10 errors in the selection of audio equipment: HiFi Hiend and Vintage – Part II

Continuation of the first part you will findhere

6. Focusing on a specific budget

I realize that we have such a wide selection of brands that you have to make some elimination assumptions. Most often we want to buy the bestblockfor 5,000 or PLN 10,000.

And everything is fine, only for good morning we often eliminate devices for half of the assumed budget, which could fit our taste more.

For example, if we have a highly exaggerated system in terms of dynamics, detail or top – very often one seemingly ‘weaker’ element will perfectly calm the whole thing. You know – something will disappear, something will appear, but the whole tonal balance and the nature of the game can be very much gain.

Good-class devices retain color, dynamics, up, midrange, bass at a very good level, the weaker ones usually have something at the expense of something.

Of course, this is not an ideal solution, but it is often better instead of going to the next element that will push the track even more to go into one that will dull it a bit, but will give more fun to listening.

7. Nervous listening – quick shopping.

I often meet audiophiles who, after 2 minutes of listening to a given element, can pass judgments.

I see and hear just as often as people play in the so-called ‘Pining’ – one song on this source, the other on it. Or God forbid samplers and their fragments – it resembles playing in a sound engineer, not listening to the system, not to mention music.

Samples or some pieces that we know, of course, will tell us a lot about the sound of a given system or element. This should serve as a signpost, not a judgment. It is always worth listening to the set after the changes longer – is this seemingly better change tiring in the long run? Is this presentation worse or just different? Ok, maybe something is gone, but maybe something has appeared and it is more interesting?

I very often travel in completely different directions along with the sets they create – i.e. often what favors the system causes me to listen to, for example, more atmospheric music, or one with a foot. I play the radio from Roon and suddenly it turns out that I enjoy completely different musical atmosphere.

In this context, playing with equipment can really bring a lot to our taste in music. I wrote about it in the case of the entry Fr.Tannoy LGM– These loudspeakers taught me to listen to a completely different repertoire and made me fall in love with audio completely.

8. Only high-efficiency columns for the lamp

I never hide that I am a big fan of tube sound, as well as the atmosphere that chewy bubbles bring to the room. I have heard a lot about how to choose high-efficiency loudspeakers for the 300B lamp – preferably with 95dB.

Honestly? This is one of the biggest myths in the audio world. Of course, there is a grain of truth in this, because on 3.5W 2A3 or 8W 300B we will not listen to rock on a small 88dB column … But these lamps were never intended to listen to heavy music.

When listening to jazz, acoustics, vocals and at low or medium volume, we usually use only 1W of power.And the class I, although decent-class transformers make such an inconspicuous lamp often pull such loudspeakers much better than a mid-class transistor 100 or 200W with poor current efficiency.

So if we listen rather quietly and rather calm repertoire and we dream of a lamp – just try it. Of course, there may be some shortcomings in weighting, dynamics or control … But in return we will get several classes of better diameter, color, more emotions, space and fun listening to music. Suddenly it may turn out that this super low descending and controlled bass will completely go into oblivion.

Another thing – that tube amplifiers are very different, many 50-100W models can control almost any speaker set in a satisfactory way.

9. Bad attitude towards voodoo audio.

Most often, audiophiles go to one of the extremes:

• a) the cables do not play and this is a stretch
• b) backfilling the system with all kinds of gadgets such as cables for thousands, fuses, stands, anti-vibration tables, etc.

As usual, you need to approach the topic with common sense.Imagine a new salon. Couch, TV cabinet, some chest of drawers, maybe a carpet – we have everything selected to our taste – colors, sizes, functionality, convenience, etc.

Now let’s imagine that our system is such a living room and the equivalent of what is above is the source, amplifier, loudspeakers. If we choose it to our taste and needs, it is even connected with any cables, with ordinary power cables, it will sound great. We will like it.

Many are enough, many systems are such average, functional salons and some people do not need anything else to enjoy living in such a room.

However, all kinds of peripherals have a decorative effect.They have a much smaller impact on the sound than 3 basic elements, but they still affect the overall reception.Now let’s decorate our living room with paintings, curtains, vases, photos, a coffee table, a free-standing lamp, an armchair, let’s put a vase with flowers … Do you understand what I’m going to?

You can live without these details, but with them it is simply more pleasant, fuller, and the space in which we live is more pleasant, more rich.

Therefore, I believe that all kinds of cables should not be underestimated, but you should not refuse it, because if we already have blocks at the appropriate level, we limit ourselves to this game. These peripherals are a few percent – some less others more, but the overall difference can be noticeable. Having a 10k system, I would not spend 3k on cables or 5k on a table … Because many of us are all about this game – squeeze as much as possible out of the material we listen to.

10. Ignoring the topic of room acoustics

The size of the room in which the stereo equipment is standing is of great importance. But not only the size but also its layout, symmetries and asymmetries. The place behind the listener, behind the speakers. Is the position of the columns in an equilateral triangle relative to the listener …

The number of ‘fillers’ in the room, i.e. carpets, curtains, bookcases or plates.

For example, in the advertisements I saw hundreds of photos of literally bare listening rooms, which even lacked a carpet. In the middle there is a brave electronics for several dozen or several hundred thousand PLN or euro, and large tiles are shining on the floor.

Such conditions are even a guarantee of nervous, hard playing with many reflections

It has no right to play to the potential of electronics. We limit ourselves in a similar way by stuffing the columns against the wall itself, or by putting one of them next to the side wall.

Of course, there are loudspeakers that will find themselves in such conditions, but most will not show even 50% of their potential, which is actually tantamount to throwing money down the drain, or giving a completely unfair opinion on some forum.

I do not have an adopted room myself … but I am good with it, because it works very well for my conditions and current possibilities. Of course, with the adaptation I would squeeze more audiophile juice from what I have,But for me, audio is only a part of life that is located in the living room fragment, which also has a place for a child, partner and cats.

Let’s not get paranoid, but let’s do what we can ‘let’s get’ – supposedly obvious, but as it turns out for many, not yet …