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Best all around speakers

Just curious what people think around here for best all around speakers for wide variety of musical genres and amplifications needs (tubes and solid state). Not everybody listen exclusively to Diana Krall and Norah Jones and/or acoustical jazz or classical music. Some of us like to listen to a wide variety of music (from rock and roll to bluegrass to blues to you name it) and don't feel the need or want to have a differet speaker for each genre of music. Seems to me many speaker designers have a very narrow taste in music, which unfortunately doesn't reflect what most people listen to, which I think is one of the reasons why many speakers end up disappointing quite a number of listeners.
cleaneduphippy

Showing 4 responses by mrtennis

mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i think the issue here is :

what is the virtue in suffering ?

it is a poor investment to spend money to suffer.

there will always be "problem" recordings. some collections of recordings can have many of them. it would be nice to be able to enjoy listening to the "problem" recordings.

thus, if one strives toward accuracy, have a second system for the "problem" recordings and listen to the "non-problem" recordings on the "accurate" system, where they can be enjoyed.

if one is to own only one system, let the buyer beware.

beware of what you desire, for you may get it.
this last statement especially applies to high-resolution systems.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
lets look at the issue from a different perspective.

the first principle of audio is do no harm. when evaluating a speaker system, one approach is to try to detect flaws. thus, select "average" to mediocre recordings for that purpose.

if you can listen to any recording , even one of poor quality without running out of a room, you probably have found an "all around speaker". thus the quest for an all around speaker might be to seek one that minimizes unpleasantness. while i admit this approach is the antithesis of the conventional way of thinking, it certainly keeps you from suffering when listening to "bad recordings".

are there any speakers that come to mind ?

i lived with one for 7 years, namely, 2 pair of stacked quad 57s. i don't recall ever being displeased with a recording played through that system, which also included the original quad amps, a mac c22 preamp and a thorens tt, ortofon arm and cartridge.

my motto: judge a stereo system by what it sounds like with the worst recording, not the best recording.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
here's another idea:

a speaker which is compatible with many components, is an all around speaker. a speaker which is compatible with a select set of components is not.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
why is it necessary to expose one's ears to 100db in a room no larger than 12 feet by 20 feet ?

my wife complains when the spl exceeds 85 db, and she is 22 feet from my speakers.

85 db is loud enough. i don't see why music can't be enjoyed at spls less than 90db.
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