Have your say & ask the experts

Surely £5000 speakers or component is so much better than £1000 speakers or component? what do you think? So if one is not loaded with cash, like me, I will never truly enjoy hi-fi at it's best???

I've heard it said that the improvements get smaller as you spend more.
You neednt spend a fortune to get great sound.
My system has cost me maybe £200 but with a few choice mods it sounds as good as if not better than my fathers Naim/linn setup.

As a very very general rule higher priced items do out perform cheaper models, with performance, looks and build quality. That said synergy is exceptionally important and there are entry level and mid priced systems that would trouble much more expensive set ups.

As long as you have some good music you will be alright.

Nick

 

 

I think that in general, the better the performance the more people will pay. But this doesn't always translate to mean the more that a company charges, the better the performance.

For instance, pick a £5k set of speakers. Some will be very flexible and some very picky about being partnered correctly. An upgrade to your system in one case and a downgrade if you choose wrongly in another. So matching components into your system is vital.

Buying second hand, the right kit, can save you a fortune and keep residual values in your kit high. My Dali speakers should have cost £6k for the front 3 and I paid £2950 for less than one year old and in mint condition. Couldn't have afforded them otherwise, and really couldn't anyway, but as they'll hold their value I bought them. Best decision I ever made.

Occasionally a manufacturer brings out a piece of kit that is giant killing and effectively miss priced. I won't name any because I spend all my time harping on, but on the odd occasion it happens it brings quality into the realm of affordability. When that happens it's worth jumping on it. Not often though!

Good system matching (and cable), speaker placement and near perfect room acoustics will yield far better results then spending more money.

I understood this even more when i compared my wharfedale evolution to a more expensive B&W 804.

Although the B&W's were a bit more refined at the topend, we agreed in the room that the Wharfedale's were even more musical.

Then we compared it to Dynaudio Excite and the Dynaudio was even better then both mentioned speakers with my amp.

I think you get the message?

Yes, the better the quality speakers will cost you a lot more cash (not always but most of the time) imo.

A pair of good crossover do cost a lot of money, then the cabinet matters, the more rigid cabinet will makes a bigger difference to speakers sound than the crossover, and can take weeks and weeks of labouring. 

I remember visiting Bob at Neat Acoustic and see the process of speakers making, the more expensive range (Ultimatum) cabinets were a lot heavier than the lesser model and even the same or similar crossover/drivers were use, the Ultimatum did sound a lot better.

so there, in higher end of speakers world, your money is well spend even if doesn't seem it! (again, for most of the time).

 

I think the homework a buyer does in finding the right synergy will yield more satisfactory results than nipping out and buying a pair of £5k speakers (or other item). It might work, but it might not. You'll get something that's well built, hopefully with high quality components but how that partners up with other equipment can sometimes be a lottery.

Here is my opinion, if I spend £100 on speakers, there going to sound ok, with £200, they will sound good. Now let's just say I spend £10,000 on speakers, they will sound fantastic, if I spend £10,200, it will sound just the same. If I spend £20,000, it won't be a huge improvement, the more you spend, the smaller the differences are, like if I spend £300 on a cable, it will sound just slightly better!

I forgot to mention that i also heard a pair of MBL speakers...

http://images.google.be/imgres?imgurl=http://www.higherfi.com/spkrlist/MBL_101X-treme.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.higherfi.com/spkrlist/speakerlist.htm&usg=__vK0qcrFobL4e7Ib-26Z8OzAp-BU=&h=677&w=793&sz=110&hl=nl&start=1&um=1&tbnid=RwEf-4tNCjzYiM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmbl%2Bspeakers%26hl%3Dnl%26rlz%3D1T4DVXE_enBE304BE304%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

A live recording of the Eagles, Hotel California was playing.

They were very transparent but where was the musicality, the emotion???

Great topic! 

In general, the answer is yes, simply because better construction and parts are more costly.  However, the real problem is with the definition of quality.  Nobody in the audio hobby agrees on what constitutes quality. 

If I gave £8000 to 10 different audio industry experts and asked for the best system they could purchase, they would all obviously create different systems, but what's really interesting is that all 10 systems would sound remarkably different.

The question you are really asking is:  Do I need to spend a fortune to get amazing sound?  The answer is no.  I really don't believe there is much point in spending more than £6000 tops on a dream audio system (that's all in, cables and everything).   And you can achieve most of that sound with just £3000. 

The key IS money, but not the way you think.  It's not about buying super expensive products, it's about system synergy and that requires buying many mid priced products and trying them until you find the special combination that works for you, your music tastes, and your environment.  This approach will eventually create the most satisfying system in my opinion.

I remember being totally satify with my Acoustic Zen Adagio (£4000ish) I thought the speakers was a lot better than my previous (stop gap, must say) Tottem Arro (£800). 

and then a dealer send me a pair of ART Emotion Signature (£9000) to try at home, the step up was massive.  The overall sound was a lot better, so much so that my credit card was come out quicker than you can say "crunch" .

 

TheHomeCinemaCentre:

As a very very general rule higher priced items do out perform cheaper models, with performance, looks and build quality. That said synergy is exceptionally important and there are entry level and mid priced systems that would trouble much more expensive set ups.

As long as you have some good music you will be alright.

Nick

I agree. The more money I have spent, after testing & research of products that fit my system best, there has always been an improvement. Sometimes massive, sometimes small. They key is whether you can hear these differences to make it have a value for yourself.

ajharris:

Now let's just say I spend £10,000 on speakers, they will sound fantastic, if I spend £10,200, it will sound just the same.

But presumably only if you've just bought the exact same speakers and been charged an extra £200!

Greetings from the Pedants Corner (or is that Pedant's.....damn....)

More money will buy you better build quality, but sound? not always.

Thaiman:

I remember being totally satify with my Acoustic Zen Adagio (£4000ish) I thought the speakers was a lot better than my previous (stop gap, must say) Tottem Arro (£800). 

and then a dealer send me a pair of ART Emotion Signature (£9000) to try at home, the step up was massive.  The overall sound was a lot better, so much so that my credit card was come out quicker than you can say "crunch" .

 

Yes, yes, yes.....


"Using up to the minute driver technology and Birchply and Hardwood construction techniques for the cabinets, we created a balance of ease of drive, efficiency and linear response.

There are 3 models which differ only in the components employed in the crossover network and the internal wiring used, the Emotion, the Emotion Signature and the Emotion Silver Signature. The cabinets and drive units are the same for each model which makes it possible to upgrade from one to the other thus keeping the initial investment intact."

You are having to get into really serious high end speakers to get the crossover and internal wiring quality...... Hand wound copper air core Inductors and Clarity Cap custom made SA series capacitors
Internal Wiring - Premium quality OFC copper internal wiring.

SignatureSeries....Jensen copper-foil inductors, Jensen copper-foil paper-inoil capacitors, Caddock non-inductive resistors and Kondo KSL SPC copper wiring.

They take your breath away with the naturalness with the music.

I am laughing all the way to the bank with the spec crossovers in my RS8's along with Kimberkable 4TC internal wiring and long wool fibre damping. Whilst they are probably not quite up to the Emotion Signatures I bet they are not far off them. :-))

They say knowledge is power, serious upgrades can be made on quality mid range items which can punch well above there price point if you know what to modify. So very good systems can be put together which sound outstanding.