Will we ever be totally satisfied with our speakers?

[yetanotherbob]

With all of us clamouring for the latest, biggest and best speakers, I thought I'd tell you about a conversation I had with a client of mine who saw an MA box on top of one my cabinets.

He is a keen classical music collector and was telling me that his speakers had a wonderful tone and he wouldn't part with them for a fortune. He couldn't remember who they were manufactured by, but remembered that they cost him 30 guineas "some time ago"

I wonder if we will ever sit down and decide that what we have is now "just right" and leave it at that, or is it that, (as I suspect it is for me and a lot of others here), the actual buying and fiddling with the stuff that is a major part of the fun.

Apologies if I've posted this in an inappropriate section, please feel free to move if necessary.

Bob

[wilse]

bob, have you taken leave of your senses!



what would be the fun in that? there'd be no forum?
there'd be no giddyness at posh interconnects and pre and power this and that...

sit down, you've obviously banged your head.


lol

wilse

[chamill]

lol agreed with the above. Personally I couldn't be happier with my current setup but the child within me still wants to spend on other things and have a play.

Its all about having fun in what you are doing. its a hobby after all

[Badger0-0]

Good question.

I'm quite happy with my speakers, but there are some new front ones coming out soon, by the same manufacturer.

I just know I'm going to have to buy them

[stevos]

No, not a chance.

My speakers normally last around 6months before getting changed.

[matt303]

I kept my Epos ES14s for years and only had to get rid of them when a house move meant their old style didn't fit in anymore. That's kicked off an almost full system upgrade as I try to find a sound I'll be settled with for 10 or 15 years.

[Ian J]

I've had my speakers for four or five years and am perfectly happy with them

[russ.will]

I think the desire to upgrade is in part due to increasing wealth allowing to people to take steps up the quality ladder.

You do get people who'll automatically trade for this years model - How many "Upgrade MA S6 to RS6. Is it worth it?" threads will we see this week? God knows, but that's different to "S6 to GR60 where there would be a difference worth paying for.

Unless you're rich enought to afford the ultimate from the off, there'll always be upgraditis. In fact I feel sorry for anybody that doesn't have to travel an upgrade path at some point. Without it you'll never experience the unbridled joy of a substantial step forward from a well haggled bargain.

However, the friend with his 'wonderful tone' is equally right. It's worth noting that there are some amazing speakers out there from the 70s and 80s and if he's in his 50s he won't really benefit from a 40Khz tweeter response of modern kit.

He may simply get his uprgaditis fix elsewhere in his life as he holds different priorities. For instance, I've spent lord how much in the last 5 years on AV, but this current pair of underpants, have at least a couple of months left in them yet before I've used both sides. I will only upgrade them when absolutely necessary and not before.

Russell

[DeeGee7]

I was really happy with my set up until calling into my local Hi-Fi dealer, where on test was a pair of Focal J&M Labs Electra 1000 Be series speakers...and I can't stop thinking about them But the price!

[bluesilver]

I was wondering what happens when we get HD albums because hi-def dvd's sound great. Far better than standard def.
Will our kit sound massively upgraded just by sticking on an album in HD rather than spending a fortune on more hardware?

[Tony_T]

I've only had my current set up for a few months, but I think that the speakers are the least susceptible to 'upgraditis'.

I've have several setups over the last 10 years or so; over here, then over in the US and now back over here again. All the setups have been 5.1, with the exception of my current system which is 7.1.

There have been quite a few changes in other areas over the years; but I could probably still use the speakers I originally had, had I not moved around and had to sell up. My Canon 'mushrooms' spring to mind, they were nice speakers....

I'm sure the speakers I have now will last me a while; now the subwoofer, that's another matter....

[stevos]

HD albums have been and gone, just not a market. People prefer mp3 etc.

p.s. hd albums were SACD and DVD-a

[bluesilver]

surely the people who prefer mp3 aren't going to be interested in kit changes tho?

and is sacd etc really like hd, with the same high bitrates etc?

[russ.will]

Originally Posted by stevos

HD albums have been and gone, just not a market. People prefer mp3 etc.

Not quite true, I've bought a couple of SACDs in the last couple of weeks and always buy the hybrid SACD/CD disks where possible.

Russell

[stevos]

Ok, pretty much dead. I got my first SACD hybrid disc the other day and have no way to actually output the audio properly. My only SACD player is a ps3 and i don't have a hdmi amp.

Anyway i think the reason i upgrade so often is more about the wow factor. You get it for a month or so after you change your equipment and then it fades as you get used to it.