2. speakers
  3. 1062207817

I would like advice for a beginner.

I'm a "newbie" who needs veteran advice. I'm an ex-music teacher, ex-folk singer who is facing retirement and I didn't have a stereo. I have told my friends I'm going to buy a used system for not much money and incorporate the "dink" system. No, that's not "D-ual, I-come, N-o, K-ids"!! It means I want to "dink around" with my new hobby. I know nothing, but my motto will be "Learn First, Upgrade Later."

Presently I have purschased a factory reconditioned Yamaha RX-596 receiver($179) and a Yamaha CDC-845 demo CD changer($129). I purchased Yamaha, for the time being, because my local stereo shop guy told me they would be adequate and were "work horses." I have them hooked up to old JVC 50 watt speakers from an old bookshelf stereo system with a broken cartridge CD changer(free). Now, I can, at least, listen to music while I shop for speakers.

This is fun!!

I would like advice for speakers. I have liked the sound of stand mounted speakers better than floor speakers. The heavier bass sound seems to get in the way of what I want to hear. I listen mostly to classical, especially choral, Celtic and folk music, with an occasional slip into classic rock and bluegrass. The speakers I have most appreciated have been the B&W 601's and 602's followed closely by the Paradigm Studio 20's and 40's. Any opinions offered on those speakers or any other similar speakers would be greatly appriciated. Oh, by the way, I plan to spend $200 to $400 for used speakers.

After I get the speakers, I will have $500-$700 invested and will be listening to a good solid system. Let the DINKING" begin.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
baileyje

Showing 5 responses by danvetc

danvetc
527 posts
 
Your musical experience and listening tastes, which I happen to share, would be best served by a monitor of the BBC heritage as they really do voice right. My suggestions, which are just out of your budget, typically, are Harbeth or Spendor. Many sound engineers have to spend hour upon hour with their speakers, and both of these have proven themselves to be accurate reproducers. I highly recommend that you squeeze everything you can out of your budget to get this kind of speaker. If not possible, the PSB line is a very good cost performer. When you turn back to electronics, buy NAD, and never look back. Ignore advice on cables and interconnects.

Best of luck,

Charlie
danvetc
527 posts
 
Baileyje,

Those that do not prefer B&W find their tweeters too bright, (which is the current "audiophile voicing," by the way.) As a musician, I think you will find an amazing amount of innacuracy in many speakers favored by audiophiles, often coined as "detail" or some other adjective. You have to have a good accurate speaker first. Any other advice is just plain wrong.

Charlie
danvetc
527 posts
 
Great question, Baileyje, and another subject of controversy in the audiophile community. 90% here would recommend a metal stand where the floor:stand:speaker are all coupled rigidly with things like spikes, or the like, at each interface. On the other hand, you could take the advice of someone like Robert E. Greene, (writes for The Absolute Sound;teaches math and acoustics at UCLA; is a perfoming violinist; produced the Philadelphia Orchestra's "Natures Realm" cd; etc...) who finds that rigid stands serve to move resonances up to the speaker. He recommends DECOUPLING the speaker from the stand. Let the speaker do it's thing! Let the stand be rigid for safety, but have a little fun and try it once with blue tack, and then again with something soft, between the speaker and stand. Let your ears be the judge.

Good luck,

Charlie
danvetc
527 posts
 
Baileyje,

As to B&W speakers...if you like them, I recommend you buy them! (I was just referring to the most common complaint from those that did not find them to their liking.) Room acoustics and speaker positioning are varied, so it makes sense that opinions are differing. Home auditions are a must!

Charlie
danvetc
527 posts
 
Cdc,

We certainly disagree on this subject, and I suppose we could debate this another time...

The concrete block stands sound interesting, though.

Take care,

Charlie
More to discover