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Low-Fi Experience


Anybody have any recent low-fi experiences?

A buddy of mine recently went out and bought a Kenwood HT in a box set. Comes with 2 standard bookshelf speakers, 2 smaller surrounds, and the center, along with a 100W 8in subwoofer with a kenwood DD/DTS reciever.

He got it at a major retailer for about 260 bucks, about half price of MSRP due to a sale going on.

I was somewhat impressed with the sound of it.
Since my HT is history and a 2 channel system in progress, and i have no surround sound, i was thinking of picking one of these up for the living room. I still plan on building a dedicated HT, but untill then i think this will suffice, and probably even last as a livingroom surround rig for some time.

The thing is i was real suprised by how it sounded. It actually sounded pretty good. Granted, it doesent sound as good as a decent High End system, but it was not only tolerable, but rather enjoyable, and very forgivable of the shortcomings with such a handsome price.

I think alot of it has to do with the fact that Dolby Digital and DTS inherantly sound pretty good. But it really took me by suprise. Definatly kicked the crap out of any 2,000 bose system i have encountered. But not nearly as refined as my old HT rig.

Does anybody else think that Low-Fi equipment is making vast improvements with advances in technology?

anyone else have any experiences like this? Its been so long since i heard a In Box Bargain Bystem, i really wasnt prepared for it to sound as good as it did.
slappy
slappy OP
903 posts
 
True True.

When i first started on this board, i was all about the HT. Never thought too much about 2 channel. I liked good quality of sound, but i was also all about the latest and greates techno-features.

I'd love to have a really great HT again, but i have a feeling for the next couple years i will be focusing on a real great 2 channel setup.

i still think that comparing HT and 2ch is like apples and oranges. They produce sound, they use similar equipment, but that is where the similarities end. They are definatly different beasts.
tireguy
1,964 posts
 
I agree with you Slappy- I got started in this hobby years ago with a kenwood HT in a box, I paid $499 for it. Worth every penny! I used it for 2 years and then I went crazy(you know how it goes) and I gave it to my brother and he's still using it! Its about 7 years old and works great, he is not an audiophile, but likes music. I gave him some kimber Kable for it and he told me the improvements he heard- one day he'll take the plunge, its weird because he's my older brother; I should be learning from him. By far this system offered the highest level of value out of everything I have owned. Now less then 10 years later, I have more invested in my outlets and dedicated lines, cryo treated breakers, etc... then my first system cost! And that's just what stuff just gets plugged into- so sad.
slappy OP
903 posts
 
I hear you there tireguy.
I have an older brother that im going to convert to the evil ways of audiophilia as well. Im somewhat suprised he never got into this hobby, he is big on vinyl, and lives for music. I gave him a set of Boston Accoustics Bravos that i had laying around. He was wanting to get better sound for his DVDs than just the regular tv speakers. He got an Atlantic Tech subwoofer and a yamaha reciever and absolutly loves it.
This next year i think im gonna buy some bottlehead kits and build them and give them to him. See if that gets him the bug. He can afford this hobby a little better than i can, and i would sure like to know somebody personally who is also in this hobby
Im sure my sister in law will hate me when he is telling her how he needs to upgrade his cable. hehe
pragmatist
336 posts
 
NAD markets(or used to) a receiver/cd player box with a pair of PSB speakers that is not half bad for the money for rooms the size of dorm rooms.

I've heard worse.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
I don't really have any specific, recent 'lo-fi' experience, and my past experiences have been mixed. But IMO this is an area the high end neglects at its own peril. I would stongly advocate that the high end mags keep things honest by occasionally but regularly checking out 'mass-market' components of all stripes. For audiophiles, doing this on your own can be a little difficult - you may run into many such 'systems' at your friends' and relatives' places, but almost none of them will have been set up with best sonics in mind. Same is true of this gear in the big chain stores. But in theory, I believe that getting a good idea just what the real-world baseline truly is or can be constitutes a worthwhile self-check on all our audiophilic flights of fancy and standards of perceived value.
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