Question For The Sharks:

[CDLehner]

So...let's say, you were a BIG gear-swapper. You just love the hobby...and the kit; so you want to try a LOT of it.

For you, it's not always about getting "better"; but sometimes, simply moving sideways...and trying something different (but at the very least, equally good).

OK, OK; I'm talking about myself :blush: Look, it's been a fun ride; and I have no regrets. I've enjoyed trying kit, and it allows me to talk about kit...which I also enjoy. But...I am thinking about, getting off the merry-go-round and not fcuking-around as much; finding a gal to settle-down with.

But being realistic...IDK, that I could just keep a listening room the same; for like 10 years. So I think about 2 approaches...

1) Buying a pair of speakers, that are true "destination" pieces; and then...tweaking the electronics, to try (and try, and try, and try...) to wring the absolute best from them. Or...

2) Leaving some good electronics, well-enough alone; and experiment with various speakers.

I was just wondering, what the group thought. Vote...and explain your choice? Thanks

 

[highEndguy]

Go ARC can't go wrong there.
It's been on my room since late 90's

ARC4Life

 

[Mike]

Destination speakers and build around them over time.


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[joeinid]

I thought I was set with my TADs. Boy was I wrong. They were just not my cup of tea. Sure they were relatively easy to drive but no matter what amp I tried, it was impossible to correct their true nature. It was a great learning experience but now with my Strads coming, my gear world has opened up tremendously. The world is my oyster. My Harbeth 40.1's will be a little more difficult to drive but not impossible.

So my vote goes to pick a great speaker and have fun around it as long as you love the final voicing of the speakers.

 

[jaxwired]

Tough call. I think it's easier to find electronics you want to marry than speakers. IF you could find dream speakers that truly left you wanting for nothing, then I'd say yeah, get em and tweak the electronics until it's as good as possible. However, it's hard to find speakers like that so my practical side says get killer electronics and then try different speakers until you find great synergy.

 

[Paul]

No1 is for my case. I found my destinations speakers and now I'm almost there on gears as well. It was so much fun.

I was doing no 2 case last year and what a wasting my time and money ...

 

[Ritmo]

Speakers first...

 

[Dpod4]

Speakers first...

+1. Without right speakers the best gear won't sound right. Great speakers and most gear is great.

 

[cmalak]

Agree...start with speakers first.

 

[Kt77]

I'm coming odd, but as an Ex-Linn/Naim groupie, if you will, I'm more of a Source first kind of guy, but seeming this has asked about one priories between keeping speakers or flipping electronics, I've go one deeper ( shorten version if possible ), I firmly believe it's harder to find a great pair of speakers regardless of ones budget, so when you've found a pair that drives your space ( in saying this, I mean entire household front to back room where you can hear it equally as well, in any given room ) then you know they're loud enough.

Next one you've found " your ideal speakers ", I think good to decent electronics should hold you until you're able to swing that prefect preamp/power amp or Integrated that you can enjoy for not just the next 10 years, but hopefully for the remaining days on the planet - I've a saying - " in order to know the sound of ones system!, one has to live with it ", I'm talking years and years as drivers are broken in as much as they can!, resistors and capacitors are fully settled in, as well as cables and so on, less you wouldn't know what was there to begin with.

Case in point, you find a very pleasant pair of Mini-Monitors that ofter that nice balance between integrating the drivers seamlessly, and has that disappearing act down to a " T " with enough low end to peace your senses, but not cause someone to report you to the police for excessive noise ( boom, boom type of bass response ) and then the task at hand is finding an amp of sort that enhances them to a point where you know in your very being!, I'm done.

There will always be components or speakers that offer a different sound then what each of us own, but the real question becomes, is it better and/or more musical then what you already have?, and if not?, why bother. I say tweak it to death, then tweak it some more, as the possibilities are unlimited, sometimes changing something as simply as the binding post on both amp ( power or integrated ) and RCA jacks to better quality ones can bring about huge improvements - as not matter the retail cost on anything!, it's all built to a given price point is it not?.

Even changing out the IEC Outlets on components and matching it with better fuses that match its metal plating can bring about marginal improvements in fidelity, and lastly ask yourself truthfully!, does said speakers prefer solid state or tubes in front of them?, that's the most important factor of all.

Time to stop rattling off, and allow someone else to respond, it has been a longtime since I've had the need to put finger(s) to pad and want to write anything - but I love the vibe here, and am enjoying myself again, so bear with my long-winded rantings once again.

Onwards and outwards I say..........., next.

 

[sharkmouth]

I don't think there is a clear/definitive answer for this one Chris. For me I use things like isolation,cables, power supply etc to shape the sound. In saying that no matter how good the speaker, the source needs to deliver for them to shine, & once the source does deliver, it needs great speakers to shine!

 

[CDLehner]

Thanks for the responses guys. You know, the more I read your opinions...and then think about them; the more I realize, this is kind of an chicken/egg thing.

I mean, how many times have 'philes argued: 1) no getting around the GIGO principle, and 2) no matter how good the signal; it'll only be reproduced as well, as the speakers at the end of the chain. :wacko:

So...much as I hate to nip this thread/poll in the bud; I think the answer is...both? :S

I'm thinking...you start somewhere (my current Harbeth 30.1s, aren't a bad beginning); then...electronics, that you can count on to be good and consistent...as you audition other, possible speakers. Once you find a pair of speakers that are dynamite...and you can actually afford; they stay put...and then you start upgrading around them.

So, both POVs are valid. I know the 30.1s aren't going anywhere for a while; so I think I'll start scoping-out, some top-flight kit.

However...feel free, to keep the "debate" going.

 

[JDLaudio]

Destination speakers and build around them over time.


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+10 My vote would be for a heavy hitter speaker first that you really can live long term with........then demo the electronics to bring out the best in them. Then spend ALOT OF TIME dialing in the room acoustics, speaker position, etc. Maybe even employ some help to get the room right. It can affect your sound more than the electronics, more often than not.
Once dialed in and happy.......you can still occasionally bring in a new piece for a try-out. But make sure it makes a big improvement before you break out the wallet. If you are a career gear swapper, you will always have that nagging urge to try something new. Just thoughts from a long-time gear swapper....

 

[Kt77]

Thanks for the responses guys. You know, the more I read your opinions...and then think about them; the more I realize, this is kind of an chicken/egg thing.

I mean, how many times have 'philes argued: 1) no getting around the GIGO principle, and 2) no matter how good the signal; it'll only be reproduced as well, as the speakers at the end of the chain. :wacko:

So...much as I hate to nip this thread/poll in the bud; I think the answer is...both? :S

I'm thinking...you start somewhere (my current Harbeth 30.1s, aren't a bad beginning); then...electronics, that you can count on to be good and consistent...as you audition other, possible speakers. Once you find a pair of speakers that are dynamite...and you can actually afford; they stay put...and then you start upgrading around them.

So, both POVs are valid. I know the 30.1s aren't going anywhere for a while; so I think I'll start scoping-out, some top-flight kit.

However...feel free, to keep the "debate" going.

h, Well if we can continue?, let me add more.

On a similar note, any given speaker is only going to give you as much information from the source as they can receive - back to the olde Linn jargon - Garbage in, Garbage out,

Does in fact still holds true, 30 some odd years later.

But once again, if we're going to talk about matches made in Heaven, as I've heard personally - then your beloved/prized Harbeth 30.1s in tandem with say a Leben CS600 would certainly have you in tears and all the Merry-go-round for good. I'll give Jeff Day his prompts for calling this one as he heard it years ago, in his Music Lover Series on 6 Moons, there's something magical about these two brands that strike a certain..........., how does one put it into words

" Synergy " ( that's it! )

Where they seem to have been designed around one another, and just how many pieces can that be said about - as much as it seems to me you're fond of the ARC stuff, at best you've to ask yourself - will said Leben be a better match?, but only you can know what's best for your senses!, as I like to put it mildly.

It's like when I had a pair of the little Devore Fidelity Gibbon 3s matched with a rather lovely sounding little British integrated called the Sonneteer Campion and loved it for 2 - 3 years, and thought the world of this combination - until a friend of mine whom was working in New York told me about his visit to In Living Stereo where he had heard my speakers connected to a rather shabby looking DIY 6L6 Integrated, and wrote me the same night..........., saying dude, are you sitting down?, as nice as your system sounds..............., you aren't hearing it at its Abso!ute best, until you've heard your speakers with tubes ( glass as you like to put it ), so I sat there thinking to myself - maybe he's onto something!, yet it took me another year to finally find an integrated based upon the use of EL84s which I had read about but never heard before in my life ( but had noticed a sudden thread that was taking place with more then a few reviewers over on 6 Moons, each that had heard/reviewed an amp using EL84s were in fact buying them ), what gives?.............?.

I asked myself, until the integrated arrived, and as soon as I plugged it in, within two tracks, I knew I wasn't ever going back to solid state, in hindsight, we do have to after all take into account what our chosen speakers were designers/voiced around, and then hear them accordingly.

Once again, it's about what suits your ears/taste and music collection that counts!, but myself, I'd never be stuck with a system that doesn't allow me to enjoy any genre of music I throw at it equally as well as next, and neutrality to me means having the ability to hear into any recording and know they were recorded on different labels, studios, and allows me to spot great pressings/mastering processes on either LPs or Digital, good, bad or indifferently, I mean every recording should in fact have its own signature, and something by Art Blakey, shouldn't be mistaken by something from say Buddy Rich, as their styles are totally different to begin with - but then ask yourself........., which then is truer to the Source and/or Original Artist intent?.

As always, it's time to back up and breathe, and give someone else the floor..........., I've spoken my piece for now, until next time then........


scar

 

[MtnHam]

Speakers 1st! But make sure you make the right choice. Having chosen Sound Lab electrostatics over 14 years ago, and having moved up to their best (as well as becoming a dealer) I am convinced I made the right choice. Upgrading my components piece by piece, I know I made the right choice. As the rest of the system gets better, the speakers reveal more and more, but their basic nature never changes. I have come to understand the value and wisdom of making the speakers the foundation of a great system, and the upgrading of all the rest just reinforces that belief.

 

[Mike]

Speakers 1st! But make sure you make the right choice. Having chosen Sound Lab electrostatics over 14 years ago, and having moved up to their best (as well as becoming a dealer) I am convinced I made the right choice. Upgrading my components piece by piece, I am convinced I made the right choice. As the rest of the system gets better, the speaker reveal more and more, but their basic nature never changes. I have come to understand the value and wisdom of the speaker as a foundation of a great system, and the upgrading of all the rest just reinforces that belief.

Great speakers! They image larger than life. Incredible. I still can't believe some guy I know sold his big SoundLabs for Poly mers.


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[MusicDirector]

Speakers first and then just listen to the music, but that's just me. I don't listen to gear...well technically, except speakers of course and if I'm in the market for a source (amp, CD player, what have you), I listen to music, so for me it's speakers first. Get a fabulous revealing efficient pair and settle in.
Just my half cent.

 

[nbrowser]

I'd have to agree with the speakers first mentality. I bought my RTiA7 towers about a year ago knowing there were "special" then the gear upstream started changing. Adding a dedicated amp, changing the speaker cable, changing the receiver/AVR, source upgrades, another set of speaker cables, interconnects. These towers are traditionally known as being bright and very forward as they are biased for HT use but I had a feeling they'd work well for music if things that fed them changed. A year later and I can say, nope not bright, yep, a bit more relaxed sound and honestly they can fill the room with amazing sound, still fiddling with the toe in to get the image better but as we know, that takes time and patience. I'm getting close to what I want to hear in that regard. Nothing like sitting in my favourite chair being stared down by 8 drivers with great firepower behind them.

 

[JDLaudio]

It is usually a good idea to buy a package known to work well together. At least the speakers/amp /preamp if possible....and demo it in your own room. This is where a great dealer comes in. This way you know if the components can fill the room properly with the volume and scale you desire. It will also allow you to determine is the style of speaker you chose will work in your space. I'm sure we all could think of a few great combinations we've ran across in the last few years. You have a great source of knowledge here at AS to screen from. I gain insight daily from the posts here.

 

[Petro85]

i voted for electronics over speakers, because i like to buy in the used market and try all i can. i dont think ive heard the speaker that is both what i cant live without , and what i can possibly afford. cause i say i cant afford something, but if i really want it i always seem to get it somehow. but im out listening to speakers all the time, i think alot are better than what i have at home, but i think about the prices and then think are they that much better? and they are usually not. when im sitting there listening to a $3500 pair of speakers and knowing they have strengths and weaknesses just like the $50k pair right next to them, that pisses me off.
but i dont think about the electronics either. i finally have a source that i love. and ive been flipping sources for many years. im finally happy. of course i want to upgrade the arm and the cart. but its not a huge deal anymore since im not worrying about what the next turntable will be. ill be happy with a few interchangeable cartridges for not much over $1k each, mono, spu, grado mi , and bring a used one in occasionally.
so with that settled now i will continue to buy and sell amps and speakres until i find the right setup. i know its 300b's but i dont know what amp i will end up with in the end, and dont even care what speakers i end up with. lmao!!! it will probably 2 or 3 pairs of under $5k used ones, at best.
so i say source 1st
electronics 2nd
speakers last.
guess im in the minority here.