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How does one get off the merry-go-round?

I'm interested in hearing from or about music lovers who have dropped out of the audio "hobby." I don't mean you were content with your system for 6 weeks. I mean, you stood pat for a long time, or--even better--you downsized...maybe got rid of your separates and got an integrated.

(I suppose if you did this, you probably aren't reading these forums any more.)

If this sounds like a cry for help, well, I dunno. Not really. I'm just curious. My thoughts have been running to things like integrated amps and small equipment racks and whatnot even as I continue to experiment and upgrade with vigor (I'm taking the room correction plunge, for example.) Just want to hear what people have to say on the subject.

---dan
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mapman's avatar
mapman
22,311 posts
 
Sail,

In chosing an amp, i found limiting choices to those with certain damping factir, power, current, and input impdedance spec ranges helped to find a good match to my speakers and tube pre-amp faster.

Phono rigs in particular are also usually best assembled based on various specs for matching cart to tonearm.

Also of course feature specs are important to find the right options in addition to delivering good sound.
sailcappy
57 posts
 
Mapman,

I know we are taking this thread in a slightly different direction but let's take my current system:

My amp spects are
1000w @ 4ohm 500W @ 8ohm
Damping Factor 2000 into 8ohm
Neutrik Silver XLR Differential inputs -2V for full output
>119dba Dynamic Range
dc - 38khz Frequency Range
83% Total Effeciency at 500W @ 8ohm

And my Speaker specs are:
Frequency Range: 38 Hz to 46 kHz
Sensitivity: 86 dB
Impedance: 8 ohm nominal / 4 ohm minimum

How would someone use this information to help decide on if they are a match for sound quality?
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,311 posts
 
1000w is a good choice all other things aside for 86DB efficient speakers.

2000 is a very high damping factor. In general, that is a good thing in regards to assuring good control of driver and avoiding "flabby bass". THat may not be ideal for some speakers though, depending, and might result in a sound that is too lean. Lower damping <50 would be a valid thing to consider to address that.

I do not see input impedance specs? That might be important especially if a tube pre-amp is used.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,230 posts
 
It's not that specs insure a good sounding match, but that they can point out a less than optimal, or even bad matching. For speakers you really need to look at the actual graph of their impedance with phase angles.

Regarding your earlier long post, my take away is that you read too many reviews and thought you knew what you wanted. A better approach might have been to select your speaker and then let the dealer put together the rest of the system. For the amount of money you were willing to spend it would have saved you much time/effort and would have placed any operational issues onto the dealer.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,311 posts
 
"It's not that specs insure a good sounding match, but that they can point out a less than optimal, or even bad matching."

That's exactly correct. Assuming the specs are reliable which one must assume if they are if coming from a reliable source.

This helps narrow down the contenders to those that fit best on paper and perhaps even prioritize them based on something quantifiable. From there, its listen and see and move on if/when needed.
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