And the Question is.......

mantis · March 2003

How serious are you about your sound?

For everything for that matter.Lets get into this whole Mp3 thing,cd quality...Whats up with SACD and DVD AUDIO???

The gear?The speakers?The room?Wire?Where do you draw the line and why?
Is there any serious listeners out there anymore???

And if your thinking.....The answer is Yes something brought all this up.......

polkatese · March 2003

Dan,
I always felt that music in the end carries the day. I've been more and more drawn into SACD since I bought Philips SACD-1000. I don't thing there is a line need to be drawn, since the question is more of how much can I spend on gears (and the accessories) without compromising other equally pressing expenses. DVD-A is also great, but it lacks the titles that I want. The one thing that I can't afford is more free time, wish there is more time in a day that I can just sit and listen...

HBombToo · March 2003

Originally posted by polkatese
DVD-A is also great, but it lacks the titles that I want.

that is why I'm going to build an analog system fist.

H

VR3 · March 2003

Originally posted by mantis
How serious are you about your sound?

For everything for that matter.Lets get into this whole Mp3 thing,cd quality...Whats up with SACD and DVD AUDIO???

The gear?The speakers?The room?Wire?Where do you draw the line and why?
Is there any serious listeners out there anymore???

And if your thinking.....The answer is Yes something brought all this up.......

Being a teen I dont find a big deal in completely accurate sound because completely accurate sound would destroy my music listening taste. I prefer speakers that are good at rock but yet are AWESOME at HT. I want alot of bass but I dont want it boomy.
I prefer cd quality sound because I want to be able to turn my music up without distortion or as much distortion. Although I will comment that MP3 quality downloads seem to get better and better and before long all uses to buy a cd at a store will be gone. All you have to do is find the picture on a website on the cd, case etc - print it out. Stick it to the CD buy a case and print out the packet. Wal la you have your cd. But overall I prefer CD quality. I hear SACD and DVD-A sounds artificial. Its so clean that it sounds fake. I dont want that, sound needs atleast some distortion or it wont just sound right.
If you didnt notice my room isnt exactly acousitcally right. I mean I have one speaker higher than the other, their pointed directly at the sweet spot and the surrounds are shoved in the top corners of the wall. But with a little calibration all this dosnt make a difference to me.
Wire, I will stand that as long as I can turn it up and its audible HD wire will be the wire I stick with. I have yet to see the oxidation you speak of and it has not occured. Besides if a wire oxidates just take sand paper and rub down the tip and it will go away. In other words I dont care for spending more than 80 dollars on 150+ feet of wire. I see no point as I probally wont hear the difference. Besides 300 dollar speakers dont need 150 dollar wire.
I think as I have found out seperate amps are the way to go. They totally bring out the 'inner' speaker. My mains just awoke when I plugged the adcom in it. The highs/midrange was clear. It played louder, it was clearer, more accurate, more airy. It made the speakers seem worthy of a comparison against speakers 2-3 times its cost. I would now put my speakers to any other speaker within a couple 100 dollars of its price range. I feel main speakers how ever need 2 midbass drivers, if I could go back and get the RT55i. But speakers arnt a big deal to me as long as it plays loud and it is accurate and sounds right to me.
Are there any serious listeners anymore? No offense but I feel you take this hobby just a LITTLE too seriously. I love the hobby and its my main focus of money spending but you take audio addiction to the extreme. I know toys are great, and I know that it is cool to have the sound you desire. But when do you just draw the line and say enough is enough? My stereo is reaching into the $4,000 range. I dont regret it for a second of spending that money. But when I think about it, I think what could I have bought other than this? I mean think about it, why would you want to be too serious about your sound? then you are so picky you upgrade like crazy because good just isnt good enough. This is my 2 cents. Maybe when I get older I will have more appreciation for sound, but right now I find spending $6,000+ on audio is about insane. Heck 10,000 - 20,000 is insane. But I mean this is me, when I build my house I will wire it with inwalls/ceilings all over the house. But I will be shopping at radioshack and not Pok audio.
This is my 2 cents, Im not trying to start a flame war. But this is my 2 cents.

scottvamp · March 2003

Serious about
Sound AND video!!!!
Knowledge AND money!!! Simple

mantis · March 2003

MX,
your post is fine man.Thats what you think,thats what you think.

gidrah · March 2003

I'm all about 2-ch and musical accuracy. While I watch more movies than listen to music, I'm much more critical when it comes to music reproduction.

With a bit of research combined with personal experience, I hope to have the best sounding 2-ch rig that I can have at my price range.

I'm thinking hard about EdgarHorn Slimlines with a Gainclone (47 Laboratories Gaincard). 25 w/ch SS amp driving horns.

I'll always persue better acoustics, but at my price point and tastes it gets tough.

Right now I'm doing wire/cable comparisons. If I can get this right I can set a budget. With my preferred cables/wires so far, a Gainclone - Edgarhorn is definately do able.

burdette · March 2003

I guess I'm a little more laid back about a lot of this. Music (and now movies/HT) are supposed to be enjoyment. If I really like some song and the only copy of it I have is a less-than-stellar MP3... well, no big deal. I can listen to that if I want to hear the song. I know that DVDs have a better picture than VHS, and I certainly like the better picture... but for me the greatest thing about DVDs is the convenience - finding scenes, no rewinding, etc. I can still pop in one of our old VHS movies, and I do *not* sit there the entire time lamenting the shortcomings of magnetic tape. Given the realities of different rooms, I believe the law of diminishing returns is especially true in audio/video.

I don't believe that being "serious" about audio/video means that you have to have "the best" equipment, nor expensive wires nor, well, anything in particular. Seems to me that some people spend so much time analyzing and critiquing what they do have, and coveting what they don't, little time is actually left to just sit quietly and ENJOY the music or movie.

I consider myself serious about audio and video - but I'm also quite comfortable being satisfied with what I have, which means I spend my time enjoying my systems without daydreaming

dcarlson · March 2003

I think once you can sit back and totally enjoy what you have, you should be done with upgrades. (if that ever happens, I know I'm not quite there yet.)

I've been building my system for about a year and have learned the hard way what I want. I started building a HT rig and figured it would be great for 2 channel too. Well now after a year of purchases, I realize HT is not where I want to go and accurate 2 channel is now my focus. My next couple of purchases are going to be a Turntable and either a pre/power or integrated amp. Once I have both I'll be closer to my goal of a great 2 channel system.

This may sound crazy to some but from recent experience, cables are now very high on my list of upgrades. Skimp on cables and you may not be taking full advantage of the equipment you have.

In my mind, except for the convience of CDs, Vinyl is where it's at for great 2 channel sound....

Derick.

nadams · March 2003

I'm really big into mp3s and computer audio. Given, I'm not as obsessive about my sound as a lot of people in this forum...

When I'm making mp3s (I have all the CDs I own converted to mp3) I never encode at less than 256kbps. When I first started I had every mp3 at 128kbps or lower. Then, when I upgraded to a better system, I realized that at 128kbps, the highs get... well, squigy. I can't really describe it any other way. The music through the mids and highs is just... bad. So then I re-did all my music to 256kbps. Now, I'm working on taking every last CD up to 360kbps. Once again, my taste has just outgrown my music quality. I listen to 99.9% classic rock, with the exception of a little bit of christian rock. Unbeknownst to most people, classic rock has a wide range of sounds that requires a lot of accuracy from the speakers. Therefore, the need for 360kbps is becoming more and more apparent on my system.

For the most part, I don't use the other components of my system. I have a circa 1985 (older than I am...) Sharp CD player, and a Sharp Tape deck... which rarely ever get used.

After listening to my dad's system (he has a nice record player) I must agree that vinyl is still pretty cool. You just don't get the same feeling out of a CD. If only my dad hadn't sold a majority of his vinyl collection after college :-).

Anyway.... as for cables, I use the standard RatShack "gold-plated" RCA cables, and RatShack brand speaker wire. Usually at least 16 gauge... Sounds fine to me!

nadams

Systems · March 2003

I regret having dumped vinyl, but I can't afford a major rebuild of collection right now. A good turntable & cartridge are not outta reach, but combined w/collection rebuild, it's too much.
I like the SACDs I've heard, but the format wars are only now getting around to digital interconnect transmission, there are very few titles out there, & only a few universal players. So I think those who've waited it out so far are right. My damn SACD player is in the shop, altho it's still under warranty.
CDs can sound great, but a lot of em don't. Some of the 80's ones sound unbelievably bad.
If I had to choose a system that listed for approx $1500, I'd take a stereo rcvr, pr of LSi 7's, & DVD changer over a $1500 surround set up. 2-ch music means much more to me--surround is like a cherry on the sundae. I gnash my teeth over 2-ch music sound, but as long as I can distinctly hear the dialogue, I don't get bent outta shape re surround sound.

dcarlson · March 2003

meestercleef, I'm the same way. I'd love to have a killer 2ch system and have basic HT as a side note.

I was looking into SACD/DVD-A but because of the price of decent players being so high, I'm opting for Vinyl. When the new format pricing comes down and there's more titles, I may jump into it.

Derick.

danger boy · March 2003

well this is a tough question.. really how far do you want to go with your system for either ht or two channel or multichannel audio.

I'm on a limited budget... i upgrade something every couple of months. Yeah it took me about two years to build what I have now.. but it's not perfect. It's not the best, it's not the loudest, it's just what i had to settle for for the time being.

Yes i'd like to have a better complete system, but can't afford it right now. My system sounds better for dvd movies than it does for two channel music. It needs improvment that's for sure. I guess with a receiver being the "heart" of your system, that's what I feel is lacking right now.

I just got high speed cable internet.. so i've downloaded a few MP3's. Some of them are ok sounding, and a lot of them are poor sounding. None I have found are great sounding though.

My interests are for the best sound and the best picture quality but within 1. my budget, and 2 within a reasonable cost. Yeah i'd like to have a bigger tv, than just a 27" Zenith, but the darn thing won't die.

. I have trouble justifying a new bigger monitor until it croaks.

I'm very interested in multichannel audio. I got a cheapo Toshiba player w/DVD-audio to get me into the format. Yeah it is different sounding. and does take some getting use to. It's not for everyone that's for sure. I LOVE IT! good or bad, I think the multichannel formats (SACD and DVD-audio) have a place in music, and at least for me.. it has a place in my system. Unless the dvd-audio format dies.. it will always be a part of my HT system.

I find that my Marantz SR5000 with RT1000i's and RT800i's does not sound that good for two channel audio. It's better suited for home theater.

Finally, what i have ran me about $3000 total. Where i'd like to be would be about double that amount. I'm not interested in having the "best" or most expensive of everything. I can never see myself owning any Krell or Levinson, Integra equipement. But then again, i would never settle for anything well below what I have now. WHat I have now and where i'm at I would consider it to be the lowest in sound quality that I would ever go.

cheers, Al

And the Question is.......

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