Best Home Speakers?

 

 

Specifications:

Cross-sectional view:

 

I was sceptical until I listened...but after a couple of hours in the listening room I knew I'd found my "for life" speakers.  After four years the relationship is still going strong!

 

 

 

I don't know about US pricing but they were about £3000 UK when I bought them.  A real extravagance which I justified to myself by thinking that if I kept them for 30 years it wouldn't work out that expensive at £100 / year...rationalisation is a wonderful thing .

 

They do sound fantastic (though speaker sound is very subjective of course...).

 

An integrated - Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista M3.  

 

Excuse fingerprints on the fascia, I should have wiped it before taking the picture...

 

Tone controls are for wimps.  A proper amp plays what's on the record and if you don't like it that's your problem!

 

I haven't yet explored the world of fancy power cables.  Do you find they make a big difference?

 

 

 i am not a qualified technician/reviewer, i am only an ordinary music lover with an open mind keen on  getting the best out of my system,  and i have heard many claims, fads and fashions over the years, many ridiculous, though cable technology is not "high end", it is based on plain common sense and works on even the most simple equipment, most improvements claimed made by manufacturers of "expensive" cables involve cancelling various forms of interference and impedance which ruins the sound of good equipment - even a portable DAB radio!  Impartial blind testing, or A/B/C/D comparison,  is not really a good way to judge sound and music - it is art, after all, and such tests depend on people's personal sound preferences and emotional reaction to the music, the only way to do it is set up the mains and signal cables in your home for a few weeks with your favourite music and a comfy chair and be amazed at the advance in quality of sound immediately, then everything needs time to settle in (or "burn in"), your ear soon gets accustomed to the improved sound so then you might be looking for more improvements - if not you can send the whole lot back for a refund, though the improvements are so obvious i don't think anybody would.  the differences are obvious, though not enormous, but easily justify the cost of the basic lower priced cables and connectors (£50 - 100 for one interconnect, mains cable or pair of speaker leads)  - power supply (new sockets) and room acoustics have an effect on sound quality so free improvements there  are a worthwhile starting point.  As for high-end stuff, i've hardly ever heard any so i can only comment on what i've actually heard with my own budget system.

 

try out these cables and interconnects for a couple of months, then tell me your opinion!

 

 

 

 

...agreed, Mike, but our listening experience can be enhanced by hearing it at the quality as it was intended in the recording studio - that is almost impossible to achieve in the home, but you can try to get close as possible. Many albums i have heard in the 70's on poor equipment have had a new lease of life when heard to its full advantage nowadays, and even become favourites.

 

listening tests that are carried out in a hifi store listening room, in ideal conditions, are a far cry from hearing the same system in your own home - different room acoustics, furniture, noisy ring main, interference etc. all change the sound. I've never heard of a manufacturer refusing blind comparison tests, as they use these as a routine part of their research as for many other products such as chocolate and perfume (i've done some myself), but they only really reveal superficial differences as much is revealed over a much longer listening period at home.