Source or speakers?

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

daveyf

Banned
Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Messages
53
I'm a source comes first guy....meaning that I believe IF anything is lost at the source, no matter how good the rest of the system is, you will never get it to sound as good as it could. OTOH, many a'philes believe that the speakers are the most important component. After all, IF the speaker's cannot portray what is coming from the source or up-line, you will never hear that information. What's your opinion?
 
Davey, I'm a software guy; music recordings come first.
Then the speakers, then the preamplification, then the amplification, then the source (playback device).

So for me the source is last*.

- The room is not an audio component per se but it is part of the overall composition.
...Equally, as a balance that does it all to the sound reaching our ears at the end.

* Nowadays most sources are good; they 'track' what's on the pits (bits), on the grooves, on the metal particles, on the hi-res audio files, in a good enough manner for 99.99% for the entire dancing population.

Dance for peace & joy, music from the African rhythm. ...The beats of the free hearts of all men, women and children.
...At the four corners of the globe, even in its smallest crevasses, of all colors and tongues.
...A giant bubble of happy sounds that make our heart sing and our full body dancing in unison.

P.S. The loudspeakers are the voices, the emotional messengers, the reproducers, the quality of the essence. -
christmastree.gif

...The poetical philosophers, the musical revelators.
 
Not sure I agree...Awesome speakers will work on hundreds of systems and sound...well..awesome...BUt if the speakers are not a good fit..the best system in the world is going to sound like crap.

Good systems cannot make bad speakers sound good but good speakers can make so so systems sound great...

Just my biased opinion...LOL
 
I would rather have a Rega RP3 through Alexia's then a DCS Scarlatti stack through a pair of B&W 686's.

Just saying....

You build a system around speakers, not around sources - especially digital sources which become outdated in months, rather than years. YMMV.
 
I'm a source guy too. But like Rob mentioned above speakers are key.
You need to have good speakers and amplification to get the music from that source.
But if I built a system from scratch I would build the system around the source and not around the speakers . IMO
 
Sounds like is egg first or chicken first. You can't put a 4cyl engine on Porsche or 12 cyl on Civic either. so it has to be balanced otherwise you will never get the performance you want. However I kind of agree with Mike. I LOVE speakers....:)
 
I am speaker first, amps second then the source. There really isn't any music that doesn't sound god on a decent let alone a great set-up.

The source first theory started with a guy who only sold sources at the time.
 
BlueMcIntosh said:
Sounds like is egg first or chicken first. You can't put a 4cyl engine on Porsche or 12 cyl on Civic either. so it has to be balanced otherwise you will never get the performance you want. .:)
Click to expand...

My view predominantly however I find I derive more from the source than the speaker, I try to find speakers that are as transparent as possible so I can hear the nuances from the source.
 
I guess i'm a source guy. With one caveat: your speakers have to work in your room. If speakers don't work in your room nothing upstream can help.
 
RedSectorA said:
My view predominantly however I find I derive more from the source than the speaker,
I try to find speakers that are as transparent as possible so I can hear the nuances from the source.
Click to expand...

Very interesting post here Dan.

So what you're basically saying is this: In order to 'derive more' (aural pleasure + emotional satisfaction's level) from the source, to which more importance is given, one has to match it with the most neutral (transparent) loudspeakers that he/she can find. :cool: ...Not exactly 100% but close enough (my assertion)?
 
NorthStar said:
Very interesting post here Dan.

So what you're basically saying is this: In order to 'derive more' (aural pleasure + emotional satisfaction's level) from the source, to which more importance is given, one has to match it with the most neutral (transparent) loudspeakers that he/she can find. :cool: ...Not exactly 100% but close enough (my assertion)?
Click to expand...

I can feel a traditional can of worm here...... :ninja:

Your assertion is correct and speakers did come last in my purchasing spree after I had bought everything including cables. I was looking for a specific signature in my source components that permitted me to change the coloration of my system through changes in cartridges. Speakers had to be neutral, revealing and non fatiguing to my ears that's it. My speaker purchase was not an easy task but I think I got it right. No speaker fetish here :blush:

Now I play around with cartridge (and tonearms for that matter) to change the coloration/tone of my system as my mood swing. Currently have 5 cartridges,stereo: Sumiko Palos Santos Presentation, Lyra Kleos, Benz Wood M2 and mono with a Miyajima Zero and a Lyra Dorian Mono.

I understand that most of you like to change speakers to change the tone, color, etc of your system but it always was my intent to use cartridges to that end.
 
Cartridges sure do weigh a lot less and are much easier to store when you aren't using them.

I think maybe you got the right idea. :)
 
RedSectorA said:
I can feel a traditional can of worm here...... :ninja:

Your assertion is correct and speakers did come last in my purchasing spree after I had bought everything including cables. I was looking for a specific signature in my source components that permitted me to change the coloration of my system through changes in cartridges. Speakers had to be neutral, revealing and non fatiguing to my ears that's it. My speaker purchase was not an easy task but I think I got it right. No speaker fetish here :blush:

Now I play around with cartridge (and tonearms for that matter) to change the coloration/tone of my system as my mood swing. Currently have 5 cartridges,stereo: Sumiko Palos Santos Presentation, Lyra Kleos, Benz Wood M2 and mono with a Miyajima Zero and a Lyra Dorian Mono.

I understand that most of you like to change speakers to change the tone, color, etc of your system but it always was my intent to use cartridges to that end.
Click to expand...

Good post Dan ! I actually don't change things in my system very often at all. Mike calls me the audio turtle because I move so slow.

But I still fall in the speaker first camp, it's what I love most ,of all my gear, speakers are my favorite !
 
MDP said:
Good post Dan ! I actually don't change things in my system very often at all. Mike calls me the audio turtle because I move so slow.

But I still fall in the speaker first camp, it's what I love most ,of all my gear, speakers are my favorite !
Click to expand...


It was a big trade up year for me but I intend to join your camp in the very near future, as in before Christmas! So turtle it will be for me too.....:huh:
 
RedSectorA said:
I can feel a traditional can of worm here...... :ninja:
Click to expand...

What you mean is a friendly and rewarding discussion. :)

...

I understand that most of you like to change speakers to change the tone, color, etc of your system but it always was my intent to use cartridges to that end.
Click to expand...

Not just the speakers Dan, but also the power; the power of everything else.

_________________

* For me, the loudspeakers are the foundation around which everything else is comprised of, assembled together.
...After the music recordings of course (the artists and their music I/we like).
 
NorthStar said:
What you mean is a friendly and rewarding discussion. :)

...



Not just the speakers Dan, but also the power; the power of everything else.

_________________

* For me, the loudspeakers are the foundation around which everything else is comprised of, assembled together.
...After the music recordings of course (the artists and their music I/we like).
Click to expand...

Different way of looking at it, probably doesn't matter in the end if you don't forget why you are doing this: the love of music!

(But my way is better :P)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top