In choosing loudspeakers, and I am loudspeaker collector, there are different approaches to design and different transducers. You have the average dynamic designs using conventional drivers such as woofer, dome tweeters etc and you have omnidirectional, omnipolar, bipolar,dipolar, planar,push-pull planars, electrostatics, linsource or array or a combination of both, there's also horns and coaxials. There are boxed cabinet designs and flat panel designs to various shapes and materials including the use of aircraft aluminum like magico for example. Not all speakers are the same nor do they sound the same and very few can perform for various music recordings. Some are better for certain type of music, some need proper room treatment to sound its best. Some need additional subwoofer or bass drivers to perform at full range. People are going to be bias in recommending specific speakers for their choice. some speakers are best suited for home theater, some for music only and some a combination of both. It is not an easy task finding speaker that will suit your needs for every occasion. In amplifier designs there are many as well and it's a matter of taste. You might like the soft sound of tubes or the high power of solid state and there are different types of amplifier regarding both tube and solid state. Some are hybrids which are a combination of both the same goes for preamp, cd players. There is also the possiblity of desiring to TWEAK your system with various tweaks such as sound processors, room treatments, vibration control, resonance control and various other tweaks. This hobby is a never ending search for music nirvana. You are going to come across people and sellers who are going to claim THEIR music nirvana, but it is up to you to find what sounds good to your ears.
Complete newbie needing guidance/purchase advice
Hi folks-
First of all, let me apologize in advance for a lengthy post. I'm a brand new forum member after recently being introduced to this site by an acquaintance who heard I was looking for sound advice... As my thread title states, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to the audiophile world, but I really want to start building a system and learn something in the process. A little background on me: I've been making a living as a recording artist and studio musician for almost 20 years, but my career choice as a music-maker has somehow ironically detached me from the simple pleasure of just sitting and _listening_ to music for the sheer enjoyment of it. My wife and I are currently in the process of remodeling our bonus room into a media room, and one of my objectives is to at the very least turn it into a space where I can do some critical listening.
I currently don't have anything decent... Just some old Bose bookshelf speakers and a Yamaha surround receiver. The closest thing to 'something decent' that I own are a pair of Etymotic ER-4S headphones coupled with a Headroom headphone amplifier.
The big limiting factor is my budget. Given that fact, maybe I have no business posting here... I will probably need to build this piece-by-piece over time, so I'm content with having to stretch the process out. I'm not concerned with having to have the 'best' of anything; I would just really like to make listening to music an engaging and emotional experience for me like it was for me many years ago.
Would a speaker purchase be a good place to start? I was perusing the Audiogon classifieds today and saw that there is actually a pair of DK Designs LSA-2's for sale local to me. The asking price is at the top of my speaker budget, a little over a grand, which I realize is probably 'chump change' in the audiophile world. However, I've read some reviews and they seem mostly positive. Would be super-convenient to be able to find something nice that was used and local, but as I said before, I'm completely new to this. Another related question: Is it better to go with floor-standing speakers, or can decent sound also be accomplished with bookshelf speakers combined with a subwoofer?
Also, what are the other 'basic' components that would need to be purchased? The only other thing I know I'd love to have would be a decent turntable; I'd love to be able to go and purchase some of my favorite classic albums to listen to once again. Do I need a separate preamp and power amp combination? Are there any 'receivers' that do a decent job of covering both tasks?
Any other feedback or direction you experts could throw my way would be greatly appreciated... Thanks in advance!
First of all, let me apologize in advance for a lengthy post. I'm a brand new forum member after recently being introduced to this site by an acquaintance who heard I was looking for sound advice... As my thread title states, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to the audiophile world, but I really want to start building a system and learn something in the process. A little background on me: I've been making a living as a recording artist and studio musician for almost 20 years, but my career choice as a music-maker has somehow ironically detached me from the simple pleasure of just sitting and _listening_ to music for the sheer enjoyment of it. My wife and I are currently in the process of remodeling our bonus room into a media room, and one of my objectives is to at the very least turn it into a space where I can do some critical listening.
I currently don't have anything decent... Just some old Bose bookshelf speakers and a Yamaha surround receiver. The closest thing to 'something decent' that I own are a pair of Etymotic ER-4S headphones coupled with a Headroom headphone amplifier.
The big limiting factor is my budget. Given that fact, maybe I have no business posting here... I will probably need to build this piece-by-piece over time, so I'm content with having to stretch the process out. I'm not concerned with having to have the 'best' of anything; I would just really like to make listening to music an engaging and emotional experience for me like it was for me many years ago.
Would a speaker purchase be a good place to start? I was perusing the Audiogon classifieds today and saw that there is actually a pair of DK Designs LSA-2's for sale local to me. The asking price is at the top of my speaker budget, a little over a grand, which I realize is probably 'chump change' in the audiophile world. However, I've read some reviews and they seem mostly positive. Would be super-convenient to be able to find something nice that was used and local, but as I said before, I'm completely new to this. Another related question: Is it better to go with floor-standing speakers, or can decent sound also be accomplished with bookshelf speakers combined with a subwoofer?
Also, what are the other 'basic' components that would need to be purchased? The only other thing I know I'd love to have would be a decent turntable; I'd love to be able to go and purchase some of my favorite classic albums to listen to once again. Do I need a separate preamp and power amp combination? Are there any 'receivers' that do a decent job of covering both tasks?
Any other feedback or direction you experts could throw my way would be greatly appreciated... Thanks in advance!
- ...
- 84 posts total
- 84 posts total