I saw the title and i though, :O that's my question. Thanks for the answer! Really appreciate it! You almost got my name right! 😊, don't worry about it. It's a really hard to pronounce name to non bulgarian speaking people.
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio Hey, i said don't worry about it! It's hard to pronounce for everyone who is not familiar with the cyrillic alphabet, and you almost got it !! Thanks for the answer! 😊. Can't wait for the new videos! Wanna see more of the new Music room one! Now i feel bad for even mentioning it!
I think the one thing people miss that audio is a system. It’s not just how much you spend, but how well each component in the chain plays with each other. For example, I think my primaluna amplifier, pairs well with the marantz 2230 phonostage driving focal 926s. The marantz is warm and tubish. The primaluna is bright and detailed. The focals are efficient and responsive. It’s a system :)
I worked in an independent audio shop back in the 70's. We had "audiophile" speakers of that day on display. I had access to try them at home with my own system. Even though I had tubes, a good number of them sounded very disappointing. Then I took home an unassuming in appearance pair of speakers and hooked them up. It was just night and day. I just had my first audiophile speaker experience. I sat there shaking my head in amazement saying to myself..."What is this!?" They do not make them anymore. KEF 104ab's. Then I noticed KEF got fancy and more sophisticated in engineering approach (looked good for marketing) but I no longer heard that same musical sound and depth. Sometimes, in the name of progress? Some will kill the goose that would have kept laying golden eggs. Those unassuming looking speakers were like walking into a surprise birthday party. That's what audiophile speakers should do.
A speaker that is consider Audiophile or for that matter anything in audio is a product that has achieved a reputation in the audio community as one that offers high performance and a musical experience. Once a product builds that reputation in the industry as offering high performance often that designer gets the reputation as a good designer and usually means any product that comes from that brand as a high end product. So it really comes down to brand recognition in the high end community. Then the trick is finding the speakers that offer the performance and sound quality you like within the budget you are wanting stay in AND will work best in the room and placement restriction that may be a factor. There are many brands of high end speakers and all have different sonic characters, so it does come down to how you hear sounds and music and what reproduces music the most to your liking.
I don't think BOSE was meant, because BOSE doesn't care at all about being linear. They do lots of sounding, trying to make it sound pleasant etc. They don't look at measurements, they don't release them, and they discredit them as not meaning anything. (Though recent products have gotten better...). To be honest I have no idea who could be meant. Nubert isn't a big enough name, though they do pay a lot of attention to measurements. However they also try to make good sounding speakers, and usually succeed at that. I was bitterly disappointed with B&W recently, but what I heard was from their 6xx series.
All speakers are flawed. PS Audio will be too. Find a speaker that sounds right to you and works in your room at a price you can afford. Very simple, just like world peace
exactly, because what sound you want is your problem not others. Some want very analytically sounding speakers while others want some warmer but maybe more dull sound. And what speaker you want is also very dependent on what budget and room you have of course.
@@oysteinsoreide4323 I seem to have gotten very lucky in my search for good speakers, in a fairly tight budget. Started with beginner B&W and KEF, then moved up to some just okay Klipsch. After that came the awakening with a pair of Vienna Acoustic's "Haydn" speakers, and then I lucked into a pair of ADS L810's and found nirvana.
I sometimes wonder if the guys that make the $100,000+ speakers have to dumb down their lesser speakers so they don't sound as good as their more expensive speakers. And perhaps the guys who don't make the super speakers can just do their best without worrying about their high priced market. Just a thought. I'm holding off on my speaker purchase until I can hear what the PS Audio guys come up with.
I don't think so. Because making good speakers costs money. I've listened to Backes & Müller BM Line 25 and 35, and both sounded absolutely amazing. The latter go for around 75k Euro. But the brand also have higher end speakers that'll cost you 500k for a pair. I can't imagine them holding back. There's always diminishing returns. The more you spend, the smaller the improvements will be. And at a certain point, it's about bragging rights. It's about looks. It's about perfection. Oh, I've got a 500k speaker. It's a bit the point of having one of those. That it IS unattainable to most. And that it does look the most impressive. If you look at lesser Backes & Müller (like their Prime series), you'll find that they'll use fewer drivers. They aren't as gigantic. They won't be as impressive in the bass department. They might be more critical to placement, because in order to fix that you'll need more material. So naturally by making it cheaper there come limitations that will make them not as good. However tech developed for the best of the best can trickle down to lesser models, as has happened with many manufacturers. KEF is bringing down their UniQ (?) drivers to lesser models. B&M has their sensor controlled speaker cones that compare the actual position with the position it should be at any given moment across their line now. Etc.
Looking at the measurements of speakers and measuring speakers is great. The final decision should come down to your ears and the way they sound in your room.
I would like to take issue just a bit if I may. Listening to music and making a connection with the music, musicians, the writer/composer and the people doing the techie recording stuff, is more than just slapping your tucus in a chair and cranking the box up. I think listeners have to immerse themselves in the sound and listen not just hear. That takes an instrument which is designed to help the listener listen deeply if he wants to get the most out of the experience. How many $99 specials do that?
Good point Scotty, one that Paul makes elsewhere. Just to recap little, I believe Paul suggests audiophilia is in a life-like connection to the event such as being able to accurately recreate live or life-like experience of being at the feet of the music so to speak. For that to happen requires a fairly high degree of sophisticated equipment that just isn't found in the bargain basement gear. At least not the bottom rung stuff or even the near bottom stuff. Otherwise you might as well just turn up your alarm clock radio. If all a listener wants is to experience recreated noise that isn't overly bad, then the $99 hardware would be fine. He goes on to say - as others do - that the experience is subjective for the most part. Maybe it can best be described thusly: If you want an omelet you have to have eggs. If you want a GOOD omelet you use GOOD eggs.
@@scottyo64 - To answer the first part of your comment, I think we are talking two different things. The first is the desire and the longing to be a practicing audiophile and the second is the financial wherewithal to accomplish the fact. Then again, you never miss what you never had. If all you have is a $100 you won't miss the $20,000 rig.
Good video. I definitely agree. And also good sound is subjective. I think the majority would know the difference between "audiophile" and not but everyone has different preferences and ideas on what sounds good to them. Its could be a $100 set of bookshelves or a $80,000 electrostat.
So far, the only speakers that have ever wowed me are JBL L200's from the mid 1970's. I'm still saving for a pair. Until then my JBL L100t3's are filling in with effortless volume bringing out jewel like details. I'm very satisfied, they sound very musical to me.
@@jurgernst9426 First of all, no, they don't measure flat, and are often criticized for that (by people who don't know better). Secondly, they are developed by measuring and listening, about 50/50. Also the 800-series sounds great. I think they reached their peak with the 800D. Sean Olive at Harman Group however, is obsessed with a flat response, and most of their speakers sound bad. Harman is, by the way, one of the biggest brands in the industry.
Speakers are like food, one man’s disgust, another man’s delicacy That’s why we have so many speaker manufacturer and all selling good. It’s the diversity of preferences. Find your own! @Paul, thank a lot for all these informative videos. By the way, you forgot Focal!
Sir what is your review of the P-Audio woofers which are Thailand made. If you've ever experienced their sound, please rate them against the cheaper alternatives available worldwide. In India, we do not have a market for expensive high end speakers, all that we can get is P-Audio and equivalent which are about 200$ woofer drivers for 10 or 12inch size. They are made of material called Kapton and not aluminium or kevlar or carbon fibre. I just recently watched your video and amazed of your vast experience. Thank you
I didn't find "audiophile" in the truest sense until I obtained COHERENT speakers driven with mono blocks. Did the other speakers - amps combo's sound - YES. Audiophile - NOT NECESSARILY. I like to consider the audiophile designation to be assigned to a sound that does not draw the listener into the shift of mind to notice the flaw in the sound. It's ok to sound less than perfect in some ways as long as it does not continuously pull on the listeners ear to notice discontinuity in the flow of sound usually very obvious. Do headphone create audiophile sound - not the ones I have. Headphone just do not create the whole sound experience of the environment. Although headphones sometimes are more "accurate" to specific parts of the music.
hmmmm! We both like Harbeth (lossy cabinet, resonance of a lower q and frequency) and I think he could be talking about a manufacturer who holds their somewhat opposite values on enclosure construction. I, for one do not like strange audible peaks in my last two octaves, which still has little to do with cabinets, besides diffraction minimization and driver design and instantaneous target market appeasement. I love neutral, slightly warm speakers.
Personally, I would have thought an audiophile loudspeaker would be defined by how closely it can reproduce the original performance. All the parameters - frequency response, dynamic range, 'imaging' etc - would be covered by that because deficiency in a parameter would reduce the 'being there' effect.
I see that most retail stores are trying to sell speakers that have no bottom end without an active woofer. The markup is outrageous for the sound you get. I am so lucky that my home built 3 ways put them to shame. People just want earth shaking noise. They don't unwind and are not taught. Most retail salesmen are not trained either. Just sell , sell ,sell.
I live in Aurora CO and i was wondering as just a high school graduate what is your opinion on the best ways to get into car/home audio as a career outside of the usual main street stereo shop?
You are corect, over 90% of speakers sound bad, but that's what EQ's are for...perhaps 90% of those bad speakers can be fixed with EQ and DSP...My Bose Soundlink Mini speaker sounds horrible, but my EQ fixes it...Same with my headphones, I have a pair of old Sony headphones that sound ok, but just with some EQ tunning hey open up and sound better than my Grado headphones. So bassicaly, if the speakers are OK...you can make them great! The easyest way I found to do it is play with the slikders untill I get the harmonics and tone right, it takes a while, because you have to go back and forth, but you can make an OK speaker sound like a live concert!
It's not the speakers it's the listener who is the audiophile. The transducer does not love music! Sadly Paul does not get to "take his speakers home".
Building a Speaker is theoretically pure Maths/ Physics. A clever Man/ Woman can learn this, understand this and build a mathematically/ physically 100% perfect Speaker. Than, ther are some Guys, who got Math, Physics and something you can't learn, u got to have it: the Magic to take the same good Components as everyone else, but in his Hands it doesn't become a good Speaker, it becomes a superior Speaker. For those People, if they're building Amplifiers/ Speakers, Race Car engines or Skyscrapers, that thing they are working on, is not a Thing, it is their greatest Enemy, there Lover and finally their Child. I think, for building the best Speakers, u need both, Brain & Heart ;) .
If Paul can come up with a speaker that sounds as good as a properly driven Infinity Kappa 8 I will be impressed. That woofer is a beast. Not sure I like aluminum it's stiff like a gong. Arnie used carbon graphite.
This is how I view it. Flat means lackluster, dull, it's good for studios. Neutral means it doesn't emphasize on some sound frequencies (ex. Bass boost), they are all empasized harmoniously pleasing to the listeners and that's the musicality (what some audiophiles looks for). They're two different things. Some bass boosted speakers for dance clubs have musicality but they are not neutral nor flat. Some Karaoke speakers and instrument speakers have good sounding mids. Bass guitar speakers can have good sounding lows. Only the musician's speakers connected to their music instrument are what I consider accurate because it's actually connected to the source of the sound. A designer (audiophile) speaker is formulated to sound more pleasing and more musical than listening to the live band source because it can balance, seperate, clearly projects each part of the music and can completely control the sounds that arrives in your ear and every designer of speakers have their own formula and skills. The live bands doesn't have complete control over how sounds will arrive in your ears. A non designer speakers were just slapped together without tuning.
Well flat in this regard refers to the frequency response as measured. How is it measured is the first question. There are many other factors that have a great impact on how a speaker sounds and how it interacts within a given living space. Frequency response can give you a general idea of the character of a speaker but not much more. I have much more faith in the opinions of folks that are listening to music and then describing what they hear. I may not hear the same thing but that gives a good starting point.
That's true the best speaker should reproduce the same sound recorded in the studio without coloring/changing the sound no matter what type of music u play jazz, rock, classic, vocals. Etc.. , it should sound accurate in all frequency spectrum 20hz to 20khz.And one of the main reasons for a speaker to sound good in a room is to have a reasonable flat off axis and not only on axis. And keep in mind the most expensive and high quality speaker will sound bad if it's placed in a bad shape room like small cubic with parallel walls . Rooms have almost 50% impact on the sound. So flat on and off axis, wide frequency response, good efficiency, very low cabinet resonance.,all are elements for a good speaker design
@@michelkh87 If the "best speakers should reproduce the same sound recorded in studio" and "should sound accurate" then all these best speakers would all sound the same. It would sound just like the monitor speakers used in the studio. I haven't experienced this to be true. "No coloration", without actually having listened to the master tape and studio peakers as reference, can't be verified because there's no way to know which was enhanced. So, if the goal is to find the most accurate, buy the same studio speakers that produced the album. If the goal is to celebrate with the music, buy the most pleasing speakers within the budget.
@@paterdoloris yes u r right and it is indeed a difficult question to answer. why if we aim accuracy then why don't we buy the same speaker used in the studio. And there r too many answers for this I will mention some first unfortunately there is no standard speaker used for audio recording /mastering. Second most monitor speakers used in studios are not high end they can be flat but can't go well below 40 or 50hz so no bass extention. Yes high end consumer's speakers adds more spaceness and bass extention compared to normal priced monitor speakers. There are of course monitors which can cover the whole audible frequencies All the way from 20hz to 20khz but they r so expensive like for example the jbl M2. In reality yes every brand has somehow its own sound signature birght, dark, punchy bass,open.etc.. And something else monitor speakers might work well and maintaine flat frequency response only in studios' acoustically treated walls ' and near field listening while they sound very bad in normal living rooms. In my opinion consumer's high end loudspeakers have more sophisticated design cabinet design, crossover, etc..
What you said at the end I agree with 100%. Speakers are all flawed, and very few of them actually sound good. Took me 30 years to find a speaker I actually really like, which ironically have aluminum woofers.
the problem is the word “audiophile” is simply a subjective and personal designation ... like am i “rich” or am i “poor”? ... as paul said ... we can use figures (eg measurements & graphs) to classify speakers ... but the final gauge are the individual ears of the listeners ... perhaps what paul may be saying is ... that we each will define what to us is “audiophile” ... as we hear and listen to our kind of musiK?
There's a balance to be struck between too much reliance on meters, and none. In fact that's why nobody can stand Steve Guttenberg's "audiophiliac" channel for long, and I know because I always read lots of comments and people mention this constantly on other youtubers' channels. And that is, because he never quantizes anything. Ever. You gotta have SOME modicum of measure, if for no other sake than as a yardstick.
Magneplanars could never compete with the better Infinities. The Kappas still kick their asses even today. No bass! But I do think that Magneplanar 3.7i may be a sweet setup or even the 1.7i or the 0.7i apparently they are making progress.
@@SJMessinwithBoats1 I need to listen to some new ones. The old ones sounded good as long as you sat in the right spot. They never did and still don't have bass. Apparently the ribbon tweeter on the 3.7i is sweet at 3x the price of the 1.7i. Still no bass but two subs would make that problem go away. I guess the bass on the new ones is better than it used to be but still doesn't get "down" there in frequency.
They certainly intrigue me, although I never look a listen to them. I remember a speaker called the ""tower" sported driver alignment through tilted baffle face. Paul's got me all going.... whipping out a driver like that, then talkin' shop!!
Hi Paul! I've seen TH-cam videos of huge expensive horn loaded speakers that sound like they are in an echo. Yet people are praising them in the comments. I don't understand how people can like that. My ears would get so fatigued after just a few minutes.
I have to disagree with your assessment that linear doesn't make for good sounding speakers. I own a pair of Nubert speakers, which lean towards a flat and linear sound, and they can absolutely sound wonderful. And I've listened to Backes & Müller BM Line 35, which ought to be really flat, but they'll make you grin from ear to ear. Almost guaranteed. It doesn't even matter what the source material is. The immediacy, the precision, the clarity, the way they move air and play the entire frequency range with perfection. Now, what someone defines as audiophile or not is an individual thing, IMHO. Different strokes for different people, I guess. For me I like it when the music leaves the speaker, when you hear all the range without emphasis on anything, when you can hear all the details. When it becomes alive. When you close your eyes and can imagine the band is standing right in front of you. In all of this, being flat helps. Like, being actually flat. Not sounding flat.
Hi Paul, You've never, ever mention Avalon speakers when mentioning other brands of "musical" speakers (they are in the neighborhood), which I found quite musical. You just forget or you don't like them, period?
I have owned Avalon speakers and, in fact, they were once my reference speakers. I think they're excellent imaging speakers and they are local. I rarely mention them because they are so niche and require so much attention to the room that they are not for most people.
PS Audio indeed, they're not for everyone and take ages to break in. But once you find the right partnership and room placement they are just fabulous, imaging is just one of their many attributes. Thanks for replying.
Great video Paul thank you! A question for all: Has anyone had a system so good that they have been convinced that what they were hearing was really happening?
I'm pretty new to all this, but I was at Academy Records in Manhattan and heard some music playing, and thought "hey, that sounds like real instruments---maybe they have a chamber group in a back room," then I thought "hm, wait, I don't think there's a room for that in here." I thought all this before ever turning my head to try to find out what was really going on. I listened carefully again, and concluded, "this is definitely real," and then turned around and saw a small Harbeth speaker which I assume was a P3ESR tucked way up in a corner by the ceiling. Not sure the system, though. Even though I'm new to this audiophile stuff and haven't really heard much equipment, I'm a musician so I have been around instruments a lot and trust my ear to recognize subtleties. I watched a tour of a Harbeth facility with someone named Alan Shaw, who was asked what kind of tolerances they aim for during some stage of the testing, and he's like "oh no, we don't do that," as in "no margin of error is acceptable." I'm paraphrasing but I really loved his reaction and kind of fantasize about being able to afford some of those speakers one day. Sorry for the long (and late) comment, and maybe you've all already heard these speakers a million times. I was impressed, though!
Just goes to show cost means nothing! You can spent £20,000 on some speakers/system and it sounds bad?? That's why i do not believe in spending vast amounts on Amps, Sources it is not necessary but a damn good set of loudspeakers is essential as Paul says.
I have about ten pairs of speakers, most mid-fi vintage, nothing costing me more than 1200 bucks ,Am I an audiophile? I dont think the speakers define audiophile, I think the listener defines audiophile.....would I not be an audiophile because I dont have 5 or 25 grand for speakers?
Have you ever heard of Quadral speakers made from Quadral? I believe they are from germany and have built speakers since the 80s I got the Quadral Orkan and just want to know your opinion on those if you have a reference at all. Thanks in advance
DiY: Build your own speakers. Put a little money in to get some experience. Build active subwoofers, that helps with room problems. Use selfbuilding websites.
I'll attempt a quicker answer: An audiophile loudspeaker is a virtually... nonexistent one! Now I'll add up to this: It's not just a music maker, it's both a truth-and-magic creator. It creates a beautiful whole new world in front of you and then departs subtly, neatly, quietly, leaving you alone to fully enjoy it (eyes closed and lights lowered). It will better your experience with any better piece of equipment you'll bring in to it's support or any better quality recording you'll throw into your source. It will always tell you the truth and it will never deprive you of any of the magic that exists inside the recording and the performances of the accompanying electronics. Now, having said all that, the loudspeaker is not alone. It exists and functions inside a ROOM. This room must be very well taken care of (acoustically), in order for the proper, audiophile loudspeaker to do both its truth-and-magic trick. Sorry, not easy. But worth it! (and one last thing: In my humble opinion, NO SMALL loudspeaker can be truly an audiophile one. Except, perhaps, for very small rooms. Or, greatly supported by subwoofers).
To my mind, audiophile/audiophilia is a mind set/behaviour. It’s the desire and determination to get a sound that you find appealing. Some people’s ultimate speaker is pretty unappealing to me, I’ve heard Avantgarde horns and Wilson speakers and they’ve left me rather cold. The Avantgardes were just uninteresting and the Wilsons were uncomfortably bright... on the other hand, I have a pair of Royd Audio Sapphires from 1991 in my dining room that I paid £60 for of a forum, they’re not perfect by any means but they are musically engaging, if you wind the wick up a little, they’re fun and exciting.
I so wanted to like the Avantgardes. I wanted something that would mate with my S.E.T. amp. I heard three models all demoed by an Avantgared rep, and I hated them all.
John LeBeau I went to hear them expecting to be blown away and was left rather disappointed. They were a bit boring and if anything a bit “quacky”. My much more modestly priced Linn system just ate it for breakfast (to my ears at least). Some speakers I expected to be underwhelmed by but actually really liked (on the same day) were Audionote AN-Js on their dedicated stands, those boogied really well.
Nah, the contrary is true I think, most loudspeakers out there are pretty decent. A good fifty years have passed since the 70's, this is a mature craft. You think a labcoat company like Harman kardon doesn't know how to make good speakers? Probably better than most since they do proper blind tests. Any cheap JBL would put a good fight against any audiophile speakers once you close your eyes.
After Harmon Kardon bought out Infinity was when the quality immediately dropped. Yeah they knew how to take Arnie Nudells brilliance and cheapen it up with crappier drivers that were smaller and in smaller cabinets.
Roberto Calvo so true, I've used JBLs since 1973, and they are better than most. My daughter has a cheaper pair of JBLs that sound substantially better than $14,000 Dali. In an interview, from this month, Kenji of KRS in Tokyo mentioned how most of the vintage JBL monitors or consumer JBL he works with, have tweeters that roll off around 20 kHz and that's all you really need. Many speakers that artificially push HF to 30 kHz and beyond sound less than right. And Kenji is right....listen to a 1950's JBL Paragon, in proper working condition (especially one refurbished by KRS) it really doesn't get any better than that.
@@miltoncrosbie5567 Can you provide the exact model of JBL and Dali? I'm just really curios, because people rarely compare speakers from different companies directly. As about the difference in sound quality - I personally have a preference for classic design of speakers, such as JBL, Dynaudio, ATC, Harbeth and similar. The reason is that the speakers used in studio environments usually are classic box speakers, so the music ends up tailored for those types of speakers. Speakers with other type of design, such as Dali's speakers with their ribbon tweeter, may end up sounding worse, because they may reproduce something that wasn't meant to be there, or they just may sound completely off... While I do think that unusual designs may have their advantages, I still feel that classic box speakers are a safer choice those days and they are more balanced overall.
Audiophile is best employed as a description of a person striving for a higher level of understanding of audio equipment rather than a measurement of perceived quality of an audio product in my opinion. All too easy for any manufacturer to tag this name onto any level of product.
This is a very subjective judgement. Unfortunately too often the vendors like to promote audiophile products as those that also come with a premium price tag.
"So few" good-sounding speakers? I contend that there are a Lot of good-sounding speakers, but so few people know how to Find them, and fewer still are willing to spend the money (in 2019, at least $225 per cabinet for anything that even approaches decent sound quality). I know something that is called an "audiophile" speaker probably can't be had for that little; maybe $500 would be closer, and $800 would move a person another inch in that direction. But more money doesn't guarantee better sound: I've heard some utterly awful speakers with $2,500+ price tags.
Let say you make a wall of just speakers if you use a good 3-way filter and connect all the speakers in series and parallel so the speakers are only outputting say a quarter of their maximum amount then it will newer be a problem if the speaker(s) are crappy or simple made, tested this with so many speakers now, even the cheapest car speakers, you just have to balance it out with more speakers with another dynamic range thats all, a wall of speakers that is really nice to listen to, dont forget to mount a center too btw.
Audiophile speakers are the ones that are so expensive that you only can efford them when you are not young anymore and your hearing have already become bad.
99% of all speakers around the world? That over-generalization don't you think? I think what you mean that 1% of speakers out there is just what you like most Paul.
If 99% of speakers sound bad, non-musical, flawed and you would not want to take them home, then what chance does PS Audio have for success with your forthcoming speaker designs? Closer to 1% or 99%?
I have to agree with Paul that hi end audio speakers are very tough to find that sound extremely well. Although I feel it all comes down to energy within the system as a whole. I also think that people can be influenced by the popular brand names and get suckered into believing they're the best and nothing else! There are a hundred and one variables it comes down to this question so is it all right answer? In reality, the only person knows is that person themselves if they're comfortable with it it love the sound to them then so be it.
You cannot beat a good set of Hi Fi speakers , they fill the room with sound that is FUN . Being pined to a chair cannot be fun. I tun mine UP as far as I dire . Stop listening & feel it . Get your moneys worth . Thats my crap comment lol
To find the best speakers you need to listen to a lot of products everywhere you can, anytime you can. Don't expect anything, just listen. After a while you will get bored, but you may, sometimes listen to great system, and sometimes music can become magic. It's not magic because it's expensive, or because it sounds lood, or anything like this. Magic by musicality... when you can say : that's it, that's the sound I want in my home, this one and not another one. Forget the price of the components, they may cost a lot but it's not important. If it sounds magic that mean the speaker can communicate this magic effect... now you know what speaker to buy... you have your goal. I've waited 7 years to buy my speakers... and they are still far from the best they can offer. I know they can go so far...
That's only blabla. The question is not, what good sound is but what the right sound is. And the right sound can only be repoduced by flat speakers. So the most flat speaker ist the most audiophile speaker. Maybe 97% of the recordings don't sound good on a flat speaker but that doesn't mean that the speaker doesn't sound good, that means that the recordings aren't good. Studiomonitors are the only audiophile speakers. They are tools for producing music. They are flat. Everything else is just a question of personal preferences. If you spend 10 000 bugs for very high quality speakers that doesn't have a flat frequecy response and you are happy with them, it's totally ok for me, those speakers may sound absolutely beautiful but they won't sound right. That's the harsh trueth.
I'm confused. First, how come it is a shame that speakers that are more accessible to more folks sound "more audiophile" than the super expensive so-called "audiophile speakers"? Last I checked with my reality and fairness meter that shows as a good thing and the best part is it promotes music because more folks have access to good sound. In the beginning you start listing speakers across the spectrum that you consider musical or "audiophile" and give positive tone in your voice to. Then towards the end you talk like the PS Audio speakers are going to be the only speakers worth a listen that everyone should buy while saying 99% of all speakers are flawed. That is a clear contradiction. The use of the word "flawed" here is incorrect. In my opinion it would be more correct to say that 99% (it is really 100%) of speakers are colored or flavored. "Flawed" means something is physically wrong or damaged or not functioning. By saying 99% of speakers are flawed, you just included the speakers you thought to be musical and "worthy" at the beginning. Also, I hate to break it to you, but the PS Audio speakers will also be "flawed". Doesn't so good, does it. I would rather say the PS Audio speakers will be flavored or colored due to restrictions by the laws of physics, but they will be very musical. I would be curious to hear them myself, but never will as I have no shops and there are no shows in California anymore. I have a different list of speakers from you that I consider musical and the next person will have another different list. In my opinion, the best way to know if any speakers are musical is with ones ears. Unfortunately, that is becoming more impossible everyday thanks to the internet.
I saw the title and i though, :O that's my question. Thanks for the answer! Really appreciate it!
You almost got my name right! 😊, don't worry about it. It's a really hard to pronounce name to non bulgarian speaking people.
Great question, thank you for asking it. 😀
Sorry, didn't mean to bash your name.
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio Hey, i said don't worry about it! It's hard to pronounce for everyone who is not familiar with the cyrillic alphabet, and you almost got it !!
Thanks for the answer! 😊.
Can't wait for the new videos!
Wanna see more of the new Music room one!
Now i feel bad for even mentioning it!
I think the one thing people miss that audio is a system. It’s not just how much you spend, but how well each component in the chain plays with each other. For example, I think my primaluna amplifier, pairs well with the marantz 2230 phonostage driving focal 926s. The marantz is warm and tubish. The primaluna is bright and detailed. The focals are efficient and responsive. It’s a system :)
I worked in an independent audio shop back in the 70's. We had "audiophile" speakers of that day on display. I had access to try them at home with my own system. Even though I had tubes, a good number of them sounded very disappointing. Then I took home an unassuming in appearance pair of speakers and hooked them up. It was just night and day. I just had my first audiophile speaker experience. I sat there shaking my head in amazement saying to myself..."What is this!?" They do not make them anymore. KEF 104ab's. Then I noticed KEF got fancy and more sophisticated in engineering approach (looked good for marketing) but I no longer heard that same musical sound and depth. Sometimes, in the name of progress? Some will kill the goose that would have kept laying golden eggs. Those unassuming looking speakers were like walking into a surprise birthday party. That's what audiophile speakers should do.
A speaker that is consider Audiophile or for that matter anything in audio is a product that has achieved a reputation in the audio community as one that offers high performance and a musical experience. Once a product builds that reputation in the industry as offering high performance often that designer gets the reputation as a good designer and usually means any product that comes from that brand as a high end product. So it really comes down to brand recognition in the high end community. Then the trick is finding the speakers that offer the performance and sound quality you like within the budget you are wanting stay in AND will work best in the room and placement restriction that may be a factor. There are many brands of high end speakers and all have different sonic characters, so it does come down to how you hear sounds and music and what reproduces music the most to your liking.
5:30 coughbose
Sony, Philips, Pioneer. . .
Also following your channel.....love cigars
I don't think BOSE was meant, because BOSE doesn't care at all about being linear. They do lots of sounding, trying to make it sound pleasant etc. They don't look at measurements, they don't release them, and they discredit them as not meaning anything. (Though recent products have gotten better...). To be honest I have no idea who could be meant. Nubert isn't a big enough name, though they do pay a lot of attention to measurements. However they also try to make good sounding speakers, and usually succeed at that. I was bitterly disappointed with B&W recently, but what I heard was from their 6xx series.
@@kadajawi6567 Bose doesn't sound pleasant. They are harsh, muffled, and cause a lot of ear fatigue.
Sony has made some very good values, and still does. I’ve never heard an unlistenable Sony over $100. Their tonal balance is often admirable.
Paul...... your a good speaker! LoL
All speakers are flawed. PS Audio will be too. Find a speaker that sounds right to you and works in your room at a price you can afford. Very simple, just like world peace
exactly, because what sound you want is your problem not others. Some want very analytically sounding speakers while others want some warmer but maybe more dull sound. And what speaker you want is also very dependent on what budget and room you have of course.
@@oysteinsoreide4323 I seem to have gotten very lucky in my search for good speakers, in a fairly tight budget. Started with beginner B&W and KEF, then moved up to some just okay Klipsch. After that came the awakening with a pair of Vienna Acoustic's "Haydn" speakers, and then I lucked into a pair of ADS L810's and found nirvana.
I sometimes wonder if the guys that make the $100,000+ speakers have to dumb down their lesser speakers so they don't sound as good as their more expensive speakers. And perhaps the guys who don't make the super speakers can just do their best without worrying about their high priced market. Just a thought. I'm holding off on my speaker purchase until I can hear what the PS Audio guys come up with.
I'm sure they will be great given the bloodlines being what they are but I would wait for gen II myself.
I don't think so. Because making good speakers costs money. I've listened to Backes & Müller BM Line 25 and 35, and both sounded absolutely amazing. The latter go for around 75k Euro. But the brand also have higher end speakers that'll cost you 500k for a pair. I can't imagine them holding back. There's always diminishing returns. The more you spend, the smaller the improvements will be. And at a certain point, it's about bragging rights. It's about looks. It's about perfection. Oh, I've got a 500k speaker. It's a bit the point of having one of those. That it IS unattainable to most. And that it does look the most impressive.
If you look at lesser Backes & Müller (like their Prime series), you'll find that they'll use fewer drivers. They aren't as gigantic. They won't be as impressive in the bass department. They might be more critical to placement, because in order to fix that you'll need more material. So naturally by making it cheaper there come limitations that will make them not as good. However tech developed for the best of the best can trickle down to lesser models, as has happened with many manufacturers. KEF is bringing down their UniQ (?) drivers to lesser models. B&M has their sensor controlled speaker cones that compare the actual position with the position it should be at any given moment across their line now. Etc.
It has to be good looking furniture too I suppose.
Looking at the measurements of speakers and measuring speakers is great. The final decision should come down to your ears and the way they sound in your room.
What qualifies a speaker as audiophile? The one that sounds best to your ears.
DJ Southpaw ..... that's very laudable but you will always hear one that's better haha .. good luck !
I would like to take issue just a bit if I may. Listening to music and making a connection with the music, musicians, the writer/composer and the people doing the techie recording stuff, is more than just slapping your tucus in a chair and cranking the box up. I think listeners have to immerse themselves in the sound and listen not just hear. That takes an instrument which is designed to help the listener listen deeply if he wants to get the most out of the experience. How many $99 specials do that?
@@jlf9999 not all audiophiles have money. Who is to say what price makes something audiophile grade?
Good point Scotty, one that Paul makes elsewhere. Just to recap little, I believe Paul suggests audiophilia is in a life-like connection to the event such as being able to accurately recreate live or life-like experience of being at the feet of the music so to speak. For that to happen requires a fairly high degree of sophisticated equipment that just isn't found in the bargain basement gear. At least not the bottom rung stuff or even the near bottom stuff. Otherwise you might as well just turn up your alarm clock radio. If all a listener wants is to experience recreated noise that isn't overly bad, then the $99 hardware would be fine. He goes on to say - as others do - that the experience is subjective for the most part. Maybe it can best be described thusly: If you want an omelet you have to have eggs. If you want a GOOD omelet you use GOOD eggs.
@@scottyo64 - To answer the first part of your comment, I think we are talking two different things. The first is the desire and the longing to be a practicing audiophile and the second is the financial wherewithal to accomplish the fact. Then again, you never miss what you never had. If all you have is a $100 you won't miss the $20,000 rig.
Good video. I definitely agree. And also good sound is subjective. I think the majority would know the difference between "audiophile" and not but everyone has different preferences and ideas on what sounds good to them. Its could be a $100 set of bookshelves or a $80,000 electrostat.
So far, the only speakers that have ever wowed me are JBL L200's from the mid 1970's. I'm still saving for a pair. Until then my JBL L100t3's are filling in with effortless volume bringing out jewel like details. I'm very satisfied, they sound very musical to me.
Now that's passion!
5:30... He means Bose, it's gotta be Bose
A lot of Pre "Wave" Bose were deadly in the right hands. I will take all the old Bose home speaker I can get.1990's 8in 2ways, no direct reflecting.
Nah. BOSE doesn't care about being linear or measurements or anything like that.
I believe, Paul means B&W. They measure flat and sound like cardboard.
Possible. I wasn't too impressed with the 600 series.
@@jurgernst9426 First of all, no, they don't measure flat, and are often criticized for that (by people who don't know better). Secondly, they are developed by measuring and listening, about 50/50. Also the 800-series sounds great. I think they reached their peak with the 800D. Sean Olive at Harman Group however, is obsessed with a flat response, and most of their speakers sound bad. Harman is, by the way, one of the biggest brands in the industry.
What about MartinLogan Motion 35XT speakers? Entry high-end? Good sound?
Speakers are like food, one man’s disgust, another man’s delicacy
That’s why we have so many speaker manufacturer and all selling good.
It’s the diversity of preferences.
Find your own!
@Paul, thank a lot for all these informative videos. By the way, you forgot Focal!
What's your opinion on q acoustics concept 500
Sir what is your review of the P-Audio woofers which are Thailand made. If you've ever experienced their sound, please rate them against the cheaper alternatives available worldwide. In India, we do not have a market for expensive high end speakers, all that we can get is P-Audio and equivalent which are about 200$ woofer drivers for 10 or 12inch size. They are made of material called Kapton and not aluminium or kevlar or carbon fibre. I just recently watched your video and amazed of your vast experience. Thank you
I didn't find "audiophile" in the truest sense until I obtained COHERENT speakers driven with mono blocks. Did the other speakers - amps combo's sound - YES. Audiophile - NOT NECESSARILY. I like to consider the audiophile designation to be assigned to a sound that does not draw the listener into the shift of mind to notice the flaw in the sound. It's ok to sound less than perfect in some ways as long as it does not continuously pull on the listeners ear to notice discontinuity in the flow of sound usually very obvious. Do headphone create audiophile sound - not the ones I have. Headphone just do not create the whole sound experience of the environment. Although headphones sometimes are more "accurate" to specific parts of the music.
What design architecture are you adopting for the manufacture of that LF driver ? I'd love to know ...
hmmmm! We both like Harbeth (lossy cabinet, resonance of a lower q and frequency) and I think he could be talking about a manufacturer who holds their somewhat opposite values on enclosure construction. I, for one do not like strange audible peaks in my last two octaves, which still has little to do with cabinets, besides diffraction minimization and driver design and instantaneous target market appeasement. I love neutral, slightly warm speakers.
This was my number # 1 question.
Snell C/IV
Paul. The audio on your videos breaks up a lot. (over-modulated) could you turn down the volume of the mic to give more headroom?
Hi Paul. Great Answer. I love it!
I feel the same about speakers. There is so much unmusical stuff out there.
Personally, I would have thought an audiophile loudspeaker would be defined by how closely it can reproduce the original performance. All the parameters - frequency response, dynamic range, 'imaging' etc - would be covered by that because deficiency in a parameter would reduce the 'being there' effect.
Oh come on. How are we supposed to know which brands to avoid if you don't name them?
Aim high “Bowers & Wilkins” !! Nothing wrong starting with a set of these with out breaking your bank!! 😎
Speaking about German don t forget Quadral. There very musical and powerfull speakers.
Someone was selling Audiophile cassette tapes ! on eBay around Christmas time.
Pls tell me what “imaging”? “Warmth”? means.
whats your opinion on canton speakers especially on the vento and reference series
I own the vento 890.2 towers. Absolutely love them! They are extremely detailed, offered great Bass Imaging and soundstage
@@ryanschipp8513 would you say they got a rich/warm Sound?
@@BlackgoldTwinduck I'd say they are neutral.
Jeff Joseph of Joseph Audio... a perfect example of musical speakers
I see that most retail stores are trying to sell speakers that have no bottom end without an active woofer. The markup is outrageous for the sound you get. I am so lucky that my home built 3 ways put them to shame. People just want earth shaking noise. They don't unwind and are not taught. Most retail salesmen are not trained either. Just sell , sell ,sell.
I live in Aurora CO and i was wondering as just a high school graduate what is your opinion on the best ways to get into car/home audio as a career outside of the usual main street stereo shop?
In what capacity? Selling, building, designing....
You are corect, over 90% of speakers sound bad, but that's what EQ's are for...perhaps 90% of those bad speakers can be fixed with EQ and DSP...My Bose Soundlink Mini speaker sounds horrible, but my EQ fixes it...Same with my headphones, I have a pair of old Sony headphones that sound ok, but just with some EQ tunning hey open up and sound better than my Grado headphones. So bassicaly, if the speakers are OK...you can make them great! The easyest way I found to do it is play with the slikders untill I get the harmonics and tone right, it takes a while, because you have to go back and forth, but you can make an OK speaker sound like a live concert!
It's not the speakers it's the listener who is the audiophile.
The transducer does not love music!
Sadly Paul does not get to "take his speakers home".
Building a Speaker is theoretically pure Maths/ Physics. A clever Man/ Woman can learn this, understand this and build a mathematically/ physically 100% perfect Speaker. Than, ther are some Guys, who got Math, Physics and something you can't learn, u got to have it: the Magic to take the same good Components as everyone else, but in his Hands it doesn't become a good Speaker, it becomes a superior Speaker. For those People, if they're building Amplifiers/ Speakers, Race Car engines or Skyscrapers, that thing they are working on, is not a Thing, it is their greatest Enemy, there Lover and finally their Child. I think, for building the best Speakers, u need both, Brain & Heart ;) .
If Paul can come up with a speaker that sounds as good as a properly driven Infinity Kappa 8 I will be impressed. That woofer is a beast. Not sure I like aluminum it's stiff like a gong. Arnie used carbon graphite.
Does look like a subwoofer to me. I can't imagine that driver at 3 khz. I don't think that's his mid bass driver at all. (Coupler)
My brain is broken. I think flatter the speaker the better the sound. Please help me.
This is how I view it. Flat means lackluster, dull, it's good for studios. Neutral means it doesn't emphasize on some sound frequencies (ex. Bass boost), they are all empasized harmoniously pleasing to the listeners and that's the musicality (what some audiophiles looks for). They're two different things. Some bass boosted speakers for dance clubs have musicality but they are not neutral nor flat. Some Karaoke speakers and instrument speakers have good sounding mids. Bass guitar speakers can have good sounding lows. Only the musician's speakers connected to their music instrument are what I consider accurate because it's actually connected to the source of the sound. A designer (audiophile) speaker is formulated to sound more pleasing and more musical than listening to the live band source because it can balance, seperate, clearly projects each part of the music and can completely control the sounds that arrives in your ear and every designer of speakers have their own formula and skills. The live bands doesn't have complete control over how sounds will arrive in your ears. A non designer speakers were just slapped together without tuning.
Well flat in this regard refers to the frequency response as measured. How is it measured is the first question. There are many other factors that have a great impact on how a speaker sounds and how it interacts within a given living space. Frequency response can give you a general idea of the character of a speaker but not much more. I have much more faith in the opinions of folks that are listening to music and then describing what they hear. I may not hear the same thing but that gives a good starting point.
That's true the best speaker should reproduce the same sound recorded in the studio without coloring/changing the sound no matter what type of music u play jazz, rock, classic, vocals. Etc.. , it should sound accurate in all frequency spectrum 20hz to 20khz.And one of the main reasons for a speaker to sound good in a room is to have a reasonable flat off axis and not only on axis. And keep in mind the most expensive and high quality speaker will sound bad if it's placed in a bad shape room like small cubic with parallel walls . Rooms have almost 50% impact on the sound. So flat on and off axis, wide frequency response, good efficiency, very low cabinet resonance.,all are elements for a good speaker design
@@michelkh87
If the "best speakers should reproduce the same sound recorded in studio" and "should sound accurate" then all these best speakers would all sound the same. It would sound just like the monitor speakers used in the studio. I haven't experienced this to be true. "No coloration", without actually having listened to the master tape and studio peakers as reference, can't be verified because there's no way to know which was enhanced. So, if the goal is to find the most accurate, buy the same studio speakers that produced the album. If the goal is to celebrate with the music, buy the most pleasing speakers within the budget.
@@paterdoloris yes u r right and it is indeed a difficult question to answer. why if we aim accuracy then why don't we buy the same speaker used in the studio. And there r too many answers for this I will mention some first unfortunately there is no standard speaker used for audio recording /mastering. Second most monitor speakers used in studios are not high end they can be flat but can't go well below 40 or 50hz so no bass extention. Yes high end consumer's speakers adds more spaceness and bass extention compared to normal priced monitor speakers. There are of course monitors which can cover the whole audible frequencies All the way from 20hz to 20khz but they r so expensive like for example the jbl M2. In reality yes every brand has somehow its own sound signature birght, dark, punchy bass,open.etc.. And something else monitor speakers might work well and maintaine flat frequency response only in studios' acoustically treated walls ' and near field listening while they sound very bad in normal living rooms. In my opinion consumer's high end loudspeakers have more sophisticated design cabinet design, crossover, etc..
Have to bring them home and listen to them. Best way to "hear" speakers.
What you said at the end I agree with 100%. Speakers are all flawed, and very few of them actually sound good. Took me 30 years to find a speaker I actually really like, which ironically have aluminum woofers.
the problem is the word “audiophile” is simply a subjective and personal designation ... like am i “rich” or am i “poor”? ... as paul said ... we can use figures (eg measurements & graphs) to classify speakers ... but the final gauge are the individual ears of the listeners ... perhaps what paul may be saying is ... that we each will define what to us is “audiophile” ... as we hear and listen to our kind of musiK?
There's a balance to be struck between too much reliance on meters, and none. In fact that's why nobody can stand Steve Guttenberg's "audiophiliac" channel for long, and I know because I always read lots of comments and people mention this constantly on other youtubers' channels. And that is, because he never quantizes anything. Ever. You gotta have SOME modicum of measure, if for no other sake than as a yardstick.
So why does piano sound so great on my computer speakers and home theater speakers almost equally??
20lbs paul (your rocking today, Paul. wasn't the magnaplaner the direct competition for IRSV's back in '85?)
Magneplanars could never compete with the better Infinities. The Kappas still kick their asses even today. No bass! But I do think that Magneplanar 3.7i may be a sweet setup or even the 1.7i or the 0.7i apparently they are making progress.
The guy at the hifi store there in 86 told me the wave of the future was electrostatic.
@@SJMessinwithBoats1 I need to listen to some new ones. The old ones sounded good as long as you sat in the right spot. They never did and still don't have bass. Apparently the ribbon tweeter on the 3.7i is sweet at 3x the price of the 1.7i. Still no bass but two subs would make that problem go away. I guess the bass on the new ones is better than it used to be but still doesn't get "down" there in frequency.
They certainly intrigue me, although I never look a listen to them. I remember a speaker called the ""tower" sported driver alignment through tilted baffle face. Paul's got me all going.... whipping out a driver like that, then talkin' shop!!
@@SJMessinwithBoats1 check out the Kyron speakers from AU. Talk about some wild designs with big $$AU to boot.
I can listen all year long my Yamaha NS floor speakers (ofc before 2015 speakers, you know why)
The price. That is all.
You might be referring to Bose?
I won't do aluminum drivers in my time. I want Bose!! Paper, not plastic, metal, diamonds, etc.
How about errors of omission rather than commission?
You said it... Don't know why but you did.
Hi Paul! I've seen TH-cam videos of huge expensive horn loaded speakers that sound like they are in an echo. Yet people are praising them in the comments. I don't understand how people can like that. My ears would get so fatigued after just a few minutes.
I have to disagree with your assessment that linear doesn't make for good sounding speakers. I own a pair of Nubert speakers, which lean towards a flat and linear sound, and they can absolutely sound wonderful. And I've listened to Backes & Müller BM Line 35, which ought to be really flat, but they'll make you grin from ear to ear. Almost guaranteed. It doesn't even matter what the source material is. The immediacy, the precision, the clarity, the way they move air and play the entire frequency range with perfection.
Now, what someone defines as audiophile or not is an individual thing, IMHO. Different strokes for different people, I guess. For me I like it when the music leaves the speaker, when you hear all the range without emphasis on anything, when you can hear all the details. When it becomes alive. When you close your eyes and can imagine the band is standing right in front of you. In all of this, being flat helps. Like, being actually flat. Not sounding flat.
Short and sweet
Hi Paul,
You've never, ever mention Avalon speakers when mentioning other brands of "musical" speakers (they are in the neighborhood), which I found quite musical.
You just forget or you don't like them, period?
I have owned Avalon speakers and, in fact, they were once my reference speakers. I think they're excellent imaging speakers and they are local. I rarely mention them because they are so niche and require so much attention to the room that they are not for most people.
PS Audio indeed, they're not for everyone and take ages to break in.
But once you find the right partnership and room placement they are just fabulous, imaging is just one of their many attributes.
Thanks for replying.
@@VitorTeixeira. Indeed. I couldn't agree more.
Great video Paul thank you! A question for all: Has anyone had a system so good that they have been convinced that what they were hearing was really happening?
Luke Gibbins yes but there was using marijuana involved
@@jimolson9671 The best upgrade is high-grade. 😆😉
I'm pretty new to all this, but I was at Academy Records in Manhattan and heard some music playing, and thought "hey, that sounds like real instruments---maybe they have a chamber group in a back room," then I thought "hm, wait, I don't think there's a room for that in here." I thought all this before ever turning my head to try to find out what was really going on. I listened carefully again, and concluded, "this is definitely real," and then turned around and saw a small Harbeth speaker which I assume was a P3ESR tucked way up in a corner by the ceiling. Not sure the system, though.
Even though I'm new to this audiophile stuff and haven't really heard much equipment, I'm a musician so I have been around instruments a lot and trust my ear to recognize subtleties. I watched a tour of a Harbeth facility with someone named Alan Shaw, who was asked what kind of tolerances they aim for during some stage of the testing, and he's like "oh no, we don't do that," as in "no margin of error is acceptable." I'm paraphrasing but I really loved his reaction and kind of fantasize about being able to afford some of those speakers one day.
Sorry for the long (and late) comment, and maybe you've all already heard these speakers a million times. I was impressed, though!
So what big company is he speaking of that has bad speakers?
Just goes to show cost means nothing! You can spent £20,000 on some speakers/system and it sounds bad?? That's why i do not believe in spending vast amounts on Amps, Sources it is not necessary but a damn good set of loudspeakers is essential as Paul says.
Hello, I just wanted to comment on your picture in the listings.
This is definitely not an example of a "stomp Box"!
KEN
quality Crossovers, quality crossovers!?
Built in Bluetooth or RBG lights qualifies it.
I have about ten pairs of speakers, most mid-fi vintage, nothing costing me more than 1200 bucks ,Am I an audiophile? I dont think the speakers define audiophile, I think the listener defines audiophile.....would I not be an audiophile because I dont have 5 or 25 grand for speakers?
OG Solutions:
Exactly what I was thinking listening to this "Audiophile speaker"!
The best ones stop speaking and listen when the music is playing:-)
Yeah..you are totally right..lets call us poor audiophikes haaa
Have you ever heard of Quadral speakers made from Quadral? I believe they are from germany and have built speakers since the 80s
I got the Quadral Orkan and just want to know your opinion on those if you have a reference at all.
Thanks in advance
why doesn't anyone speak about Audio Note speakers?
Is that a 10" driver?
DiY: Build your own speakers. Put a little money in to get some experience. Build active subwoofers, that helps with room problems. Use selfbuilding websites.
Or build a well regarded kit if your a diyer but you don't have the acoustical knowledge or equipment.
Luckily for us the conclusion is wrong, there is plenty of very good speakers it's just a matter of listening to them
I'll attempt a quicker answer: An audiophile loudspeaker is a virtually... nonexistent one! Now I'll add up to this: It's not just a music maker, it's both a truth-and-magic creator. It creates a beautiful whole new world in front of you and then departs subtly, neatly, quietly, leaving you alone to fully enjoy it (eyes closed and lights lowered). It will better your experience with any better piece of equipment you'll bring in to it's support or any better quality recording you'll throw into your source. It will always tell you the truth and it will never deprive you of any of the magic that exists inside the recording and the performances of the accompanying electronics. Now, having said all that, the loudspeaker is not alone. It exists and functions inside a ROOM. This room must be very well taken care of (acoustically), in order for the proper, audiophile loudspeaker to do both its truth-and-magic trick. Sorry, not easy. But worth it! (and one last thing: In my humble opinion, NO SMALL loudspeaker can be truly an audiophile one. Except, perhaps, for very small rooms. Or, greatly supported by subwoofers).
Full Ranger beautifully said sir. I wonhundredpercent agree!
Great opinion!
It should ideally cost as much as a midsize car!
>$20000.00/pair?
To my mind, audiophile/audiophilia is a mind set/behaviour. It’s the desire and determination to get a sound that you find appealing. Some people’s ultimate speaker is pretty unappealing to me, I’ve heard Avantgarde horns and Wilson speakers and they’ve left me rather cold. The Avantgardes were just uninteresting and the Wilsons were uncomfortably bright... on the other hand, I have a pair of Royd Audio Sapphires from 1991 in my dining room that I paid £60 for of a forum, they’re not perfect by any means but they are musically engaging, if you wind the wick up a little, they’re fun and exciting.
I so wanted to like the Avantgardes. I wanted something that would mate with my S.E.T. amp. I heard three models all demoed by an Avantgared rep, and I hated them all.
John LeBeau I went to hear them expecting to be blown away and was left rather disappointed. They were a bit boring and if anything a bit “quacky”. My much more modestly priced Linn system just ate it for breakfast (to my ears at least).
Some speakers I expected to be underwhelmed by but actually really liked (on the same day) were Audionote AN-Js on their dedicated stands, those boogied really well.
Nah, the contrary is true I think, most loudspeakers out there are pretty decent. A good fifty years have passed since the 70's, this is a mature craft.
You think a labcoat company like Harman kardon doesn't know how to make good speakers? Probably better than most since they do proper blind tests. Any cheap JBL would put a good fight against any audiophile speakers once you close your eyes.
Yea, maybe with tone controls of all types.
After Harmon Kardon bought out Infinity was when the quality immediately dropped. Yeah they knew how to take Arnie Nudells brilliance and cheapen it up with crappier drivers that were smaller and in smaller cabinets.
Yes, I think your appraisal is right-on.
Roberto Calvo so true, I've used JBLs since 1973, and they are better than most. My daughter has a cheaper pair of JBLs that sound substantially better than $14,000 Dali. In an interview, from this month, Kenji of KRS in Tokyo mentioned how most of the vintage JBL monitors or consumer JBL he works with, have tweeters that roll off around 20 kHz and that's all you really need. Many speakers that artificially push HF to 30 kHz and beyond sound less than right. And Kenji is right....listen to a 1950's JBL Paragon, in proper working condition (especially one refurbished by KRS) it really doesn't get any better than that.
@@miltoncrosbie5567 Can you provide the exact model of JBL and Dali? I'm just really curios, because people rarely compare speakers from different companies directly.
As about the difference in sound quality - I personally have a preference for classic design of speakers, such as JBL, Dynaudio, ATC, Harbeth and similar. The reason is that the speakers used in studio environments usually are classic box speakers, so the music ends up tailored for those types of speakers. Speakers with other type of design, such as Dali's speakers with their ribbon tweeter, may end up sounding worse, because they may reproduce something that wasn't meant to be there, or they just may sound completely off...
While I do think that unusual designs may have their advantages, I still feel that classic box speakers are a safer choice those days and they are more balanced overall.
Audiophile is best employed as a description of a person striving for a higher level of understanding of audio equipment rather than a measurement of perceived quality of an audio product in my opinion. All too easy for any manufacturer to tag this name onto any level of product.
This is a very subjective judgement. Unfortunately too often the vendors like to promote audiophile products as those that also come with a premium price tag.
"So few" good-sounding speakers?
I contend that there are a Lot of good-sounding speakers, but so few people know how to Find them,
and fewer still are willing to spend the money (in 2019, at least $225 per cabinet
for anything that even approaches decent sound quality).
I know something that is called an "audiophile" speaker probably can't be had for that little;
maybe $500 would be closer, and $800 would move a person another inch in that direction.
But more money doesn't guarantee better sound: I've heard some utterly awful speakers with $2,500+ price tags.
Let say you make a wall of just speakers if you use a good 3-way filter and connect all the speakers in series and parallel so the speakers are only outputting say a quarter of their maximum amount then it will newer be a problem if the speaker(s) are crappy or simple made, tested this with so many speakers now, even the cheapest car speakers, you just have to balance it out with more speakers with another dynamic range thats all, a wall of speakers that is really nice to listen to, dont forget to mount a center too btw.
Audiophile speakers are the ones that are so expensive that you only can efford them when you are not young anymore and your hearing have already become bad.
99% of all speakers around the world? That over-generalization don't you think? I think what you mean that 1% of speakers out there is just what you like most Paul.
I really want to know those bad brands
If 99% of speakers sound bad, non-musical, flawed and you would not want to take them home, then what chance does PS Audio have for success with your forthcoming speaker designs? Closer to 1% or 99%?
Speakers are a very personal choice so building one that suits our needs and what we believe constitutes good sound might be easier than you think.
I have to agree with Paul that hi end audio speakers are very tough to find that sound extremely well. Although I feel it all comes down to energy within the system as a whole. I also think that people can be influenced by the popular brand names and get suckered into believing they're the best and nothing else! There are a hundred and one variables it comes down to this question so is it all right answer? In reality, the only person knows is that person themselves if they're comfortable with it it love the sound to them then so be it.
You cannot beat a good set of Hi Fi speakers , they fill the room with sound that is FUN .
Being pined to a chair cannot be fun.
I tun mine UP as far as I dire .
Stop listening & feel it .
Get your moneys worth .
Thats my crap comment lol
We used to think pin the tail on the donkey was fun.
ok, i upgraded my strings, maybe i should upgrade my paper cups to carbon fiber...thanks Paul
Carbon fiber is above my pay grade too. Could you settle for glueing fiberglass to a paper cone. That should be at least "hi-end"
@@SJMessinwithBoats1 LOL thanks, good idea
To find the best speakers you need to listen to a lot of products everywhere you can, anytime you can. Don't expect anything, just listen. After a while you will get bored, but you may, sometimes listen to great system, and sometimes music can become magic. It's not magic because it's expensive, or because it sounds lood, or anything like this. Magic by musicality... when you can say : that's it, that's the sound I want in my home, this one and not another one.
Forget the price of the components, they may cost a lot but it's not important. If it sounds magic that mean the speaker can communicate this magic effect... now you know what speaker to buy... you have your goal.
I've waited 7 years to buy my speakers... and they are still far from the best they can offer. I know they can go so far...
Vandersteen.
If you are being ripped off.
That's only blabla. The question is not, what good sound is but what the right sound is. And the right sound can only be repoduced by flat speakers. So the most flat speaker ist the most audiophile speaker. Maybe 97% of the recordings don't sound good on a flat speaker but that doesn't mean that the speaker doesn't sound good, that means that the recordings aren't good. Studiomonitors are the only audiophile speakers. They are tools for producing music. They are flat.
Everything else is just a question of personal preferences. If you spend 10 000 bugs for very high quality speakers that doesn't have a flat frequecy response and you are happy with them, it's totally ok for me, those speakers may sound absolutely beautiful but they won't sound right. That's the harsh trueth.
💪
I'm confused.
First, how come it is a shame that speakers that are more accessible to more folks sound "more audiophile" than the super expensive so-called "audiophile speakers"? Last I checked with my reality and fairness meter that shows as a good thing and the best part is it promotes music because more folks have access to good sound.
In the beginning you start listing speakers across the spectrum that you consider musical or "audiophile" and give positive tone in your voice to. Then towards the end you talk like the PS Audio speakers are going to be the only speakers worth a listen that everyone should buy while saying 99% of all speakers are flawed. That is a clear contradiction. The use of the word "flawed" here is incorrect. In my opinion it would be more correct to say that 99% (it is really 100%) of speakers are colored or flavored. "Flawed" means something is physically wrong or damaged or not functioning. By saying 99% of speakers are flawed, you just included the speakers you thought to be musical and "worthy" at the beginning. Also, I hate to break it to you, but the PS Audio speakers will also be "flawed". Doesn't so good, does it. I would rather say the PS Audio speakers will be flavored or colored due to restrictions by the laws of physics, but they will be very musical. I would be curious to hear them myself, but never will as I have no shops and there are no shows in California anymore.
I have a different list of speakers from you that I consider musical and the next person will have another different list. In my opinion, the best way to know if any speakers are musical is with ones ears. Unfortunately, that is becoming more impossible everyday thanks to the internet.
99% was probably an exaggeration unless you include "Multimedia speakers" to a computer for $ 9.
klipsch? haha
that is a loooong way of giving no answer at all.......
Summary : l have no fucking clue whatsoever !
''Musicality'' first for sure, but then... everything else.
Start with a Quad ESL and work your way back to the answer
Too much education and not enough intelligence and passion for producing music. I have been saying this for decades and it still rings true.
?
Its like " the guy was an awesome physicist but he has a hard time tieing his shoes"???
It costs a lot of money. Thanks for watching. Bye. Now I watch the video.
Maybe we find then at a garage sale or thrift shop in 30 years?
@@SJMessinwithBoats1 I found some RS2000s and some RS225s that way and just re-edged them.