anyone willing to share their audio knowledge?

[manhattanproj]

What does it mean when people say to buy a matching set of speakers?

[paul_pci]

What does it mean when people say to buy a matching set of speakers?

This primarily refers to home theater and DVD-Audio/SACD sound. Because different speakers have different tonal characteristics, even across different speaker lines from the same manufacturer, you want your speakers, especially the front three to "match" so that the sound you hear from them is uniform and not otherwise uneven and distracting. For the most part, you can get away with having different rears, if need be, but speaker matching is definitely something to keep in mind, especially if you are going to build your system piece by piece. For instance, if all you can afford right now are two main speakers, buy them accordingly where you will be able to purchase a matching center speaker in the future, etc. Subwoofers, on the other hand, don't need to match the speaker line you purchase.

[manhattanproj]

one question about doing your own listening of the speakers

Woochifer mentioned to bring my own music and/or movies to listen. I understand that whether you like the sound of the speakers varies from person to person and a lot of this sound-liking is based on personal tastes.

But is there a certain type of music or certain scenes from some movies that can be used as a parameter of whether the speakers that I am listening is good or not? Like is there a certain guideline to find out about the quality of the speakers? Or is it just solely based on your personal preferences?

[E-Stat]

But is there a certain type of music or certain scenes from some movies that can be used as a parameter of whether the speakers that I am listening is good or not? Like is there a certain guideline to find out about the quality of the speakers? Or is it just solely based on your personal preferences?

I recommend using recordings of live, unamplified music and voice as they are ultimately the most demanding. While I listen to recordings of popular music that is largely electronic, I don't use them for this purpose since their sound is as much affected by a host of electronic devices along the way.

Likewise, I find that soundtracks of helicopters blowing up to not be much help either.

rw

[risabet]

I find unamplified music and voice to be the best for auditioning speakers because, especially with voices, I am most familiar with the human voice as a sound source.

[manhattanproj]

I recommend using recordings of live, unamplified music and voice as they are ultimately the most demanding. While I listen to recordings of popular music that is largely electronic, I don't use them for this purpose since their sound is as much affected by a host of electronic devices along the way.


rw

unamplified music and voice - would a concert cd do?

[Woochifer]

one question about doing your own listening of the speakers

Woochifer mentioned to bring my own music and/or movies to listen. I understand that whether you like the sound of the speakers varies from person to person and a lot of this sound-liking is based on personal tastes.

I think you need to bring a recording that you're very familiar with so that you can readily identify the tonal characteristics of the equipment that you're evaluating. Speakers are by far the most personal judgment among all of the audio equipment because all of them have measureable and audible frequency deviations that vary from speaker to speaker. Often, it comes down to what flaws you're willing to live with.

But is there a certain type of music or certain scenes from some movies that can be used as a parameter of whether the speakers that I am listening is good or not? Like is there a certain guideline to find out about the quality of the speakers? Or is it just solely based on your personal preferences?

I think you need to focus on the type of music that you will likely play at home. Just make sure that you bring recordings that you know (or at least think) are recorded well. Some will suggest that you need to use acoustic music sources, and while those recordings are often the most revealing ones, it won't help you much if 1) you don't listen to any of that music to begin with and have no reference in mind on how those instruments sound in person; and 2) a lot of the systems that sound best with amplified sources will not necessarily sound optimal wth acoustic sources because of how different music genres are typically recorded, mixed, and monitored. If you have any good acoustic recordings in your CD collection, definitely bring them. But, if you don't, I wouldn't bother with trying to buy one for audition purposes. You won't be familiar enough with the material, nor engaged enough in the music for that kind of listening to be helpful.

There are no fixed guidelines that tell you the quality of a speaker. Often, the stated goal of a speaker is to convey a source signal as accurately as possible, but some people very well might prefer a sound that emphasizes certain aspects more than others. And since no speaker is 100% accurate or even close to that, everybody will have a different opinion of what sounds real, or accurate, or just good. The bottom line is that you should do as much listening and comparing as possible, and if you go to a high end store, try to get a listen to their high end rigs. That should give you a good starting reference at each location.

When you decide on a set of speakers, make sure that you either try them out at home or buy from someplace that allows you to bring something back if you don't like it. This is because the room acoustics dramatically influence what you hear, and what you hear in the demo room might differ a lot from how it sounds at home.

[Timn8ter]

There have been some very good suggestions here. I especially agree with building the system gradually for people on a limited budget. Also with the importance of matching the speakers best as possible for a surround sound system.
For some budget bookshelf speakers you may want to consider these.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Iss...legrialing.htm
I can answer any questions you may have about them.

[manhattanproj]

There have been some very good suggestions here. I especially agree with building the system gradually for people on a limited budget. Also with the importance of matching the speakers best as possible for a surround sound system.
For some budget bookshelf speakers you may want to consider these.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Iss...legrialing.htm
I can answer any questions you may have about them.

What the!!!!! You can do that kind of stuff in the forum? This is unacceptable. There should be no commercial post allowed in the forum.

[Woochifer]

What the!!!!! You can do that kind of stuff in the forum? This is unacceptable. There should be no commercial post allowed in the forum.

Easy! That was a link to a product review, not a commercial solicitation. The only posts prohibited in this forum are ones where you're trying to sell something that you currently own.

I listen to mostly pop and hip-hop music. IMO, it is rather hard to use those two genres to judge speakers. Let me know what you guys think.

What about movies? Any movies that you guys know are particularly sound-demanding?

Instead of forcing yourself to try unfamiliar genres, I would try bringing recordings from different decades, if your tastes include 70s, 80s, and 90s music. The prevailing recording and mixing techniques have evolved, and hearing how speakers handle those different recording approaches is a good way of testing them. If you're not used to hearing acoustic instruments and don't have those types of recordings in your collection, I'm not sure how useful it will be to run out and buy some of them, given that you're not used to those recordings and haven't heard enough of that that type of music to establish a reference point for your ears. Plenty of high end speakers I've heard over the years sound great with acoustic music, but can't do justice to rock and hip hop.

With movies, I would start with Insomnia for testing ambient sounds and voices, and Master and Commander (the DTS track) for directional surround imaging and bass extension.

[Geoffcin]

What the!!!!! You can do that kind of stuff in the forum? This is unacceptable. There should be no commercial post allowed in the forum.

If you asked what I thought was a good speaker, or receiver, or anything it's absolutely OK to recommend what you think is good. It's onlt if you start a thread saying with the unsolicited; "Buy these items" that the moderators get the axe out.

[Timn8ter]

What the!!!!! You can do that kind of stuff in the forum? This is unacceptable. There should be no commercial post allowed in the forum.

I can't say I'm surprised much by your reaction. Yes, I design and sell speakers, but I'm giving my honest opinion and offering the starter of the thread another option. I'm not hiding the fact that I have a commercial interest and I'm also making myself available for questions, comments or critique. Hopefully some of you will find my comments useful.

[manhattanproj]

I think you need to focus on the type of music that you will likely play at home. Just make sure that you bring recordings that you know (or at least think) are recorded well. Some will suggest that you need to use acoustic music sources, and while those recordings are often the most revealing ones, it won't help you much if 1) you don't listen to any of that music to begin with and have no reference in mind on how those instruments sound in person; and 2) a lot of the systems that sound best with amplified sources will not necessarily sound optimal wth acoustic sources because of how different music genres are typically recorded, mixed, and monitored. If you have any good acoustic recordings in your CD collection, definitely bring them. But, if you don't, I wouldn't bother with trying to buy one for audition purposes. You won't be familiar enough with the material, nor engaged enough in the music for that kind of listening to be helpful.

There are no fixed guidelines that tell you the quality of a speaker. Often, the stated goal of a speaker is to convey a source signal as accurately as possible, but some people very well might prefer a sound that emphasizes certain aspects more than others. And since no speaker is 100% accurate or even close to that, everybody will have a different opinion of what sounds real, or accurate, or just good. The bottom line is that you should do as much listening and comparing as possible, and if you go to a high end store, try to get a listen to their high end rigs. That should give you a good starting reference at each location.

This is really good advice. Thanks woochifer.

I listen to mostly pop and hip-hop music. IMO, it is rather hard to use those two genres to judge speakers. Let me know what you guys think.

What about movies? Any movies that you guys know are particularly sound-demanding?

[Quagmire]

This is really good advice. Thanks woochifer.

I listen to mostly pop and hip-hop music. IMO, it is rather hard to use those two genres to judge speakers. Let me know what you guys think.

What about movies? Any movies that you guys know are particularly sound-demanding?

You have gotten a lot of good advice so far. One thing that I haven't heard mentioned yet, unless I just missed it among all these multiple posts, is the room size where this system is to reside. There are some "mini speaker" setups offered by various brand name companies, which for smaller rooms and in systems where Home Theater is the primary focus, have pretty good sound IMO. I'm not talking about HTIB systems, but rather smaller "matched" speaker systems which are paired with a sub specifically for HT use. Of course in a moderate to larger sized room, one of these setups will be inadequate, but if you're talking about a small living room, bedroom, den, or dorm room; one of these little systems might be just the ticket. Performance on music reproduction will be compromised, but especially on your budget, compromises will have to be made. In fact, since you list HT as being the primary use for this system, I would encourage you to do most of your auditioning with movies rather than music. Sure bring along a few familiar CD's just to get an idea of what you can expect for music playback, but you should be primarily listening for how well this system performs on HT playback. If cost were no object you would have many more options, but on a limited budget you need to make your dollars count in the areas which are most important to you.

Like I said to begin with, I agree with most of the advice you've gotten already -- especially the advice to be patient and build a better system over time. But if you do have a smaller sized room, this is just one other option that might be worth your time to investigate. Best of luck to you.

Q

[manhattanproj]

Even though i dont have a big buget to start with, i do not think it is a good idea to make compromises by looking at the smaller HT system as suggested by Q. Yes i'll be able to have a HT system right now, but what i want is a good system. that's why i'm thinking about buying a 2.0 or a 3.1 set up first, with the money that i currently have. i'll able to buy a better pair of speakers, like the floorstanding type, in the future. i know that Q is suggesting another option for my budget, but i would rather build my system patiently as suggested by others.

let me know what you guys think?