Antoniop wrote: > Hi Dave, > I've never heard of the Reynauds too, they 've an excellent reputation > but there are not many in the auditoriums. Focal are quite easy to find, > for the less expensive products. > > Choosing a pair of speakers will be a loooong process for me, I'm not > easy to make up my mind ! > Thanks again for your help > Antonio
Hi Antonio! I don't blame you in the slightest for wanting to take your time over speaker selection. Have you got the rest of your system in place? The kind of speakers that will be likely to sound best in your room are almost certainly 2-way designs (whether full-range floor-standers, or stand-mounts which will inevitably be slightly lacking in the bottom octave of the bass register although with compensating advantages which I hope that I have already sufficiently explained in my previous posts), & an incidental bonus because of this is that they are likely to present a relatively well behaved impedance load on your power amplifier because they usually have fairly simple passive crossovers. It is the capacitors & inductors in the crossover network which create the reactive portion of the loudspeakers impedance (the drivers themselves present a purely resistive load). The impedance of any speaker system will vary with frequency & it is often possible to find a published graph of impedance vs. frequency (either by the speaker manufacturer themselves or in a decently conducted review of them). No loudspeaker has a flat impedance curve, but there should be no pronounced sharp peaks or troughs since the effect of these is likely to become audible, at least with some programme material. Smaller wobbles & gentle rises or falls are much less likely to cause the kind of effect on a music programme that your brain will not quickly learn to compensate for (the science of psycho-acoustics is not an area in which I can profess any real technical expertise - suffice to say that it's a complex subject & one in which our understanding remains less than total). >From your power amplifier's viewpoint, as it attempts to deliver its power bandwidth (that's power vs frequency) linearly into the loudspeaker, it is the reactive element of impedance arising from the speaker's crossover network that is the part which *-might-* cause some problems for a lesser amplifier. But the truth is that most amplifiers currently available are actually pretty good designs (the cut-throat nature of the audio industry has seen to that) & certainly power amplifiers with solid-state (bipolar or field effect transistor) output stages should have no difficulty as long as the impedance doesn't fall too low - such amps can be switched on with no speakers connected at all, but will expire rapidly should you contrive to short circuit their output - so going below their recommended *-minimum-* impedance rating carries the risk of creating audible instability (although they are unlikely to actually blow up! :D ). Valve output stages are the opposite - they will survive a short circuit without any problem, but will start blowing their output valves quickly if they have no load at all. They also tend to require more careful speaker matching & may have different taps of an output transformer for speakers of various nominal impedances. Some people swear by valve power amplifiers, but they then seem to spend half their life subsequently "rolling2 tubes & switching speakers in a never-ending quest for nirvana: the MOSFET's in my Pathos amp are just fine by me. The practical matters arising from these issues: 1. it is*- -**-always-* a good idea to switch all your gear off (& then give the capacitors in the power supplies a couple of minutes to fully discharge) before adding or removing any cables; 2. if you are using a solid state amplifier it is worth putting insulating tape around any metal parts of the amplifier or speaker posts that are still exposed once the connections are made (to minimise the risk of an accidental short circuit) &, if you make up your own speaker cables (as I do from decent oxygen-free copper speaker wire) it is also a good idea to offset the cable lengths of the +ve & -ve wires at either end so that if either end of your cabling somehow becomes detached it is much less likely that the now exposed plugs or wires will come into contact with each other; & 3. if you are using a valve amplifier, rig up some form of cable clamping at either end to make damn sure that neither end of the speaker cable can come loose... You will obviously have to audition your speakers at a dealership with demonstration facilities. High-end dealers will usually offer to let you then have your choice of speaker for extended home trial on the basis that you can return them in exchange for a different set from their supported brands if you are not satisfied within that trial period. This is good dealership practice, but also great salesmanship because firstly they will expect to sell at full retail price & secondly your replacement speakers (if any) will also be supplied at full retail price! In other words, they are guaranteed a high-margin sale as soon as you sign up for this "service". Your replacement choice would be limited to the range of brands that they offer, so you have also already narrowed your options. My suggestion is that you draw up a "long list" based upon reputable reviews & peer reports, & then see which of these can be demoed by dealerships within your accessible range. Then book a short in-house demo with no commitment & take along some favourite CDs that you are familiar with for a listening session at no obligation. Even if you like the sound, tell the dealer that you need to hear other brands that he doesn't support, & don't let them pressure you into a deal. Add the speakers you like to your "short list". When you think that you've auditioned enough brands & have completed your shortlist, then seek out a dealer who supports as many of your chosen brands as possible, so that you are purchasing without limiting your options. There still remains the risk that you may tire of the sound of your full price speakers *-after-* your agreed trial period is over. Or you can take my preferred route & try to get one of your short list speakers in "as new" condition (with boxes!) s/hand for a substantial saving on the retail asking price. If you tire of these, you should be able to sell the**m without substantial loss once you have located a similar s/hand alternative from your original shortlist (this may require some patience, but it is a cardinal virtue, lol). And so on. :rolleyes: I've had my B&W805S speakers for 8 years now & am very pleased with them (although I had been unimpressed by B&W other speaker ranges in the past). I try not to change my gear unless there is a genuine advantage to be gained in terms of musicality: I'd really rather forget all about it & enjoy the music... Good luck whichever path you choose! Dave :cool: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Golden Earring's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=66646 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=107946 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
