Advice to Newbies

I’m posting this summary of my audio experience for no real purpose than to share it with those newly becoming serious in their pursuits of this hobby. I began early in 1958 building my first kit amplifier and “Sweet Sixteen” speaker remaining active pursuing good sound ‘til now. During this time I’ve had many very good and satisfying setups that I put together in a mostly random fashion looking for that synergistic combination of components that best satisfy my listening enjoyment. Later in this journey I’ve had the good fortune of developing friends and associates with much more knowledge than I who have helped me avoid obviously inappropriate decisions. 

This is where the basis of my advice to newbies begins. First, do not use self serving marketing advice to make your choices. At the same time, though, respect expert’s knowledge and listen to them keeping in mind that tastes are so individual that the only listening pertinent to one’s satisfaction is one’s own. Many claim to believe this to be the case but most also seem to have predisposed thoughts about which components will best get you there. 

When it comes to choosing combinations of components synergism is vastly important but the challenge in trying to find this marriage is that one doesn’t  have a good way of predicting what two or several components will work well together for you unless they’re installed. This can get expensive unless you develop relationships with audio shops which allow you trial listening in your home with new or used loaner equipment. 

I’ve been told on this forum that if I can’t hear or believe in the difference using elevated or directional speaker cables, I don’t have sophisticated enough hearing to be seriously in this hobby and shouldn’t consider myself an audiophile. I don’t label myself as an audiophile but this is the kind of advice I dismiss out of hand. However, if you believe you can hear the difference that’s for you to decide.  What you perceive is, after all, your reality. 

Many of us, perhaps most, don’t have the luxury of a dedicated listening room so are forced to deal with acoustically lopsided rooms with furnishings that don’t work well with speaker placement or room balancing.  This doesn’t mean, though, that you won’t be able to find a satisfactory setup that sounds great. Here’s a case where I’d advise talking to someone with experience to at least get a start. For example a friend who had been a professional installer simply moved my subwoofers pointing them in a different direction and the sound improvement was substantial even for me and I don’t claim to have the best ears on the planet.  

Really good equipment is generally expensive but don’t use price as a predictor of superior sound. Many on these forums list equipment that they think should impress us because of their exhorbinant price tags. Much of this is very little more than bravado and an attempt at building audiophile status so appreciate that there are those who have the resources to do this but keep in mind that big bucks allow shortcuts but do not guarantee individual satisfaction. 

Do not avoid equipment based simply on age either. Yes, later model stuff has the advantage of modern design and newer internal components but older well known equipment recognized for excellence over many years has this reputation for a reason and one can put together an exceptional sounding system for pennies on the dollar.  I’ve done it both ways and am currently listening to a setup where the newest component is 15 years old. This is not to say that vintage well reviewed equipment will bring ultimate  satisfaction either. 

What I’ve said here is simply some advice that I hope will assist new comers in their approach to building their setups.  I don’t claim to be an expert; Ive simply been doing it for a long time.