I appreciate your views, Eldragon, but I still don't see how the preamp (or integrated amp) can be MORE important than the proper SPEAKER/ROOM INTERFACE. And please notice that I did not say that the SPEAKERS are MORE important than the preamp, but that the INTERACTION between the room and speakers is MORE important. In my friends system described above (Vandersteen, Bryston, Resolution)I used a RTA to help figure out what was going on. He had 10dB rise from about 100Hz to 250Hz, and a 8dB suckout from about 65Hz down to 50Hz (from the flexing of his wood floors, we presume) and allot of other problems through the mid and high frequencies. When we moved the speakers along the long wall, that helped, but nothing changed from the upper bass down. He could never understand what was going on, and tried different amps, source components, and wires. And while each change produced a shift in the spectral balance of the system, nothing really helped to make the system more enjoyable, at least according to him. And after looking at the in-room frequency response plot, I can understand why. He was fighting a problem that could not be solved unless he got new speakers, or a new room. With the Dunlavys we were able to get nearly flat response from about 50Hz to above 10Khz with only a minimum ammount of acoustic treatments. Are the Vandersteens *bad* speakers? Of course not. They were simply the WRONG speaker for this room. And no preamp I know of (besides one that uses digital correction) can compensate for really bad frequency response problems. This is why I still contend that the SPEAKER/ROOM INTERFACE is most important, and by that I mean selecting the right speaker for the proposed listening room, setting it up properly, and applying acoustic treatments if needed. Until my buddies came over last night, I thought this was common knowledge, but boy was I wrong. And please try to remember, I'm not saying that SPEAKERS are MORE important than any other component. I'm simply saying that the SPEAKER/ROOM INTERFACE (as I've defined it in the above posts) is more important than just about anything else, at least in my experience....Robert K.
What's most important?
I had some friends over last night, and we started to discuss the different things that go into assembling a high quality stereo playback system. The level of disagreement, and the heated discourse, was both fun and surprising. Here is what I think, in order from most important, to least: 1).THE ROOM/SPEAKER INTERFACE- choosing the right speaker, and placing it properly in an acoustically "sound" room with a dedicated power line. If this is wrong (like a Wilson Grand Slamm in 12 x 12 x 8 room) well, then why bother with the rest. 2). THE SPEAKER/AMP INTERFACE- this is a close second, and depending on the circumstances, might even be first. If there is a REAL problem here(like low impedance/sensitivity speakers w/SET amps) nothing else will matter much. 3). THE AMP/PREAMP INTERFACE- again, this seems to be the next place where things can go really wrong in an audio system. 4) SOURCE COMPONENTS- I know, this is lower on my list than most people would like, and I don't mean to infer that source components don't affect the quality of a playback system. Of course they do. I just feel that if the above issues have not been addressed, then simply throwing a reference quality source into the system might not be the best way to maximize the potential of said system. 5). INTERCONNECTS AND SPEAKER WIRE 6). ISOLATON DEVICES, A/C CORDS, POWER CONDITIONERS, AND OTHER VARIOUS TWEAKS.....Well there it is. Again, in an ideal system, ALL of the above issues would (should) be addressed sooner or later. But how would you prioritize things, and why? Release the hounds........Robert K.
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- 17 posts total
- 17 posts total