Top 3 Advice

[sandeeprao]

What will be your TOP 3 advice/ suggestion to anyone who is planning his new setup - Stereo ??????




Please do share your thought #Bhagwaanbhalaakarega

 

[raghupb]

What will be your TOP 3 advice/ suggestion to anyone who is planning his new setup - Stereo ??????




Please do share your thought #Bhagwaanbhalaakarega

1. Audition and have patience; trust your ears not just reviews/comments
2. Select speakers that suit your listening preferences & room
3. Choose an IA/separates, source, cables as budget permits

I use what I call the Needs, Means and Opportunities method.
1. Do I "need" this component (wants are infinite)
2. Do I have the "means" to get this component (mostly budget related)
3. Do I have the "opportunity" to procure and/or host this component (local availability, space in room, etc)

Be honest in answering these three questions and a solution will gradually emerge.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Analogous]

WAF?

 

[OM_2K19]

1. What do you listen to?
2. How big is the room?
3. How much can you spend?

 

[prateekatasniya]

1. What do you listen to?
2. How big is the room?
3. How much can you spend?

How far you would sit from the speakers?

 

[OM_2K19]

How far you would sit from the speakers?

Yup, that's another one.

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

Understand the objectivity but use a subjective approach to choose components
Determine the type of sound and volume you prefer
Do not rely on other people's comments or reviews.

 

[Yogesh]

1. Try your best for max auditioning. Blind buys can be nightmares.
2. Know your budget. Don't look at items that are costlier.
3. Patience. - research well and wait for good opportunities.
Bonus : Boutique Brands and quality DIY or DIY brands will bring in max value.

 

[ssf]

If you are a beginner,

1. Do not trust your ears. Try to understand what good sound is.
2. Buy the cheaper options of popular brands and live with it for a while.
3. As you listen to your equipment and over a period of time, when you will come to know what is lacking in the current setup, then audition as many speakers as you can and read up on reviews and then get the best system that your budget permits.

If you stop at 2, consider yourself the luckiest man or woman on the planet.

 

[Vishram karande]

1. Every costlier equipment will not play as per the expectation
2. Time and patience required to get good output from equipment
3. Try to get highest potential of equipment before give up.

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

1. Do not trust your ears. Try to understand what good sound is.

This seems counter intuitive to the base logical goal of music which is to enjoy it. Are you trying to suggest one should strive for what others consider good sound rather than our own perceptions?

 

[Lizard King]

If you are a beginner,

1. Do not trust your ears. Try to understand what good sound is.

Thanks for pointing this out.

A beginner is easily impressed by sound that is eager/ forward/ sparkling. Attributes like tonal purity, imaging, soundstage, separation etc takes quite a bit of time to understand.

Most importantly, before one listens to the sound of piano on a system, one should listen to a lot of piano (or sitar/tabla/Zildjian/Fender Stratocaster through Mesa_Boogie amp etc....), sitting in front of an artist.

Attend classical concerts in halls, rock shows in stadiums, Jazz in a smoky bar, khayal/ thumri in an intimate durbar. That is the way you create a reference sound in mind.

On the other hand, one can totally avoid walking down this rocky road and buy anything flashy/ popular/ expensive. Chances are one will be 50% right and 100% happy

 

[Kannan]

1. Set on a budget first with max 10-15% deviation.
2. Decide on towers or bookshelf based on room size/listening preference
3. Give a thought around active speakers as they have matured immensely and offers great ease of avoiding multiple gears.
4. Audition audition audition

 

[fLUX]

i) Don't expect the setup to play exactly the same way as they do at auditions at your home. Audition keeping in mind your room size and surroundings (windows , symmetry) against the demo environment and then see if any of the attributes of the speaker could be troublesome.
For example if you notice a speaker digging deep with good quantity of bass during auditions in a well treated room be prepared to spend on bass traps/ digital corrections if you go for it.

ii) Do not try correlate online/offline feedback with your listening session and go with an open mind.

iii) Don't listen to demo tracks or tracks people recommend as high fidelity (maybe a song at max if you must). Listen to your favorite and most listened tracks, make sure you enjoy them.

 

[vinothkumar]

Select your room, select your speakers (the size most importantly) for your room, match the amp (power and synergy) for the speakers.
The above point will solve 80% of your problems, then match your source / DAC / cables and transport based on your taste. You are mostly done with the gears.
Then, play with placements, mix and match cables, etc.., for fine-tuning.
Brand and models are completely based on your budget.

 

[prateekatasniya]

If you are a beginner,

1. Do not trust your ears. Try to understand what good sound is.
2. Buy the cheaper options of popular brands and live with it for a while.
3. As you listen to your equipment and over a period of time, when you will come to know what is lacking in the current setup, then audition as many speakers as you can and read up on reviews and then get the best system that your budget permits.

If you stop at 2, consider yourself the luckiest man or woman on the planet.

Even I agree with point one.
15 minutes of listening isn't enough to judge a speaker.
Many brands design speakers to provide good early impression (good demo sound) but with long listening sessions their true colours come out leaving the listener fatigued and dissatisfied.

I could name the brands but don't want to get into unnecessary arguments _/\_

Don't trust your ears unless the listening sessions are long and AB testing or blind testing is done.

 

[frend2001]

1. High prices don't always mean a good system vice a versa low price doesn't mean a mediocre system. Norge for example is a great beginner
amp.

2. Starting point should always be a small budget system and one must learn to get best out of it by means of placement and tweaks.

3. One must learn things and understand the concepts associated with good sound. The more you know the wiser and learned decision you'd make.

 

[ssf]

Are you trying to suggest one should strive for what others consider good sound rather than our own perceptions?

Not at all, Sire. If I had not read your post on class D amplification in another thread, I would not have know that class D highs could be harsher, mids could be clinical and music could lack warmth or emotion. Now, would I still buy class D ? Probably. If it sounds good to me. But because of your post, I would now be aware of its shortcomings.

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

My posts only reflect my opinions, if Class D sounds good to you then it doesn't matter what anyone else says. That post was in a topic about amplifiers, this is a topic about advice. Just because I don't like meat doesn't mean you don't like it. There's a spot in heaven for one and all, regardless of if you eat meat or not. Likewise one should stick to personal taste in A/V as well IMO.

 

[ssf]

Agree.