OT: For Mere Mortals

[mah]

You can be happy with less than high-end gear.

An interesting comparison: Matrix HiFi --> Blind testing high end full equipments

[bowtie427ss]

Another "flawed" test and highly subjective author.......................... just my .02 y'all understand.

How can it be possible that a basic system with such a price difference against the "reference" one, poorly placed, using the cheapest signal cables found, couldn't be distinguished from the more expensive one?

Are you for real? Your test results CLEARLY indicate that 67% of the participants heard a difference and had a preference. Since when does price paid automatically correlate with sound quality?

And, most of it all, how come the cheap system was chosen by so many people as the best sounding of the two?

Forward extremes, boom and sizzle. Sucks a listener in at first, eventually to spit them out fatigued and dissatisfied over the long haul. Or, maybe to 37% it did sound better.

Shouldn't the differences be so evident that it'd be a child's game to pick the best?

Best? Best at what? Could you get any more subjective than that?

EDIT: Logically, amplifier and digital source should be about the 2 least influential components in any given system. To have either or both impart a significant audible difference suggests an obvious flaw, or intentional voicing characteristic. The loudspeakers chosen for the test might be a "bottleneck" with limitations that prevent less subtle differences from being immediately noticeable.................... they should have used Altecs!

Surely, the folks selling Behringer gear and Sony DVDP's will want to hand out reprints.

[fpitas]

It's natural that different people prefer different sound systems, and price may not be a reliable indicator of popularity. Having tried various electronics with my speakers, the better amplifiers did make a clear improvement in clarity and detail that both I and my friends heard. Not scientific evidence I suppose, but there it is.

/Why yes; I am using Altec horns.

[GM]

These tests crack me up! The speaker is the weakest link in any sound system, so one must start with the highest efficiency, resolution, widest BW, lowest distortion pair practical to even begin to have a worthwhile test........................ All this test did was highlight that most folks either like their music euphonically distorted ['colored'] more than others or at least were indifferent to it. Little surprise there, a certain four letter manufacturer has been the world's number one provider of consumer sound systems for many years now following this marketing strategy.

GM

[Old Guy]

Having tried various electronics with my speakers, the better amplifiers did make a clear improvement in clarity and detail that both I and my friends heard.

100% agreed, but in the right place and time the better amp may be 20 bucks and the worst one several thousand. Regardless, speakers and sources, especially analog, are still the most important. Transducers, whether it be microphones, cartridges, or speakers, are the first place to fix. You will then be able to judge amplifiers And digital decoders....

[Cal Weldon]

Little surprise there, a certain four letter manufacturer has been the world's number one provider of consumer sound systems for many years now following this marketing strategy.

Oh Greg, you're such a Bozo.

[alancohen]

I was listening to an old jazz recording via Pandora (paid version) the other day. There was a pronounced bass part (electric) in this particular piece and what stopped me in my tracks, and caused me to sit and listen, was a faint clicking sound that ran along with the bass line. I thought there was problem. Turns out what I was hearing was the bass players fingernails touching the strings as he plucked. Hoo-hah.

High efficiency Altecs allow all that detail to come through, but they also exaggerate any flaws or shortcuts taken in amplifier design. They will make a bad amplifier sound much worse by enhancing noise and/or distortion. On the other hand, they will make a good amplifer sound almost liquid.

Listening to music on this level is a skill. I am still learning. I still can't hear the diffence between lamp cord and $1800 speaker cables...let alone $1800 speaker cables that are suspended off the floor by little stands.

I don't know who these people are that participated in this "test, and what qualifies then to come to their conclusions, but to ask an untrained listener what they think is "best" is an exercise in futility.

[wws944]

.... I still can't hear the diffence between lamp cord and $1800 speaker cables...let alone $1800 speaker cables that are suspended off the floor by little stands...

You may be interested to read Roger Russells take on speaker wire:

Speaker Wire

[Phil-G]

what i want to know is, how much does a long speaker wire run hurt the overall quality of the sound? if were talking over 75 feet wouldn't it pay to run a lowloss coax between a preamp and a mono amp at each speaker?

[VolvoHeretic]

Well, just how many feet of wire is in that inductor in your crossover and how much does that hurt your sound?

I'm using a $100 Rat Shack Sherwood amp and my Altecs still sound great.