Speakers forum?

[Joe]

Heh. I'm not the one that keeps wanting to 'soup-up' my system. It sounds great as it is, even without a copper amp!

[Marco]

Lol, I'm sure it does! But when am I, in your words, "always wanting to soup-up my system"?

The accent there is on "always". I think you're grossly exaggerating.

Far better to improve what you already have because you basically like what it does and know what the equipment is intrinsically capable of, than constantly box-swapping (unless you're Jerry!) chasing some deluded form of 'audio nirvana' because you don't know what the f*ck it is you want!!

And how often do you see me changing the core components of my system or posting threads here expressing dissatisfaction with some aspect of my system's performance? I don't because I'm very happy with it and the components therein, and know exactly what I'm doing to improve them further, which is basically about getting more of what I already enjoy about them.

Occasionally, I'll have something modified internally or add a better component to some of my existing equipment (for example a PSU or bearing to my T/T), but I'm hardly 'always souping-up my system', Joe. You're being rather melodramatic for the sake of effect, me thinks!

Most of the time my system just sits there playing music, and the only time I touch it is to load a CD or spin a record, which is exactly as it should be

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

I already have great speakers.Nick is now builing the perfect amp for them.It works both ways.

[Marco]

Yes I heard that, Ali. I suspect the results will be quite stunning!

Marco.

[Steve Toy]

There are two types of upgraders:

Those who do so because they are dissatisfied with their system but chase rainbows by refusing to tackle the obvious flaws.

Those that do so because they ARE happy with their system but want to get even more of the same.

I've fallen into both camps myself. This year I found myself thinking that my system lacked bass drive so looked to change my speakers. Then Marco brought his Sony/Audiocom DAC round and the fireplace began to resonate with all the low-end energy. My DAC has gone to Anthony's for major surgery and I'm currently enjoying the amazing prowess of the Tom Evans Eikos Precision CD player belonging to Anthony. This is one setup I could live with happily until I had the opportunity to get even more of the same musical involvement.

[Marco]

There are two types of upgraders:

Those who do so because they are dissatisfied with their system but chase rainbows by refusing to tackle the obvious flaws.

Those that do so because they ARE happy with their system but want to get even more of the same.

Bang on, muchacho - and I've blissfully been in the latter camp for years!

Marco.

[goraman]

I already have great speakers.Nick is now builing the perfect amp for them.It works both ways.

Yes, I can see the horn mounted on a VW bug woofer cabnet,Who would have thought a ported VW bug is the perfact cubic volume for the big 31.5 inch Fostex woofer. Do you have a matched pair?http://www.madisound.com/store/produ...roducts_id=304

[magiccarpetride]

Ah yes, the "rubbish in, rubbish out" approach.

True. However, this maxim applies to all the links in the chain, not just to the entry point (i.e. your analog or digital source signal) and to the exit point (your speakers).

In other words, you can feed a healthy, hearty signal into the digital transport, for example, but if that transport messes it up, it then feeds garbage into the DAC. What you get in the end (down the chain) is garbage entering your ears.

Or, the signal may remain healthy and pristine as it leaves the DAC, but then gets messed up at the preamp stage. This again results in the garbage hitting your ears. And so on -- the signal may get morphed into garbage at the interconnects stage, etc.

In my subjective experience, I've always gained the most improvements/degradation at the power amp stage. Yes, I can always hear notable differences whenever I change anything in my chain, but to me, power amp makes the most audible difference in the entire audio chain. Consequently, that is the component I've been experimenting with the most. Nothing makes such a dramatic difference in the sound as swapping the power amp.

[Marco]

Hi Alex,

That's likely because of how fussy the relationship is between the power amp and speakers with electrostatics, not necessarily because power amps universally affect the sound the most (they don't). Otherwise, I completely agree with you

I fear, however, that Brian is spending far too much time mixing it with the dogmatic measurement-obsessed objectivist brigade on a certain other forum, where he's become infected with the deluded notion that digital audio is somehow 'perfect'

Others and his thinking on this matter is unfortunately way too simplistic.

Marco.

[The Grand Wazoo]

All of the garbage in/garbage out cliches are fine as long as we don't go down the road of recommending a spend of 20p on the speakers and £10k on the source & amp. A situation that certain advocates of certain brands got perilously close to several years back.

So what has all of the above got to do with there being no natural home on the AoS for discussions about speakers?

I've often asked myself the question, but never been sufficiently motivated to ask you folks.