Things have started to add up for me. In the past year I tried to get some decent quality sound in my life through headphones, which involved a lot of reading and watching. The decision for headphones was natural based on a couple of assumptions: headphones give the best sound quality, and a decent hifi stereo system costs way too much money. While watching a Darko Audio video, I suddenly realized that neither of these assumptions are true. (He makes very watchable videos.)
So I read and watched some more, and learned that the room is almost as important as the speakers. That didn't surprise me at all, mind you—I've had to learn about resonances and reflections for electromagnetic waves. Bass traps, surface reflections, resonances, variation of sound perception at different spots, etc. all make sense. It's science. What I am missing is the experience of just what difference it makes.
Next year I will be moving to a new house or apartment in Germany, and I'd like to set up a system in it. A dedicated listening room is unlikely—a hifi system and TV in the living room is likely. Also, I am not looking for the ultimate in sound quality. As reference, I find my Chord Mojo + HD 6XX to be great, although of course I can imagine even better sound. Ideally, I'd like to make a decent investment and avoid upgrade fever for many years. There is no strictly fixed budget, but I am holding out hope for something in the range of around 1000 Euros. Here's the thing. . .
I have no idea what to expect in terms of sound.
There are several videos and threads linked below. Clearly, the room is an essential part of the sound we will hear. Besides the system itself, there are: the dimensions of the room, speaker placement + listening position, and room treatment. But what exactly should my priorities be? Like most beginners, I would prefer to invest in the gear and just use good practice for speaker placement. The room will be a given, but not room treatment. Theoretically, I should pick the speakers based on the room: for example, they should "fit" the room and not overload it with bass. Fine, but should I be spending as much or more on room treatment as gear? How much will I achieve with good gear, and how much with room treatment? Are the speakers and amp the main thing, and the room treatment will just shape the tonality of sound? Is the room so critical that listening to a system at a store makes no sense? Or does that only apply after you get to a certain level of gear? What if the couch is too wide, or I spill my coffee? What if zombies attack?? It's all so overwhelming. Again, I am not going for ultimate sound quality, but wanting to achieve detail and clarity, experience sound stage, etc. Not trying to solve "the audiophile problem," just to get great sound for value.
From the videos I find the Klipsch RP-600M and NAD C 316BEE appealing. I didn't buy anything yet despite finding good prices, because I don't know anything yet about the room. Feel free to engage with your own experience and preference.
I have plenty of time to change my mind a zillion times, but I would like to start figuring some things out. Obviously the importance of room treatment is foremost in my mind. At the moment, I my thinking is simple: after knowing what the actual room will be, I should get decent components known to work well in a typical apartment setting, and try to solve any specific problems related to the room as I go. I understand that a speaker upgrade will be pointless before working on the room, speaker placement and treatment. Otherwise, I probably won't even realize what the speaker is capable of.
Any advice?
My profile:
Typical living room, probably laminate floors, windows and fairly solid walls
Diverse music, but acoustic instruments and vocals especially important. Value mids and clean bass.
Tend to listen at modest sound level rather than loud
Should also be useful for home theater, but this is a distant requirement
Videos and threads
Your ROOM is messing up your SOUND! | Darko
Your ROOM is messing up your SOUND (again) | Darko
Jesco Lohan (Acoustics Insider) explains WHY the room is critical to good sound | Darko
Hifi Myths & Misconceptions - Speaker Setup | A British Audiophile
Easy does it room treatment ideas for audiophiles | Guttenberg
How to make your room disappear | Guttenberg
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/how-important-is-room-interaction-for-speakers.451235/
The egg or the hen
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=3lvrjn7e8urksmlhre8f8firjh&topic=182394.0
A kick-ass hi-fi system for €1000 | Darko
Klipsch RP-600M: Reviewed! | Darko
Believe it: $1,250 (or less) can buy a complete audiophile system | Guttenberg
So I read and watched some more, and learned that the room is almost as important as the speakers. That didn't surprise me at all, mind you—I've had to learn about resonances and reflections for electromagnetic waves. Bass traps, surface reflections, resonances, variation of sound perception at different spots, etc. all make sense. It's science. What I am missing is the experience of just what difference it makes.
Next year I will be moving to a new house or apartment in Germany, and I'd like to set up a system in it. A dedicated listening room is unlikely—a hifi system and TV in the living room is likely. Also, I am not looking for the ultimate in sound quality. As reference, I find my Chord Mojo + HD 6XX to be great, although of course I can imagine even better sound. Ideally, I'd like to make a decent investment and avoid upgrade fever for many years. There is no strictly fixed budget, but I am holding out hope for something in the range of around 1000 Euros. Here's the thing. . .
I have no idea what to expect in terms of sound.
There are several videos and threads linked below. Clearly, the room is an essential part of the sound we will hear. Besides the system itself, there are: the dimensions of the room, speaker placement + listening position, and room treatment. But what exactly should my priorities be? Like most beginners, I would prefer to invest in the gear and just use good practice for speaker placement. The room will be a given, but not room treatment. Theoretically, I should pick the speakers based on the room: for example, they should "fit" the room and not overload it with bass. Fine, but should I be spending as much or more on room treatment as gear? How much will I achieve with good gear, and how much with room treatment? Are the speakers and amp the main thing, and the room treatment will just shape the tonality of sound? Is the room so critical that listening to a system at a store makes no sense? Or does that only apply after you get to a certain level of gear? What if the couch is too wide, or I spill my coffee? What if zombies attack?? It's all so overwhelming. Again, I am not going for ultimate sound quality, but wanting to achieve detail and clarity, experience sound stage, etc. Not trying to solve "the audiophile problem," just to get great sound for value.
From the videos I find the Klipsch RP-600M and NAD C 316BEE appealing. I didn't buy anything yet despite finding good prices, because I don't know anything yet about the room. Feel free to engage with your own experience and preference.
I have plenty of time to change my mind a zillion times, but I would like to start figuring some things out. Obviously the importance of room treatment is foremost in my mind. At the moment, I my thinking is simple: after knowing what the actual room will be, I should get decent components known to work well in a typical apartment setting, and try to solve any specific problems related to the room as I go. I understand that a speaker upgrade will be pointless before working on the room, speaker placement and treatment. Otherwise, I probably won't even realize what the speaker is capable of.
Any advice?
My profile:
Typical living room, probably laminate floors, windows and fairly solid walls
Diverse music, but acoustic instruments and vocals especially important. Value mids and clean bass.
Tend to listen at modest sound level rather than loud
Should also be useful for home theater, but this is a distant requirement
Videos and threads
Your ROOM is messing up your SOUND! | Darko
Your ROOM is messing up your SOUND (again) | Darko
Jesco Lohan (Acoustics Insider) explains WHY the room is critical to good sound | Darko
Hifi Myths & Misconceptions - Speaker Setup | A British Audiophile
Easy does it room treatment ideas for audiophiles | Guttenberg
How to make your room disappear | Guttenberg
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/how-important-is-room-interaction-for-speakers.451235/
The egg or the hen
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=3lvrjn7e8urksmlhre8f8firjh&topic=182394.0
A kick-ass hi-fi system for €1000 | Darko
Klipsch RP-600M: Reviewed! | Darko
Believe it: $1,250 (or less) can buy a complete audiophile system | Guttenberg
