Interesting situation! Do we need this....


  I had a very interesting and unsettling experience that brings this hobby all together...or rips it apart. Recently,  I bought a pair of Fluence SX6 speakers, on sale at Amazon for $120 pair. A small, black, two way bookshelf speaker. Highly-positively reviewed. My plan was to pull the drivers to use in another project. I couldn't buy drivers and crossovers like this for $120(More on this later)...Anyways, I was listening to my new kit amplifier, AKITIKA Z4 that I recently built...Streaming Quobuz...The Fluance speakers were set up next to the KEF LS50 Metas as I had used them previously to test yet another kit amplifier, Nelson Pass' ACA Mini.....For six hours I was simply amazed at how great the AKITIKA kit amp sounded. Massive sound stage, tight, well defined bass, some of the best vocals I've heard, the "AIR" around jazz instruments was fantastic!.....a system to behold...playing through my KEF LS50 Metas....Six hours later, after all types of music, it was time to call it a night (or early morning)....As I go to shut down the system, I realize that all night I was listening to the Fluance speakers!!! They were placed side by side with the KEFs. Do we really need any of this high end equipment to really enjoy the music!

rbertalotto

I have discovered that most speakers can sound good listening casually, when attached to good gear in the right space. But when critical listening happens in a quiet space little things like timbre, soundstage, separation, thee dimensional imaging, attack, and details become noticeably different between speakers. That is when we realise why we pay more for some of them.

So, instead of measuring worth of speaker, we're measuring worth of experience. In that case, each individual evaluates worth of their equipment in relation to their experience of it. What do I know about that!

@rbertalotto 

I'll repeat....It is NOT about what was better.....It was all about the satisfying experience listening to a set of speakers that certainly are NOT as good as the KEFs, but none the less, for six hours I was very well pleased.....I reiterated this above so we don't get side tracked....

 

That's fair enough, but the intriguing point is that you thought you were listening to the Kef's through your brand new kit amplifier, the AKITIKA Z4. 

 

As you said:

For six hours I was simply amazed at how great the AKITIKA kit amp sounded. Massive sound stage, tight, well defined bass, some of the best vocals I've heard, the "AIR" around jazz instruments was fantastic!.....a system to behold...playing through my KEF LS50 Metas...

 

It was only when you decided to end the session did the reality of the situation dawn on you.

 

Six hours later, after all types of music, it was time to call it a night (or early morning)....As I go to shut down the system, I realize that all night I was listening to the Fluance speakers!!! They were placed side by side with the KEFs.
 

Do we really need any of this high end equipment to really enjoy the music!

It seems as if you've already answered your own question.

 

In certain situations, such as yours where you were able to put the music before the equipment (albeit under a misunderstanding) a situation most of us audiophiles say we aspire to, the answer is a clear NO.

 

Perhaps we can therefore conclude that when it comes to audio playback there is not only no clear relationship between price and performance, there is no clear relationship between performance and enjoyment either.

 

Many, many people (musicians included) seem to enjoy music systems that we here might find objectionable.


They don't even need a pair of Fluance SX6 speakers.

I’m with @carlsbad. We have to note that despite their embrace by so-called audiophiles, there are a LOT of USED KEF LS-50 and now LS-50 Metas for sale relatively cheap on eBay and other outlets. That alone says that maybe they grow old fast on people. I mean for a small little thing on a desktop maybe, but I’ve never understood the draw of such baby speakers in a decent sized room unless you add a good subwoofer to them. To each their own. If you were happy with the sound from the Fluance then be happy. Sometimes the brain and psychoacoutics can play tricks on even the best person calling themselves an audiophile. Many people upon hearing a X priced whatever will think, "Oh man that does sound good" until you tell them it was not X priced but Y priced and much cheaper.

Don’t get me wrong. Nothing bad about BETTER quality gear that is often pricier, but measurements aside, "better" is in the ear of the beholder.

There's also this thing called "synergy" where it is the complete system that delivers the goods that matters.  Perhaps your amp was happier driving the Fluance than the KEF.