Audio Speaker Info? Where Can I go?

[samtaylor1]

Is there a good place to learn what speaker sytems are good, and what all the lingo means?

Thanks Sam

P.S. Merry Christmas and all that jazz

[dwoodard]

There are a couple of good sites (in my view) to check out.

http://www.positive-feedback.com/

http://www.stereophile.com/

http://www.crutchfield.com/

Also, the sales people at your local audio store (or boutique), if the store is worth its salt, should be more than willing to help you out. Based on my years of addiction with audio equipment, I have found that the people at the majority of these stores are willing to educate. Where I have found the least help has been at the warehouse / big box stores.

[TACSTS]

You could also check the audioreview.com forums and reviews.

I'm kind of trying to figure out a nice turntable/amp/speakers set up to play some vinyl and it is pretty intimidating that's for sure! But I'm enjoying it, I like learning about new stuff.

Good luck with your search!

[Bruce H.]

Anyone try the ION USB turntable to transfer vinyl to disc. If so is it any good?
Bruce H

[mcteague]

If you are on a budget, just buy whatever PSB or Paradigm fits your price range. Just remember that the room, and the placement of the speaker in it, makes a huge difference. If you want the BEST, get a pair of Linkwitz Lab Orions, you can even build them yourself and save $. http://www.linkwitzlab.com/

http://www.soundstage.com/equipment.shtml is a pretty good site. Beware, the field of audio is full of snake oil salesmen. If you can't believe cyclists really feel the difference between similar cranks and such just wait until you read about cables on little elevated platforms, metal disks on speaker cabinets, etc.

Tim McTeague

[victoryfactory]

First, figure out what type of speaker you need based on the size of
your room and your other equipment such as; bookshelf, stand
mounted monitors with subwoofer, full range floor standing etc.
Pick up a year end issue of Stereophile or The Absolute Sound which has
one of those "best of the year" sections in it. They will give you an idea
of what the Audio nutballs like, and usually they also include a few real
world speaker choices at $200. or $300. as well.

Once you do some research on your new speakers, Here is the place I go
to for the best used high end audio stuff. They also have forums where you can learn
about what equipment is popular and highly rated:
http://audiogon.com/
I would stay away from the big chain stores and the usual brands that
people think of as "good" It's sort of like bikes; Most folks will just go to their
local bike shop and choose something with a recognizable name
off the rack, but since you are reading this on
the Serotta forum, a brand that 95% of people have never heard of, I'm
here to tell you that audio is the same. The real stuff is unknown to 95%
of the public. Do some research, see what the audio nuts are talking about.
And beware, as was mentioned above just like in the cycling world ther is a lot of
snake oil out there too, like $10,000. speaker cables and $300. rubber
feet for your amp.

Good luck

VF

[paczki]

If you are on a budget, just buy whatever PSB or Paradigm fits your price range. Just remember that the room, and the placement of the speaker in it, makes a huge difference. If you want the BEST, get a pair of Linkwitz Lab Orions, you can even build them yourself and save $. http://www.linkwitzlab.com/

http://www.soundstage.com/equipment.shtml is a pretty good site. Beware, the field of audio is full of snake oil salesmen. If you can't believe cyclists really feel the difference between similar cranks and such just wait until you read about cables on little elevated platforms, metal disks on speaker cabinets, etc.

Tim McTeague

This is good advice. Wait until you read about 20K speaker cables!
The Linkwitz's sound interesting -- I've never upgraded since I got Harbeths.

[djg]

Anyone try the ION USB turntable to transfer vinyl to disc. If so is it any good?
Bruce H

You know, I picked one up as an experiment and I'm still not sure whether it's any good. It's not great, that's for sure, and as a stand alone turntable I'd stay the heck away -- any hundred buck turntable that Thorens or Dual made in the '80s would be way better and some garage sale ought to have one for 10 or 20 bucks somewhere. Still, I like the idea of being able to dump some of my LPs directly into MP3 files for the portable player, and I'm still trying to decide whether the basic functionality of the thing is good enough that it's a cool thing to have around. I bought mine at Costco, so at least I can return it.

[djg]

There are a couple of good sites (in my view) to check out.

http://www.positive-feedback.com/

http://www.stereophile.com/

http://www.crutchfield.com/

Also, the sales people at your local audio store (or boutique), if the store is worth its salt, should be more than willing to help you out. Based on my years of addiction with audio equipment, I have found that the people at the majority of these stores are willing to educate. Where I have found the least help has been at the warehouse / big box stores.

Way back in grad school I did some work selling mid and high end audio, and also worked as a buyer for a shop for a while. There's all sorts of cool stuff, although I've tried rather concertedly to stay the heck away for about 15 years now. I liked stereophile, as suggested above -- quirky in its ways, as are all the audio mags, but most of the stuff seemed sensible and reasonably sensitive, at the core, once you accepted the obsession, and they routinely covered gear that didn't require automobile type investments. Not that this could have anything to do with the cycling biz, but, on the one hand, good gear can really breathe life into a recording (if it's a good recording) and, on the other, you know, at some point, auditioning the latest innovation in speaker cable isn't exactly about the music anymore.

[1centaur]

A perfect thread to mention something I saw 30 years ago in High Fidelity: little wooden disks made of some African wood that were to be placed in your listening room so they could vibrate with the sound waves and thus improve the auditory experience.

That was about the point at which I decided not to renew my subscription.

[paczki]

A perfect thread to mention something I saw 30 years ago in High Fidelity: little wooden disks made of some African wood that were to be placed in your listening room so they could vibrate with the sound waves and thus improve the auditory experience.

That was about the point at which I decided not to renew my subscription.

Bubinga wood disks! My favorite were the "tuning dots" -- costly little stickers you would put on your speakers to tune the cabinets to vital room frequencies. Or the power conditioners which when they were opened up had nothing in 'em. A lot of the reviews are by late middle-aged men who have little high frequency hearing, so things that are raved about can tend to sound like cats screaming in a bronze bell if you can hear well. BUT a good stereo really can make a huge difference! Just always balance stereo cost against how much live music you could go listen to.

[avalonracing]

A perfect thread to mention something I saw 30 years ago in High Fidelity: little wooden disks made of some African wood that were to be placed in your listening room so they could vibrate with the sound waves and thus improve the auditory experience.

That was about the point at which I decided not to renew my subscription.

But I glued one to my iPod and it worked great. :rolleyes:

[Ginger]

Sam...
There's a small shop on Woodward in the shops just north of Pier 1. Shop's name is Audio Dimensions. fishbolish sent me there (now there's a resource for you...you know Mark, yes?). While the gentleman at Audio Dimensions would love to sell you something, he's passionate about his audio.
Two channel stuff, but high end...

You can learn a lot by listening to speakers because at some point, you can read all you like but it's past the technical, and into what *your* ear appreciates. And you can only figure that out by listening to the speakers. I did my research and had my heart set technically on a certain set of speakers until I heard them in person and I said: "Oh, Ick" Let's see how did paczki put it: "...sound like cats screaming in a bronze bell...."
Yeah...and that's a nasty thing to do to a beautiful snazzy horn passage.
I wound up with a little pair of Vandersteen 1Cs...which were cheaper than what I was expecting to spend but are probably more than I need for the whole house.

Once you've done your research and think you know what you want, pick out three CDs with the different stuff that you'll be listening to on them and take them with you to any shop you visit to take a listen to the speakers you choose with the stuff you'll be listening to. Take the same 3 CDs to each shop and play the exact same songs on each set of speakers. Yes. You'll hate them when you're done... And yes, the speakers will sound a bit different in your space with your stuff...but you'll weed out the cats.

Good luck!

[abqhudson]

My advice is to spend some time listening. Since speakers can last many years, it's worth spending a little time in the decision process. No book or person can tell you how a speaker sounds - you have to listen. Carry a CD(s) you like around to the stores in your area and have them play your CD. Find a speaker in your price range that you like and buy it. Remember the speaker that sounds good to your friend on his/her music may not be the one you like the best - that's OK. IMHO the speaker choice is the critical choice for any sound system. Again, spend some time and you will be rewarded.

[YO!!!]

Definitely spend time listening...have reference material that you use for
all auditions.

Also a good rule of thumb is to spend half of your budgeted funds on the speakers.

[davids]

Lots of good advice here, and I've been a reformed audiophile for so long now that I have no info on what's currently good.

Ginger's advice is particularly close to what I've got to say, and I'll just add a bit more - If at all possible, audition the speakers you're interested in IN YOUR HOME.

I was all set to buy a set of Vandersteen 2Cs until I heard them set up in my room. They were fantastic in the store, but my little room overwhelmed them and turned the strong bass into a wooly mess. I ended up with a pair of Thiel CS1.2s, which sounded a bit bland and laid-back in the showroom. They're dynamic and tonaly neutral in my house.

Beyond that - listen, listen, listen! You'll refine your ear, figure out your personal biases, and have fun in the process.

[Bruce H.]

Thankyou DJG. It looked too easy to be great, but functional. They also seem to make it with the "Numark" name. But looks identical. I think I will wait until the 2nd generation appears in hopes the quality improves.
Bruce H

[SpeedyChix]

Is there a good place to learn what speaker sytems are good, and what all the lingo means?

Thanks Sam

P.S. Merry Christmas and all that jazz

audioholics.com

Slight home theater bias, but lots of great info. Good user response to questions as well.

[wtex]

Wow, you mean this thing might be a ripoff?

I guess I should fire that guy I hired to pre-ride my bikes for me . . .

"Condition and Break-in Your AV Gear

FryBaby is designed to condition and break-in interconnects, speaker cables, power cords, digital and video cables, or any type of wire used in an audio system. FryBaby can also output a line level voltage signal for conditioning of line stages and amplifiers. The output level control selects an output amplitude suitable for both line level and RIAA corrected phono stages, both MM and MC. This flexibility makes FryBaby an all-around audio system break-in tool.
Self-Contained and Fully Portable

The FryBaby is fully self-contained in a portable housing, operating off of either an internal 9V battery or a wall wart. Completely new circuitry generates the same complex waveform of the original FryKleaner, all in analog! This scientifically designed waveform comprises a wideband gaussian noise source that is amplitude modulated by a low frequency swept triangle wave, thus providing complete audio (and then some) bandwidth burn without any fixed frequency components.

Both magnetic and electric fields are employed during the burn-in process via current and voltage mode operation, thereby providing maximal conditioning.

Included is an audio CD with a recording of the FryBaby signal, used for CD players and transport break-in.
Two Modes of Burn-In

The FryBaby provides two modes of burn-in, voltage and current. Both are required for maximum effectiveness. In voltage mode, the cable dielectric is excited by electric fields. In current mode, the cable is short circuited, and conductors are exercised via magnetic fields.

For a voltage burn, leave the far end of the cable open circuited. For current mode, short-circuit the far end or form a loop by returning the cable to the other FryBaby output.

It is best to do a voltage burn for 24 hours followed by a current burn for 48 hours. Thus, a typical stereo interconnect pair will require two batteries. Silver conductors typically take twice as long. Battery operation is inherently self-timed, in that when the battery dies, the FryBaby output stops."

That said, the Athena speakers I got from these guys have performed well.

[mister]

i went from some dvd/vd player to an NAD cd player i got off of ebay for cheap....it made a huge difference. i was pretty surprised.

[pe3046]

Spend some time around reading the posts over at audiogon and audioasylum. Room's seem to make the biggest difference, but if you follow cardas golden triangle for placement you can usually get good results (speakers need a lot of room around them for proper imaging). You may also want to give a listen to Magnepan MMG's, they are cheap but can give you a chance to here planar speakers vs. box speakers.

[Peter P.]

I've subscribed to Sound & Vision magazine in it's various incarnations since 1978. They tend to review products for the "enthusiast" versus the stuff for the hardcore audiophiles. Their reviews are very easy to read, and I recommend you go to the local library and peruse their back issues for a year or so to see what passes muster. Here's a recent article which explains how to decipher the terms used in their reviews:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/features/2539/anatomy-of-a-speaker-test-report.html

Generally speaking, all the brands advertised in their magazine are reputable.

A tip: since home theater is all the rage today, you might find it hard to locate reviews for just a stereo pair of speakers. Well, read the review of the home theater speaker in question and focus on what the reviewer says about the left/right or main speaker pair; they're usually available separately.

And all the tips offered about bringing your own music to listen to during the speaker auditions-DO IT. Stay away from the places that won't let you listen in peace to various speakers; that usually disqualifies the Best Buys, Tweeter Etc.s and other chain stores. The audio specialist shops are where it's at and yes; you CAN buy affordable speakers there, and by affordable I mean a decent pair of speakers for as little as $400 a pair. Only go to the chain stores if you know what you want and can walk into it, point to it, get the box and get out, or if you really don't care what the speakers sound like and just want to make a purchase based on solely on brand, and go.

I'd make an initial recon to the local audio shops just to see what they sell, how neat and clean/presentable the place is, and if you feel comfortable with the staff. Then return on a weekday if possible to your place of choice, so you'll have the sound rooms all to yourself.

The worst thing about all this is, the room you place your speakers in will affect the sound significantly, so what you hear in the store is likely not to be the same as what you hear at home. If you're not a critical listener, it won't matter as much. Observe how the audio shop has the auditioning rooms set up-carpeting, dimensions, acoustic wall treatments like panels, and drapes, all enhance the sound, while that oak wood floor, the glass doors, and the parallel ceiling in your room can render the most expensive speakers useless.

I'm curious; what are you looking for and what's your price range?