I am so very happy with my current set up consisting of a MHDT Havana DAC, feeding the Croft line integrated amplifier which drives a pair of Harbeth P3ES and supplemented by a KEF KC62 subwoofer.
This suits my dedicated 15x15’ den nicely and I really enjoy listening to my music every day for a few hours.
However reaching this involved a tortuous journey, I arrived at this configuration after several trials with a variety of brands. The journey was often frustrating as several big name brands and well reviewed individual components did not live up to expectations. It was also somewhat expensive, but good learning too.
At certain times I had three different amplifiers and similar numbers of speaker pairs. I realised I had a problem.
I started off believing that more expensive components would always result in better sound.
I did not know clearly what kind of audio experience I was seeking.
I was blindly trying out different combinations, approaches hoping to hit some elusive benchmark.
I had a case of Upgraditis.
Then, I slowly started understanding room acoustics and a bit of how sound waves behave in closed spaces and the importance of the room proportions, early reflections, reverbs, phase cancellations etc. Bold experimentation with speaker placement, listening position changes resulted in some amazing zero cost insights and sonic benefits.
I wish I had known this early on.
I struggled mightily trying to reconcile the visual aesthetic vs sonic benefit and came to the conclusion that it is not possible to have both every time. Sometimes one speaker placed closer or angled more inwards than the other sounds better even if it looks wonky.
I discovered that Pulling the speakers out well into the room (the so called near field position) can help eliminate much of problematic room acoustics (delayed reflections, milliseconds later arrival and the brain filters it out). How far to pull them out to experiment is only limited by my imagination and length of my speaker cables. The looks of Speakers pulled well into the room, training wires- is not going to please anyone. That is until the music starts playing.
The hard choice is between audio aesthetic and visual aesthetic. So best to have modest expectations if the primary set up is in a multifunctional living room. More expensive gear is unlikely to result in great satisfaction.
This helped slow the Upgraditis.
My biggest discovery was the importance of “synergy” for exceptional audio quality. This is a secret hiding in plain sight. Some combination of components in the chain tend to work much better together and how well an amp and a speaker work in synergy can not be predicted by published measurements. It’s mostly trials and auditions, preferably in our listening spaces. As we all know, Given the circumstances we have in Indiya, home auditions and such are a dream. Buying “used” was a good option (with occasional disappointment part of the deal). I did spend a considerable amount and time buying and trying well reviewed components that sounded disappointing.
One way to select components that sound fabulous is to search online using terms like “great audio synergy between amplifiers and speakers” etc. The other way is to seek advice and suggestions from experienced audiophiles who have travelled the path before us and are thoughtful and generous with their suggestions.
Finally I have discovered that my set up, even if sounds really good to me does not excel in all generes of music. I am trying to figure this out or it’s back to Upgraditis…
This suits my dedicated 15x15’ den nicely and I really enjoy listening to my music every day for a few hours.
However reaching this involved a tortuous journey, I arrived at this configuration after several trials with a variety of brands. The journey was often frustrating as several big name brands and well reviewed individual components did not live up to expectations. It was also somewhat expensive, but good learning too.
At certain times I had three different amplifiers and similar numbers of speaker pairs. I realised I had a problem.
I started off believing that more expensive components would always result in better sound.
I did not know clearly what kind of audio experience I was seeking.
I was blindly trying out different combinations, approaches hoping to hit some elusive benchmark.
I had a case of Upgraditis.
Then, I slowly started understanding room acoustics and a bit of how sound waves behave in closed spaces and the importance of the room proportions, early reflections, reverbs, phase cancellations etc. Bold experimentation with speaker placement, listening position changes resulted in some amazing zero cost insights and sonic benefits.
I wish I had known this early on.
I struggled mightily trying to reconcile the visual aesthetic vs sonic benefit and came to the conclusion that it is not possible to have both every time. Sometimes one speaker placed closer or angled more inwards than the other sounds better even if it looks wonky.
I discovered that Pulling the speakers out well into the room (the so called near field position) can help eliminate much of problematic room acoustics (delayed reflections, milliseconds later arrival and the brain filters it out). How far to pull them out to experiment is only limited by my imagination and length of my speaker cables. The looks of Speakers pulled well into the room, training wires- is not going to please anyone. That is until the music starts playing.
The hard choice is between audio aesthetic and visual aesthetic. So best to have modest expectations if the primary set up is in a multifunctional living room. More expensive gear is unlikely to result in great satisfaction.
This helped slow the Upgraditis.
My biggest discovery was the importance of “synergy” for exceptional audio quality. This is a secret hiding in plain sight. Some combination of components in the chain tend to work much better together and how well an amp and a speaker work in synergy can not be predicted by published measurements. It’s mostly trials and auditions, preferably in our listening spaces. As we all know, Given the circumstances we have in Indiya, home auditions and such are a dream. Buying “used” was a good option (with occasional disappointment part of the deal). I did spend a considerable amount and time buying and trying well reviewed components that sounded disappointing.
One way to select components that sound fabulous is to search online using terms like “great audio synergy between amplifiers and speakers” etc. The other way is to seek advice and suggestions from experienced audiophiles who have travelled the path before us and are thoughtful and generous with their suggestions.
Finally I have discovered that my set up, even if sounds really good to me does not excel in all generes of music. I am trying to figure this out or it’s back to Upgraditis…
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but no one warns us!!!
