Went to Audio Concepts today, FUN for me not for wife...

[ImcLoud]

Well me and the wife were around Boston Today, and I have been wanting to go back through AC, so I did, I love it there... But anyway, I figured out what I don't like for music speakers... It should have been obvious but I never really pin pointed it before, the salesman took some notes while we listened to stuff and figured it out...

He handed me a list of what I didnt like...

I dont like horns I knew this} ,
I dont like full range speakers {I prefer a separate sub} {although I love my lores, this is for the most part true},
I dont like more than 2.5 way assemblies {I have no idea what that means},
I dont like "unorth" assemblies {I asked him about this, he said it is a cabinet that puts speakers all the way to the floor , like Polk likes to do, he said everything he played that I preferred was upper mounted so no speakers all the way down the baffle...

I then showed him a picture of my listening room on my phone, with the dual subs and evo40's... He hit the nail on the head...
I didnt buy anything for my self, Although them B&W 803's are insane.... But expensive... While I was there, they had a demo b&W sub, that I texted my brother a picture of and he wanted so he called in a credit card and I picked it up for him {$800 off !!!!}

 

[Steve81]

It's always nice to have real dealers around that take the time to actually attend to you. I was hugely disappointed when the only dealer within spitting distance of my home went under; they carried a wide range from more affordable speakers of the likes of NHT and Paradigm and went all the way up to the stratosphere with Wilson Audio; they also usually had an interesting assortment in the used selection. The storefront is a Chipotle now

I'm not sure how you could reliably determine some of the likes/dislikes though. For example, not more than 2.5 way assemblies means no 3 or 4 way speakers, ie an NHT Classic 3 is a 3 way speaker. Too many variables here, not the least of which is the competence of the guy designing the crossover to blend the drivers together. Really the same can be said for "horns" and "unorth". It's no secret you don't like Klipsch, but they're hardly the only purveyor of horns on the market, and they're not necessarily the best either. With respect to "unorth", I'm not really sure where they're going with that. My subwoofer is on the floor, is that unorth??? Is an NHT Four with a powered woofer close to the floor unorth? Again, I'd entirely expect whether this is any good or not goes back directly to the guy designing the speaker (both in terms of competence and any potential target sound he might be after).

With respect to full range vs sub/sat, a lot depends on the room and placement. The sub/sat system has the big advantage of being able to separately place the subwoofer in an ideal spot for bass reproduction, and oftentimes this isn't where you'd necessarily site your main speakers. OTOH, sometimes where you site your main speakers is perfectly adequate for bass reproduction.

 

[Adam]

Five years from now, your wife will admit that she showed the salesman that picture when you first arrived and you were off looking...and then paid him $50 to convince you that you already owned what you love.

 

[ImcLoud]

Five years from now, your wife will admit that she showed the salesman that picture when you first arrived and you were off looking...and then paid him $50 to convince you that you already owned what you love.

LOL , No, He was definitely trying to sell me... We spent a while there, I had my wife go and get everyone coffee and donuts... My wife said "why where ever we go, you get attention like that", and Im like "this guy is trying to sell me a $12K pair for speakers, my brother bought a 2012 chevy sonic for $10,500!!!"...

I think they have an array of speakers to figure out what you prefer... They have you listen to 5 sets of 3 sets {so like 15 pairs of speakers} and they are all powered by the same stuff with the same songs, and you can really pick out what you like...

My favorite sound was b&w 805s with 2 db1's, although the 800 and 802 with no sub sounded good too...

 

[Steve81]

"this guy is trying to sell me a $12K pair for speakers, my brother bought a 2012 chevy sonic for $10,500!!!"...

Reminds me of a Ron White joke about the cost of a TV versus a pair of sun glasses.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My favorite sound was b&w 805s with 2 db1's, although the 800 and 802 with no sub sounded good too...

Do you think your perception/ impression would be different if people on the forum tell you the B&W measure poorly off-axis and that B&W shouldn't sound good?

 

[ImcLoud]

Hmm tough one, nope, I dont like the little BW at all, and a lot of people like them... And I am one of the crazies that enjoys the Tekton line, lol... So I am obviously not swayed by this forums popular oppinion ... The Diamonds are a very well made, well thought out and designed speaker, you can not take that away from them...

But they are Ugly as the day is long, they remind me of my short fat football coach from high school, I swear a crooked patriots hat and some thick glasses and these things are him... So actually I should have some resentment towards them, because he was a prick, I was 6'3" 205 lbs running the 40 in under 5 seconds and he would bench me for being late to practice... But on the other hand I am always on time now, so maybe he tought me somthing ... No longer running the 40 in 4.9 though my kinees hurt, my shoulder hurts, and my back is sore... Years of abusive gym practices catch up fast...

Seriously though, I couldnt justify the cost, I would love to own a pair of the diamonds, but the difference in enjoyment I would get from them to my cheap $2200 2.2 system is so small I dont think I could ever spend that kind of money....

I need it for my kids education, cant rely on football rides just yet, they are still young, but my 11 year old is 5'2" 138 lbs and built like a rock, and my 13 year old is 5'5" and almost 150... SO maybe

 

[Steve81]

Seriously though, I couldnt justify the cost, I would love to own a pair of the diamonds, but the difference in enjoyment I would get from them to my cheap $2200 2.2 system is so small I dont think I could ever spend that kind of money....

Personally I find that to be a fantastic way to gain appreciation for what you own.

 

[ImcLoud]

Personally I find that to be a fantastic way to gain appreciation for what you own.

You are 100% correct.. After hearing a $25K+ system {they were using a pair of $7K mono blocks as demo power, never mind the room equalization system and preamp systems, and the room treatments}, and being able to come home and turn my $2200 system on that sounds 91% vs their 95% it really puts it into perspective...

That last 4% is expensive, lol...

Now its not that I am cheap {I am cheap}, but if there was a speaker that sounded so real, I could walk in a room blindfolded and think I walked into an unplugged recording session, maybe I would spend $15000, but Ive yet to hear them, and I have listened to some pretty renowned systems... Nothing compared to sitting in the room listening to Steve Perry sing 8 ft away... he sang Oh sherry with no instrumentals, and you think that song would fall apart with out the background, nope... just snapping fingers and it was good... Get me speakers that can feel "almost" that real, and Ill write a check .... But only up to $20K

 

[KEW]

You are 100% correct.. After hearing a $25K+ system {they were using a pair of $7K mono blocks as demo power, never mind the room equalization system and preamp systems, and the room treatments}, and being able to come home and turn my $2200 system on that sounds 91% vs their 95% it really puts it into perspective...

That last 4% is expensive, lol...

Now its not that I am cheap {I am cheap}, but if there was a speaker that sounded so real, I could walk in a room blindfolded and think I walked into an unplugged recording session, maybe I would spend $15000, but Ive yet to hear them, and I have listened to some pretty renowned systems... Nothing compared to sitting in the room listening to Steve Perry sing 8 ft away... he sang Oh sherry with no instrumentals, and you think that song would fall apart with out the background, nope... just snapping fingers and it was good... Get me speakers that can feel "almost" that real, and Ill write a check .... But only up to $20K

You talked yourself into a 33% increase in two sentences!
No wonder the salesman gave you attention!
Never say never...

 

[Steve81]

Now its not that I am cheap {I am cheap}, but if there was a speaker that sounded so real, I could walk in a room blindfolded and think I walked into an unplugged recording session, maybe I would spend $15000, but Ive yet to hear them, and I have listened to some pretty renowned systems... Nothing compared to sitting in the room listening to Steve Perry sing 8 ft away... he sang Oh sherry with no instrumentals, and you think that song would fall apart with out the background, nope... just snapping fingers and it was good... Get me speakers that can feel "almost" that real, and Ill write a check .... But only up to $20K

It's a depressing state of affairs: no matter how much you spend on the playback chain, and no matter how good it is, you can only address one side of the equation.

 

[ImcLoud]

You talked yourself into a 33% increase in two sentences!
No wonder the salesman gave you attention!
Never say never...

Im a very very sad person As I posted it I almost edited in $25K... but if it was a really really perfect sytem maybe $30 but thats it, no more than that, $35K tops...

 

[Steve.]

Good guys at Audio Concepts.... they have a location off 95 in Attleboro too. One of the better local dealers in the area for sure...

 

[monkish54]

Do you think your perception/ impression would be different if people on the forum tell you the B&W measure poorly off-axis and that B&W shouldn't sound good?

We never said (at least I didn't) that B&W doesn't sound good, just that they aren't neutral. How arrogant it would be to tell you it doesn't sound good. I'm not you***, how would I know what sounds good?




***If you buy the TAD R1 next, I'll wish I was you.