Disclaimer: I am just regular guy whose really likes listening to the music first...equipment juggling fetish is very second distant
For years now my setup is B&W 686 (somewhere around 2005s), and old Pioneer 5.1 (XV-DV323) receiver which I'm using in stereo mode. Pioneer specification says: 75W per channel, 1kHz, 1%THD, 6ohm. When stereo mode is turned on, strong click is heard (relay?) and there is signal only on front channels, but I do not know does that increase power for front channels to more than 75 Wats or not. Both devices had average reviews at the time.
Of course, my speakers were entry level even back in 2005, and of course one does not use all-in-one-compact-receiver from 2005 for stereo listening, so I had several attempts to "upgrade" the sound. But....
Test Nr. 1: I tried with Rotel amplifier from A series (Rotel's entry series). If I were very generous, I would say that maybe the bass was a bit stronger, but my wife didn't notice anything.
Coming from science background, I never understood how amplifiers could sound different in the first place. So, it was relief to find this forum with general consensus "power is transparent, focus on speakers". Therefore...
Take Nr. 2.: I took my 686 to the shop. Very kind salesman provided me with Hegel amplifier. I connected my 686 first, then several Elacs at different price points (DBR62, Carina, Unifi)and for the end (much more expensive) Falcon LS3/5a.
Did those speakers sound different? Well...kind of. Did they sound "better" that 686? Not so sure. Would my wife notice difference? Absolutely not!
(Btw. I liked DBR62 which are loved here, they sounded "spacious" to me, but again, they didn't annihilate my 686, not at all)
Take Nr.3: Disappointed with results of previous test, I wanted to see what does it take for average listener (my wife) to notice a difference.
In our home office she was test subject in A/B/C comparison for following setups:
a) Pioneer receiver with B&W 686
b) Logitech x530 - again, very average rated desktop 5.1 system from mid 2000s. I only used left, right, and centre(!) channel with (bad) subwoofer on.
c) Two JBL Charge 3s, paired in stereo - so, small, cheapish bluetooth speakers
While she immediately disqualified small JBLs, she had more problems with deciding between Logitechs and B&Ws when center channel on Logitech was on.
When I turned off center channel on Logitech, soundstage fell apart, and she preferred 686. At least something... but I must admit I understood her dilemma
My questions:
1) If you (over)simplify results from my tests, it seems that my wife has trouble distinguishing budget Logitech desktop speakers from 35 times more expensive Falcons. Are the differences between speakers we discuss so much really so subtle for untrained ear, or is she just plain deaf ?
2) Am I aiming to low? To which speakers, if any, should I upgrade so improvement in sound would be obvious and significant ("night and day!") even for untrained ear?
3) For apartment living where high SPLs are almost irrelevant, what would high end speaker bring to the table when compared to good budget one (e.g., Dbr62), apart from build quality and pride in ownership?
4) I noticed that wide soundstage is far more important to me than pinpoint imaging, if I understand terms correctly. To be completely honest, I prefer what I call "shopping mall sound", full sound coming to me from all sides (not in the home theatre terms, music only). Should I go with more than two speakers per room for music, or find two speakers with very wide dispersion?
Thank you for your answers…and I apologize for long post and bad English
For years now my setup is B&W 686 (somewhere around 2005s), and old Pioneer 5.1 (XV-DV323) receiver which I'm using in stereo mode. Pioneer specification says: 75W per channel, 1kHz, 1%THD, 6ohm. When stereo mode is turned on, strong click is heard (relay?) and there is signal only on front channels, but I do not know does that increase power for front channels to more than 75 Wats or not. Both devices had average reviews at the time.
Of course, my speakers were entry level even back in 2005, and of course one does not use all-in-one-compact-receiver from 2005 for stereo listening, so I had several attempts to "upgrade" the sound. But....
Test Nr. 1: I tried with Rotel amplifier from A series (Rotel's entry series). If I were very generous, I would say that maybe the bass was a bit stronger, but my wife didn't notice anything.
Coming from science background, I never understood how amplifiers could sound different in the first place. So, it was relief to find this forum with general consensus "power is transparent, focus on speakers". Therefore...
Take Nr. 2.: I took my 686 to the shop. Very kind salesman provided me with Hegel amplifier. I connected my 686 first, then several Elacs at different price points (DBR62, Carina, Unifi)and for the end (much more expensive) Falcon LS3/5a.
Did those speakers sound different? Well...kind of. Did they sound "better" that 686? Not so sure. Would my wife notice difference? Absolutely not!
(Btw. I liked DBR62 which are loved here, they sounded "spacious" to me, but again, they didn't annihilate my 686, not at all)
Take Nr.3: Disappointed with results of previous test, I wanted to see what does it take for average listener (my wife) to notice a difference.
In our home office she was test subject in A/B/C comparison for following setups:
a) Pioneer receiver with B&W 686
b) Logitech x530 - again, very average rated desktop 5.1 system from mid 2000s. I only used left, right, and centre(!) channel with (bad) subwoofer on.
c) Two JBL Charge 3s, paired in stereo - so, small, cheapish bluetooth speakers
While she immediately disqualified small JBLs, she had more problems with deciding between Logitechs and B&Ws when center channel on Logitech was on.
When I turned off center channel on Logitech, soundstage fell apart, and she preferred 686. At least something... but I must admit I understood her dilemma
My questions:
1) If you (over)simplify results from my tests, it seems that my wife has trouble distinguishing budget Logitech desktop speakers from 35 times more expensive Falcons. Are the differences between speakers we discuss so much really so subtle for untrained ear, or is she just plain deaf ?
2) Am I aiming to low? To which speakers, if any, should I upgrade so improvement in sound would be obvious and significant ("night and day!") even for untrained ear?
3) For apartment living where high SPLs are almost irrelevant, what would high end speaker bring to the table when compared to good budget one (e.g., Dbr62), apart from build quality and pride in ownership?
4) I noticed that wide soundstage is far more important to me than pinpoint imaging, if I understand terms correctly. To be completely honest, I prefer what I call "shopping mall sound", full sound coming to me from all sides (not in the home theatre terms, music only). Should I go with more than two speakers per room for music, or find two speakers with very wide dispersion?
Thank you for your answers…and I apologize for long post and bad English