How much are you willing and able to spend on speakers?

[Luvchampagne]

I voted 10-15k because if I had to replace my revel salon2’s that would be my budget to get back to that level of sound quality. Side note I bought my salons used for 9k 5 years ago. I think most of us on this forum have learned that the single most important component is the speakers. Seems like amps, dacs, and the like are so good today for low cost that spending more on speakers has the greatest return on investment.

I also have a pair of Salon2 which I bought used for $7500 last year. I think they're great. If I were to get new speakers, I would want them to be at least the same level or better. Not sure that's possible under $10k.

 

[Bleib]

Current cost around 5000euro, unlikely to pay more

 

[Sal1950]

I've been holding off further responding to this thread to put my thoughts together
When @Chrispy mentioned multich speakers and system cost you posted

Then, it's gonna cost you!

Yes, it does. Having the best is always more costly than the mediocre.


Seriously? You really should do your homework before posting.
There's thousands and thousand of discrete multich recordings, I personally have around 500 in my library
Apple, Amazon, Tidal, and Youtube stream multich.

You must watch a lot of TV and in different rooms of the house.

There aren't that many multi-channel music. And I don't believe there's any on streaming. So are you listening to the same tracks over and over again?

Your idea for this thread was a good one to get a handle on where the ASR members are positioned in the big picture audio world.
It does show that we are quite separated from the "luxury goods" crowd that populates the six $ digit speakers of Stereophile-TAS groups.
I won't go into trying to explain or detail it.

But I did find it surprising your complete lack of any understanding of multichannel music and it's owners.
Chrispy and myself have attempted to detail how mis-informed you were on this subject and I do hope you've started to learn a bit, that's what we do here at ASR.
Unlike Chrispy I only have one system that pretty much dominates my living room.

I really got thrown by your comment about "watching a lot of TV"? What has TV to do with high quality multich Hi Fi?.
For general cable type TV I don't often turn on the Hi Fi unless I feel the soundtrack might offer something really interesting. For general TV sources I also have a inexpensive soundbar to supplement the crappy sound in the TV itself.

My real entertainment time in the living room is probably divided about 25% movies and 75% music. The music that isn't true discrete multich is upsampled to multich using one of the modern applications that exist in the AV world. Another area that is too large and complex to include in this thread.

I'll close with adding a total speaker cost roundup to add to my vote of $3-5k for my stereo pair since they MSRP for $2k each.
I have 5 of them for the total "base" 5 channels is then $10,000
The 4 overhead immersion Atmos etc add $1,300 to system costs.
Another 2 subwoofers adds $1800 total.
All that adds up to a total speaker value of $13,100
And for me it was worth every penny. I drive a 20 yo pickup truck to help fund the love of music.
Short of some unforeseen circumstance, that part of my system will remain an end game for me. Budget and room precludes any major upgrade at my age.
Cheers all.

 

[Sal1950]

That's what I thought, unless there is some unknown AI algorithm available that can do that, as a trained EE and former software engineer myself, I know it simply is physically impossible to take a 2 channel track and upsample it in real time into discrete multi-channel, at least half way decent.

OTOH it's not hard in that vocals are generally relegated to a centered mix between L/R Just not much of an issue especially as many recordings do not require an actual stage

Yep, Although no upsampling of 2ch sources is going to make it sound like a true discreet multich source, when you match the most appropriate codec to a particular recording, the final result can be very pleasing, some at time amazing. If we felt doing so would in any way distract from the listening experience, we wouldn't use it.

 

[RoA]

Able and willing are two entirely different things

 

[Deleted member 85077]

Willing to spend: quite a lot
Able to spend: a lot less than that

 

[PristineSound]

Your idea for this thread was a good one to get a handle on where the ASR members are positioned in the big picture audio world.
It does show that we are quite separated from the "luxury goods" crowd that populates the six $ digit speakers of Stereophile-TAS groups.
I won't go into trying to explain or detail it.

If I am honest, this poll also serves me as a gauge of what the resell market looks like, should I one day decide to sell my speakers. Some manufacturer finds this poll useful too.

I drive a 20 yo pickup truck to help fund the love of music.

You're probably not the only guy here who does this. Sometimes the passion takes over.

 

[Frank Dernie]

I spent 2 years auditioning speakers recommended by magazines and other enthusiasts 30 years ago intending to buy speakers I could enjoy for the rest of my life. I am still listening to and enjoying the ones I chose.
I have considered changing them to something more in line with current recommendations but I never find I am annoyed by the sound or feel I am missing out on musical enjoyment, so it would probably be a bit silly of me. I voted the amount I spent then.

I have added rear and centre channels and a sub for multi channel but I have very few multi channel music recordings and am unable to optimally place the rears (which therefore play the sound of the side channels) and anyway wonder how well a surround system without speakers located exactly as the engineer mixed for would represent what was intended?

 

[bluefuzz]

I have maybe spent the equivalent of ~$3000 in total on speakers in my entire life (4 or 5 pairs +sub). Mostly on parts and materials for DIY. However, my current setup was bought new and cost the princely sum of $250 and, together with my DIY sub and some judicious Dirac'ing, sound as good as anything I've heard. I may one day build something like the Directivas or Meccano's nice designs, but it would be for the fun of it and not because I think it would be a serious sonic improvement. If I had unlimited disposable income I might upgrade the beer crates they are standing on ... ;-)

 

[Sal1950]

I have added rear and centre channels and a sub for multi channel but I have very few multi channel music recordings and am unable to optimally place the rears (which therefore play the sound of the side channels) and anyway wonder how well a surround system without speakers located exactly as the engineer mixed for would represent what was intended?

We all do the best we can, circle of confusion and all that. I try not to overthink it much as I can so I don't go any crazier than I already am.
How well can a 2ch setup represent the engineers intent if your 2 speakers aren't set up exactly as his.
But yea, the more speakers/channels the more complicated it can become.
Have a drink, a puff of smoke, take a couple Valiums, or a little of each to get it really right.
The music sounds better and you'll worry much less.
Cheers Frank.

 

[Weeb Labs]

I would never spend more than €2,000 on a pair of speakers. The Neumann KH120 II is commonly found for less than €1,500 per pair and with the exception of subwoofers, I see no reason to spend more.

 

[Somafunk]

You're probably not the only guy here who does this. Sometimes the passion takes over.

I moved into my council 1bed bungalow in 1993 at age 21, it’s now 2025 and I still haven’t seen the point of putting carpets on the bare wood floors or decorating the house as throughout my life I’ve spent my earnings on stuff I love, mtb’s/bikes, music/gigs/festivals/hifi, extended 6 month holidays Türkiye/zimbabwe/morocco,tunisia /india/greece,crete, friends and family and generally spending money on stuff that makes me smile when I think about it.

 

[Robbo99999]

I spent 2 years auditioning speakers recommended by magazines and other enthusiasts 30 years ago intending to buy speakers I could enjoy for the rest of my life. I am still listening to and enjoying the ones I chose.
I have considered changing them to something more in line with current recommendations but I never find I am annoyed by the sound or feel I am missing out on musical enjoyment, so it would probably be a bit silly of me. I voted the amount I spent then.

I have added rear and centre channels and a sub for multi channel but I have very few multi channel music recordings and am unable to optimally place the rears (which therefore play the sound of the side channels) and anyway wonder how well a surround system without speakers located exactly as the engineer mixed for would represent what was intended?

I think you can go quite a long way by time aligning & volume matching your speakers at your listening position when you've not got them optimally placed. I have very minimal multichannel experience, but I did do all that with my parents old 5.1 system using their AVR, REW and a measurement mic and it totally transformed the experience in movies vs their previous uncalibrated setup.

 

[Flaesh]

0) No, you are not allowed to buy parts for DIY

Oh, sorry! But I haven't bought parts and drivers for a long time, I have almost more then enough of them. For example (for one driver\part), $300-500 tweeter, $200 waveguide, $200-300 midbass, subwoofers (let's just consider them the lower band) $111\pcs; crossover\processor, for example, 600. Should I count eight amplification channels or not? A few hundred bucks for plywood, CNC services, glue.

 

[BenB]

Neither do I and I wasn't referring to any of that.
Streamed multich today is about the same as heavily compressed 2ch flac was a bunch of years back.
It's good enough for reviewing but not serious listening.
Thankfully algorithm derived Atmos is in a small minority and tons of multich is available on DVD-A, BluRay, SACD

What do you think the "L" in "flac" stands for?

 

[PristineSound]

But I did find it surprising your complete lack of any understanding of multichannel music and it's owners.
Chrispy and myself have attempted to detail how mis-informed you were on this subject and I do hope you've started to learn a bit, that's what we do here at ASR.
Unlike Chrispy I only have one system that pretty much dominates my living room.

Ok, I don't know how much multi-channel audio there are out on the market. If you are telling me there are thousands upon thousands of title, ok great, thanks.

I don't have a multi channel set up in my house at this point. Maybe when I move and have a bigger space, I can get a setup going. If I do, I would likely use it for 90% TV as that is my preference.

But right now, I have no interest on multi-channel music. Why? Why should I, I don't have the space for it, what's the damn point?

 

[Chrispy]

Ok, I don't know how much multi-channel audio there are out on the market. If you are telling me there are thousands upon thousands of title, ok great, thanks.

I don't have a multi channel set up in my house at this point. Maybe when I move and have a bigger space, I can get a setup going. If I do, I would likely use it for 90% TV as that is my preference.

But right now, I have no interest on multi-channel music. Why? Why should I, I don't have the space for it, what's the damn point?

That's just your choice. I have a decently large multich audio library (aside from movie soundtracks). YMMV. TV, like sitcoms or ?

 

[pablolie]

I think a better framework rather than how much can you spend, for informed ASR users, would be how much would you spend to expect an improvement over what you have

 

[pablolie]

We all do the best we can, circle of confusion and all that. I try not to overthink it much as I can so I don't go any crazier than I already am.
How well can a 2ch setup represent the engineers intent if your 2 speakers aren't set up exactly as his.
But yea, the more speakers/channels the more complicated it can become.
Have a drink, a puff of smoke, take a couple Valiums, or a little of each to get it really right.
The music sounds better and you'll worry much less.
Cheers Frank.

truth. let's deflate the jargon at times and... enjoy the music.

 

[Westsounds]

People spend to much on speakers, they don't have to cost a fortune to be great. Keep it simple that's all that's needed.