What I wish I knew before starting my audiophile journey
I’ve considered myself an audiophile for over 3 years now. In those 3 years I’ve owned over 12 pairs of speakers, 10 amplifiers, 4 pre amplifiers, 7 DACs all in search for the perfect sound. What I’ve come to learn is I knew nothing when I started and now have some, not all of an understanding of how this works. Im passing this on to anyone that’s getting into this hobby to help fast track them to a better sound and learn from my experience. If I were to do this all over again, here is where I would start and invest my money.
1. Clean power- I wasted a lot of time and probably sold very good gear thinking it wasn’t good enough because I didn’t have clean power. I installed a dedicated 8 gauge power line with 20 amp breaker and hospital grade plugs for approximately $800. This was hands down the single biggest upgrade. You really have no idea what your gear is capable of delivering until you have fed it with clean power.
2. Speakers-this is where I would spend the a big chunk of my budget. I could make tweaks all day to my system but until I had speaker resolved enough to hear them, it all seems a waste of time. I discounted many things like cables because I couldn’t hear the difference until I had speakers that could actually produce the differences. Keep in mind the room size. I believed that bigger was better. I actually now run a pair of very good bookshelves that have no problem energizing the room.
3. Amplifier power. Having enough power to drive the speakers is crucial in being able to hear what those speakers are capable of delivering. Yes different amp make different presentations but if there’s enough power then I believe it’s less of an issue and the source determines the sound quality more.
4. Now that I have the power and resolution to hear the difference between sources, cables, pre amplifier, streamer, DACs ect. This is where the real journey begins.
On a side note, my room played a huge roll in how my system sounded but not a deal breaker. I learned that it’s possible to tweak the system to the room by experimenting with different gear. I learned that speaker size based on room size is pretty important. Have good rug!!
For reference my set up
Dedicated power
Lumin U1 mini
Denafrips Venus 2
Simaudio 340i
Sonus Faber Minima Amator 2
cables, AQ full bloom. NRG Z3, Earth XLR, Diamond USB, Meteor Speaker cables.
Dedicated clean power was, is, and always will be, a prime key upgrade …no quarrel here.. But, having re-read your post, I may suggest you rethink your mantra that you spend the lion’s share of your budget on speakers, The usual tag line in the extreme is “garbage in = garbage out”. The philosophy is clear. An affordable speaker with high-end amplification and source makes more sense in audio performance, than an expensive speaker matched up with a cheap amp and source. |
Your post said “ Speakers -this is where I would spend the a big chunk of my budget….” at exclusion of any reference to comparable quantum to the rest of your system. Hence the metaphor of “lion’s share” from an implied inference that your speakers were still your largest percentage outlay . Is that correct? Without prejudice to the above, In my 50 years in the crazy hobby, I’ve followed both good and crap advice in my trek down the Yellow Brick Road to Audio OZ. The one basic tenet that has been a constant valuable one, is that overspending a percentage on speakers as the magic silver bullet fix to most audio performance warts is a mirage . I have four 2-channel audio systems ranging from $1500 up to $50,000 in my “A” system, The philosophy is consistent in all regardless of pricepoint strata. By way of example, my upstream electronics in my “A” system comprise say 60%, my cables are 15%, and quality speakers for the rest. Choose wisely, sir. |
@dweller …. Best advice ! here is an example of what a dealer can do vis a vis auditions and experiences: (1) Have him parrot my recent gig. I went down to navelgaze new bookshelf speakers on sale for my “C” system. These were regular $800+ ish units on clearance. He then drove them with a $10,000 integrated amp and $5,000 cdp. In short…”… WOW…WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?…” I bought the speakers knowing that my home “C” system was better than his budget system and I was not disappointed. I also farced around by driving them at home with my “A” system …. Yep …. Just like in the store…the degree of audio improvements with lesser speakers with a much better build and quality upstream components is not subtle. (2) Building a relationship with a dealer fosters trust and education . Rotating through 7 DACs in a short timeframe until you progressed to the LUMIN U1 MINI is arguably an avoidable heavy cost in time and money. A dealer would graphically highlight that it’s somewhere around a rough $3000 pricepoint and going northward that the DAC contenders start to differentiate themselves from the pretenders at a lower strata. (… Think quality build and audio improvements from linear power supplies as one example …,) TAKEAWAYS - System synergy (.. or lack of it..) matters, big time…Cobbling together a system in an ad hoc random basis is a big challenge …”One size does not fit all” arises in too many biased suggestions in this forum and mag reviews.. The audio performance results being incomplete and lacking at a minimum is a frequent hurdle without a better approach. - Dealer experience and advice helps …full,stop. They will reaffirm that an arbitrary $$ price shelled out for hopeful better audio performance is no assurance of actual better audio nirvana, Conversely, arbitrary price cap thresholds may be a bespoke budget strains on your wallet, but this is only a user generated arbitrary very limiting factor. Why? ”Price is what you pay…. Value is what you get.” - WARREN BUFFETT. Carry on and choose wisely.
|
Terrific suggestion to attend audio expos. I’ve attended numerous ones over the recent decade and learned a lot from the exhibitors and dealers in attendance. It is also a filter for the vast plethora of personal heavily biased suggestions pushing their personal faves in this audio forum ( and others) that have no assurance of actually working in your system.. it’s an easy hands-on audition with other reputable dealers
|
