Preference for speakers that are half the price. Has this ever happened to you?
Hello everyone,
A retailer near my home has some ex-demo Sonus Faber Aida 2 speakers for sale. I went to listen to them, and to my surprise, I preferred the sound of the Sonus Faber Il Cremonese Ex3me, which cost half the price of the Aida 2 when new. The amplifiers were the same (The Gryphon), which cost much more than the speakers themselves, and the location was basically the same (I even listened to them in two different locations).
I wonder how it's possible that I prefer the sound of speakers that are so much cheaper (even if they're not cheap!). Could it be that the amplifier isn't right for me? Or something else?
Is this something you've experienced before? Have you ever heard very high-end speakers that you found inferior to cheaper speakers? I'm hesitating to ask to go back and listen to them again.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Ya..that's easy. I went to the Tampa Audio Show last spring and listened to many, very pricey systems/speakers...seems like they're all pricey these days. I came away with a couple I really liked in the $40-$60K range. And a couple others that I thought sounded pretty good. ..and then this summer I picked up a pair of LFT8b's for $1300..and they sound better than half+ of what I heard at the audio show. |
Welcome to your audio enlightenment! And yes, this has often happened to me. The idea that price = desirability for you personally is hogwash. It's your ears that you are pleasing, and your wallet that has to pay for it. Make the decisions best for you. If you can't hear a benefit between say a $5,000 speaker and $30,000 then the expensive speaker has exactly $0 incremental value for you. It doesn't mean your ears are bad, or your feelings about the speakers is not good. Audio equipment is a ridiculously bad investment no matter what you do. Depreciation is sky high. Get what you like to listen to, enjoy them for 5-10 years and then see if your tastes have changed. |
i've often found a manufacturer's lower-end speaker which outperforms its exponentially pricier ones--focal and b&w being prominent examples. obviously, in many cases this may be attributable to room, equipment synergy, etc., but sometimes i do think we're being asked to pay alot more just for fancier cabinets or designs. |
@erik_squires nailed it with his post, I truly enjoy reading your posts Erik. I had a similar experience as the OP, several years ago I had auditioned and purchased a pair of QLN Prestige 3 floor-standers, and was quite content they were being driven by a Simaudio 390 and a pair of Simaudio 330A amplifiers. A year later I went to the Southwest Audio Fest in Dallas and had the opportunity to listen to the Raven Audio Celest Towers, bought a pair, low and behold I preferred the Ravens to the QLN, and my Son In Law bought the QLN's for his town house in Houston. To this day I still have the Ravens and love them though I do swapp them out for a pair of Sonner Legato Unum stand-mounts. |
