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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.

audiozx
tubeguy76
233 posts
 

Until you get it in your room and in your system you really never know.  

jrareform's avatar
jrareform
189 posts
 

Some companies base their whole shtick on this type of value proposition.  I really enjoy my tekton monitors and double impacts, and I found I enjoyed them more than speakers that cost 20k.  This isn't to say that everyone will enjoy the tektons more.  But it definitely seems to tell me price isn't everything.  Some manufacturers spend a ton on cabinet aesthetics.  That can cost half or more of the cost to build the speaker!!  Not saying you can't have both but those pretty museum pieces may not outperform a speaker that costs way less.

And yes, system synergy, room size, and personal preference all play a large part in this.  There are so many attributes to a speakers design and how it will sound in your room to your ears.  Once you find the pair of speakers that sing to your soul, stop the audiophilia obsession of always wanting more.  Cable changes and front end changes are fun once you have the speakers you like.  What a journey to be on and I am grateful to be able to have these conversations!

dhite71
453 posts
 

I will also add that I listened to a system once at one of the big name dealers that was the Wilson Chronosonic with all Burmester electronics....I think it was about 1.5-2 mil for everything and sounded boring and not engaging at all....such a let down

lfssbn1's avatar
lfssbn1
56 posts
 

THIEL!!!!! ...with a polite nod to Quad, B&W, and any other pedigreed speaker that recording artists (live & studio) trust. Any questions?    Talk to someone who can play the violin, has an audio salon in their family that dates back to the 1930s, and is over 60.

bjg's avatar
bjg
33 posts
 

I’ve had a pair of PMC MB2SE floor standing speakers for about 8 years - I used to have a pair of ML CLX - they are comparably priced - 40k or so. 
 

i recently bought a pair of Magnepan LRS + and I move them in and out of my listening room - they are very light and easy to move and I set them up for near field listening - I’ve switched back and forth a few times - but find myself enjoying the maggies more.  
 

this has been a real eye opener - unbelievable value with these - I used both sets  with BACCH4Mac cross talk DSP -  2k vs 40k on the speaker pricing difference and at least for now - I’m spending more time with the maggies 

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