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How Much Is Too Much?

i was musing over the recent review by m.fremer of the SF Guarneri Memento speakers as he described their wonderful sound; naturally for a small monitor, they "almost" reproduce the full impact of large scale classical music. they "almost" do justice to hard rock. and of course, they're ideal for smaller jazz groups and chamber music- so much so, that even with the $14k price tag, they would still be perfect for certain people. as i get older (i just turned 55), i am on the fence when i listen to music- i don't like it at realistic volumes as much as i used to. recently i auditioned Wilson Alexandria's, which really put the music right up in your face (i mean this in a positive way of course), whether it's Beethoven #9 or Bill Evans, AC/DC or Segovia. they are astonishingly resolving so you're not missing ANYTHING. you simply dial in the appropriate volume level for the type of music and sit back (you may want to grip the chair firmly for extra support). my impressions of those speakers spilled over in my head for days. ever since high school, i had a desire for a system that could reproduce music on a realistic scale. but NOW otoh, do i really want to listen to music hour after hour as if i was in lincoln center, or a jazz club, or a black sabbath concert? or would i rather listen to the guarneri's- maybe even turn DOWN the volume control on the amp every so often? or am i just getting too old and cranky? in addition to these other blasphemies, i can listen to my tivoli radio at my bedside for hours and not feel i'm missing that much, especially on jazz. so i humbly ask again- are there others here as well that, after you've heard alot of what a great (big) systems are capable of, you still want (alot) of music in your life, but increasingly you don't care as much about "slam" or IMPACT as you used to? come to think of it, if i go all the way back to when i was 9 or 10, my "system" consisted of a transistor radio with a 2 inch speaker; as i remember it sounded "good enough"- but then i started to want FM too...
french_fries
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
I find that the better the speaker and amplficiation the more natural and effortless a good recording will sound; the end result is that the music inevitably gets turned up. I agree that most systems distort on transients and begin to sound awful (dull or compressed or harsh) at higher volumes.
mcpody
73 posts
 
So, now that there seems to be a trend toward listening at low to moderate levels...this affords an opportunity to make a qualitative audio upgrade...single ended amplification. And if you have any concern about bass response, get hooked up with a PX25 based amplifier. Both Audion and Art Audio make an excellent single ended integrated amplifier...
mechans
3,048 posts
 
It really depends on your listening style. if you read a dense tome with intens concentration , the music clearly is not best loud it must be very soft and dream like that would be about 70-75 Db barely audible. I know my wife plays her music at that level. When I listen I like it with gusto despite my joining the rank of old farts. Pal Joe and I listen with peaks to 105 db at the seating position. I found a soundtrak from "2001 a Space Oddedsy" in a second that I found store that was hard to type, In any event hand store. the peaks were intense and almost to loud. I would answer you question that the best musuc in the world is this simple . The music you like to ply you and many hours is clearly Thw music exant . I have telling prople that for about 25 years.
SO F*** um if they don' tlikit.
french_fries OP
815 posts
 
i forgot to mention one other thing- in addition to enjoying full sized systems AND compact-monitor systems (both in equal measure- i hope it's understood that my main system speakers weigh over 500lbs each), it may be purely psychological in my case, but i am fascinated by small speakers/systems as they disperse sound into a fair-sized room. i was laid up after surgery a few years ago, and sat up in bed listening to a JVC "Kaboom" box mounted on my dresser. my old rock and roll cassettes and many of my cd's sounded really great- the box threw a suprisingly wide stereo image as well. i wisely left the classical material in the living room, but it made a big impression on me. and THIS after all my years of upgrading to levinson, b&w, vpi,...
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Well. I think that most of the rock we loved in our youth, and I still love a lot of it today, sounds pretty good on the smaller speakers of a car stereo.

Now that I've found and am able to afford better equipment that is more resolving I find it possible/desirable to listen to music at lower levels. I have found that the more resolving and efficient my system gets, the easier it is to listen at low volume and not feel like I'm missing those background details. Prog rock, jazz, classical, country. It all works on a great system.

Much like Plato I do still find the urge from time to time to crank it up a bit. I've also learned to listen for the point where I'm overdriving the room.
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