Unexpectedly good sounding systems
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.พ. 2021
- Have you ever walked into a high-end listening room with low expectations only to be blown away by what you heard? Paul has. Hear the story. If you want to learn more, grab a copy of Paul's new book, The Audiophile's Guide. www.psaudio.com/products/the-...
- วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Uncle of mine would have loved this. Entering their living room as a boy, I saw nothing audio. Where is all that expensive sound stuff I knew he liked so much? Behind a small door in the wall there was just a little Quad amplifier. When he opened the door and turned that Quad on, spectacular high-end HiFi music filled the room. 16 loudspeakers were hidden in lamps, vases, or in custom-built cabinets that looked like books on bookshelves. A giant subwoofer was built in a wall behind a big potted plant and some smaller woofers were under chairs in elegant boxes made of the same wood as the chairs. I'm sure I will never hear a more spectacular system - the system you didn't see.
The real story is Paul had 5 beers and 5 sakes and then they went to listen to the system! 😂🤣
I don't think so. I did it, and the guys system sounded like ceiling drivers from a mall 🤣 Don't do it!
@@danielbustillos1646 you’re drinking the wrong stuff mang 😂🤣
I’m not an audiophile at all but Paul is such a chill dude
I do believe what we really wanted to hear was that once upon a time you heard a great sounding system that didn't cost 100K... just sayin'
People still say 'just sayin'???? Dumb
Forced myself to stay awake to hear the whole story, and I’m glad I did. Totally visualized the whole thing, and wish I could hear it myself.
I love this story! I lived in Tokyo for years, and had a friend who built his own tube amps. He took me to an underground rabbit warren of tiny component shop/stalls that was insane (and insanely dangerous). 6 foot ceilings, hallways that 2 people could barely pass by each other, and stalls that were 6x6 ft and loaded to the gills with ANYTHING you needed in terms of audio parts. Then he took me to a guys "shop" that sounds almost exactly what Paul just described. Except it was even smaller, sketchier, messier and we sat on tatami mats.
This was my first introduction to a really well-built SET playing excellent jazz vinyl on HUGE vintage highly efficient speakers. This was a revelation to me - I'd never heard this sound before and I sat and listened for hours. The guy finally had to ask me (politely) to leave.
And I agree - if I had to choose one cuisine for the rest of my life, it would be Japanese. Not even a contest. (Paul, I'm fluent in the Japanese language and food - take me with you on your next trip to Japan!)
Wonderful story. My story is from something like 20 years ago. I heard a pair of 70´s KEF Reference 105 (first version). Totally blown away. Soon after this I bought a pair. To this day I am still blown away when listening to them, and I use them a lot. And I´m still convinced that I never will afford something better. It´s surprising how super expensive even new stuff has to be to even compare to these speakers. I won´t lie. They are a complicated relationship. They hate bad sources and/or recordings. They need a really good DAC for instance. But give them what they deserve and oh boy... If you ever get the chance to hear these speakers on good electronics, you will know what I´m talking about. They are rare, but usually only a fraction of the price they sound like.
Whatever Japanese did, they did with utmost passion. They are crazy, in a way
Nah, just normal audiophile OCD taken to its extreme ^^
They go crazy when visiting a theme park ... beyond crazy. But elsewhere they are very strict and professional.
My goal has always been to be able to sit (or stand) anywhere in my audio room and have the sound just fill the room, a sorta 3D sound experience. Best described as having "the sound almost totally detached from the speakers. Hope everyone eventually finds audio bliss.
From your description the room treatments and dimensions must have added to the magic that unfolded when combined with a luxury audiophile system. With the sound stage dialed in also of course. Audio heaven. Thanks for sharing.
It's very common for people to accidentally make their room too dead. Or much worse, frequency-wise, unevenly dead.
He did say that the owner had been tweaking it for years. I'd have liked to know what it was that Paul thought had been done to make it so different from other similar systems he'd heard.
I bought my AR11’s in 1977. Never happy until 2 years ago I finally put them on the proper stands and it changed everything! Just a simple tweak. Still have my Sony Psx-5 turntable. Recently bought the Marantz Pm8006. Sounds awesome!
One time I was blown away at my dealer by a pair of Wilson Sasha + Transparent cable + BHK power amp and PS Audio preamp. The source was an Audio Research CD9. I got goosebumps.
But you were NOT surprised, right? That's a great system.
Would be nice if Paul discussed:
A) why expensive system can sound awful
B) why cheap systems can sound amazing. (My guess he would never go here. At best, there would be the caveat, at that price point, etc.)
@@keywestjimmy I was a little surprised because I had heard the Wilsons first with a pair of monstruous Krell monoblocks and the BHK sounded better to me.
@@nunofernandes4501 Amplifier/speaker matching is one of the underestimated variables affecting system goodness.
I really enjoy your stories Paul. You're so real and down to earth.
Great story Paul. Kinda reminded me when I was a wee grasshopper and listening to Pop's OHM A's I was hooked at nine years old!
Awesome story, Paul. I loved hearing it. I also love Japan, but haven’t been in about 10 yrs or so. I did find that all the best restaurants or record stores were up those super steep and narrow stairs though. Can’t wait to eventually go back to visit.
Your such a great story teller. Thx from Denmark 🇩🇰🙏
Great Story! I recently discovered Paul and these videos and he has a new fan. I may even take the drive from South Central Kansas to Boulder, Colorado and take a listen to the equipment in listening room #1 and take a tour of the plant. Keep up the great work sir!
That's such a nice story Paul.
What a great question I've been pondering this for a while thanks paul
Wonderful story. Thank you.
I watch you everyday but it was this video that got me to subscribe. You are the man!!!
Aaah, very nice story Paul.
May I add?.......I LOVE my ROOM ! Yes, the gear is good and set up within an inch of it's life, but I am SO fortunate to have a space dedicated to 2 ch. listening (and a ZERO wife factor to worry about). Sofa, coffee table, area rug under it. Hard tile floor, and 11 ATS panels around the room on the walls. A 24x18' space. Two speakers, a matching subwoofer, just a few sources and done. KISS ((O:
𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝘽𝙞𝙖𝙨 ... plain and simple.
Spectral/Wilson, in a simple yet well executed room, well balanced soundstage to spaciousness ratio ...
This listening session following multiple instances of diminished expectations... hell yeah, I'm sure it did blow him away!
Keep these stories coming.
Thanks. This was such a fun video to watch.
I came to TH-cam to improve my system. Now I can’t listen to one song without hearing something that needs improvement
Talk about unexpected amazing systems.
I have a 5.1.2 pioneer spbs22lr system with klipsch r41m as hieght speakers on the ceiling running off a pioneer vsxlx103 reciever running through a 250$ furman power conditioner(too lazy to go look at it but its a beast)
After running audessy room correction, crossing over at 80, and using the individual
Eq to boost the 1k, 4k, and 8k, levels just a tiny tiny bit on the pioneers to really open them up and show off their accuracy, with 3 eq presets programmed to progressively more bright for lower listening volumes.
This stereo setup properly does 90% of what stereos do at 3x the price of what I paid, and can do some things even better.
Bought everything new on sale, and price matched at the best buy, I spent a total of 630 plus tax.
Given that he’s heard this combo so many times, i guess it shows you the impact a particular room has on equipment.
I would guess it was not only the room. The man told Paul that he spent years tweaking 'the system'
@@5yotub but what has he tweaked, components inside the electronics, or just positioned the speakers?
@@anuragsaha145 that is an excellent question!! I don't know... But I'd love to find out 👀
@@5yotub I wonder if he had a quality DSP setup hidden away. Careful tweaking of a parametric EQ and possibly a bit of delay can make a huge difference. A lot of "purists" don't like DSP and go so far as to eschew even having simple bass and treble tone controls on their equipment. If one manages to achieve it, a system that measures perfectly "flat" is not pleasing at all to the human ear, it sounds awful. A down sloping "house curve" is much more pleasing to the ear as we do not hear all frequencies within the range that is audible to us the same. How much of a downward curve is up to individual taste. Some wanna feel the subsonic bass in their lungs, others are not so aggressive.
I personally fall in the middle. I love delicate detail and depth of sound stage in the upper frequencies, underpinned by solid articulate slightly warm but not overwhelming bass. I have a DSP on my system, and it is set up perfectly for my tastes after a lot of manual tweaking with speaker position and DSP settings, all while measuring with a mic. What I perceive as "balanced" and "flat" with my ears shows up on the screen via measuring as sloping downward from low frequencies to high.
In the end, we should like our systems, they are for us and nobody else.
Coolest story I’ve heard in a long time.. Nice! Best Regards from Johan in Sweden.
Yup, great story 👍
Best audio story ever!
Great story. Well worth the price of admission.
First hearing a fellow audio-buddy's pair of DIY open baffle subs with 22 inch woofers with a second hand 50 wpc Rotel amp back in 1992. Sadly, such low frequency perfection only works in a small (ish) 8 ft X 10 ft room.
What a wonderfull story. Mr Mc Gowan !
Great story!
thank you Paul
Yeah, more stories please 👌
Japanese people have dedication and focus. The labyrinths filled up with electronics stores in Tokyo are amazing. No bigger contrast then the cities and the countryside. Absolutely love Japan.
Denon PMA-720
Schiit Modi 3+
Polk LSiM 702 fx on stands as a stereo pair.
Don't knock it, till you try it. Sounds Stellar 🌠🖖
Great story, Paul.
you gotta love Paul!!!
Your best story yet!!!!
This has nothing to do with the topic of this video but I became adicted to this Q&a videos.
One of my fave stories so far.
Precious Paul is my favorite storyteller.
Thanks for another good video Paul! I have VERY dry skin in the winter... think fingers that split if looked at wrong dry. Several years ago my wife found this stuff that's saved me all kinds of grief. It's called surgeons skin secret and is beeswax based. The stuffs not cheap but it actually works.
Amazing story!
That's a superb story.
What a great story 👍
Great vids always
I think this is one of the most interesting questions ever, after watching probably 200 of these videos.
I have watched two videos of you and I feel like family. You have a way about you that’s like a child but wise. Every CEO should aspire to your standard.
Oh man I wish you could try my mushroom udon noodles. It's one of my favorite things to make. My best friend who is Japanese gave me the recipe but I altered it slightly
It is absolutely amazing when the room works precisely with your equipment. I have experienced a similar situation back in the mid 90s at a dealers show room. The set up, even though dealer. was limited to only one system in the room. Since Paul AKA Master of the Universe has coined a new rating system, I have to rate my experience a 5 Shit Ball......As always thank you for sharing your adventures
my system is modest. I replaced my marantz 18 torroidal with 140wx5 with a stereo 8w SET 300B. My Boston Acoustics Lynfield VR40s are like new as I'm the original owner and they have a very unique sound. For sound source I use a sony blue ray with DSD. I had a friend visit (roninman) who had a few friends with 100k+ sound systems. Him and his group had been with me for 4 days and I kept saying to try the stereo and they weren't interested. Finally Ronin just before leaving for our big day out puts it on and I play some DSD jazz through it. He listened for 3 more HOURS insisting on playing all kinds of stuff even stuff bit mangled through his cell phone and youtube. didn't matter it wasn't as nice as the DSDs but still shone amazingly. It was so nice to share. Now the cost of my system in 1990 dollars is: tube amp $1000. Speakers $2000. Blue ray: $400. $3400 bucks but very very carefully chosen. Thats probably $7k in todays dollars. My ownly regret is what do I do with the giant brick audiophile high end marants torroidal amplifier? price on that? $4,000+ someday I'll build that into some 5 channel system to rock out on but forget it for jazz and vocals and saxamaphones and classical. for that my 300B is the way to go. and well, it does ok playing ziggy. Not as thumping as the marantz. I probably wont ever be able to afford PS audio but I'm keen to try one of their tube preamps sometime. I'm also designing my own speakers now. so maybe I can invite paul up a long flight of narrow stairs someday and blow his mind.
I had an experience like this with a system of Rega RP8+Krell Integrated+KEF LS50
I played my Depeche Mode vinyl...it was very good...limited bass of course..then I got up from the couch and started walking towards the system...I stopped dead on my tracks...all of the sudden it seemed like the sound was coming ALSO from the corners of the room..which btw they were like 9 feet away from the speakers because it was a big big showroom !!
I was *CONVINCED* they had some satellites speakers hidden behind a fake wall or something. So I started investigating the back of the system..of the amp..looking for extra cables/signal. Nothing, just stereo...I was blown away...there was a point where all of the sudden I could hear 4 speakers at the same time...insane.
I've got to get me some of that tea!
I think one of mine would be unexpectedly pretty good, a set of open baffles i built, ive built 3 sets so far, all are good, these are a different set, 4 foot with 3 way klipsch chorus crossovers, 15 inch jbl pro driver and jbl pro titanium horn for midrange, and mounted up top are some little dipolar linaeum ribbon tweeters, and yes they are very good, id have to say fairly close if not better on some tracks than some others ive had, fortes, ar3, classic jbls, definitely surprised me, they were nearly 30 hours to complete and are keepers.
Great story
The Art of fidelity can take many years to master.
Only with principles can it be achieved.
Realy cool story.
I would like to hear of your unexpected great experience of a horn speaker set-up, Paul, but maybe that's a stretch.. ;)
In regards to the itchy skin, make sure you apply lotion after you shower. A good quality lotion, like Curel or the Vaseline brand, all over your body, keep your skin smooth and soft.
Oh i advice Paul to visit Kaneda and his soundsystem with altecs, onken...and own hybrid amps ...all hornspeakers 4way, 4 altec 416 per side in concrete horn on the roof...
That's because Spectral are the best. And yes the MIT cable and Wilson Audio just do a great job together in general with Spectral even though they on many other brands sound so bad. And I can imagine a Japanese dude, doing this to the extreme.
Nice story. I also tried that combination a couple of times.
I know you wouldn't like my system so I wouldn't bother. I like it and that's all that matters.
I don't know Paul personally, but I don't think he's the kind of person that would put anyone down because of their audio equipment.
@@Mark-lq3sb Didnt say he would put me down. Just said he would not like it.
@oh ok I use a EQ.
@@finscreenname
Why?
He understands all people can't afford $15,000USD amps & $120,000USD speakers.
I'll do the assuming now, I think you (and a lot of others.) have a preconceived notion that someone with (or manufactures) "expensive" audio equipment thinks all "else" is nothing but trash. In my opinion, that's doing a injustice to people in general. Not everyone with expensive audio equipment thinks like that.
@@Mark-lq3sb Nope. I know there is all kinds of audiophile (including a lot that also think of it as a derogatory word). I'm not crapping on anyone. Paul has heard better and mine would be like looking at another custom 1976 Ford Pinto to him while he makes 2021 formula one race cars. I grew up in a world of blue-collar audiophiles before the internet. As teens we all tried to outdo one another and we all had older family members that were willing to sell off their stuff to us underlings as they moved up the ladder. We knew who's stuff we liked and who's we didn't and company name reputation or audio bigwigs had no influence. I worked all summer to buy my first receiver I fell in love with at 12 years old from one of them. Then I started working for a guy at 17 that had a friend that owned a local high end audio chain. Money was no object between those two but (imho) even the best systems they came up with the only real benefit I saw was how they would still sound good louder than what I could do with their left overs and other junk. As a teen through today that matters to me and was one reason I moved into auto audio for a couple decades. I never had a real issue getting something to sound good even on a budget but again I use another audiophile taboo, an EQ on everything and always have. And I could give a crap about the pathway. You drive down a mountain road that sometimes bend to the right or left with guardrails so we don't go off the side as you descend even though the quickest path would be a straight line from top to bottom. The issue is with the straight line road top to bottom is most cars won't be able to make the clime to the top and the others will crash at the bottom because they can't stop. EQ = guardrails. I was just looking inside one of my IRS IIIa's and between where the speaker wire terminal comes in to the beginning of the crossover components for the tweeter alone there is 4 contact points and a fuse that it all has to go through. Something in the pathway.......
So I get it. There is Indy cars, nascar cars, street rods, grocery getters and Yugo's. They all have their place.
Maybe it was magical tea. Good story!
Great story. What were his tweaks?
@6:30 this guy spent years tweaking to utter perfection.
so don't leave us hanging, what tweaks did he apply?
whatever worked for his room, his exact system and his locale.
his tweaks would likely only ever work in this exact manner
Hi Paul
Do you know anything regarding
infinity c336 ?
Just got them and listening and I’m just wondering what other brands are the same level with those , because there is not much reviews out there ?
Thanks in advance
love an asahi!
It is instresting what a musical source was used in the super tweaked system?
Unexpectedly good sounding system. Any Sony from Walmart.
Paul said it himself going back, even gear on the lower end of the spectrum is capable of sounding good to an extent, within its own limits of course : D
Ain't that what it's all about??
@@martyjewell5683 Whats that? Lower end gear? Its funny that if certain mid-grade older gear were made and sold new today it be considered hi-end to todays standards.
@@AllboroLCD yup, and us mid-line audio-ers probably couldn't afford the twenty first century price tag. Bet manufactures wouldn't invest the $$$ needed to bring that dream to fruition. I will never cease to be amazed at the quality of the "budget class" audio offered in late 1970's/ early 80's. Some really good stuff was available and is still in good working order today!
This is just a pair of Wilsons with Spectral amps....this sounded unexpectedly good?
I was waiting to hear something like a Marantz amp with Yamaha speakers or something...
Im using the old Dac digital link iii. I want to change into ps audio gaincell dac. But in my country (vietnam), we dont have ps audio store, so i dont have opportunity to feel it. Is this dac better than the old one? I will buy it on amazon. And what is the difference btw stellar adn perfect wave. I want to buy this dac to use with amplifier s300.
Hope to receive ur answer
Thank you :)
20x15ft = fairly small room. In Japan XD.
Sounds more like the Japanese equivalent of an industrial loft.
Hey Paul, been watching you for some time now and do like your no-nonsense approach to explaining things to the rest of us. I've been a fan of clear, crisp sounds that have a musicality to them but, forgive my ignorance, I simply do not understand the self-righteousness people in the audio world display when it comes to audio gear.
In the past, I've heard you, Steve Guttenburg and possibly a few others, bash Bose on multiple occasions. Here's my thing...
What is true sound? For the 99% of us, who've never been to a studio recording, we'd never know how EXACTLY that strumming on the electric guitar should sound. Also the source sound too has to make its way through the recording electronics which, for all intents and purposes, may be beefing up the sound or scarier still, taking away from it.
Just like you, I might be rambling...but I bought these Bose AM-5s (Series 1) over 40 years ago and for the longest time, I thought they were good enough to fill the room with sound, stored them away for about 20 years got myself different electronics, speakers and the like. 2 years ago, I hooked up the AM-5s to an old Sherwood integrated Amp, Schitt DAC and sourced it through my iPad using Apple's (now) lossless service. I was blown away! Truly blown away. And don't get me wrong, I'm comparing the sound to Magnas, Martin Logans, Klipsch, JBLs and the like. Not sure, how this can be, but, I think I've stumbled upon electronic chemistry.
And hey thanks for clearing our minds on a number of things we didn't know.
What did he do to his system if he only bought those pieces and stuck with it? Did he tweak the crossovers?
Hi Paul would it be possible to talk about the importance of good/bad structure/s to house an expense or budget hi-fi system
CHeers
K
My rule of thumb: If a piece of gear costs more than your monthly rent or mortgage payment, it's probably out of budget.
Based on this, I need to upgrade my apartment before I can upgrade my system any further. 😂
Where can I write a question to Paul? What is the e-mail address?
I used to try to tell fellow audiophiles that tweaking the speakers angle and height to the accuracy of the thickness of a hair (scary to consider) can make the difference between sounding like an audio system playing music in the room, or actual instruments playing in a room (to scale).... The fear of sounding too fanatical caused me to give up in trying to explain. Same goes for cables and AC polarity... Its like fine tuning a microscope to get a three dimensional clarity... No, I am not Japanese. But, I definitely identify with them in that regard.
Enjoy the low humidity, the east coast high humidity sucks, especially in the summer.
Best regards from Romania,Paul! I want to make 2 decent quality speakers for audition at home and i planning to use drivers from MOREL brand.
For tweeter Morel Elite ET 448
For mid-range Morel Elite EM 1308
For woofer Morel Elite EW 638
Can you tell me something about this drivers(if you know about them),if are good or not,should i use ported or sealed cabinet
Thank you!
Cool story
You all should hear my T2024 based amp with coaxial 2 way cardboard speakers ...
That sounds like a great system, you’d think mine was shit then
Interesting that Paul is such a fan of Japanese food, given that very little of it is truly vegetarian (longtime Tokyo resident here).
Loved it 🙏
Nice story! Now I want sushi....
is like my korean made sony reciever with tripath 2020 transitors, brand new with the satelite speakers sounded like trash back in the day (2001) but i spend two years matching better speakers and tuning up the oem subwoofer, I upgraded some internals like nichicon capacitors, then added a tinny tube (GE tubes) preamp to the chain, and a pair of sony SS CEX 01 as main speakers, I use it as 2.1 the result is awesome, very spatial and powerfull sound like you are heareing some oldschool infinity speakers on a fancy hi fi audio chain, it just teletransports you to another dimensión haha I still can't belive it
holy shit balls ,that made my morning ..and i visited japan in my mind..
Matching components together properly is the key to a great sounding system. You don’t necessarily have to spend your life’s savings either. Just Knowing what you are doing.
There are a lot of great audio systems throughout the Orient Countries. The music and music artist they typically listen to can be addictive to people in the West, even if you don’t understand the languages. Many people in the West are discovering this music for the first time and they get hooked on it. I have been listening to it for more than a decade. I have large collections of it I saved from TH-cam over the many years.
The stars align sometimes
I've had over a dozen pair of really nice speakers come & go through my living room, but I've had one particular pair for over 20 years that just sound RIGHT in the room. The low end is a tad voluptuous, but in a controlled satisfying way. These speakers don't sound like that in my other listening room.... My point is..... we don't know how many speakers & amps Mr. Japanese Guy went through to create a system that sings "just right" in HIS particular room. I usually don't like the sound of Wilson's at shows & dealers, but I have been surprised by them a couple times with amazing sound.
*just a pair of Wilsons* haha ok :)
And that is 99% true.
see,... all about the setup!!! lol!
Great story Paul " holy shit balls! "
Well done. Keep em coming.
All the best. Stay safe and healthy.
I haven't seen,touched or listened to a pair of Wilson yet probably never will do given my prime is well behind my back.
I've heard Wilsons at many shows & dealers, and was mostly underwhelmed. Usually they sound dry, lifeless boring. BUT.... a couple times I have been surprised with really amazing sound.