|
Musicality and Value
I moved away from trying for ultimate resolution (often at the expense of listener fatigue) and built a more musical, listenable system.
Additionally, I got lucky and heard a pair of Infinity qA speakers playing in a thrift store and ended up buying a pair. They were so good for the price ($116) that I decided to move up the vintage Infinity chain. I found a pair of Infinity RS1.5s on eBay, bought them (for $264) and picked them up while traveling through Western PA on a long ski weekend.
My current system is not as resolving as many of my past systems, but I enjoy it more. And I listen to a much broader range of music on this system as lessor quality recording do not cause the fatigue I experienced with many of my higher resolution systems.
This is all IMHO and YMMV. But it works for me. |
The music makes mine special (having Harbeth 30.2 helps) More music is the change I’d want. Never enough.
|
“Is there something you would want to change?”
Oh my yes. Always changing. Ever evolving. |
Several things make it special.
First off, the fact that my speakers are DIY, based on the (late) great speaker designer, Jeff Bagby’s "Kairos" monitors, sitting on his woofer modules designed for the Kairos. These use the extremely good SB Acoustics, ring radiator tweeters, and 6" Egyptian papyrus mid/woofers.
The fact that I only have about $1600 total invested in them, and my own labor, and they easily sound as good as speakers that would cost about $10,000, with no exaggeration, is also a big plus. Ah, the glories of DIY speakers from great designers.
And from a sound quality standpoint, the design is extremely phase and time accurate, so, they disappear as well as any speaker available. In my room, (depending on the recording) images and soundstage extends well beyond the outer edges of the speakers, and the depth is freakishly good.
Percussionists in the back of an orchestra, for example, vividly sound like they are coming from the kitchen of my next door neighbor’s house, 30 feet behind my speakers.
And detail is top notch, and the midrange is extremely natural. |
|
What makes my current system special for me is that even though I am fully aware that it could be improved in many ways, when I am listening to it, I am always far more aware of the music than I am of the system.
I attribute that to my current speakers which I have owned for about 13 years. I have had 19 other pairs, far less than some audio guys here, and the only others that were near as satisfying were Spendors that I had for some years.
I do believe that in my experience, speakers are probably the most important ingredient in a satisfying system. They are not the soul of the system, but they have the ability to express or impair the expression of what comes before them. |
@akg_ca I've heard those Harbeths and agree completely. |
@lalitk That setup does look very special!
|
The ability to listen all day and into the night with absolutely no harsh treble, or teeth gritting ear searing painful treble.
Just smooth , smooth, smoooooooth.
zero fatigue at any volume. Great detailed and flawless midrange.
And, yes it’s all mine!!! |
The time i spend with my system makes it special, and being able to listen every single change i perform makes it more so.
What i would change, i cannot change the small room i have but i could experiment with some kind of room treatment like diffusers, resonators.
|
First system I've had that is virtually distortion free. Also first system I don't feel needs to be upgraded. I'd like another pair of Wireworld Eclipse (have 7s, would like to add 8s for bi-wiring). Maybe Eclipse Silver 8s if they make a difference in my system). Otherwise I'm done.
BTW, looking to replace my KEF 201 stand mounts with Klipsch Forte IVs (home theater system). |
What makes it special: tubes.
I'd like more compact gear to replace the separates, as I age and move towards smaller living spaces, and newer gear, which could be more reliable. But everything is a trade-off, and an integrated could not equal the tube amp, preamp and phono pre I have. Tubes are inherently higher maintenance that ss (but more repairable when things go wrong.) Contra, modern KT-150 and 170 tubes have the potential to shorten the signal path and reduce phase issues. You pay when you sell old gear and buy new, so "downsizing" will involve paying a lot of money for lower quality sound. Can't make myself do that until it's unavoidable. |
Musicality and system synergy is the key. By using a Mac amp and preamp, the music just flows. |
I have been in this hobby since the early 70”s in university.
As I’ve aged and now retired, my tastes in music genres has changed and evolved with age.
With it, I made very recent move to new speakers excelling with an exquisite airiness and best-of-breed mid-range and tight bass for jazz, easy listening, classical, instrumental et al.
Now it’s HARBETH 30.2 XDs that paves my Yellow Brick Road to Audio OZ. |
Musicality….the music flows from note to note more like live music. |
My low ceilings. I've done a lot of work to deal with them and the response curves and listening tests make things sound very good. But, bottom line, 6.5 ft ceilings are major impediments and are the main reason I'll get into a new space when I can. |
|
|
@ghdprentice very nice! I’ve found Audio Research gear in particular to be very good at what you describe. Sonus Faber as well. My favorite local dealer featured both a few years back....everything he sold excelled in "musicality". My setup took a swing in that direction as well when I added a sp16 pre-amp acquired there a number of years back. I have it in my mind that I would like to compare it with some of the latest and greatest alternatives known for pure technical execution, specifically Benchmark, just for the fun of it, but every time I listen I think "why should I change this"? |
Mine is its musicality... how seductive it is. After, about forty years of ribbon and electrostatic speakers, and massive amplifiers that gave me incredibly detailed and realistic paintings of the venue and each instrument... and of the musician that moved his foot. I have a system that changed the highlights from the details to the sound of the music, the emotional gestalt. All the details are still there, it is just that they are not in the spotlight. I am drawn into listening for long periods of time, finding it difficult not to tap my foot. I don't listen to my system any more, I listen to music. I happily have moved to a much more rewarding system than I have ever had before. |
