What advice you wish you could have given to your younger self or someone new to this hobby?

[CleanSound]

Buy a solid amplifier with way more power than you think you'll ever need.

I have 2x90w Yamaha and it does the job as adequate (with extra headroom) as my dual mono Hypex NC500 (yes, the Hypex has even more headroom).

I listen at low volume, between high 60's to low 70's dBA 70% of the time, other 30% of the time I listen at mid to high 70's at about 10ft/3m away (room is wide but shallow), speaker sensitivity is 92db. Room is treated and in the basement somewhat isolated from outside ambient noise.

Next amp will be the Hypex NCx500, even more power than my NC500, but I don't think I will need all that power unless I move and get a bigger listening space, but even so, I doubt the overall surface area in my next home will be that much bigger, since my current listening space is the entire usable basement of about 700 sqft/65 sq m.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

I have 2x90w Yamaha and it does the job as adequate (with extra headroom) as my dual mono Hypex NC500 (yes, the Hypex has even more headroom).

I listen at low volume, between high 60's to low 70's dBA 70% of the time, other 30% of the time I listen at mid to high 70's at about 10ft/3m away (room is wide but shallow), speaker sensitivity is 92db. Room is treated and in the basement somewhat isolated from outside ambient noise.

Next amp will be the Hypex NCx500, even more power than my NC500, but I don't think I will need all that power unless I move and get a bigger listening space, but even so, I doubt the overall surface area in my next home will be that much bigger, since my current listening space is the entire usable basement of about 700 sqft/65 sq m.

Maybe you do maybe you don't. I've seen clipping lights on a 350 W 8 ohm amp. so I may use that kind of power on occasion. At least.

 

[CleanSound]

Maybe you do maybe you don't. I've seen clipping lights on a 350 W 8 ohm amp. so I may use that kind of power on occasion. At least.

It never hurts to have extra power, reason why the next amp is the NCx500 despite the fact that I can't conceive of me needing that much power.

 

[Bjorn]

What is your definition of "presence region"? 1-3 kHz, 2-4 kHz, 4-6kHz, ... ? Just wondering, since some use different ranges to define it.

2-3 kHz area is probably the heart of the presence area. But crossover at 1 kHz or above 3 kHz isn't good either IMO.

 

[Tassin]

2-3 kHz area is probably the heart of the presence area. But crossover at 1 kHz or above 3 kHz isn't good either IMO.

So, you would rather look at speakers with a crossover at 1.500-1.900 Hz or 2.700-2.900 Hz?

 

[Bjorn]

So, you would rather look at speakers with a crossover at 1.500-1.900 Hz or 2.700-2.900 Hz?

No. I would avoid a speaker with a crossover at all those ranges. I like coherency, and that's what real music and vocals sound like. In all my speaker designs, I use a very low crossover.

 

[Anton D]

(... We'll still be kicking out the jams in heaven/Valhalla.)

Ah, Nordost provides the cables.

 

[Anton D]

Have more sex.

You weren’t trying?

 

[JeremyFife]

That ringing noise in your ears after a gig ... Is not a badge of honour. Get earplugs!
Don't read What Hi-Fi. Check out that O'Toole guy

 

[Zapper]

Buy a solid amplifier with way more power than you think you'll ever need.

The need for a high power amp is an audiophile myth, at least for how I and many others use their equipment.

This myth was prevalent in 1985 when I was assembling my first budget audiophile system. I had a 36W/ch Denon stereo receiver, which sounded fine to me. And yet the salesmen and several of my friends were adamant that I needed more. I built a 2 channel, 2 polarity fast analog peak hold circuit to measure the peak voltages being sent to my speakers. I found that the peaks I observed were only a fraction of the amp's capabilities. I concluded a higher power amp was a waste of money for me.

Someone who liked to listen louder than I did would have had a different result, as power requirements rise exponentially with perceived volume. Someone who listened further away in a bigger room also might have had a different result, as power usage requirements increase as a power law with distance. But 36 W/ch got the job done for me. I spent the money on a new Sony CDP-102 CD player instead. That did give me a noticeable improvement in sound, compared to the turntable I owned at the time.

 

[computer-audiophile]

Buy used only.
Buy a solid amplifier with way more power than you think you'll ever need.
Buy Dirac Live

It all depends on the speakers and the room. I had triode amps with 2 x 0,7W connected to high efficiency speakers. Demoed that at the European Triode Festival 2004.

 

[GXAlan]

If I could buy speakers (or any component) that I perceived as 10x better, I would be much more motivated to spend money on audio. But I'm not, because my satisfaction saturates rather quickly.

I think this is true for most people.

There is sighted bias which makes people like new things sometimes, but let’s take that out of the equation and say that each upgrade provides genuinely measurable improvements and those measured improvements meet the threshold of audibility.

Looking at the last 20+ years in the hobby, I would make these types of incremental upgrades and especially more so since the pandemic started.

Was I more satisfied with each upgrade? Yes. Were the differences big? Not always but usually noticeable (and measurable).

With hindsight being 20/20, I have jumped 10x in performance from where I started 4 years ago and today, but had I saved money along the way, I would have reached my end game earlier.

If my audio enjoyment were logarithmic, so I could get twice the pleasure by spending 10x the money, I might still be motivated to buy, because I have 10x the money now. But the reward to cost ratio for me is even weaker than that, past a certain quality level.

I do most of my istening in near field at modest volumes. I recently bought a pair of small Genelecs monitors with matching sub, to replace a nearly 30 year old pair of similarly sized passive monitors and sub. The Genelecs are clearly superior, but not twice as good as the old ones, which weren't bad. Maybe 50% better. And the increase in my enjoyment when I listen to the music, not the speakers, is less than that. Maybe 20%.

Clearly I am at end game for my listening context. The guys here who want rock concert slam in the enormous great hall in their mansion have a much more challenging problem to solve!

Exactly. What I would speculate… is the following.

You have a measurable improvement both objectively and subjectively with the Genelec. Noticeable but modest. Cost isn’t an issue today, because you can afford it.

Depending how much you over-bought with the Genelec, you will either
A) Get another 30 years of enjoyment with the Genelec. Yay. You’re better than most at avoiding consumerism and waiting 30 years to get 20% enjoyment is worthwhile.

The longest I kept a speaker was 12 years or so (Magnepan MG-III). Since then, I have kept my JBL S2600 for 4 years and everything else is less than a year old (but thankfully I don’t see myself upgrading).

B) Find yourself blessed with the opportunity to upgrade to a bigger listening room.. at which point you might need to upgrade again if your Genelec’s cannot meet your needs in the larger room at the farther listening distance.

Along those same lines, I dabbled with “different” and doing things like tubes and multiple audio systems. It made sense at the time because there were certain tracks that were better on A and certain tracks were better on B. But in hindsight it was because both setups were compromises since system C satisfies both.

 

[gnarly]

If I were to time travel back to see myself ...I'd say Dude ! you are going to have a hell of a good time enjoying audio your whole life !!!
Now to help you get to the sound I've found and love...me, having been you for 70 odd years, want to say the following to help ME get to where I am quicker !!

First, don't get hung up thinking you can ever find the perfect system....it's horses for courses when it comes to sound...
Don't look for perfection ever.
Listen widely to as many sound systems as you can, in as many setting as you can.

Particularly explore and study prosound .....installs and live. That's where you'll find pragmatic knowledge, ......about sound, about equipment, and how to achieve better sound.
Study where equipment is considered a tool, the means, for better sound. Not an object of desire.
Avoid the esoteric marketing and technical gibberish claims that too often accompany home-audio.
If fact, avoid home audio in general. And be damn careful with studio audio too...it can have a foot in each door, home and pro.

Don't think better and better electronics will bring better and better sound. Once a moderate level of good specification is hit, it becomes a waste of time and money.
Avoid tweak-itus like the plague.
Buy function first. Once function is met, changing pieces of electronic equipment predominantly amounts to performing slight EQs .
Just buy a good damn EQ, in lieu of all the equipment substitutions and tweaks.

And get some good subs from the gitgo.

Be ready to own several systems for several purposes/settings.
Speakers rule here....back to horses for courses.

Play with rooms. If I'm unable to set you/me on a new course, you will spend a ton of money on both dedicated indoor rooms and outdoor facilities.
Not sure if it's been worth it...a great speaker stills rules with us to my current state of thinking, as our brain adjusts to rooms ..........
You decide for us LOL.

Oh, last...DIY rocks...strongly suggest you start building/designing speakers and learning the most modern processing techniques available. (knowing you will )

 

[computer-audiophile]

If I were to time travel back to see myself ...I'd say Dude ! you are going to have a hell of a good time enjoying audio your whole life !!!
Now to help you get to the sound I've found and love...me, having been you for 70 odd years, want to say the following to help ME get to where I am quicker !!

First, don't get hung up thinking you can ever find the perfect system....it's horses for courses when it comes to sound...
Don't look for perfection ever.
Listen widely to as many sound systems as you can, in as many setting as you can.

Particularly explore and study prosound .....installs and live. That's where you'll find pragmatic knowledge, ......about sound, about equipment, and how to achieve better sound.
Study where equipment is considered a tool, the means, for better sound. Not an object of desire.
Avoid the esoteric marketing and technical gibberish claims that too often accompany home-audio.
If fact, avoid home audio in general. And be damn careful with studio audio too...it can have a foot in each door, home and pro.

Don't think better and better electronics will bring better and better sound. Once a moderate level of good specification is hit, it becomes a waste of time and money.
Buy function first. Once function is met, changing pieces of electronic equipment, predominantly amounts to performing slight EQs .
Buy a good damn EQ, and a good sub from the gitgo.

Be ready to own several systems for several purposes/settings.
Speakers rule here.

Play with rooms. If I'm unable to set you/me on a new course, you will spend a ton of money on both dedicated indoor rooms and outdoor facilities.
Not sure if it's worth it...a great speaker stills rules with us to my current date, as our brain adjusts to rooms ..........
You decide for us LOL.

Oh, last...DIY rocks...strongly suggest you start building/designing speakers and learning the most modern processing techniques available. (knowing you will )

Be ready to own several systems for several purposes/settings.
Speakers rule here.

Very good advice. I see you really know your stuff! I can subscribe to most of it 100%.
BTW: I think we are both about the same age.

 

[audio_tony]

What advice would you give to your younger self?

I built and modified a lot of my own gear.

My advice to my younger self would be;

So called 'boutique' capacitors make no difference.
Don't bother 'upgrading' opamps as it makes no difference (contentious this one!)
Some gear simply cannot be improved, no matter how much time you spend modifying it. If it's cr*p to begin with, it will always be cr*p.
Don't bother trying to improve the good stuff, you'll only make it worse!
etc...

 

[NTK]

It all depends on the speakers and the room. I had triode amps with 2 x 0,7W connected to high efficiency speakers. Demoed that at the European Triode Festival 2004.

Only when one is satisfied being locked into only listening to "high efficiency speakers".

 

[Enstip]

Satisfy yourself with whatever your aptitudes or priorities are, and once you are satisfied don’t ask for the opinion of others because they will just upset your happy state - not deliberately but just because opinions vary and are all valid.

 

[computer-audiophile]

Satisfy yourself with whatever your aptitudes or priorities are, and once you are satisfied don’t ask for the opinion of others because they will just upset your happy state - not deliberately but just because opinions vary and are all valid.

Probably a good advice. But it also deprives you of the pleasure of receiving positive reviews for your results if you go public or discuss it with other audio-friends.

 

[computer-audiophile]

Only when one is satisfied being locked into only listening to "high efficiency speakers".

I do it like @gnarly wrote. I usually own several systems that have their specific strengths, for example.

 

[Bjorn]

Don't put too much trust in Harman's studies. When comparison is between mediocre and poor, it isn't telling you much.

And don't be fooled by spinorama score. A high score speaker can measure much worse when placed in the room vs one with much lower score.