the audiophile thread

[OS]

Well, I don't pretend to be one, my hearing has been damaged from the couple of raves I went to

But at any rate, I notice that alot of people rate products almost solely by who makes the stuff, is this an ok guideline? Like I'll notice people will point at aiwa, kenwood, etc. and immediately say "crap", while nodding about onkyo and such. Said people also basically crap on almost everything that worst buy and such sells.

Also, are infinity speakers any good? I'm looking to get another set of bookshelfs, how are these?

Acoustic Research AR-215PS
NHT SuperZero
Infinity Entra One

Did I commit an audiophile faux pas with my selection yet? Help a n00bee out

 

[Servnya]

The Infinity's are the best out of these 3. Take a look at the features and specs for each speaker you're looking at. Check out the power range, sensitivty and frequency response. All of these are important. There is more to it than that.....if you want more info, check out audioreview.com

 

[BDawg]

I disagree on the infinities. Go with the NHTs!!!

Or do yourself a favor and buy some full range NHTs.

 

[GTaudiophile]

If you're looking for high-quality HT speakers, then I suggest you go to a HiFi-Buys and get one of their salesman to demo all their speakers. I am most impressed by Boston and Mirage speakers.

 

[FiLeZz]

I think you should go with fosgate audionix

one of the best in the world..

not just cause Jim Fosgate is my uncle but because it's true..

 

[Texmaster]

Speakers are a personal choice. No one can tell you what you like. Some stress Hi's others stress lows. On the high end, the two that come to mind are Paradigm (my favorite) big on hi's and clarity, and B&W, look a little funny but great speakers and stress the lower end. In the case of these 2 companies the answer is yes you can be assured that whatever they make, all of it is quality.

But I would highly suggest you actally head out to a home theatre store and give all the speakers a listen. Speakers are a personal choice.

 

[Texmaster]

<< I think you should go with fosgate audionix

one of the best in the world..

not just cause Jim Fosgate is my uncle but because it's true.. >>



Arn't Fosgate speakers for cars? I don't think thats what he is looking for here

 

[spidey07]

to your question regarding brands - it is very easy to crap on kenwood/jvc/sony because we've listened to them all the time and hear...well...crap. When you start looking at low-end hifi like onkyo/harmen karden/denon then you get a good accurate amplifier. At this point it really all depends on what you like - listen to them, listen to a krell amplifier, what is different? is this 3000 dollar amplifier worth the extra cash over this 800 dollar one?

As far as speakers go they are the MOST IMPORTANT part of your hifi system. I think general rule is 60-70% of total system price should be speakers. it is difficult to say which speaker is "better" than another because they all have characteristics you may or may not like, and sound/react different to other amps. some speakers are more efficient and play louder, some are not and require a good deal of power to be really dynamic 200W+. some handle more power than others, impedance is different, god the list goes on and on.

What do you want from a speaker? Loud? Accurate? incredible bass? smooth-mids? great imaging/stage?

so, get to know a salesmen pretty well and demo all speakers for about 3-4 minutes. narrow it down to a few and take your favorite WELL RECORDED cds or vinyl and pick'em out.

enjoy you're purchase knowing that YOU like the sound and not what some pompous audiophile like myself told you.

 

[Chad]

spidey07,

Who asked you.... plumber boy!

I only kid! (was noticing your sig is all).

 

[goofygrin]

Like everyone else said: Speakers are *very* personal and you really need to go listen to them in person.

I personally like (ok love) B&W speakers (can't afford them right now). My wife like them too. WE like them because their highs are not too harsh or shrill (she has sensitive eardrums).

My friend like Mirage. They are excellent speakers, but *in my opinion* they have too harsh of a tweeter system in them. They still kick the crap out of lots of speakers.

Again, it is all personal preference... Remember too that if you buy something, it will sound differently in your home than at the store; and most speakers require a break-in period, during which they will sound bad or funny (B&W's are like this). Imagine this to the break-in period on a car's engine... after it loosens up you get better gas mileage and performance.

[edit]Oh yeah like was said before, take your OWN CDs that are *high* quality to demo speakers (most places don't mind, actually encourage it).

Of the speakers that you listed, I prefer the NHTs. I went to a store to listen to AR speakers, and they sounded fairly good... but then the sales guy said "listen to this" and switched over to some B&W303's (I think thats it) and it was, um, a world of difference! Be aware though that most people sense "louder" as "better" quality (not consiously, just that you can hear more "detail" when it is louder than quieter). The reason I say this is if the sensitivity of one speaker is higher than the other, it will appear "louder" and may cloud your judgement. However, I prefer more sensitive speakers (cuz they listen better... no really) because they don't push my electronics as hard to get to the same volume (thus less distortion caused by the equipment).

Whatever you do, make sure that you get a full set of you are planning for home theater. You will be hard pressed to match brands/models if you want to do that. If possible, get the center, left and right to be the same speaker or to at least use the same speakers. Panning will sound much better that way during movies.

Anyway, more info is always available at www.hometheaterforum.com, www.avsforum.com and www.audioreview.com.

Sean

Edit: Added to bring own cds

 

[FiLeZz]

<<

<< I think you should go with fosgate audionix

one of the best in the world..

not just cause Jim Fosgate is my uncle but because it's true.. >>



Arn't Fosgate speakers for cars? I don't think thats what he is looking for here >>




well He started that company too yes..

But that was rockford fosgate..
I am talking about Fosgate audionix..
He has made leeps and bounds in the audio home theatre area.. any home theatre magazine has his stuff in it..
So to to your qoute no this is not for Cars this is very very high end home theatre stuff

 

[Texmaster]

<<

<<

<< I think you should go with fosgate audionix

one of the best in the world..

not just cause Jim Fosgate is my uncle but because it's true.. >>



Arn't Fosgate speakers for cars? I don't think thats what he is looking for here >>




well He started that company too yes..

But that was rockford fosgate..
I am talking about Fosgate audionix..
He has made leeps and bounds in the audio home theatre area.. any home theatre magazine has his stuff in it..
So to to your qoute no this is not for Cars this is very very high end home theatre stuff >>



I keep up and I have never heard of them nor could I find a website. Do you have one?

And what do you consider very very high end? Are we talking Legacy audio prices? like 10K+ for a pair speakers?

 

[FiLeZz]

http://www.fosgateaudionics.com/

 

[Texmaster]

<< http://www.fosgateaudionics.com/ >>



Looks like they need some maturing. I could only find shelf speakers and subs on the website and the home theatre store I buy from has never even heard of them. Oh well, hopefully we will see something in one of the home theatre magizines soon.

 

[FiLeZz]

The company was bought from Jim by harmon International.. and now looks like it has changed hands to rockford fosgate..he started the company and has since gotten out to doing what he loves and thats inventing..

Same staory with rockford fosgate BUT WITH DIRTY TRICKS basicly they FUXXXED HIM OVER.. But thats a whole differant story

 

[mithrandir2001]

Always audition speakers in a store first. The spec sheet tells you very little about how a speaker sounds. Most manufacturers' frequency response specs are a bunch of bull. Bass extension, in particular, is affected greatly by your listening room...and different speakers react differently to the acoustics of even the same room. Take two common speaker designs: ported bass reflex and sealed acoustic suspension. Put a ported speaker near a back wall and it can sound muddy and boomy. Do the same to a sealed speaker and it may sound great...or it may not.

Without hearing any of those speakers offhand, I would expect the NHTs to be the best. Most small NHTs provide great imaging, which is a strong sign of a good speaker to these ears. I personally think Infinity speakers are overpriced, marketing-oriented speakers like Bose. AR can make a good design, but I think they may be outdone by NHT.

With Crutchfield, at least you can buy a pair and return it (for free, I think) if you don't like it. That's important because speakers are by far the most critical component in a home stereo system and you will not find satisfaction if your speakers are mediocre.

One critical point: if you buy bookshelf speakers, be sure to set aside a part of your budget for proper speaker stands. If you don't put your speakers on stands, you might as well buy crap speakers at Wal-Mart.

 

[virtuamike]

Go to ebay and try to find a pair of Paradigm or Energy bookshelf speakers. They make great speakers for this price range.

 

[OS]

I notice that alot of these brands can't be found in mass consumer electronics chain stores. Is there some sort of conspiracy to push crappy audio equipment on the masses? :Q Where is a good place to go to then?

 

[glen]

<< Are we talking Legacy audio prices? like 10K+ for a pair speakers? >>



I use a combination of Legacy Focus speakers and PSB surrounds and center.
Legacys are great, but you can probably get as good a sound for less money.

PSBs and a custom SUB would make a super HT speaker system.

For top of the line, the actively amplified speakers are hard to beat. They are simply and order of magnitude better because the amp in each speaker is EQed to the speaker drivers for more acurrate response. Paridm and, I think Infinity, and may a few others make such speakers. I would take a serious look at these.

 

[brennan]

Also, audioreview.com is a good place to start - it has a huge database of user ratings and reviews.

 

[CocaCola5]

If you're looking for a "hi-end" sounding bookshelf you'll have better luck with a British name brand(Epos, Celestion, KEF).

 

[Viperoni]

<< I notice that alot of these brands can't be found in mass consumer electronics chain stores. Is there some sort of conspiracy to push crappy audio equipment on the masses? :Q Where is a good place to go to then? >>



In a word, yes. Go to your local high end audio store and listen to some speakers there.
Or DIY and chagne out components (like thicker wire coils, better sounding capacitors, etc) to get even better sound

 

[Mrburns2007]

Fosgate was bought by Harman International and was designing for Harman Kardans Citation line.

Here is a link to Citation which now comes under the madrigals company which is also division of Harman International.


Here is a Link: Citation

Not sure whether Jim Fosgate is still with the company but most of his technology is still used in the Citation line.