$2400 speakers vs my $150 speakers

I'm really not in the market for new speakers. I just happened to see this store and decided to go in and have a peek.

With a wife, two kids, a mortgage, car payment, daycare and college loans, I'm no where near able to afford $2500 speakers.

 

I have a pair of the ADS L1290 Series II. Great speaker. But as far as mids and highs go, my KEF LS50s are better.

So there is an opposite story for you.

 

That joke was so bad that it was good.

 

I have a pair of Altec 301's from the 80's that I love. I can't find anything new that is even remotely affordable that can compare. The mini bookshelf speakers seem to be all the rage but they lack bass and mid bass depth. The Altec's sound "big" even at low volume. Problem is everything has moved to the mini's and narrow towers with small drivers. I'd love to find some new affordable monkey coffins for a new system in a different room. The Devore's seem the way to go but way out of my price range. It's mind boggling to me what has happened with the speaker industry.

 

I know there's a whole DIY cottage industry in revamping/rebuilding crossovers in old beloved speakers (like the Klipschs and Altecs). Have you rebuilt the crossovers in your Altecs? and hopefully the surrounds etc. in the speaker cones are OK. Whoa !!! the 301s look a lot like the OPs ADSs !!! I was thinking they were the big horn loaded speakers like the VOTTs or something.

I wonder (again) what a crossover rebuild could do in other vintage speakers like the various ADS (and Altec) models y'all are talking about. I did love the dome midranges on my original Pioneer speakers I bought when I was 16 or whenever. I finally gave them to my father in law, who used them until the woofer surrounds fell apart.

I also heard some amazing tiny dome-midrange and -tweeter speakers ca. 1984 (Innovative Techniques, I think the company was ... the "ITC-1" speakers, amazing). They threw an enormous soundstage (which is when I first learned there WAS such a thing) but they were more $$$ than I could afford and were being driven by $$$$ electronics too.

 

I just bought new foam surrounds, in the process of building up the confidence to tackle the job. I think the crossovers are fine tho, they still sound incredible to me after all these years. The only new affordable monkey coffins I've come across are Klipsch Heresy III's, need to hear them.

 

"Not to sound cliche, but the older speakers have a warmth to them that new speakers can't match."

Can not agree with this generalization. Sure, lots of speakers are designed to be ultra-detailed and for some that floats their boat. But there are still plenty of warm full and rounded speakers around. Plenty of older speakers were all sizzle too.

Just gotta look around

 

No offense intended, but any audio salesman who puts Limp Bizkit on for an audition must be in a hurry to get you out of the store so he can take a dump.

 

You're right. They should start everyone off with something from Beck's "Sea Change". Then move on to some other audiophile favorites.

I've never heard Limp Bizkit's version of Behind Blue Eyes. Found a version on YouTube. It's not your typical Limp Bizkit.

 

Any time I intend to audition speakers or headphones, I take some music with me. I have considered taking my amp too, but then I'd need my CD player... Some dealers recognize the dilemma and allow in-home trials... Never hurts to ask.

 

It was pretty bad. Sorry

 

I've never heard the Golden Ears speakers but they have received quite decent reviews, even in the more esoteric atmosphere of Stereophile.

 

IMO speakers are at the end of the chain and therefore the least important part in any system !
garbage in = garbage out !

 

Take that $900, plug it into an inflation calculator and bingo! you get about the same price as the Golden Ear speakers are now.

 

Two of the Who rolling over in their graves !! RIP

 

You have a point. But loudspeakers have the most personality. That's why some models appeal to some listeners, while others don't like them at all.

 

I'm not a purist. I consider that a fine cover version of the song.

I haven't heard the actual recording. I don't trust YouTube at all, even a smidge, for judging audio quality of a recording. It has potential to not be a complete ass of a recording in terms of sound quality. It's quite possible that the recording quality is such that it is not at all complementary to the speakers being demoed. And that would be a fail on the part of the dealer if they used that song to demo, especially as the first song.

But kudos to the dealer for not jumping in immediately with the typical audiophile fare. It's OK to demo with stuff that isn't audiophile approved. Use what people are going to listen to. If a speaker only sounds good with Beck but not normal music I may listen to then I don't want it. I use some non-audiophile approved music when I demo gear so I can find out how that sort of sound or recording style is handled. Beck is frankly boring and too cliché as demo music.

 

Did some quick research and my ADS cost $365 a piece in 1980. In today's money, that's about $2200.

 

Can you buy something equally good new today for 2200 tho ? I don't think so.

 

Garbage in garbage out is spot on. But your logic is off. If you put awesome in, a bad speaker will still give you garbage out.

In my opinion the speaker is the most important part.

 

I'd rate the speaker/room interaction as the most important (and non-intuitive) component of your stereo system.

 

And they are also the component that has the most distortion, and also are what interacts with the room you put them in. I'm of the school that says you start with what general amplification type you intend (tubes vs. SS), then choose the speaker, then build the specifics around that.

John K.

 

Doing my best to set aside whatever negative feelings I might have towards Limp Bizkit, I agree with you. But I hope you agree the right way to demo gear is to either bring media with you or listen to something at the dealer you're intimately familiar with. If someone is serious enough to listen to $2400 speakers, do it right! Otherwise, it's kind of trolling the dealer.

 

I've never understood why some people use nouns as adverbs.