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The most important factors in sound reproduction- ranking

pirad

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My ranking. What is yours?

1. Two ears and the brain
2. Room acoustics and loudspeakers
3. The recording
4. Electronics
5. Cables, connectors, fairy dust
 

Cosmik

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Rod

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Everything can sound good with enough hearing loss.
 

RayDunzl

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Without a recording there is nothing to reproduce.
Without cables and connectors the electronics won't work.
Without speakers there won't be anything to hear.
My room is a compromise, most are, I suppose.
If there's no fairy dust in the composition, it's not worth my time to listen.
My ears have some defect, but I'll just have to live with that.
No brain, no nothing.
 
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Rod

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Without a recording there is nothing to reproduce.
Without cables and connectors the electronics won't work.
Without speakers there won't be anything to hear.
My room is a compromise, most are, I suppose.
If there's no fairy dust in the composition, it's not worth my time to listen.
My ears have some defect, but I'll just have to live with that.
No brain, no nothing.
I have to live with the hearing loss I have too Ray.
 

RayDunzl

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I have to live with the hearing loss I have too Ray.

I'm not sure if I lost it or never had it.

Mom couldn't hear a phone ring in the kitchen from the dining room (think old Bell ringer phone).

Neither of us (I was about 7) could hear very far on the Test LP sweep tone, which Dad could hear well past us.

It kept me out of the Army, so I had that going for me, which was nice.
 

oivavoi

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1. Recording
2. Speakers (I'm including DSP solution on the speaker side here)
3. Room acoustics (total volume, speaker and listener placement, good balance dead/lively)
4. Bass treatment if needed - bass traps and/or multisubs and/or room eq in bass
5. Sufficient amplifier power
6. Electronics in general (THD in amps/dacs etc)
 
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pirad

pirad

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I'm not sure if I lost it or never had it.

Mom couldn't hear a phone ring in the kitchen from the dining room (think old Bell ringer phone).

Neither of us (I was about 7) could hear very far on the Test LP sweep tone, which Dad could hear well past us.

It kept me out of the Army, so I had that going for me, which was nice.
Welcome to Beethoven Club.
 

Cosmik

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  1. Philosophy
  2. System topology
  3. Design and execution
  4. Room
So (1) covers aspects like:
  • are you committed to neutrality
    • at the speakers?
    • at your ears?
    • not at all (you just want a system that's 'fun')
  • what do you assume neutrality to mean
    • flat frequency response?
    • flat phase response?
    • time alignment?
    • accurate time domain rendition of the signal?
    • how far off-axis?
  • do you think you want directional speakers (how much?) or omni-directional?
  • compatible with ordinary living, or a dedicated listening room?
  • are you a hardware enthusiast first and foremost?
    • does your system start with an assumption that you will be including certain unusual technologies or specific brands?
  • can you 'switch off' from audiophilia once you have built your system, and drink in the music without forever analysing it. This may well be the most important aspect of all.
(2) and (3) are about translating (1) into a practical system based on hopefully-interchangeable hardware blocks that need only be 'good enough'. If changing an amplifier transforms the sound of the system, something is wrong somewhere.

However, depending on how dedicated you are, you may need to modify or build your own speaker hardware. You may also need to execute measurements sufficiently well to properly neutralise your system. And there's no denying that there may be an element of tuning by ear ('voicing') if your speakers are not neutral - a speaker with non-neutral dispersion cannot be corrected unambiguously by measurement. The best that can be achieved is a suitable subjective refinement specifically for that room.

(4) is the obvious case that the room also needs to be 'good enough'. Linkwitz specifies the criterion of a room being good for intelligible speech in ordinary living. Large rooms are good. Wall-to-wall carpet is good. Furnishings and clutter are good. High ceilings are a very good thing.
 
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Sal1950

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  1. Recording
  2. Speakers
  3. Bass treatment, subs, eq, etc.
  4. Neutral Electronics
 

Sal1950

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can you 'switch off' from audiophilia once you have built your system, and drink in the music without forever analysing it. This may well be the most important aspect of all.
Agreed, but considering everything you fret over in the rest of your post, can you ever do that? :confused: ;)
 

fredoamigo

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I agree to put the quality of the sound recording first. but this one is completely independent of our actions, we can do nothing about it.
on everything else, yes.

it's exactly the same with a dish you cook, the quality of the ingredients is paramount but if you don't know how to make the recipe it's useless?
 

Wombat

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Quality of the sound recording is only one characteristic of what is experienced when listening and can be subordinate to enjoyment of other perceptions of the content. :rolleyes:
 

NorthSky

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1. Talented musicians.
2. Talented music recording engineers.
3. Talented music venues...halls, studios, clubs, churches, cabarets, etc.
4. Talented music recording machines.
5. Talented music listener.

Everything else in the music chain is important, eg.; cables, room acoustics, pure electronics without distortion, quality isolation for the components, quality audio signal paths, no noise...fans, air, fridges, humidifiers, electron separators, ...
 
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