All subjective. Some people don't like to listen loudly.
- ...
- 57 posts total
Totally agree with @ghdprentice "Being fully satisfying at low levels is a much harder feat and is the mark of a truly great system..."
Recently upgraded my KUZMA STOGI S Tonearm to a KUZMA 4POINT9 Tonearm and one of the first things I noticed is how well it played at low volumes. I own a Audio-Technica AT-OC9XSL Dual Moving Coil Cartridge with Special Line Contact Stylus and was looking to upgrade it until someone more knowledgeable than me told me that no cartridge upgrade would come close to what I would achieve with the cartridge I own mounted on the 4POINT9... |
A lot (most?) of us were exposed to loud stereos before we experienced good stereos. At an early age we learned to equate loud with distortion, and can hear surprisingly loud, distortion free music without realizing how loud it really is. We don't get the signals that originally told us it was "loud". That was an interesting discovery for myself and several others over the years, and probably contributed heavily to my tinnitus. |
You’re certainly correct in that it doesn’t necessarily equate to a lower noise floor. Only low noise gear and quiet rooms can do that. But low distortion is in essence the definition of high fidelity. The latter should be immediately apparent when one finally experiences high-end, ultra-low-distortion speakers at spirited levels in a well treated room. I’m talking speakers with SOTA drivers, not just expensive models ascribed some BS tech claims (brands I’ll refrain from naming). Loudness really becomes a factor when you want to hear a kick drum that sounds anything reminiscent of an actual kick drum, the same for low octave piano notes. The majority of speakers, even some rather expensive ones, fall apart at those levels, or often sacrifice the two lowest octaves of bass in order to achieve decent headroom. Sometimes it comes down to a lack of amplifier power/headroom.
|
- 57 posts total