Audiophiles

[Bluga]

<< I really doubt you can hear a difference in rock music, or jazz, perhaps classical music. >>



oh yes i can

 

[Madcowz]

The more money we have, the larger budget we have to spend on such luxery items as computers, audio/video equipment, cars, and anything else. Sure, I don't NEED the extra speed that a Geforce 4 offers, and the games and applications I use run fine on my old Radeon, but I bought it BECAUSE I CAN, and it's nice to know you have something better and more powerful

Same can be applied to home audio. But getting back to main subject, I for one, without a doubt, believe there is a pretty big difference between a $300 sound system compared to a several thousand dollar system.

 

[jteef]

basic studio monitors are not hi-fi speakers. They are used because they work for their intended purpose in pop music and movies and because the mixing engineers know their sound and their weaknesses. Their job is to get the best sound they can on all the various consumer sound systems. Including ghetto boxes, cars, etc... Basically they are used to accentuate the relative differences rather than play the song with absolute clarity. Recordings intended for use on hi-fi systems are rare because they'd probably sound like junk on 90% of the audio gear out there.

There are several mastering houses that do use really expensive HiFi stuff like Krell amps, Wilson Audio speakers, Dunlavy Audio speakers etc.

There is a LOT of engineering that goes into nice audio equipment. The parts needed to build this stuff aren't cheap either. $300 speakers might use a total of $10 worth of actual speakers, a $0.05 capacitor to prevent the tweeter from catching on fire, $0.20 connectors, and $1.00 worth of wood or plastic. a hi fi speaker might use $1000 worth of actual speakers, crossovers with big air core inductors, exotic resistors, and poly* capacitors that can cost upwards of $30 each. This can give you a crossover that easily costs $500 by itself. Then the cost of the enclosure which can range from a sheet of MDF $15-20 to exotic sandwich's of MDF, birch, lead, neoprene, corian etc. Then you have to pay your engineers to make all the parts actually sound good and somehow, turn a profit. The value is up to the consumer. Consider the folks paying the big bucks for this stuff didn't make their money by making stupid choices. A lot of it is actually for vanity purposes, but a lot of it is not.

jt

 

[Goi]

Why do people spend thousands of dollars on computer hardware that don't perform hardly any different than some $300 dollar systems? What's up with computer hardware snobs who proclaim that this video card is faster than that one? I mean, what kind of software can you tell a difference between a 386DX-33 and a Pentium 4 2.0GHz?

 

[mattyrug]

<< basic studio monitors are not hi-fi speakers. They are used because they work for their intended purpose in pop music and movies and because the mixing engineers know their sound and their weaknesses. Their job is to get the best sound they can on all the various consumer sound systems. Including ghetto boxes, cars, etc... Basically they are used to accentuate the relative differences rather than play the song with absolute clarity. Recordings intended for use on hi-fi systems are rare because they'd probably sound like junk on 90% of the audio gear out there.

There are several mastering houses that do use really expensive HiFi stuff like Krell amps, Wilson Audio speakers, Dunlavy Audio speakers etc.

jt >>


You have the Studio confused with the Mastering House, for the most part. Being a Studio Engineer, and a Live Engineer, studio monitors are meant to NOT color the tone, or add as little color as possible. You want to get a good mix, that sounds smooth, and will transfer nice to the outside world. A 'Good' engineer will know how a mix is going to transfer outside his enviornment. You could get used to mixing on anything really, as long as you know how it is going to carry over. And as for ALL studio Monitors being for Extremly Close Listening, that is simply not true either, no more true than saying HT speakers are. the simple fact that they're called 'Nearfield' Monitors, dosen't mean within a couple of inches. There is an optimum distance for listening. A 'good' engineer will listen to his mixes on every setup possible, which is why mastering houses have many different speaker setups. You wanna know how a mix will sound on different speakers. My home setups are terrible by an 'Audiophile's' standards. I just simply use some Yamaha NS-10S's for my Computer, and home Stereo, and some old JBL Control 5's pointed at the wall for a little Extra Bass, and a couple of old Hafler Amps, and Mitsubishi Quad-Block Amplifiers to power them.
NS-10's can be harsh after a while though! :disgust:

 

[HouRman]

<< I'm trying to understand why it'll be better to buy _____ (<-- insert your favorite speaker name here) >>



OK

Paradigm Studio
Diva Swans 6.1
JBL Studio S38ii + S center (Trying to get my dad to get)
Aerial 20T
Hsu VTF-3
SVS SS
Earthquake
Infinity
B&W
Samson
Parasound HCA-3500 Amps
Lexicon MC-12B
Outlaw 950
Denon 5800
Anthem MCA 5
Marantz MM-9000
ATI 1505
Rotel 1075
Rotel RMB-1066
Adcom GFA-7300
Outlaw 755
Sherbourn 5/1500
Bryston 9B
Anthem AVM-20
Soundstream
Vidicron Epoch D-2200
Sheetblok
Auralex

What a fun hobby!