowing, snow shoveling, garbage duties, etc.). Point is, we all started at the bottom. You should have seen my first piece equipment. A six transistor radio (Emerson) that my mom gave me for Christmas. Almost everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up. Buy and sell. My uncle Therman did give me his old mono system that featured a JBL Dale speaker, a Bell and Howell tube integrated amp and a Voice of Music 45 RPM turntable.
The real question I have for the OP is can you be an audiophile and not own any audio equipment? And, in my opinion, owning audio equipment is not a right, its a privilege, so it's not audio for all....as I am not going to pay for someone else's equipment, they can get their own just like I did. Lawn mowing money, working for various people during the summer (farm work) all helped me buy my first real stuff, a Dynakit PAT-4 and Stereo 120. Put them together myself.
BTW, MLK's message was to judge a man by his character, not his color. I think people have forgotten this.
The real question I have for the OP is can you be an audiophile and not own any audio equipment? And, in my opinion, owning audio equipment is not a right, its a privilege, so it's not audio for all....as I am not going to pay for someone else's equipment, they can get their own just like I did. Lawn mowing money, working for various people during the summer (farm work) all helped me buy my first real stuff, a Dynakit PAT-4 and Stereo 120. Put them together myself.
BTW, MLK's message was to judge a man by his character, not his color. I think people have forgotten this.
Exclude? I find that the cost of getting really good sound today is far lower in real dollars than it has ever been. Your phone can be a nice source driving an amp and speakers. While B&M stores are far less prevalent, there are more avenues available for acquiring gear especially used.
I spend as much time listening to the office and garage systems as the main music system.
What I don't understand is why some folks obsess over investment with gear outside their frame of reference with a negative tone ("so high end is mainly about paying more money for equal or less performance."). Yes, noticeably better does cost more. As with all things in life. I always enjoyed experiencing the phenomenal systems a reviewer friend and mentor had access to. I'm the better for that - not the worse. Thanks for the ride!
And return to reality when I come home.
Last edited:
musichal
poet emeritus
The more expensive bits of my gear were bought lightly used in pristine condition - the original owners having taken the immediate depreciation hits. In my world, they still were very pricey widgets indeed, but a long, long way from new luxury sedan territory. A decent used car, sure - a modest one. I believe they were good value purchases that I could sell for about what I paid as long as I keep them in good condition. So when you see my No. 585 in Barter Town, you'll all know I'm either dead, or have hit hard times that require asset redistribution. If AKer barefootbrew were handling the sale, it would very likely be the former.
I know what you're thinking - guess I can take him off ignore then.
stereofanboy
Addicted Member
Edit: In reviewing, I see that I failed to note that my post is aimed at the linked article and its author, not the op.
It seems as though he is unhappy the really high end stuff is getting to be far out of reach of the average music lover.
Placing the blame on white, middle-aged audiophiles ignores the manufacturers, the audio press, and the average joe no longer counting good sound as a priority in his spending. Hell, he could even throw some blame onto the local tax structure in the places most likely to have high end audio retailers.
At the end of his article he even includes the phrase, "check your privilege". **** him.
Affording a reasonable sounding system is easier than ever. Going up from there will naturally take more.
It seems as though he is unhappy the really high end stuff is getting to be far out of reach of the average music lover.
Placing the blame on white, middle-aged audiophiles ignores the manufacturers, the audio press, and the average joe no longer counting good sound as a priority in his spending. Hell, he could even throw some blame onto the local tax structure in the places most likely to have high end audio retailers.
At the end of his article he even includes the phrase, "check your privilege". **** him.
Affording a reasonable sounding system is easier than ever. Going up from there will naturally take more.
Last edited:
The question you ask, "Can one be an audiophile and not own ANY audio equipment?"
An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction according to Wikipedia. Now reproducing high-fidelity music without some form of audio equipment, be it a Sony Walkman or the Kipnis' Outer Limits Theater, would be very difficult IMHO. I do think that you still could be an audiophile by attending venues that play music. Having enthusiasm for the dynamic sounds of a free public symphony or even a live concert with a highly qualified sound man would make you an audiophile.
Last edited:
Putterman
Super Member
Aside from using loaded words like privileged and snob (replaced with 'comfortably well off' and 'enjoying good sound') the article is mostly about attracting new people to this hobby being aware that they often have limited funds for new equipment and are unwilling to deal with the repairs that often come with older equipment, a topic that seems to come up daily in the forums.
PanheadXR290
Well-Known Member
You do not ever need to spend as much as the cost of a house to have a high fidelity stereo system that will provide you with a full range ,inaudable distortion , adequate SPL amd fsntastic sound stage system with good imaging ,if you watch Craigslist you can set up a system that sounds 80% of what the big bucks systems do for $1,000 .
The thing I have an issue with is being looked at like an idiot with more money than brains by the people in that link posted ,while I do agree that all amplifiers of the exact build topologies ,bias,damping ,crosstalk ,distortion etc all sound alike I only agree with that for low to moderate listening levels ,sometimes the most expensive piece of gear will give the best performance while other times a piece of affordable gear will give the best performance ,alot of our hobby is learning how to properly match speaker systems to the right amplification ,presmplification and source ,there isn't a shadow of doubt to my ears or measuring tools that my affordable monoblocks drive my XRT-28 line arrays much better than my monoblocks that cost as much as a new truck .
For people new to our hobby I always recommend learning how to read and understand specs of speaker systems ,amplifiers and Preamps before spending even $1 on upgrades ,proper component matching importance cannot be understated .
PanheadXR290
Well-Known Member
I read those buzz words in the article as well ,any excuse to bash the American middle class is pounced on by media ,we men are now judged by our finincial status in society ,not the hard work we invested into becoming moral & ethical men with prosperous careers ,it's sad to read crap like that .
I haven't figured out how to quote on hear quite yet, but my question has to deal with matching speakers with amplifier.
I was told by someone, not an Audiokarma member, that my speakers (B&W DM-640i) are being under powered by using the Fisher RS-Z1 receiver. The speakers are rated at 150 watts 4 ohms 91db efficiency and the Fisher RS-Z1 is rated at 150 watts at 4 ohms with .015% THD, damping >50. The system is capable of continuous 105db @ 10ft. without clipping. In your opinion are my speakers being starved for power?
Last edited:
Sorry, but there is most certainly audible distortion with a $1k system as compared with the best. The difference in resolution is significant.
The *distortion* may no longer be harsh sounding as in the past, but it is most certainly subtractive.
Edit the clip.
Are they owners of the speaker and have some previous experience?
If you carefully set up your room and system you can be far ahead of those who simply throw money at their system's sonic deficiencies.Audio systems don't have to be expensive to "sound good"
PanheadXR290
Well-Known Member
The quote function is broken but I prefer the reply quote were using now myself .
You left out some key specs ,your amp will have an RMS wattage which I believe you posted as being 150 wpc @4,ohms but what is the amps Peak Power rating ,a good amp should be able to at the very least produce peak power that's double the RMS wattage if not higher ,you also left out the amps headroom rating and it's 8 ohm rating ,if the Fisher your using now dosent have enough power to reproduce peaks in the source material that can be 10x higher demand than the continuous load demand then your amp isn't a good fit for the speaker , I've seen my XRT-22 speakers using 250-300 watts continuous have short burst peak demands that reach well into the 2,000 watt range with classic rock ,with modern classical I've seen my speakers demand nearly 4,000 watts to accurately reproduce a creshendo from the 250-300 watt continuous setting .
PanheadXR290
Well-Known Member
That's why I used the 80% ratio ,all distortion is not a bad thing to begin with ,as long as the distortion is pleasing to our ears & not causing clipping then it's not a negative within the system ,user enjoyment and happiness outweighs distortion IMO.
Tronk
AKA Cheapo
I'm under $500 with mine and I'm happy.Audio systems don't have to be expensive to "sound good"
Inexpensive Hifi is everywhere, and improvements can be made without spending alot of money. I'm not poor, but priorities come first and audio purchases happen whenever I can afford to get it.
I'm sure the majority on this site (including the OP) has a much better setup than I have and again, I'm happy with what I have.
Don't disagree.
Only with your assertion about *inaudible distortion*. There is simply far more information found in recordings than your theoretical system is capable of resolving.