Can you live with your current speaker until you die?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by thomaskong, Oct 5, 2018.

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  1. With my 1996 B&W 601's pair, my 1996 CC6 center speaker and my B&W DM301, all of them bought when I was 22? Yes, I can live with them and I intend to, the 601 stereo pair was just love at first sight with no chance of divorce.
    I also own a B&W ASW608 which I bought factory sealed on a clearance for almost no money three years ago. It was to sit in temporarely for my old Kef sealed enclosure which died after 18 years. I like the inexpensive B&W ASW608 so much (for my small listening room) that I have no intention of changing it.
     
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  2. TheVinylAddict

    TheVinylAddict Look what I found

    Location:
    AZ
    In other words you bought them 22 years ago when you were 22.... :)

    2's are wild tonight.... I should go play poker...
     
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  3. BD2665

    BD2665 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Milwaukee
    Could I, yes will I, most likely not. And I really really like the speakers I have now.
     
  4. ggg71

    ggg71 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    After years and years (and even more years) of various hi-fi systems, I was finally able to purchase a true high end system, with speakers to match. They are incredible, and I absolutely could live with them for the rest of my life. However, I've had them for two years now, and recently I find myself pouring over advertisements, looking at pictures, and reading reviews once again. It's the itch! Two days ago I sent my wife a review of the Sonus Faber Aida, and mentioned how much I'd like to go and audition them. :) Bless her soul she suggested a trip to NYC! Mind you these are not even remotely affordable - they are in what I would call the "Esoterica" level, but you never know!

    It's about the journey, not the destination.
     
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  5. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington State
    Oh my god your wife let you audition Sonus Faber Aida, let god bless her. Good luck to your trip.
     
  6. papatwo

    papatwo Abiding Member

    Location:
    Easley, SC, USA
    If you believe what I told my wife, then "yes".
     
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  7. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Follow-up to my earlier post above. So, the speakers that I went to hear were DeVore Fidelity "gibbon Super Nines" and I believe that I really liked them, but how can I be sure? Please allow me to explain my thoughts ...

    I realize that most people who sell high-end sound equipment, are a unique breed and I often find them laughable at best, in their selling approach. Like when he asked me what I'm currently using (McIntosh pre/amp and B&W 800 series speakers) and how within two minutes he breaks down just "how yesterday" that stuff is to him. (Note: I always find the best way to make a sale is to put down what a customer currently has and then explaining why the 1/2 million dollar stuff in this room is so much better than that crap). Well, anyways, I could overcome that small hurdle, since I'm a big boy, but then comes the "did he not see me walk in the room with my iPad in my hands?" and he then proceeds to play me what he wants to hear on these speakers. OK, so I get it, he wants me to hear songs that he feels best "sells the speakers", since his earlier "I hate your stuff" didn't really work, but while I love me some Jobim (especially with Frank Sinatra), I'm not often listening to female Brazilian Portuguese singers, nor whatever other lightweight jazz that this guy was playing. And more importantly, while I know that the best speakers will show themselves off the best, at lower volumes, but seriously, outside of friends over for wine and cheese, who listens to music this softly? In other words, I couldn't get this guy to "turn it up" and when I asked him to turn it up, it went from "background music" to "don't wake the kids". NO, NO, NO, I want to "hear" just what these speakers are capable of, so turn it up! I told him that I also have and love my Klipsch Chorus 1's and Cornwalls, so he should know that we don't listen to all of our music at "Classical concert levels".

    What's that I see, ooo the new MFSL "One-step" vinyl of Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly", alright, now we're talking! His cell phone rings for what seems like the tenth time since I arrived (Note: that's another great way to sell equipment, by seeming to be so "in demand"). With the Fagen he plays this on the funkiest looking turntable that I have ever seen, which I'm guessing costs more than my home did and again, the volume is way, way too soft.

    So, John DeVore, if you are reading this, I want you to know that you clearly have designed a beautiful looking and sounding speaker with these "gibbon Super Nines" and if you'd like to send me a pair to audition at my own home, since the dealer can't quite give me the audition that I really wanted (even though he was a genuinely nice guy and very patient with me, knowing that I wasn't buying that day), I will gladly give the idea of making your speakers, one keep and to die with.

    Sorry for the rant forum friends, but now I understand why one of my friends wants to start his own "high-end audio store", as shopping for this stuff can often be a brutal experience.
     
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  8. Eigenvector

    Eigenvector Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeast PA
    This is interesting to me because it's very different from most of my experiences auditioning new speakers. Oh, I have gotten the "your equipment is crap" tactic before, but usually I'm the one constantly turning the volume DOWN. Most dealers seem to want to demo speakers at one notch below the point where my eardrums begin to bleed. I prefer to audition speakers at the volume level I will typically listen to them in my own home. That's somewhere between 75 dB and 85 dB. Apparently, I'm unusual in this regard.

    I set up an appointment to audition some speakers a couple of years ago and the dealer had everything ready to go when my wife and I arrived. He handed me the remote, said "have fun" and left the demo room. I had been going through my demo tracks for about 15-20 minutes when he popped back into the room with a concerned look on his face and asked if we were OK. I told him all was well and he said that he thought we were having difficulty with the equipment because the whole building wasn't shaking as usual when customers are left alone to demo speakers. When I told him that this is my usual listening volume he said that he'd never had anyone listen at such a low level before. We all had a laugh and went back to the audition. This time, the salesman (who was a great guy) stayed and listened with us. He later admitted that he usually leaves during customer demos not just because he wants the customer to feel free to audition in private but because he feared for his hearing at the deafening levels most customers played their music!

    Anyway, there's no actual point to my story. Just that I find it interesting that you had a salesman who refused to turn it UP! I've never come across this in over 40 years of demoing speakers. I hope you get the chance to hear the DeVores at the volume you like to listen to them! My exposure to DeVore speakers has been limited but they sounded great on the occasions I have heard them (show conditions).
     
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  9. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Thanks and I appreciate your post! I should have added that while I don't play my music anywhere near "ear bleeding" (on my Scott 299b, which is around 20 watts per channel), I usually turn the volume up from what is zero at 7:00 o'clock, to around 10:00 o'clock to (depending on the loudness of the album), 11:00 o'clock, which is "room filling" volume on that amp and speakers. And when I do turn it up, it's with the likes of Steely Dan, The Beatles or some singer/songwriter from the '70's, not Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or Metallica. My intent is NOT to see if I can overload the speakers, but to find out that they can actually play at a room filling volume, as well as with lower volume Sunday morning Sinatra. I guess that the best audition of any speaker is in your own room, listening to the music that you are familiar with and more importantly, with the rest of your own equipment, since it may require the dealers $10,000 plus amp, versus my crappy McIntosh set-up, to make them truly sing? I applaud speaker designers like John DeVore for taking the time with designing such great speakers, but to be fair to the buyer, one has to allow the buyer to have a "little more control" with the audition process. I'm heading to Philadelphia in November and I see that the small audio store inside of Allentown's "Double Decker" record store, sells John DeVore's speakers and if I have the time and the weather isn't too bad, I'll stop by there and see if he'll allow me a better audition. I'm still open to John DeVore sending me a pair of Super Nines to audition at home, which would really be the best way to do it properly.
     
  10. Eigenvector

    Eigenvector Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeast PA
    I hope I didn't give the impression that you were "one of those customers" who auditions at ear bleeding levels. I don't word things very well sometimes. In my experience, it's the dealers who often go heavy on the volume and I have to ask them to turn it down.

    And, coincidentally, the dealer you are talking about in Allentown, BEK HIFI, is the dealer in my story! Barry is great to talk to and work with. I think you'll have a great experience when you come out to listen to the DeVores in his shop! (And he'll let you control the volume! :)) Good luck and have fun!!
     
  11. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I don't know why everything has to be earbleed level either. That's precisely why I won't go to movie theaters anymore. They mostly play their systems into clipping distortion. I don't need my old ears to get wrecked like that.

    I like good volume for orchestral music, but not excessively so. One of the reasosn I picked the very large Confidence C2 speakers with two subs for my room is that they play really well at low volumes. I love Renaissance and Baroque lute music, and that sounds better when it's played at low to moderate volumes.
     
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  12. chili555

    chili555 Forum Resident

    I would have walked out right then. I wouldn’t have wasted my breath on a ‘Thank you.’ Horrible.
     
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  13. RZangpo2

    RZangpo2 Forum Know-It-All

    Location:
    New York
    My Harbeth M40s will be buried with me.
     
  14. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Thanks and I've been in BEK HIFI a few times before and each time (although I never asked to control the music or volume), he has always given nice auditions. I usually just walk in and listen to whatever he is playing, just to hear what he has new. Last time I was in there he played a newer pressing of an old Billie Holiday album (originally on VERVE), called something like "Songs For "?" Lovers". I've never been a fan of Billie's voice, but that particular recording on that set of speakers that he was playing that day, did make an impression. My own audio test playlist is a serious hodge-podge of music from We Five's "You Were On My Mind" to Steely Dan "Josie" to a special edit that I made myself of Bernard Herrmann's "Scene 'd'amour" from "Vertigo, where in the end has this wonderful moment where the full orchestra goes from room filling full volume to sustaining a final note while the strings quietly come to silence and that final sustaining note is almost like the room going from "life to death", as only Bernard Herrmann could do it! Along with a bunch of other unique recordings that have "something" unique that I really enjoy and shows just how good a speaker is with little oddities. Such as Marc Jordan's "The Best Part Of My Life" , which has this super low synthesized bass note at the very end, that only the best speakers can actually reproduce, without a sub and Mindy Smith's "Raggedy Ann", which has the most crystal clear acoustic guitar strings in it. If I'm taking these speakes home with me, they have to be able to play a major part of the music that I enjoy and listen to, not what the dealer likes to show off.
     
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  15. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Well, like I said before, the guy was very kind and sat down with me and played me about three different sets of speakers. my issue was the pre-determined attitude towards what I own and what he feels is worthy. Believe me, it wasn't just my stuff that he felt wasn't up to snuff, I brought up PrimaLuma tube amps and he said "nah" and Harbeth Speakers, which he clearly didn't care for. My goal was to simply audition a set of speakers, not buy an entire new sound system from scratch. I left feeling that I was in the wrong place and that I was possibly in over my head, which, honestly without selling some of my current stuff first, was going to be a financial issue for me. Which brings me to his saying "well those B&W speakers won't sell for much", which I'm thinking "really, as I barely ever see B&W 805D's for sale and when I do, they usually go for pretty decent resale" and I already know that my McIntosh amp would quickly sell for practically what I paid for it, as McIntosh holds it's value very well, in my opinion. I believe if that seller and I could start over and leave our "opinions" out of it, we might have a better chance in solving my audio world's problems, if their truly are any?
     
  16. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    Audiophiles probably shouldn't do sales. LOL
     
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  17. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    I sort of agree with that statement, LOL.

    The funny thing about quote, unquote "audiophiles", is that their lack of knowledge around the stuff that I feel worthy in that kind of a discussion, sometimes means nothing to them. Case in point, I brought up Steve Hoffman to him and he acted like he knew who I was talking about and then I asked him if Shawn Britton mastered that Donald Fagen "One-Step" for MFSL and he was like "I don't know or care who mastered something, just so it sounds good". Naturally, being a member of this forum since 2002, I was a bit taken back, but then he could talk megahertz, impedance, class A amps, room acoustics and other sh%& that I could care less about. I just know that if it sounds good in my room at home, with my sectional couch and walls of windows, CD's, records and fireplace, then that's all that I really care about. If I truly gave a crap about all "the why and the why not's" about my speakers, I'd design my own! That's why GOD made guys like John DeVore, Paul Klipsch, Guy Fountain and on and on ...
     
  18. chili555

    chili555 Forum Resident

    When I bought my Vandersteen Treo CTs, I got what I consider the perfect audition. I brought my own music. My record was played and I was handed the remote for the preamp to control the volume and the salesman left the room. The single comment he made about my system is that he suspected that the speakers, which he characterized as a tiny bit warm, would be a complemet to my preamp that he characterized as a tiny bit cool. Only after I had heard two of my own LPs and one of my CDs did he suggest other music to audition.

    If I am buying any equipment that requires a significant investment, this is the minimum that I expect.
     
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  19. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Ironically, the dealer in my posts above, also sells the Vandersteen line and he had a pair of those Treo's somewhat buried in the corner of his basement listening room and when I told him that I have a friend who owns both the Vandersteen 2c's (which I personally don't care for) and Vandersteen 1's (which I actually think sound very, very good and the dealer agreed that the 1's are one of their very best), I said how about those Treo's and he quickly said, "nah, those aren't for you". I'm thinking just how the hell does he know what speakers are good or not good for me? I mean, going by my telling him that I own Klipsch and B&W and that I enjoy both for different reasons, I don't believe that you can make an assumption of exactly WHAT kind of a speaker that I'm looking for, can you? There are quite a lot of differences between my horn loaded Klipsch speakers and my B&W 805D's, correct?
     
  20. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I am very close to pulling the trigger on some KEF Reference 1's to replace LS50s...could be an end game.
     
  21. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I'm kinda like that. I don't really care what I have equipment-wise, or by who or where my records were mastered. It's all about the music for me. Yes, I've acquired great gear over the years, but to be honest I hate the process of auditioning, setup and dealing with the hardware. I just want it to the point where I can enjoy the music and stop worrying about it the details of how it gets played.

    It's similar to my history on these forums. I am active around the time I get new gear, or if I'm seeking information about vinyl releases, etc. But once that all dies down I typically go away and settle back into enjoying music, and leaving my equipment alone for years on end.
     
  22. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington State
    Harbeth M40 is a very musical speaker.

    I hope you enjoy that for your life.
     
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  23. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    Sure, I can live with them until I die... until I find a better pair. ;)
     
  24. richsto

    richsto Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Absolutely. Hope to pass along my Thiel 3.6s to my kids after my turn on earth is done.
     
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  25. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    Lucky kids! My dream speaker. And since nobody will want to have to move them.. it should happen!
     
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