When speakers almost sound like the instruments


My speakers,(Mirage OMD28) have been a struggle for the pass couple years, with small not very dense images, less sonic weight/bass than expected, lacking transparency, not the requisite extension top to bottom. But, the addition of a few other pieces finally brought image density, size and sonic weight to the presentation, much closer to reality. For me, this is when your system has arrived. The speakers bring Jazz to life. It took a conditioner,(SR Powercell mkII), and an excellent preamp,(Joule Electra LA150 mkll) to get my system there. Amazing how the same speakers you've had for a while, and struggled with (2 years) can be transformed from underwhelming and disappointing to very good.

Have you had speakers that you struggled with for a while and almost gave up on, almost sold, that you transformed from disappointing to all you expected?
foster_9

Showing 3 responses by mapman

Time, experience along with lots of trial and error along the way.....the path of many an audiophile over the years.
Most amps and most speakers are "good".

I think the same is true these days about many a digital source as well.

Only certain combos done right can make magic for an individual though. That's the key.

Vinyl is still tougher to master IMHO. I think that is part of its appeal for many.
Identifying the current bottleneck and addressing it is always the way to go to wean performance out of any system, audio or otherwise. Often, easier said than done though. It takes time usually and lots of trial and error along the way.

The speaker/amp/room domain is always the place to start though in order to tackle the biggest potential bottlenecks first. Then it becomes more fine tuning from there.

I had 80's vintage Maggies for many years that I feel I had pushed to their limits but could no longer reach my newer more lofty goals. A near full system rehab (save turntable) followed, starting with the speakers, then amp, then the rest. Now, 4-5 years later, I am at a good place again that I have felt no need to muck with much for about two years now. How long can it last?????