Unless my system gives me the bait - a wow moment - each time I listen, I am not convinced it’s right for me. And I’m getting the bait from both systems, after many years of mix and match. I agree this is essential for emotional and intellectual engagement with the music. Loving it and hope you find yours.
Listening to what we Like Instead of what we have to
Trying to find my way back to enjoying/feeling music and moving away from analyzing fine details, critical listening etc...
My pinnacle of enjoyment was probably with inexpensive JM Lab bookshelfs, an old Velodyne ULD-12 Sub, and an Audio Research D-60 amp with CD straight in, no pre amp. Currently I am selling my Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grands they never really made me happy. The mids lose it with complicated transitions and they are a touch dry and bright to me. Current amp is an Audio by Van Alstine 60 w SET control amplifier. It runs approximately 90 watts into 4 ohms. Source is a Bluesound Node. Cables are MIT Term. 2 interconnects, and Kimber 8 TC speaker. I listen at low to moderate levels. The room is wider than deep. 12 deep and 18 wide. I can sit about 9 feet away from the fronts of speakers with them about 30 inches out from the walls. I do listen to music a lot when I’m up and about though, I'd like/prefer it to sound good then as well.
I often have to listen to only the most well produced and best recordings of genres I only kind of like, to enjoy the music. I’m really sick of that.
My music of choice is mostly 80s pop/rock/some country and glam rock. With a bit of 70s and 90s mixed in.
I enjoy finding new current music too. Usually pop and rock as well.
Steve Winwood, Phil Collins, Lionel Richie, Eddie Money, Neil Diamond, Kiss, Madonna, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Eric Clapton, Eric Carmen, 80s Billboard, Johnny Cash, Baltimora, etc...you get the point.
Detail is a good thing, like when you can hear Madonna say God echoing many times at the beginning of the long version of "Like A Prayer" or nice cymbal splash. Not too forward, or bright though. I have a decent REL sub so smaller speakers can work. I like a big soundstage and hearing things in recordings going on up, out and away from the speakers. Overly veiled is not preferable.
I could really use speaker advice or recommendations for under 3k. I’ll move backwards from new speakers through the rest of the system to make improvements if/when needed/ and can be afforded. Does any of this make sense? Thanks.
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Plus 1 @kennymacc Don’t take our word. We don’t know your room and certainly don’t know your ears! Do you have an audio store or even a Nebraska Furniture Mart anywhere near you? Go out and listen to everything you can. All the best. |
This can be a problem. I realized my system had become a sound analysis devise highlighting the venue and details and not the music. I moved from dominantly solid state to tube equipment and Sonus Faber speakers. You can see my systems under my user ID. You need not go as far as I have gone, but the choice of electronics is really important… and also the speakers. As an experiment, see if you can find a place to listen to an Audio Research I-50 integrated amp. Every time I hear one, I instantly forget about the system and fall into the music… like my current system. You may not be able to do it in one step, but it is assembling a system around a completely different idea. A natural tube amp and musical speakers are a minimum requirement… but you can’t have a highly detailed lean unmusical preamp and DAC either. |
@megabyyte totally agree with the jazz stuff. The freeform jazz annoys me to death. LOL! We have very similar tastes in music though. As for speakers, I would also try the Revival Atalante 3s---they're about $2700. With stands around $3100. They are amazing speakers---I recently sold my Dynaudio Special 40s for the Atalante 3s. They have a bigger sound than the S40s IMO. Much more musical, less analytical. Keep us posted! |
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