Dancing on the Diminishing Returns Curve: Choosing Stereo Speakers
Dec 15 '05 (Updated Feb 18 '06)
The Bottom Line Don't go overboard and turn into a "tweak." Buy something inexpensive but good, dial it in, and enjoy the music.
It happened again the other day.
I was at someone's house and they were showing me their $20,000 stereo. Tube amplifiers. Elite CD player. $6,000 speakers. It sounded...great. And boring. Precise imaging. Tight bass. Unbelievable delicacy. And the whole was...less than the sum of the parts. I was unmoved by the music.
And so was the owner, I think.
He had the furrowed brow of someone with audiophilia nervosa, obsessed with achieving audio nirvana and spending his listening time noticing imperfections that could only be improved with a different amplifier, or different speakers, or maybe different interconnects or speaker wires.
He could never be satisfied with his system, and he could never slow down and enjoy the MUSIC.
At home, I have a modest but good system consisting of $1000 speakers, under $1000 worth of solid state amplification (and a $600 tube integrated amplifier which I sometimes use), a modest CD player, turntable, tuner and subwoofer. And the thing is DIALED! It sounds great to me.
Yeah, the imaging is a bit diffuse, inner detail is only good, and the mid-bass is a little round. But who cares? When I listen to music, I enjoy the music. And I'm not thinking about what component to get next, even when I'm sprawled on my bed reading Stereophile magazine.
What did I do right?
I gave up on finding sonic perfection and found components that work well together. And I made sure the cost of each component was on that part of the diminishing returns curve where things flatten out: where large increments in amount spent lead only to small increments in sound improvement.
Where is that "break" in the curve when it comes to stereo gear?
It depends on how critical a listener you are. If you play an instrument or two, or if you listen pretty intently to your music, you'll probably want to spend at least $600 on speakers, about the same on amplifier and preamplifier combined (or maybe go the retro route and get an early '70s Marantz or Sherwood receiver or '80s or '90s NAD on Ebay for only $150 or so), and maybe $200 on a decent CD player. You'd have a system that sounds 90% as good as the best out there at only 10% of the cost. That's an order of magnitude reduction!
If you're a casual listener, you can get away with spending even less. Snap up a pair of under-$300 speakers, a lower powered early '70s Marantz or Sherwood receiver (or an '80s or '90s NAD receiver or integrated amplifier), and an inexpensive CD player. Subjective sound quality: about 80% of the best out there. Total cost: about $600.
What are some of my specific speaker recommendations? For the fairly critical listener who wants to dance at the top of the diminishing returns curve, I like the following speakers:
Monitor Audio Silver S1s (retail: $600; actual cost: $475)
Energy Veritas 2.1s (retail: $1000; actual cost: $800)
Paradigm Reference Studio 20s (retail: $600; actual cost: $500).
All small monitors you say? True. If you need that last 20 hz or so of bass (from 20 hz to 40 hz), add a Cambridge Soundworks BassCube 12 for $300 or so. A perfectly good subwoofer for not too much money.
My Cambridge Soundworks Towers would be on the above list (retail: $1500; actual cost: $800) but I'm not sure they're being made any more.
For amplification, I like Creek's integrated amplifiers, as well as NAD's. Or you can go retro. My 1990 B&K Stereo 202 and B&K Pro-5 preamplifier sound great and cost well under $1000 combined.
As mentioned, you can also get smooth sounding retro receivers from Marantz or Sherwood if you don't want to deal with separate components (and don't mind the challenge of using Ebay). A 1973 Marantz 2230 goes for about $150 on Ebay. A 1970 Sherwood S-8900 is harder to find, but generally goes for even less, maybe $100.
If you're a casual listener, there are several good speakers in the $300 range. Among my favorites are:
Monitor Audio Bronze B1s (retail: $300; actual cost: $240)
Polk RTi4s (retail: $320; actual cost: $250)
PSB Alpha Bs (retail: $249; actual cost: $225)
Dynaco A-25s (retail $160 in 1972; actual cost today: $160)
What the heck are Dynaco A-25s doing on my list of recommended inexpensive speakers?
Dynaco A-25s were among the most popular bookshelf speakers of the early 1970s, and have recently become popular again because of their rugged good looks and durability. A really clean pair can command over $200 on Ebay, but most decent pairs sell for about $175. They sound relatively smooth and warm and can compete with the best of today's small speakers. I had a pair in high school and have recently started fixing up older cosmetically challenged pairs that can be found out there for under $100. An inexpensive system with A-25s as speakers sounds great and is really cost-effective.
What amplification should the casual listener use?
You could check Ebay for a Marantz 2230 (about $150) or be even more cost-conscious and get a Sherwood S-7100A for only $40 or so (plus shipping). The Marantz 2215 is another nice choice at about $90 plus shipping. If you do buy a receiver on Ebay, be cautious. There ARE unscrupulous sellers out there who will mis-represent a product in their listing and refuse to take it back if it doesn't work right. I'd try to go with someone like "Morgan," who fixes up old Marantz units and sells only receivers in good working order.
With any of the above receivers, you can add an inexpensive CD player (I haven't comparison shopped for CD players lately, but anything by NAD is good) and maybe a turntable as well (retro folks don't unload their favorite records). If you need deep bass, just snap up a Cambridge Soundworks BassCube 12 when they're on sale. Or maybe a BassCube 10 (which goes almost as deep and costs a bit less).
The bottom line is this: You can have an excellent stereo system for a fraction of what the "tweaks" are paying, and you'll probably enjoy your music more than they do. The speakers are probably the most important component in a home audio system, so shop around and figure out what kind of sound YOU like.
Then have fun assembling an inexpensive system that's 80% or 90% as good as the best out there. After that, forget about the system and enjoy the MUSIC.
Related reviews:
Monitor Audio Silver S1s:
http://www.epinions.com/content_141446778500
Energy Veritas 2.1s:
http://www.epinions.com/content_52721520260
Paradigm Reference Studio 20s:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-60C4-1109DF6-3915129C-prod2
Cambridge Soundworks Towers:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-1AAD-A531A33-392DA0AA-prod1
Monitor Audio Bronze B1s:
http://www.epinions.com/content_140567547524
Dynaco A-25s:
http://www.epinions.com/content_4583825540
Cambridge Soundworks BassCube 12 subwoofer:
http://www.epinions.com/content_6613601924
Cambridge Soundworks BassCube 10 subwoofer:
http://www.epinions.com/content_17106374276
NAD C320 integrated amplifier:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-6233-3A7D958C-3A2FCA0E-prod3
Creek 4330 integrated amplifier:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-180D-33678025-3A40FD43-prod5
B&K Stereo 202 power amplifier:
http://www.epinions.com/content_4401963140
Important Speaker Characteristics:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-3BB3-16F67787-39D62EDE-prod2
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.