Excellent thread. Thanks to "phomchick" for kicking things off. These responses have been most interesting. Start with a nicely engineered recording, add a nice (subjective) well positioned (not subjective) speaker system, address room problems as much as possible, and the music/movie lover is well on the way to an enjoyable experience. Eventually however we run into the topic of interconnects (power cords, HDMI, network, speaker wire, etc.) knowing that cost vs. performance reaches a point of diminishing return in any given system. But here's an interesting factoid. Live demonstrations by companies like Audio Quest and Nordost will often use modestly priced components, (speakers, amplification, and source devices) in their demonstrations. It's also surprising how AC noise filtration, by the likes of companies like SurgeX, can improve the listening experience. Some will argue that, if these previously mentioned priorities are addressed,cabling should be considered as another component in your system. Fortunately many dealers will also allow the end user to take such items home for audition to determine if the changes warrant the investment.
What Matters and What is Nonsense
I’ve been an audiophile for approximately 50 years. In my college days, I used to hang around the factory of a very well regarded speaker manufacturer where I learned a lot from the owners. When I started with audio it was a technical hobby. You were expected to know something about electronics and acoustics. Listening was important, but understanding why something sounded good or not so good was just as important. No one in 1968 would have known what you were talking about if you said you had tweaked your system and it sounded so much better. But if you talked about constant power output with frequency, or pleasing second-order harmonic distortion versus jarring odd-order harmonics in amplification, you were part of the tribe.
Starting in the 1980s, a lot of pseudo scientific nonsense started appearing. Power cords were important. One meter interconnects made a big difference. Using a green magic marker on the edge of a CD was amazing. Putting isolation dampers under a CD transport lifted the veil on the music. Ugh. This stuff still make my eyes roll, even after all these years.
So I have decided to impart years and years of hard won knowledge to today’s hobbists who might be interested in reality. This is my list of the steps in the audio reproduction chain, and the relative importance of each step. My ranking of relative importance includes a big dose of cost/benefit ratio. At this point in the evolution of audio, I am assuming digital recording and reproduction.
Item / Importance to the sound on a scale of 1-10 / Cost benefit ratio
Starting in the 1980s, a lot of pseudo scientific nonsense started appearing. Power cords were important. One meter interconnects made a big difference. Using a green magic marker on the edge of a CD was amazing. Putting isolation dampers under a CD transport lifted the veil on the music. Ugh. This stuff still make my eyes roll, even after all these years.
So I have decided to impart years and years of hard won knowledge to today’s hobbists who might be interested in reality. This is my list of the steps in the audio reproduction chain, and the relative importance of each step. My ranking of relative importance includes a big dose of cost/benefit ratio. At this point in the evolution of audio, I am assuming digital recording and reproduction.
Item / Importance to the sound on a scale of 1-10 / Cost benefit ratio
- The room the recording was made in / 8 / Nothing you can do about it
- The microphones and setup used in the recording / 8 / nothing you can do about it.
- The equalization and mixing of the recording / 10 / Nothing you can do about it
- The technology used for the recording (analog, digital, sample rate, etc.) / 5 / nothing you can do about it.
- The format of the consumer recording (vinyl, CD, DSD, etc.) 44.1 - 16 really is good enough / 3 / moderate CB ratio
- The playback device i.e. cartridge or DAC / 5 / can be a horribe CB ratio - do this almost last
- The electronics - preamp and amp / 4 / the amount of money wasted on $5,000 preamps and amps is amazing.
- Low leve interconnects / 2 / save your money, folks
- Speaker cables / 3 / another place to save your money
- Speakers / 10 / very very high cost to benefit ratio. Spend your money here.
- Listening room / 9 / an excellent place to put your money. DSPs have revolutionized audio reproduction
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- 259 posts total
- 259 posts total