|   large carpet | adioster
Dec 5, 2002 3:47 AM | | hi everyone,
i am new to this hobby. i emailed an audiofile online asking him for advice to get started and he said i should buy a large carpet first. so i bought a 14x20 ft. carpet for my living room. he hasn't responded. what now? thanks.
Dave |
| Strange beginnings! | jeskibuff
Dec 5, 2002 5:28 AM | | Had this audiophile even seen your living room?
You need to provide a lot more information, mainly...
- how much you plan to spend, both immediately and over the next couple of years
- what are your interests? Home theatre? Classical music? Jazz? Rock? Heavy metal?
- what equipment do you have now? I assume you have a TV and some sort of stereo at the moment.
- what kind of time frame you're looking at for building a system
I'm sure you'll be hit with many more questions once you get more specific. |
| gotta start somewhere, right guys? | adioster
Dec 5, 2002 8:12 AM | | so what is next? i want to do the purist route. should i buy some cds? what kinda of music do audiophiles listen to? i hear jazz because the music brings out the speaker's characteristics best.
my room is about 30x20, carpeted, with a 10 ft ceiling. I moved the new carpet in and now the floor is nice and spongy, with two layers of carpet (do i need more?). i am going to buy a sofa for the sides and maybe some flags to hang on the walls (anything to absorb stray frequencies -maybe one of those stuffed animal heads?)
what do i need after that? bookshelf speakers? i want to choose the speakers first. something with a yellow woofers and a spike in it. i want hi-tech. is JBL the best? recommendations? thanks for your help.
Dave |
| guys...? | adioster
Dec 5, 2002 9:37 AM | | how about JBL northridge? sounds like a study american brand. something wilfred Brimly would have liked. |
| Are you being serious? | jeskibuff
Dec 5, 2002 10:10 AM | | What are you trying to accomplish? Are you just trying to get into a new hobby? To me, this sounds like the cart driving the horse.
I got into "hi-fi" because I liked music and the pleasure of reproducing that music right in my living room. Getting that music to sound as good as possible involved years of evolving my sound system into what it is today. It will continue to change as my gear ages and technology offers new temptations.
I have very specific tastes in music, mainly classic rock of the 60s and 70s. A lot of it doesn't sound all that great, but that is what I like to listen to. On occasion I have purchased "audiophile-grade" recordings which sound great but don't have the musical qualities that I need to really enjoy it. To me, buying or owning something that I don't get pleasure out of is a waste of good money. I also enjoy a lot of fusion jazz, Motown, folk, and some classical.
Do you want people to recommend for you to buy things that you will end up getting little to no pleasure out of? Are you looking to become an audiophile just to be a "member of the club"? Are you looking to impress friends or women? Or are you just wanting to experience the enjoyment that audiophiles are talking about?
I think your money is misspent if you don't have passion for music RIGHT NOW. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so. Home theatre is a different story, as I believe the art of moviemaking has a very broad, universal appeal.
We can advise you on some pretty equipment if you're looking for a stunning visual presentation to impress people with. There's some nice looking stuff on the market just waiting to be swapped for some of your hard-earned dollars. If yellow woofers and spikes will do the job, someone will for sure be able to suggest a product to fit that bill. Or did you say "spike"? You can insert a spike into any speaker you buy, whether through the cabinet or one of the drivers. What do you think the spike will do for you? If your priority is to build a premium-grade system to tickle your ears with pleasure, you might be directed to some pretty mundane looking or even downright ugly components.
Again, give us some direction with which way you want to go and how much you're willing to spend.
To answer your question: Is JBL the best speaker? YES....to SOME people. To many others, there are far superior products available. |
| gotta start somewhere, right guys? | Bryan
Dec 5, 2002 12:06 PM | | 1. What type of music do you enjoy listening to on the radio?
2. Will your future system also be used for HT? Similarly, is the room for music only, HT, or both? If so, what percentage music to HT?
3. What is your initial budget? Are we talking $100 or $100,000?
4. Why do you want yellow woofers and a spike? Quality is much more important than looks.
5. Would avoid the stuffed animal head. Women tend not to like that stuff.
6. Get out there and listen to different speakers with music you know inside out. Listen to JBL, Dunlavy, Def Tech, Energy, Martin Logan, B&W, Paradigm, PSB, etc. Audition them to get an idea of what type sound good to you.
For HT, your room is large. How is this important? Well, in terms of subwoofers you will probably need two in order to reach reference level. A calibration DVD such as The Avia Guide to Home Theater or Video Essentials will come in extremely handy along with a sound pressure level (SPL) meter from Radio Shack (preferably the analog one). |
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