I started my journey much like you.I started with a fair speaker,cdm9t,I went and listened and did they sound good. I got them home and it was not the same sound.Granted, once the 5.1was playing it was rocking.however the most detailed,crisp,sound came from a pair of klipsh kg4s.if i had to do again I,d make sure the speakers are 3way and full frequency range.Cables will also play a part.supra 1.6 topped the two cables ive used.I invested in a 2 of a kind tricked out audio ref. pre that is idle. the axiom passive is the lick.something simple for 2 channel? if you have an amp and source.very reasonable to set up Save money and enjoy great music Good Luck
spakers for various genres
I started looking into building a system strictly for music listening and based on some recommendations I'm trying to start the process by first choosing a speaker. This turns out being not the easiest thing since I like quite a variety of music and from what I can see from the reviews online most of them focus on jazz and classical. I'd say that my main albums are metal (all kinds) and rock (anything from classic to more modern stuff), but I do listen to a lot of blues and jazz as well so I'm trying to find a speaker that would work well across all these different genres.
Part of my problem is that I can't find too many dealers in my area that can carry a variety of speakers. All I found so far are Dynaudio, Vandersteen and Totem, but all at different dealers that aren't even in the same city, all with different hardware running the speakers. I didn't spend too much time with the Vandersteens because I didn't have my music with me, but from what I can tell they have a very focused sweet spot and they require quite a bit of space and the correct room setup for them to work at their best. Between the Totem (Mani) and Dynaudio (Countour S1.4) I liked the S 1.4 better, but I don't know if it was the room or hardware; the bass seemed to be tighter, but still just as deep, instrument separation was great and the cymabls just sounded more lifelike.
So I wanted to ask the more experienced people around here if I'm in the right ballpark looking at these speakers, or should I focus on something else. I wish I could try out all these speakers in person but I need to narrow it down to a few makers first.
Part of my problem is that I can't find too many dealers in my area that can carry a variety of speakers. All I found so far are Dynaudio, Vandersteen and Totem, but all at different dealers that aren't even in the same city, all with different hardware running the speakers. I didn't spend too much time with the Vandersteens because I didn't have my music with me, but from what I can tell they have a very focused sweet spot and they require quite a bit of space and the correct room setup for them to work at their best. Between the Totem (Mani) and Dynaudio (Countour S1.4) I liked the S 1.4 better, but I don't know if it was the room or hardware; the bass seemed to be tighter, but still just as deep, instrument separation was great and the cymabls just sounded more lifelike.
So I wanted to ask the more experienced people around here if I'm in the right ballpark looking at these speakers, or should I focus on something else. I wish I could try out all these speakers in person but I need to narrow it down to a few makers first.