How to choose speakers
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- čas přidán 15. 04. 2021
- How to make the right choice re your speakers. Should you even consider changing them? Why are you considering this change? Should you choose the impressive sounding one over the more laid back speaker? These are some of the questions we ask and answer.
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Audio Excellence Inc. is a high end audio/video store in Markham, Ontario, Canada, a suburb of Toronto. We've been in business since 1991.
Check out our interviews with designers and audio luminaries like Daryl Wilson of Wilson Audio, Paul McGowan of PS Audio, Paolo Tezzon of Sonus faber, Wendell Diller of Magnepan, John Atkinson of Stereophile, Dan D'Agostino of D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, Nelson Pass of Pass Labs and others.
Our website is www.audioexcellence.ca
Contacts:
Adrian@audioexcellence.ca
Vilip@audioexcellence.ca
Jerry@audioexcellence.ca - Zábava
"If you love dance music or rap you may want speakers with a preponderance of bass" what a diplomatic choice of words!
(As a harassed neighbour), bass is definitely part of it. ;-)
tbh i feel like its the opposite though. theyre already mixed with so much bass, id want a speaker that can make sure the rest of the music *survives* the bass
Like the long videos, lots of good info :)
So glad to hear from you guys again. Thanks for the video.
Glad you're back guys! Great content as usual!
Love the content - especially your equipment reviews and comparisons!
I was getting worried about you guys and was starting to experience symptoms of withdrawal. Fun listening, good camera work. Pretty sure we got the speaker selection done right together. Valuable video for customers.
These Two are So Enjoyable!!! Appreciate Your Efforts!!! maybe my favorite ever...
I always enjoy these conversations. It is a big help to me.
Missed your videos, so I'm glad you found some time to publish more!!!
Really good to see you guys. Very glad you've been busy. I would love to add those Wilsons in your space lol. I'm happy with my rig but I can dream. All the best. Greg
As always great talk and laughs!
The best! And they’re back!!
Yeah! We haven’t see any videos! You can review Wilson speakers every day of the week and I will watch. I have never heard a pair but I want a pair.
Thanks. I’ve missed you two!
Outstanding video.. one of your best
Here I was just about to email about speakers. This has given me more to think about as I consider the upgrade possibilities
Thanks for remembering John. He was the main guy that guided me so well at the Bayview location.
I enjoy your channel very much. Funny though, when I first saw the thumbnail picture for this video I thought it said ‘We’re bad at choosing speakers. 😆
I know JBL was mentioned but I have a sneaking feeling Adrian was talking about Klipsch speakers as the culprits for giving the false sense of sounding better due to efficiency. That could very well have been what happened to me but here I am still listening to mine after 40+ years(with updated crossovers). Enjoyed the video. Thanks guys!
Efficiency matters. Dont want or need real cannons for the 1812 overture. Lol
Hi guys... Bad rooms now ? BAD ROOMS have you forgotten the open warehouse you operated in just off of Midland ave. One big rug, couch and a chair Block walls, 16' open ceiling and I think a few moving pads around to help adsorb the sound in a 20 x 20 space. I'm thinking 1994. That's when I purchased the Acurus A250 amp and my beloved Hanson speakers, as you know I still have both of them. Bottom line I purchased the set because you played Phantom of the Opera.. F Sharpe... WOW, Bottom end still present in that space.
Sorry to hear Mr. Hanson passed away. I wish I had brought the speakers to your place so he could have heard his 27 years old speakers.
Loved stopping in this week just to say Hi. First time I have been in Toronto in two years. John
Hi guys, bang on.. majority of my CDs getting binned, if it don't sound nice, what's the point having this nice system.. kind of Irish to keep em.. Thanks guys, calming vibe. Love it.... Thanks Antony Warrington. England
You guys behave my dream job: listening to state of the art gear and interacting with those of like mind.
In terms of speaker selection, I’m more of a home theater fan, but I appreciate a good speaker that works well for music and believe they can also make excellent home theater speakers. My taste in music is toward 60’s and 70’s pop, so I prefer a speaker that doesn’t expose the many problems with masters from that period.
I’ve never heard you mention Wharfedale, but my current favorite is the Elysian 4’s.
Luv u guys
Good content
Personally, I have no problem with the length of this or any of the vids you guys post, for me, this one was very informative, especially the suggestions on how the room or walls can interplay with playback - imho, it can become annoying when there are obvious time constraints, toss the clock. ( :
I like Von Schweikert very much. Anything Focal Utopia is also very killer. I have a pair of each of these. I made the “mistake” of listening to Raidho, and WOW! That ribbon tweeter is something else. I will have to get this also now - hah!.
Great video guys, would you consiter doing a video about Subwoofers like JL audio? And the difference between other types. Also what to look for.
I agree you need to start somewhere. I did not know for a long time, but now I have Tannoy xt8f I know that mid range and fast bass is what I feel is important as well as imaging. I chose these as a result of youtube and traditional magazine reviews.
Good for you - you have made a very nice start - mostly because you seemed to have found what you enjoy. Kudos!
hello guys, congratulations for the great work as usual, I am trying to find a video of yours that I watched about a year ago where you compared Sonus Faber and Wilson sound signatures in detail and now cannot find it anymore, would appreciate it if you could point me to it, thanks
Great points. I echo the importance of synergy. I often find that folks focus too much on the speaker itself, (Yours truly included.) and not enough attention is paid towards what is supporting it. Mine mistakes has been the room does not allow for proper placement, followed by amplification not being a good match for the speaker's voicing. Either giving them too much sizzle on the top or the bass winds up being to fat. Cannot stress enough the importance of arranging an in home audition whenever possible. Achieving optimal synergy between speaker, room, and component is an unforgiving goal.
Hello Vilip, awaiting your kind reply video of yours that I watched about a year ago where you compared Sonus Faber and Wilson....
Fingers crossed the border is going to open up soon and I can visit when I come that way in August.
Can you have a similar discussion on SF Maxima Amator vs Olympica Nova III, as they sit in same price range.
Today’s topic? Hmmm - How to choose speakers....Well, a Sonus Faber Sonetto lll review would be nice!
Is there a 2-way speaker you carry that you enjoy more than the SF Electra Amator III ? If so maybe do a comparison some time.
Such a great point regarding moving up the ladder and a corresponding restriction of your musical 'panorama' (for want of a better word). So true! Poorly recorded music does indeed grate the more revealing your system is..
Supposed I like to start replacing my current HiFi audio system completely. Meaning I would start from scratch. Which audio component(s) should I focus on first? Should I first decide what speakers set to get, such as getting a set of two front speakers or a whole set that includes front, rear, and subwoofer speakers? Then move on to determine the types of receiver, amplifiers, etc.
I just heard Vilip say he has a customer in the US. I'll remember this when I win the lottery!
The thing is even if you’re happy with your speakers (ADS L880) you read or watch something about say the Wilson speakers and the fact that everyone above them just keeps getting better and better, you wonder if there’s something better than what you have. I wonder if I would be better off with a pair Magnpans for more openness
My main source currently is a Moon Neo 260 D CD player and an Adcom GFA 550 fed by a Threshold FET 10
I have JBL L112. They are great. I also like JBL 4315.
The great JBL legacy - I've own some and hope to own some more - we'll see...
All these videos making me miss all the brick and mortar stores we used to have. It makes it much harder to to demo and assemble systems today. On the flip side many do offer no hassle home trials of gear. Watching this video just sorta emphasizes how important the room is. I would almost go so far as to say it's more than a one third important than the gear ect. Lots if expensive gear still won't sound the best in a small suboptimal room. Each time I watch your videos I always get a small craving to try magnepan speakers but reality always sets in and reminds me I don't have the room for them. Someday or just be happy with a nice 2 way. Thanks for the video and looking forward to Garths interview. Just curious if you guys at the store have tried with success any of Garths power conditioners? Thanks!
We use a Niagara 7000 and a Niagara 5000. They're awesome!
@@vilip119 no doubt they are. But how is the 1200 with a decent audioquest power cord for those not wanting to spend a fortune on power conditioning?
@@brandonburr4900 The beginning... decent with a tantalizing hint of what could be...
@@vilip119thanks for the reply. I see no mention of the next one up the line being the niagra 3000? How is that one compared to the 1200? What's a good audioquest power cord with these to start off with without getting crazy?
@@brandonburr4900 The 3000 is close to the 5000. So, a level up on the 1200. AQ recommends with the 1200, at least an NRG Z3 to get going.
If you want to hear an amazing update of a Patsy Cline song "You don't know me" have a listen to Alison Krauss version from her album Windy city The whole album is amazing, but the Patsy Cline song is my favorite! I can only imagine how it would sound on a set of your Wilson's
I have a Yamaha RX-V6 connected to B & W 603 S2 complete Home Theatre System. I’ve just been advised to get a Marantz SR6015 because the speakers need this amp. Please advise which amp can be accommodated by my speakers
Adrian and Vilip, I am looking for a speaker that GROWLS (fills the room) rather than SCREAM. I careless about perfect measurements, details but put musicality above.
I love my 3LZ cornetta tannoys but they are missing a bit of inner details.
My room size is 12 x 20 sq ft. Do you have any recommendation to begin with? Do you have a partner store in Chicago?
When people say they love all kinds of music, they usually mean everything except jazz and classical
In some cases all is nearly all: (with minor exceptions):
jazz (of all sorts), classical, (baroque, neoclassical, romantic period, expressionism, opera, minimalism, chamber music, lieder, choral) good electronic (not EDM), rock (of all flavors), folk (of all sorts), blues, r&d, soul, as well as India, China, Japan, Brazil, "Kora music" from Mali, West Africa, Armenia, the Caucasus, the broader Turkish and Persian spheres, Bali, Mongolia, Etc, etc as well as Fusion of all sorts.
ALL except for a very few things: RAVE dance 'house' 'machine' music (that sounds like a foundry and steel stamping) that you can't listen to without being high on psychotropics of some sort. (With a few exceptions, of course). And RAP, which I perceive as kids reciting the multiplication tables. (It's how it sounds, regardless of the lyrics)
And African or Asian music replicating western POP music is as bad as the western sort. Go to the original "classical" music.
GARTH: “Schwing” WAYNE: “EXCELLENT”!
The big problem I have with reproduced music is the poor quality of the recordings regardless of the source, vinyl, tape, or digital. Kinda like speakers, quality is rare, garbage is the norm.
Do you guys share to wish your playlist?
Step 1: listen and decide if you want a “non-box speaker” eg Omni (eg Ohm), dipole (eg Maggie), open baffle VS. a box speaker.
Oh, that clap test.
You have to give it some thought. Good speakers demand good amps. Do you want "mid" or "mid high"? Errors and the incremental path end up being expensive.
I'd be more inclined to go with the focal vs Wilsons- just never cared for the Wilson sound. Although admittedly, haven't heard the Wilsons recently.
If you have the werewithal, the Wilson SabinaX could be the ticket - Darryl and the Wilson team have done such a good job - your jaw will definitely drop. The Focals aren't bad either but you know...
Yes, u are correct, Adrian, that audiophile equipment is so expensive today. Wilson Audio Sabrina X are fine speakers but are way overpriced vs Focal Kanta 2!!
But not the Sopra 2... which is more expensive...
I own Dahlquist DQ10’s & Klipsch Fortes 1’s & I’m selling the dq10s -Dynamics “plus” need the room..FYI: Also selling theJBLSA600, Dynaco mk 3, Adcom 555 11.
A flimsily built brick and mortar store....
Hilarious!
Seriously though I enjoyed the conversation. Thanks guys :-)
What size room is a small room? Everyone keeps saying small medium or large room but nobody every says what the dimensions are of their room defenitions. To my wife a 12x18 is a huge room. To me that's a small listening room.
A 12x18 in Europe is considered medium. In the US it's small.
Hi guys what speakers would go best with my old Ma6200?
What’s kind of music do you like? What’s your budget? What’s the size of your room, why do you want to upgrade?
@@ramsaybolton9099 bookshelf, for jazz and rock, guitare acoustic, piano, musique. Between 1k-2k.
I'm confused with this specs the one manufacture said 400 watts into 6 or 4 ohms but then says compatible with 8 ohm amplifiers.
That is really a meaningless spec - it is a "nominal" rating - impedance of a dynamic load varies with the frequency and music is multiple frequencies at once and it is ever changing and shifting, so there's that...
@@vilip119 This from Martin Login speaker specs thanks
@@dandonna852 Again, mostly irrelevant - this I know from a lifetime of experience. Remember how they used to cite THD numbers. You don't see that anymore. For impedance matching, numbers quoted are an average, hence "nominal". What you would like is something that doesn't dip too low - like 2 ohms or less - and is relatively flat with not too much variance. Look at the impedance "curve". That will tell you more as the resistance is measured as the speaker responds to a frequency sweep. But a sweep also isn't music. So, again, there's that...
Late to the story here, but would appreciate any reply/input to my comment-especially from Vilip or Adrian if possible. I'll paint a picture of me and what I understood from this video.
So Vilip suggest that we have to start somewhere - "choose a perspective". So I'm definitely an audiophile, but one with a novice experience. Although I was a salesperson in an audio store some time ago, more technical, I still think that I don't know "my sound". So how do I choose my perspective? How do I know what I "don't want". I don't have enough experience.
I suggest going for the used market and testing a broad veriety of speakers. Most of the time you can pass them on for zero loss.
In this way I have gone far in exploring my taste and priorities - on a shoe string budget.
The room you are in does sound good in the videos at normal levels. It looks like you use good microphones too. I always audition starting at
55-60db for the initial listen. If they sound good there you can move up and expect even better.
What do you think about Parasound P6 with A21+ vs Hegel H390 for a pair of B&W 603 s2?
Greetings from Brazil, land with almost no stores to listen to those equipment.
Get the Hegel
MrHighDefinitionTube I've no clue about prices in Brazil, but here in Europe there's a bit more than a 1000 euros difference, between the two. The Hegel goes for 5k and the Parasound P6-A21+ combo, is about 6.1k. I guess, first you'll have to decide whether you think of them, as being in the same category or not. Moneywise, that is.
H190 is good enough for 603, but if you have the budget for h390 go for it, but i would consider better speakers for h390, i recently upgrade to 702 s2, witch is huge upgrade from 600 series, much more detail, clarity, bass is also much more defined and more controlled its Night and day difference, i might aim for h390 for those speakers to get extra perfomence out of them, i run a h190 at the moment and still works great,
@@andreasmoller9798 I see. Currently the 702 is very expensive to me. But I totally agree.
@@Yiannis2112 prices here are ridiculously high. This is like a huge step for me. This is like 50k Reais in here. Or aprox. 10k USD. I struggle to find a comparison between them.
I have a question. How would you classify my speakers. I’m thinking of replacing my speakers but I’m not sure how to classify them so I have a starting point and a direction to go in. I have a Pair of Sony SS-M9 from the Mid 1990’s. They were designed by Dan Anagnos from Polk Audio. The gear I’m using consist of the following components.
Speakers Sony SS-M9
1) AllNic M3000 mk2 Tube mono block amps.
2) BAT model VK-5 pre- amp.with NOS Tubes
Mullard E188CC from 1965.
3) Classe CDP-101 CD player
4) Sota Star TurnTable with Audio Quest PT-9 tone arm and AQ-7000 cartridge.
5) second TurnTable is a Micro Seiki DD-40 direct drive TT with the Micro Seiki 505 tonearn and a Clearaudio Virtuoso Ebony wood cartridge.
6). BAT VK P-10 Phono Amp. With NOS Valvo red tubes E188CC from 1964.
7) and a very Old but great Tuner from Nikko model Gamma 1.
Comments on the LRS are telling. You buy a budget Magnepan, but need a 5000 dolllar amp to drive it. In a recent review of B&W 700 series speakers , Andrew Robinson made exactly the same point. Even his Music Fidelity 6 couldn't drive them. I would say that is true of the B&W 6 series (budget line). You need big dollars to drive them. If there is a critical consensus about certain brands of speakers (Budget line or premium) requiring a demanding and expensive amps. then there should be some sort of chart that matches brands with amps.
Glad you discussed genre. One genre rarely discussed by audiophiles is classical. Odd because it makes more demands on a system than any other. Some classical works,- Beethoven's Missa Solemnis , and Mahler's 8th "Symphony of a Thousand" pose real problems, not only for audio systems but for recording engineers. So how well do the speakers handle such works... I get the impression that some audiophiles just run test tones through their equipment...or don't even listen to any music period. I guess my point is this: if you are reviewing speakers, you should test them with many genres-even genres you hate.
Same thing with a lot of hard rock. Take Dave Matthews live in central park and crank up the volym. Quite demanding on both speakers and amps.
For me, choosing gear is a question of priorities since I am an audiophile on a tight budget.
I worked with John, RIP
I remember meeting him I beleive it was at an open house event when Audio Excellence moved to their previous location long while ago. We had a great conversation. Really good guy. RIP
Problem with budget....no retailer will ever say...you don't need to spend that much for X or why if.......
When do we get the Triton review?
Unfortunately, we returned it.
@@vilip119 Why if I can ask?
@@scrambaba To be diplomatic - they just weren't our thing. I did think they had potential but we never really got into listening.
"Music makes thing simple". How true! (but the path to simplicity can get complicated)
I should have never went down this HiFi rabbit hole! I'll be in divorce court any day now !
Curbside pickups? Isn't that an arrestable offence lol
Not in Ontario - it's government mandated - it's the law...
Not loud enough. Simple solution is to find amps. that the volume goes to number 11!
But it goes to 11...
I figured initially when Jay left I would lose interest in this channel. I am very happy to say, I was WRONG!🤔🙄🤫😉😇
Patsy. One of the few who can't be denied her greatness no matter what type of music you listen too. Also one of the first who was recognized by only speaking her fist name.
Came for audio, got food, bye.
How much do you want to spend? 😁
Funny how people try to shit on rap. You can't shit on anything that helped shape and influences the whole fucking world around you. KNOCK IT OFF! 😂😂😂
There are a lot of cheap speakers and DIY that outperform all this high-end rubbish. I ran a HiFi shop for 8 years and worked in a shop that sold many high-end brands. Choose the speakers for your room or buy a pair of satellites and a ripol subwoofer. save your money buy sensibly.
Put em in your room, play your tracks and find out which one is to your liking. Forget money. Bad influence. Give me lascalas
You guys are Chinese? I thought you were Korean
An audiophiles worst word in any language. BUDGET!
Interesting channel but I think you guys talk a bit too much and keep the videos too long.
Modern rap is trash
Old school is better Run DMC, public enemy, etc