Jaw dropping enhancements in sound quality

do they sell enough for such a discount?

 

I think systems that have "proper" bottem end seem to get away with more in terms of bad recordings. Shitty, harsh sounding recordings seem to fair better than if you play the same recording through a system that's bass light. Just my experience with no technical basis whatsover...!!

 

that's possible, but i'm a bit sceptical about speakers that make everything sounding good. you either miss some information from the recording or there is something added that takes away a notice of bad sound. i'm not saying that you can't enjoy the music, spirit of the recording or whatever but it's a different story if we talk technical. it's a slippery territory, bordering on voodoo.

 

No idea to be honest - but I would be amazed if they are paying more than US trade prices - which is where that costing comes from.

Drive units are sold at retail at high margins. Think ATC mids cost £300? Think again Volt radials? £300? More like £100 I gather. Still it doesn't do any harm to point to the retail prices when justifying your own retail price

 

I think I'm on the side of sacrificing some detail as long as the end result is OK for all recordings. It's a fine line though.

 

Thats where i am now. Feel i am missing some enjoyment, no idea what to get tho.

 

Not sure what you have at the moment or what you listen to. I suggest buying something the complete opposite of what you have now??

I'm listening to Paul Wellers "Days of Speed" at the moment. A bad recording...vocals are muffled and the piezo pick-up on his acoustic sounds very bright. On my old ATC SCM35's it was not enjoyable (not the speakers fault). On the JBL's, I find I'm just listening the dynamics of a live concert which the recording translates quite well and there's a nice punch to the low string attack. I can ignore the other faults a lot more because of that. Basically, I'm listening to his performance now and that's the way it should be really.

I think dynamics are so important for music enjoyment. In terms of rock and pop, how many concerts have you been to that the sound is a bit rubbish but you can still enjoy it because it's so dynamic (or maybe it's the beer, etc.). And I don't mean you have to crank it to enjoy it. Home systems with good dynamics are great to listen to at lower levels too.

 

I have meadowlark kestrels.

You put it in a nut shell, there are a few badly recorded items i have that i use to enjoy but no longer get played.

 

I dunno, I would suggest spending your money on the second hand market.

I have a pair of 3-way JBL 120Ti in the loft that I reckon would see off many modern 2-ways for rock'n'roll (p.s. they're NOT for sale).

Somethings gone wrong with speaker design IMO and the fun factor. I guess it's just financial pressure.

 

to get the drivers at only 45% of retail you would have to buy a lot of them I expect. Not the sort of quantities many top end hi-fi manufactures would be buying. 60% of retail is more normal for a smaller manufacture not buying in the hundreds.

...and there are plenty of bad recordings! Strongly dependent on what sort of music you listen to I expect. I don't mind recordings lacking that last bit of detail or sounding a little harsh, but I really do hate super compressed stuff that sounds like noise when there should be definition between instruments. I suppose it is bad mastering I hate, not really the recordings.

 

Andyoz, I probably will go the s/h way, did with the kestrels.

 

Don't be afraid to go semi-vintage as well. There's some real gems out there that benefit from the advances in amplifier design (IMO again)

 

Funny. The further up the audio chain I have gone, the less bad recordings I seem to be aware of. I'm not the only one here.

If you have a system that makes some recordings unlistenable, then it is almost certainly IME because the system is not truly neutral - that system weaknesses are being exposed by the recording. Compression is a good example. Feed a heavily compressed recording into a high powered Class D power system and it will die on it's feet. The system fails to convey little dynamic shifts, relies on large ones, which are no longer there. That's the system's fault. Put that recording on something better and it will become far less offensive.

 

so how do you expect a heavily compressed recording sounds like?


i also tend don't judge components or systems by listening to that audiophile crap that sounds great on anything, but there is a (not so) thin line between recordings difficult to reproduce and really bad recordings that sounds s*ite on anything except on systems that make something completely different out of them....

 

Highly compressed but not dead. The music retains it's allure and is still an enjoyable experience. You are never going to make it a reference recording, but IME good systems cut through the mix and make even commercial pop recordings really enjoyable.

 

What JBLs do you use Andy?

Near vintage makes sense to me, with most kit. Although this isn't based on personal experience with speakers though. I think the other maxim of 'never pay the list price' also applies.

Below the 4 grand mark but at the limit of what I want to / can spend I got my Revel M22s for 1195 inc stands. I'd had a good look around and think they were a good deal, I'm happy with the sound and they perform in the areas I want it most. If I'd paid the 1795+ 200 for stands I'd be a bit more reticent to claim that.

 

I''ve got to agree with SM here, that the better speakers have become the fewer the unlistenable recordings I have. I've found that the lack of dynamic restraint horns have demonstrate this enormously. Wish I could squeeze some bigger ones in. They gel very nicely with the big class A amp I'm using.

 

250Ti (the older version with the teak finish)

 

OK, maybe it's down to personal differences how we hear music. i'm afraid that nothing can make the latest red hot chilly peppers CD sounding enjoyable for me, thanks to the mastering genocide - not even played on a top of the range meyer line array.

 

100% correct in my experience