Best Home Speakers?

mystic fred wrote: 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.

Sorry, but the longer you're listening to your own amp in your own home environment, the more your own perception of how good (or bad) it sounds becomes biased. You simply get used to that sound, and especially when your gear was very, very expensive you eventually think that it *must* sound better than smaller gear.

Olivier: Of course big systems reveal more details than small systems. That applies to headphones as well as hi-fi systems - with a really small amp and small speakers you simply have a lower resolution of detail. But I'm sure that with a good "mid-fi" system for €2000 (amp, CD, speakers) you can hear every instrument that you would hear with a real hi-fi system (with both systems having same power/speaker dimensions). Mind you: I'm not saying that they sound the same! I'm sure that the hi-fi system would sound better - I just don't think that a system that costs 10x as much as the mid-fi system sounds 10x better. More like 10% better IMO.

^ I'm just saying that if in an impartial blind listening test people can't tell them apart, the difference cannot be *that* big.

^ careful - this analogy might work both ways. I would say that hi-fi is as much luxury as is caviar ... and both are hardly essential.

mystic fred wrote: try out these cables and interconnects for a couple of months, then tell me your opinion

    You see, this is the problem. These cable manufacturers and suppliers don't claim that there stuff make subtle changes that can only be perceived after months of listening. They claim that the effects are obvious and immediately apparent !, with all the "deeper bass, pronounced clarity, richer soundstage" bs that accompanies these claims .So, why can't these super-cables be identified in db tests ? I'll say it again - anecdotal or subjective opinions are not evidence.

    So point me to the DB tests that show this then Olly

The-Bullet wrote:     So point me to the DB tests that show this then Olly

Audiophiles don't believe in these tests. Have a look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiophile

This is a very balanced article which tries to be fairly neutral ... it just describes audiophiles' and objectivists' beliefs.

^ sorry, but cables don't burn in. That's a definitive myth.

Just one thing to bear in mind, whilst Mike might be a sceptic he has no stake in whether this stuff is real or not. He doesnt care what you spend your money on, so he is neutral not biased or prejudice. He might just be able to save you some money...

"sceptic" is a good description - although it depends. I'm utterly sceptic as far as power line optimization, musical CD players, cable burn in and some other things are concerned, but there are some aspects of audiophile equipment that I accept whole-heartedly. I really like the sound of tube amps, for example. I just don't think that audiophile equipment is ultimately necessary to really enjoy the music, as proven by millions of people who can enjoy music with what audiophile would describe as "crappy".

What I am really after is a good compromise ... a middle ground, with those technologies that can be verified scientifically and *without* shady theories that can be disproven easily (Earth is a sphere, and cables don't burn in). For example, tube amps inherently have more distortion, but the distortion has been analyzed and it was found to be much more harmonic than the distortion producted by solid state (let alone digital) amps.

"For example, tube amps inherently have more distortion, but the distortion has been analyzed and it was found to be much more harmonic than the distortion producted by solid state (let alone digital) amps."

Thanks to eventually repeat what i told you dozens of times during endless tube vs solidstate debates.

"Well I have an Arcam CD72 Cd Player, Nad 370 Amp and a pair of B&W big box standmounted speakers so I appreciate decent kit."

Yes, a good english budget system. QED interconnect cables and power /vib-cancelling optimization would make you win a lot.