Hamlet;198529 Wrote: > This is off the original topic (in terms of time too), but I like your > style and would be interested in knowing, for curiousity's sake, where > you would consider the upper end "sweet spot" is for floorspeakers, > dacs and amps, if not by brand/model perhaps at least price range. > There is just so much BS in the audio biz, (and the higher end you go > the bigger the shovel it seems) that I find it sickening. Thanks.
If you're looking for an Objective Truth, prepare to be disappointed. "Sweet spots" are subjective, and part of the reason the mysticism runs so rampant in the industry is because it really is quite hard or nearly impossible to objectively test audio components. Compressed audio formats are just one area where you can be reasonably expected to be able to objectively test for yourself. But few have the time, budget, or patience to test more than a few speakers, for example, and even when they do it's not an objective test, so it's all more or less worthless. For most people, a "sweet spot" is where the incremental return in sound quality is no longer justified by the incremental expense. i.e. it's a measure of "good enough", and that is itself extremely subjective. For a true audiophile, the only "sweet spot" is where the incremental returns are zero--money is no object. And I actually side with the audiophiles on this one--if it's not perfect, it could always be sweeter. I'm just dubious of people selling me boxes of magic rocks to make my music sound better, that's all. I also really really believe in having a proper listening environment. You'll see me on other forums suggesting a cheap mono powered speaker from Target for your kitchen--because the atrocious listening environment of a kitchen will just break your heart if you have nicer gear in there. Pearls before swine and all that. I also can't see spending $10000 in audio gear for your house when you'll get a greater return on that $10000 by constructing a wall around your house to screen out the street noise/kids playing/dogs barking, etc. So to answer your question: I do not believe there is a sweet spot for speakers. The best I can afford certainly isn't good enough, and the best I can envy is quite nice but isn't good enough either. Nothing I've heard is a perfect reproduction of a performance, so there is room for improvement (perhaps entirely on the recording end, but I doubt it). DACs and amps are another matter. Class D amps have been steadily improving for a while now, and it's no coincidence that audiophiles recently went nuts over a dirt-cheap Class D amp (renamed "Class T" to prevent the shame of liking a Class D amp, I believe). Modern Class D amps are good. Really good. Look into them--yes, the consumer multichannel gear, with only three digits in their price. -- CatBus ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CatBus's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7461 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=32138 _______________________________________________ ripping mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/ripping
