Questions about speakers
Sep 3, 2002 at 2:20 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 6

Samson

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I really don't know anything about speakers and I do understand this is a headphones website, which makes it possible that many people here might also be knowledgeable about speakers or could recommend a source of information concerning speakers. Anyway, here is my situation: I've always used my shelf-system and it's speakers with my turntable and they sound great, but now I think it is time to get speakers solely for my turntable as I wish to keep my shelf-system and turntable(technics 1200 m3d) in separate areas. At this time I really do not need many accessories and the such, just my turntable and a pair of speakers will do for playing vinyl. Any recommendations for a decent pair of floorstanding speakers to hook-up to my turntable? I'm just a student and don't really require top-of-the-line equipment that costs the price of a brand new automobile. I guess you could say I'm looking for the Sony V6 of speakers. Long-lasting,generally good sounding, and most importantly VALUE. A very large number of people, including myself, have a pair of V6's due to the quality of the product when compared to the price. I guess I'm looking for the same traits in speakers. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
Sep 3, 2002 at 5:40 AM Post #2 of 6
Speakers, like headphones, are very much a personal choice. You have to usually trade off having extended deep bass and the size and cost of the speakers.

Are these speakers for dorm room or a larger space?

What type of music do you play, and how loud do you like your music to be?

You should set a budget for the system, and balance the cost of each component against the total system. If you have a $3000 turntable with a $1500 cartridge, your investment is this degree of high-end analog record playing technology won't be well matched to a pair of $300 speakers.

Some would suggest spending most of the money on the speakers, because the speakers are the only component that you hear when you are listening. This would be a mistake, especially when a turntable and phono cartridge are your primary source material. In the perfect world, it would be relatively easy to spend 30% of your budget on your turntable/cartridge, your amplification, and your speakers, with the rest going to cables and connectors.

Alas, your favorite speaker may be too big for your listening area, or require more power than your favorite amplifier is capable of delivering, only sound good standing 5 feet out into the room, or cost 4X what you have budgeted for speakers. If so, reconsider if this speaker is really capable of meeting your needs.

As far as speakers, try and decide where they will be placed. Many modern speakers are vented cabinet designs with the bass port on the rear. This means the speaker can't be placed in a bookcase, or close to a wall. A few vented designs have a forward facing port, offering some more flexibility.

Do you already have a source/amplification in mind, or are you getting ready to purchase a new system including turntable, cartridge, amplifier or receiver and speakers?

You seem to favor analog sound (LPs). Have you considered buying used, but top of the line, equipment to go with your turntable?

There are some really good values to be had in used loudspeakers. If you know what to look for, you can get at least $1000 worth of loudspeaker for less than $200. Consider a used, but not abused speaker such as:

The original Large Advent loudspeaker ($100-200/pr)
The Smaller Advent loudspeaker ($40-80/pr)
Acoustic Research (AR) AR-4 or AR-4x ($50 - 150/pr)
Klipsch Heresy and Heresy II ($400/pr)

These are typical used speaker prices seen on eBay, and do not include shipping. The Advent woofers have surrounds made of foam that disintegrates with age. Unless the woofer cone or driver coil has been damaged, the speaker surround can be replaced for about $150 for the pair, less if you are willing to do the work yourself (kits are available). Replacement crossover components and tweeter level controls are available for the older AR loudspeakers. These speakers have woofers with cloth surrounds that don't normally ever need to be replaced, they just need to treated with an application of a latex-type liquid to make them airtight again.

At least 50% of the cost of building a loudspeaker is in the cabinet, so buying a quality used speaker cabinet can get you a superior speaker while save you money. Also, new loudspeakers have a tremendous markup over the cost of the components to covering the cost of designing, manufacturing, shipping, marketing, and advertising the product. A $1,000 speaker probably contains no more than $250 worth of parts, including the cabinet.

So which is the better value, a modern $1,000 speaker with $250 worth of parts, or a vintage speaker that costs $100 today, and includes a well-built cabinet and quality drivers that would cost almost $1000 to build today, before adding in all those markup costs. A speaker manufactured today with $1,000 worth of components would sell retail for two to four times as much, to cover the already mentioned overhead costs.

To be fair, there are some really high quality speakers being built today, with very well built speaker cabinets using the best drivers and crossover components, by a few small but dedicated companies. To find these products you have to look outside of the mass market stores, you will only find these products in the better audio salons where the price for these speakers will start in the $2000-4000/pr range.

In the end, it is your money so do whatever makes you happy. Whatever you decide, just try and make as informed a decision as possible.
 
Sep 5, 2002 at 4:47 AM Post #4 of 6
I will second mkmelt's recommendation of any speaker in the Klipsch Hertige series line. The Heresy is not a very tall speaker, so you may need some kind of stand, but I know for a fact it can sound good with vinyl. Down the road, get yourself a nice little SET amp, and you should be in heaven.
 
Sep 5, 2002 at 5:33 AM Post #5 of 6
The Klipsch Heresy and Heresy II are some of the more affordable medium-high efficiency speakers, i.e. 95db/1watt/1meter, definitely a favorite of the Single Ended Triode (SET) crowd where most of the SET amplifiers are limited in output to only a couple of watts/channel.

However, other than their ability to play very loud with very little power, the Heresy speakers don't have any real bass output below about 75Hz. There is a slight bump in the midbass response just above 80 Hz, but much below this and the bass response plummets into the nether regions.

If bass is important to you, over sheer volume or efficiency, there are many speakers that go much deeper in the bass, down to below 50 Hz and even below 40 HZ, without the need for a subwoofer. Many of today's speaker designs sacrifice the deep bass response also, either for cost reasons, or because of the size an shape of the speaker cabinet, or because they expect you will get a subwoofer for your system.
 
Sep 5, 2002 at 6:07 AM Post #6 of 6
Sorry, I know I am way off topic, but talking about the Klipsch Heritage Series reminds me about the loss of Paul Klipsch. In my opinion, and in many others’s he is flat out a genius. What a loss!
 

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