The truth about high end speakers MUST READ


We audiophiles are a fussy discerning bunch who demand very specific requirements when it comes to what we hear.
The problem is that these requirements are seldom met no matter how much you spend on speakers. 

Forums like this indicate that audiophiles are trapped in a cycle of neverending upgrades and dissatisfaction no matter how much is spent.

We have been deceived into believing that a "one size fits all" speaker that has been designed by an "expert" who knows better than we do about our requirements, will be ok. This is obviously not the case since every audiophile has a different hearing response curve and different preference. 

If you choose a speaker that has a rising response with frequency, and you prefer a darker sound then its not going to matter whether it uses diamond or berylium, or mdf or aluminium cabinets, or a 4th order or 1st order crossover.

Its not going to matter if the designer has a phd in physics or decades of experience in speaker design because its YOUR hearing that needs to be satisfied not THEIRS.

We are being duped folks. The best you can expect out of all these high end speakers is substandard satisfaction for a few years before you get fed up and decide to UPGRADE!

In conclusion, the notion of a high end speaker is in fact a myth. No such thing exists. Buying a high end speaker is a complete gamble and most audiophiles end up losing not winning. The only winners are the speaker manufactures because as long as they continue to sell, they continue to profit. 

Its also impossible to compare all the different speakers out there in the comfort of our homes so the dealers obviously dont make it any easier for us audiophiles. Its pointless going to a store demo since thats not where youre going to be listening once you buy the speaker. We are getting a raw deal. 

Thankyou for reading. 






kenjit

Showing 2 responses by badger_erich

Audio Nervosa: (Found on another site)

1) The bigger, the more powerful sound system the better and you will always find that no matter how big or how much power you have it never seems enough.

2) No matter how deep and powerful the bass sounds, it will always seem to be not quite deep enough and not quite powerful enough.

3) No matter how clear and detailed the treble sounds, you will always feel that it could be improved.

4) Achieving audio perfection is absolutely impossible no matter how much money you spend.

5) No matter how much money you spend you will always feel that the system is not quite as good as it could be.

6) If you think that your system sounds perfect then there must be something seriously wrong with it or something seriously wrong with you, or both.

7) All your friends think that your system sounds much better than you do.

8te) The longer you listen to your own system the worse it seems to sound.

9) Any dissatisfaction with a new system, no matter how slight, will always become greater as time goes on.

10) Any new pieces of equipment added to the system will always sound excellent initially, but nowhere near as good when you get used to them.

11) Regularly listening to poor equipment for extended periods is good because it seems to make good equipment sound much better.

12) Regularly listening to good equipment for extended periods seems to make poor equipment sound absolutely dreadful and probably worse than it really is.

13) Any person’s opinion on the sound quality of a system is completely worthless because someone else will have a different opinion.

14) Any alterations you make to the system to improve it, no matter how extensive, will never improve it to the extent you wanted it to.

15) No matter how good your system sounds, there will always be someone else with a system that sounds better.

16) You will always detect a difference between the sound qualities of two identical systems and never know why they sound different.

17) Any attempt to match different makes of equipment together will never work out quite as you originally intended.

18) Improving any individual part of the system will always make some other part of the system seem worse than it was before.

19) If you build a big listening room you will be very pleased with the result, but when you get used to it, you will convince yourself that the room needs to be bigger.

20) An infinitely huge attempt to achieve perfection would at best only produce a system that was infinitesimally closer to perfection, but still not perfect.

If you or your loved ones suffer from this disorder, contact your local audiophile support group......

My first post here guys. I am learning a lot from all of you and appreciate the discourse. I will retire in roughly two (2) years after 43 years in Law Enforcement. I want to buy myself a decent Integrated Amp and Nice speakers to play my LP’s of Classic Rock and Rhythm and Blues. Yeah I’ll throw down some coin, but not over $8k.
I post that "condition" based on my experience in 1976. I was a Junior in High School and "just had to have" a decent stereo because my fellow classmates had nice stereos. I pissed my parents off when I withdrew cash out of my savings and purchased a Technics Integrated Amp (41 WPC), a Pioneer PLC-15 turntable and a pair of Pioneer HPM 40's. My Dad went ballistic but the damage had been done. I was shamed by peers who were rocking their JBL L100's but little did I know my Pioneer HPM's were actually designed by some JBL Engineers that Pioneer lured away. I always wanted a better system. Soon, I'll get something that hopefully will quench the desire I had back then.