Buying new home audio?

Question

Buying new home audio?

Answer 1

Audiophiles can be a bit nutty. I know this because I am one. Although I can't afford to buy top end stuff.

I would suggest name brands as far as equipment go, but not big box store like Sony.

Generally speaking if you scour Craigslist for any chrome clad 80's or older amplifier you'll be getting a good start.

Pioneer/Technics/Marantz/Harmon Kardon/JBL/Yamaha/Kenwood just to name a few.

Speakers on the other hand are like cars. It's better to be the first butt in the drivers seat.

Reason I say this is receivers can be purchased relatively cheap, people put much higher price tags on speakers. Specially high end stuff. I like new because you get a warranty with it. Used gets no warranty, you don't know how abused they were, and generally speaking you can't audition them.



I also don't buy speakers from big box stores unless I can hear them at the store. Nothing like bringing something back...



Having said this sometimes you get good deals on Craigslist.

Answer 2

Some decent recommendations here this time good job people. You are right in that there are certain speakers that are better for music. Many of the "home theater" speakers are designed completely different and are not designed with reproducing music with any real quality as a priority.



First I would highly recommend you visit your local independent hi-end audio video store as they carry the better brands of speakers and equipment. The salesmen at these stores also have many years experience to help you design the right system for your needs.



We all hear differently and everyones room acoustics is also different so you must audition speakers to get the right sound to your ears, and choose speakers that will sound best in your room. Be patient and take your time, and audition many speakers and systems before making your final purchase. You may even want to do a little homework ahead of time and read some reviews to get ideas what to listen for and how to choose a system. There is a excellent book called The Complete Guide to Hi-End Audio / by Robert Harley that is well written, and will provide you a good foundation of hi end audio. This will give you a good understanding of what makes a good system, what to listen for, and how to design a quality music system. Now your not going to learn it all over night it takes years to understand it all but its helpfull to go into the process with some basic understanding and knowledge.



I have been designing some of the very finest in hi-end audio video systems for over 40 years and it takes time and patience to do it right. There is also a huge amount of miss information out there so again get your basic knowledge of hi end audio, so you can make some informed decisions.



A good quality audio or music system will consist of:



A good pair of high quality music speakers, a integrated amplifier or separates, a good source such as analog turntable or high quality digital source, cables, and setup and calibration. Your system is only as good as the source and the setup so this is vital to get good sound.



Receivers and mp3 music source is never going to provide high quality sound so that is important to understand. Analog records is still the best consumer playback source but does require patience and knowledge to have a good record playback system. There are many choices and direction of digital sources but choose wisely.



I will be posting blogs of how to design a system on my profile your welcome to check out that I think will also help you.



Any questions feel free to ask. If your in LA there is going to be a cool hi-end audio show in June at Newport Beach with many hi-end manufactures, this will allow you to audition many of the hi-end products in one place.



Kevin

40 years hi-end audio video specialist

Answer 3

I would look at the Onkyo Integra line of receivers...One of the most reliable internet sites for reviews is Sound and Vision mag.

Answer 4

This will all depend on what your personal budget will be. Also will depend on what source you are going to use to listen from, like CD player or turntable. Weather you want a pre amplifier with a power amplifier or a receiver. Also weather you want floor standing speakers or satilite speakers.

If you are an audiophile, you are not going to find this at your local Best Buy, Fry's Electronic or Costco store. You will them them at a high end retail store that does not have a price tag on most of the gear you see at there show room. Audiophile usually spend a 6 figure for there equipment. Go online to Stereo Design and look at some of the equipment they have and the price. I was able to demo system that was in the $250,000 range, all separater components. Wilson audio speakers, I think it was in room number 1. Here are some speakers to look at: Krell, B&W, Focal, Tanoy, Martin Logan and Revel to name a few. A receiver might work for you and look at: Pioneer Elite, Onkyo, Integra, Denon, Marantz and NAD. You can also go online to Stereo review or Home Theater Magazine and read the reviews on equipment. Here are some item I use: Krell pre amplifier ($4,000), Cinapro power amp ($6,995), and Martin Logan Spakers ($10,000) to name a few. Hope this will help you out.

Answer 5

I own NAD T775 receiver and it sounds awsome for everything. When looking for speakers you should listen to them on the receiver you are going to own. All receivers sound different. One thing on NAD is that you have true power on all channels all the time. Very nice clean power. Take your time and listen alot. Good luck.

Answer 6

If you want a very nice sounding audiophile quality speaker for music that doesn't break the bank you should consider the Linkwitzlab Orion. http://www.linkwitzlab.com/orion_us.htm This will be far superior to most of the "Ultra-Hi-End" commercial designs and is available in various stages of kit completion or fully assembled. Most commercial speakers suffer from numerous fundamental design flaws causing them to have a characteristic sound that clues your ears you are not listening to a live performance. Open baffle speakers like the Orion are much better at preserving a natural musical sound. They also use active crossovers as opposed to the passive crossovers most so called high-end speakers use.



mk

Answer 7

What you are going to need are speakers that get good ratings for music, not home theater, my experience has been that speakers that sound good with music will also sound good with home theater but not necessarily the other way around...Usually companies that produce speakers have different lines with the quality going up in quality and price...you want to take a look at mid to high level speakers for music...have a listen to speakers locally in your location to see what it is that sounds attractive to you people will hear things differently some people like a forward sound with lots of detail others a more laid back approach, me I am one of the later I like a more laid back sound but also with lots of detail, speakers that I like are NHT; Boston Acoustic; Aperion if you like a more up front sound you may like Klipsch; Paridgim or even PBS, Energy, English speakers tend to be more up front as a general rule and American speakers more laid back....but this can also very some...another speaker that is more laid back would be the Jamo....B & W speakers tend to be neutral as are Focal neither laid back nor up front so you need to determine what you like first.....Usually good music speakers are going to cost more as a general rule...good electronics can be had from lots of companies are are not that expensive Companies that make good amps at reasonable prices are Denon; Integra; NAD Rotel Cambridge these people make amps that are musically inclined although not all there amps are designed that way....usually a good quality musical amp is going to cost more than a Home theater receiver also......but it also depends on how many channels it has and other processors...if you want to stick with stereo there are some real bargains because these amps are relatively simple to design...actually some of the best speakers are available in kit form only or would need to be designed by someone familiar with speaker design, the quality of the drivers that available to the DI Y's self-er is higher than what is being used to mass market speakers but you also have to be able to design and make boxes and cross-overs which takes a lot of skill, this is why I suggests kits because the hard work has already been done for you...take a look at the kits listed below and see if that interest you.....Also as an after thought if I had room and was designing a music only system I would go with the Magnaplanar MMG which magnaplanar sells only from there web site now direct to the consumer..this speaker is one of the best I have heard with acoustic guitar and acoustic instruments in general...it takes a minimum of 50 watts into a 6ohm load and will sound better with 110 watts but I do not believe you can beat the sound with anything under 1000 dollars each.....

Answer 8

Hey you can do this to build a best sounding system.



Choose either 2 speakers. ( polk audio or klipsch) I think these are what you called loudspeakers.

choose a av receiver ( denon or pioneer or yamaha)



Connect them. Thats all , you got one of the best home audio systems for music.



You can choose any of them depending on your taste. But I would suggest denon receiver with polk speakers , preferably RTI A1 or RTI A3

Answer 9

Well, there is some misunderstanding in the terminology here and I'm surprised that no one has pointed this out. The terms "Speakers" and "Loudspeakers" mean the same thing. The former is just a shortened form of the latter. And by "Home Theater" I'll assume that you are referring to the "all in one" systems also known as "Home Theater In a Box" (HTIB) and yes, these systems tend to be cheaply made and lack the performance that a good, high fidelity system needs to accurately reproduce music. However, there is no reason that a well designed home theater component system can't reproduce music just as well as anything else. If one is concerned that the multiple channels (5.1, 7.1, etc,.) distort the original intent of the recording one can simply set the receiver (integrated amplifier, preamplifier) to "Stereo" and use only the two front channels.



You should have stated several factors which would have allowed us to better answer your question. The aforementioned budget is perhaps the largest consideration. The size of the room and it's details (ceiling height, furnishings) are by no means unimportant. Your listening habits and choice of music also come into consideration.



I think what you are getting at is a set up composed of components rather than an all in one package. There are several different levels of component systems and each will progressively require a larger budget:



1. Receiver. Signal source (CD Player, Turntable, Tape, etc,.) Speakers.

2. Integrated Amplifier. Signal source (which in this example will include a Tuner). Speakers.

3. Preamplifier. Power Amplifier(s). Signal source. Speakers.



Within these three levels there can be permutations such as the addition of a powered subwoofer or a passive subwoofer with a power amplifier. One can also go the bi-amplified / tri-amplified route with several power amplifiers and an accompanying active crossover and the appropriate speakers to reproduce the different frequency ranges. I'm guessing that you don't want to get that complicated.



Therefore my recommendation is to go with the first level of component system and select the best components that will fit your budget. Others have mentioned several different brands of components and I agree that they are all of quality. I might add that Marantz, Yamaha and Pioneer (particularly their "Elite" series) make excellent receivers. Another important point is that you should audition the components if you possibly can. Any good, audio shop will have a listening room and allow you to bring your own music to test components. Read reviews and learn to understand technical specifications - distortion, power ratings, frequency response, power handling, etc,. Avoid brands that make exaggerated claims. If an inexpensive receiver claims to have 1,000 watts and weighs less than 30 Pounds (13 Kilograms) avoid it.



There is a lot of junk out there and a lot of advertising sneaky hype. An educated consumer will be able to sort it out.