Don't get me wrong, bad speakers are bad sound no matter what - and I still have a hole I am trying to fill (thinking something like a Zu Audio Dirty Weekend might do it...something a little more 'blank canvas'). However, since getting and playing with tube amps, an ACA build, I am finding myself thinking more about amps and less about speakers.
One direction of thought is the engineering on speakers (anything in the last 20, especially 10 years) from any repeatable brand, be it $100 or $100,000 a pair is just so good compared to the past, and with it, the quality and tolerance of parts (even cheap parts can sound wonderful when used properly).
Another direction of thought is decades ago when I was getting into the hobby, I heard about (I think) the British school of audio, which would mean a $300 pair of bookshelf speakers (from a quality firm, their entry level 2-way model) with a much more expensive integrated amp (maybe something closer to $1,000). This is opposed to the US school of thought which would be getting a great pair of speakers but not as good of an amp.
Anyway, the point being you obviously want good speakers and a good amp...but a bad amp will make good speakers sound bad...but a good amp will help bring out the best in a 'less-good' pair of speakers.
I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other, but after getting into this hobby as a kid, being broke, not being able to afford anything, over the years as I have been able to build up a nice system, afford better gear, I am finding myself researching and looking more at amps and less at speakers as the next step.
Just me, or others feel the same? Or are there other components (preamps, DACs, sources, cables, tweaks, etc.) you find yourself drawn to? For the sake of argument...maybe not touch on turntables, because that is a whole other can of worms (but still feel free to talk about those if you want!)
One direction of thought is the engineering on speakers (anything in the last 20, especially 10 years) from any repeatable brand, be it $100 or $100,000 a pair is just so good compared to the past, and with it, the quality and tolerance of parts (even cheap parts can sound wonderful when used properly).
Another direction of thought is decades ago when I was getting into the hobby, I heard about (I think) the British school of audio, which would mean a $300 pair of bookshelf speakers (from a quality firm, their entry level 2-way model) with a much more expensive integrated amp (maybe something closer to $1,000). This is opposed to the US school of thought which would be getting a great pair of speakers but not as good of an amp.
Anyway, the point being you obviously want good speakers and a good amp...but a bad amp will make good speakers sound bad...but a good amp will help bring out the best in a 'less-good' pair of speakers.
I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other, but after getting into this hobby as a kid, being broke, not being able to afford anything, over the years as I have been able to build up a nice system, afford better gear, I am finding myself researching and looking more at amps and less at speakers as the next step.
Just me, or others feel the same? Or are there other components (preamps, DACs, sources, cables, tweaks, etc.) you find yourself drawn to? For the sake of argument...maybe not touch on turntables, because that is a whole other can of worms (but still feel free to talk about those if you want!)
Compared to speakers the amp's distortion and frequency response variation is much less.
My preference is a class A or lateral mosfet class Ab amplifier with full range speakers.
My preference is a class A or lateral mosfet class Ab amplifier with full range speakers.
A good reference test bed for an amp ime are ESLs or other planars. Not for directly testing sq with them but just as a comparative reference for how a particular amp sounds with a speaker with dynamic drivers. Seems strange but I've noticed that a really good amp will make a dynamic speaker exhibit very similar characteristics ESLs are known for in terms of speed, clarity, transient performance, ambience, and decay. That same amp will obviously set a pair of ESLs apart but I'm speaking in very general terms. So I find there to be a sort of convergence in their performance attributes with respect to an exceptional amp.
Agree. While not the same, my little 4" FR driver towers are brutally honest and revealing. Things that other speakers hide (or soak up) are all laid out in broad daylight.
In any audio chain, no matter how short, long, simple or complicated, you hear weakest link.
I group audio in three steps, first, signal sources, second, electronics, being preamps, eq, amps, lastly, speakers.
Every time you improve one part, it reveals shortcommings in others. So you schift your attention.
And cycle repeats.
I group audio in three steps, first, signal sources, second, electronics, being preamps, eq, amps, lastly, speakers.
Every time you improve one part, it reveals shortcommings in others. So you schift your attention.
And cycle repeats.
However in terms of technology, speakers are the weakest link. So would you say it stands to reason they are the canvas on which the music is presented? And as such must have as low as possible distortion in order to best reveal the behavior of everything else upstream? An other interesting thing I noticed is the pre amp can have a big influence on how the amp sounds. So what I mean is that the ( no pre amp is the best pre amp ) school of thought is not necessarily true.
I found situations where having preamp in was an improvement in comparison to passive pre. Proper buffering between the signal sources and the amp.
Passive pot can not drive anything properly.
Passive pot can not drive anything properly.
My point is take a $500 pair of Elac or other quality budget bookshelf speakers...and pair them with a $10,000 amp - you are going to get great results. Put a $500 amp on a $10,000 pair of speakers and while things will sound good, I don't find it satisfying the same way the other side is.
no dispute there...
Steve Deckert has been saying that for decade 🙂
that's why I built Aleph J, F1J, F4, F5, Vfet, M2, ACA, and many other amps
Steve Deckert has been saying that for decade 🙂
that's why I built Aleph J, F1J, F4, F5, Vfet, M2, ACA, and many other amps
I too believe that a reasonably good set of speakers will reveal a wide range of quality in the source and electronics. And from a DIY perspective, great speakers are tough to produce. But with the wide range of darned good speakers today you can get great value on the used market. But with digital sources and amps, DIY shines. It's relatively easy to build really good stuff at a fraction the cost of commercial. And then endless tweaks and upgrades are possible keeping us entertained without scrapping depreciating assets.
Tubes do wear...
Connectors can rust😱 or false connections...arcs! Oxydation!
And yes, the speaker, the suspensions that move fast million times(billion..maybe half!)
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Easy to calculate how many strokes a driver might make. For the sake of argument let's pick a woofer with some real movement:
Woofer
100 Hz
10 hours a week
10 years
1.8 billion
What is impressive if you think about something like speakers in a movie theater or entertainment complex that are being played loud and long. 10 hours a week is more like 100 hours a week, so 18 billion cycles.
Woofer
100 Hz
10 hours a week
10 years
1.8 billion
What is impressive if you think about something like speakers in a movie theater or entertainment complex that are being played loud and long. 10 hours a week is more like 100 hours a week, so 18 billion cycles.