@inna Tell me your speakers and I'll tell you who you are
noromance, *LOL* Let's light up that 'OLED Ball' (Crystal?! *whew* 'How passe'....subject to scratches, poor imaging, *meh* response....). ML's...ANY: Just in for Xmas, the laser projectors that can give that 'Big Screen' a Light Show! (Since it's transparent/translucent, it may as well 'do something'....). And a marvelous way to instruct the cat what Not to do.... *Speakers with Obscure Names* (Typically drive 'some of us' to the GooglePlex just to reference WT* they are...): Fond of 'Things of a Distinctive Nature' that outweigh grand pianos; require rewiring the home to 'substation' specs. Live on large properties or near neighbors with 'hearing disabilities'....or graveyards... (Tag; who's 'It'? *G*) |
I think, Alan of Harbeth is thinking in the same cardinal direction as Michael Green but doesn't go that far. Harbeths are liked by many. Panel speakers with not much of a cabinet is one thing and box speakers is another. It is not either/or, in my mind, speakers are both transducers and instruments, or if you wish - co-instruments. Drivers are transducers. Biggest problem is the implementation of the concept, as I see it. Designing speakers is a very special art. |
@inna ... I don’t want stuffed speakers or excessively braced speakers, I want them to move and breath. That’s a rare sentiment in audiophile circles on speaker enclosures, and one that I sympathize with. The obvious and typical answer to this stance often concerns how speakers aren’t meant to act like instruments themselves, but have to be transparent (i.e. rigid, highly damped, heavy) in how they’re build to more accurately give way to what’s embedded on the recording. That’s an understandable position, but one that in actuality tends to be less favorably implemented. One of the reasons for this seems to be not working with the invariable contribution of the enclosure that persists despite elaborate efforts into damping via rigid and heavy build, or as Alan Shaw of Harbeth puts it: https://youtu.be/Ja9BJn0lMxI?t=1403 Mr. Shaw may not embrace working with enclosures as "instruments" as such, but he's highly aware of their contribution no matter what, and has a rare knack for knowing about the importance of timbre and the authentic reproduction of voices. And so, working with the sonic contribution of the cabinets not only tells you about the knowledge of this area, but also of an awareness more holistically into tuning the sound of the speakers. Excessively stuffing the speakers can also prove problematic as it tends to deaden the sound somewhat, leading some (although few) to even refrain from stuffing. It’s symptomatic of "audiophilia" in general, I find; damping, damping, damping - killing resonances and other misbehaviors to such a degree that it potentially leads to killing the overall life and energy of the sound and music. |
"the Bozak dude is big, muscular and digs big furniture...." -tomic601 Ah! Ah! I lean toward contemporary modern minimalistic style !!! Don't like when furnitures are too massive ... Of course, Tymps need big room ... With nice lighting they can look not too much intrusive ... I don't place them near the back wall, I like to let them breathe ( easily 4 to 6 feet away in a small 15' x 18' room ... ) " ... reno'd kitchen..." -asvjerrey ... not completely done yet ... ;:o) |
I was hoping for: Quad ESL57 - You lot are all the same. Thinking you’re better than the rest of us with your midband female jazz vocals and your DIY cables. Your car is paid for and serviced every 6000 and there are boxes of screws of every sort arranged in oily boxes deep in your basement workshop. You love your dog more than your wife because he gets you. |
Hi everybody! This could be a funny thread if some people ( it looks like inna doesn't want to do it! ) give their reading of what kind of person we are considering our speakers. I read on this forum since a few years and I generally find people's comments infomative and interesting; hi-fi is such an interesting hobby. So I decided to jump in this Forum hoping to share some of my "very humble knowledge" and true passion. I will try to introduce myself in another thread ... Like bdp24, I have a pair of Tympani IVa ( and also a pair of IV ) ... ( as a side note, I am very happy about Magnepan reintroducing that big layout with the 30.7 ... ) |
1) Vandersteen 2Ci in a semi-treated living room mostly for solo mid-high SPL listening, all kinds of music. 2) Martin Logan Aerius i in the large family room, set well far apart and guests love the room filling crisp sound. 3) DIY back-loaded horn w/Fostex FF165K in a smaller acoustically treated upstairs room used in an analog-only system. e.g., turntable, reel2reel, cassette player, for casual late night low volume listening. Systems 1 and 2 have separate preamp/amp but can share the same source(s) so we can play the same music downstairs in both rooms when we have lots of guests. |
inna - " the wrong choice of speakers, which in turn indicates insufficient awareness of oneself and one’s goals" The more I read that statement I have to laugh , there are more important issues in life that would cause introspection into one's awareness of oneself than the wrong choice of speakers. Time to lighten up |
Not at all. But I am mostly interested in very high level equipment. I would also have no problem driving my $3k or so speakers with $16k Gryphon Diablo 300 or $25k Ypsilon Phaethon integrateds. And I do like Lansche speakers, whatever their design approach is. For now Redgum RGI120 integrated with Dominus power cord on it does a pretty good job in a medium size room. And I am now burning in a new $1500 retail interconnect that goes from $1200 phono stage. into the Redgum. Very promising. So I try to go as high as possible, but with speakers especially I see little for myself in the middle or I would've already upgraded. |
In addition, it’s very much speakers/room unit. Do you want to eliminate room ’coloration’ too ? Real instruments also have coloration, not only color. How about eliminating that as well ? You will get ’perfect sound forever’ that I personally won’t listen to. And concert hall interferes big time. By the way, Michael tunes studios and concert halls, he must have a pretty good sense and hearing. |
Speakers are musical instruments? That is the single most anti-hi-fidelity statement I have ever heard! Speakers reproduce the sound made by musical instruments, a VERY different thing from producing that sound in the first place. Musical instruments make sound unique to each instrument, each with it's own unique timbre and character. Speakers, ideally, have no sound of their own---a perfectly transparent, uncolored reproducer. |
The key word is "fundamentally". I have Michael Green Audio free resonance speakers, also called controlled resonance speakers. They have their limitations, but I don't listen to big scale music and anything at a very high volume. Michael believes, as I do, that speakers are not only devices but also musical instruments. However, the full realization of this concept is I think nearly impossible. This should be the kind of instrument capable of reproducing all instruments in a convincing manner with full power. Aside from rhythmical instruments, I like string instruments, starting with the most basic that each of us has - voice. I don't want stuffed speakers or excessively braced speakers, I want them to move and breath. These speakers are also very sensitive to even small changes in the system anywhere - I like it too. Vifa drivers in them are not bad at all, the crossover could've been made better, I suspect, there is some congestion in there somewhere, I guess. Coherence is good. Powerful and tuneful bass from that 8" driver with my amp but not overpowering. Excellent speed and dynamics, involving sound. Not the highest resolution or imaging sharpness but enough for me. Deep layered soundstage with the right cables and power cord on the integrated. Michael's used to be top of the line Chameleon speakers are great if you like this kind of sound, they were made in very limited numbers and personally voiced by him. |
Inna, your comment: “There is absolutely nothing in essense you can do to fundamentally change the way speakers sound. They are what they are.“ This is supposed to be a joke, right? There are many things that can change the sound of your speakers: speaker positioning, room, amp power, and more. If I put a speaker with a port in the back up against the wall, you don’t think the bass will change if you move the speaker out feet into the room? say you own a pair of Wilson Alexia 2 or Maxx 3 speakers and you drive them with a 100 watt onkyo receiver, don’t you think the speakers will sound better if you are using a Solution or a 1000 watt McIntosh amp? |
Magneplanar Tympani-IVa, but my current (and in all likely hood permanent and final) music room is not big enough for them. So I have to get along on Quad ESL and Eminent Technology LFT-8b & LFT-4 loudspeakers, augmented with GR Research/Rythmik OB/Dipole Subs. Not all at the same time, you understand! |
Vandersteen 4A - because they were one of the best all round performers back in the late 80s /early 90s despite the tri wire/biamping complexity Martin Logan (original) CLS - because the mid range is sooo perfect on acoustic material - jazz, classical, and voice. Wilson Maxx 2 - because they were the biggest slice of full range reality I could afford. What pigeonhole do I fit into - I still use and enjoy them all. |
Tell me what speakers you choose and why ....Daedalus Ulysses, in quarter sawn white oak solid hardwood. Why: 1)Top-notch sound quality. 2)Wide dynamic range, specifically the ability to cleanly reproduce the peaks of well-recorded classical symphonic music, which on some of the recordings in my collection can reach 105 db at the listening position. 3)Doesn’t require a high-powered amplifier to do so. 4)Doesn’t require a subwoofer. 5)Tube-friendly impedance characteristics; great versatility with respect to amplifier selection. 6)Good imaging. 7)Elegant, refined appearance that is a reasonable match to my wood-panelled 1950s living room. 8)A price that is considerably less than that of a new car. Regards, -- Al |
