10 Biggest Mistakes in Loudspeaker Shopping

[torbee]

Many years ago when I was in college and was looking for a parttime job I answered an ad for a quick money making scheme. That's how I got to sell speakers out of my car. Before you all decide to lynch me over this, I've got to say that I only did it for 1 week because it was far more difficult to make money at it than it was sold to me and my car broke down too... These companies are marketing pyramid schemes, where new hires are overseen by a "manager" who pockets a % of your sales. When and if you makes X amount of sales, you become manager and recruit newbies from whom you'll take a %, including your own manager, who by then is a director, or whatever they want to call the hiearchy. The training is like a boot camp, with early am meetings and a pump us session before going out on the street after having learned a well prepared speech that goes from "we received a few too many" to " we're closing our warehouse". In reality it's a very tough hard sales environment that in truth very few people can do it. I definitely couldn't.
What about the product? These speakers are made in China expressely for this purpose. The box is printed with fake inofmation and if there's a price on the box, it's fake. These speakers are imported in full containers by fly by night companies that rent a warehouse long enough to sell the stock or move out if they are about to get caught. The margins on these things is high, even at the $100 price they are sold for.

 

[rethomps]

Speaker scam story

when I was in college about 5 years ago and new little about audio stuff, these guys roared up in a van and said they worked for an audio chain whom had accidently overstocked thier truck. Then they whipped out a brochure of the speaker they had claiming it was worth over $1500. They of course wanted $600 so my roomate and I thought "what a steal!!" It wasn't until we got back to our place that we realized we had been scamed!! I think the speakers were called MTX or somthing.

 

[bandphan]

when I was in college about 5 years ago and new little about audio stuff, these guys roared up in a van and said they worked for an audio chain whom had accidently overstocked thier truck. Then they whipped out a brochure of the speaker they had claiming it was worth over $1500. They of course wanted $600 so my roomate and I thought "what a steal!!" It wasn't until we got back to our place that we realized we had been scamed!! I think the speakers were called MTX or somthing.

MTX is a legit company

 

[floepie]

9. You bought good speakers with excellent reputations and let your spousal unit or companion persuade you to put them out of sight inside an antique armoire or entertainment unit.

Presently, I have a pair of floor standing Polk RTA-8t on a bookshelf lying sideways. It's certainly not optimal, but the smaller room in which they sit has bookshelving units spanning the entire wall with primary seating facing the bookshelves. The speaker grilles extend ever so slightly in front of the actual shelves, so wave diversions (?) are minimized. Audio characteristics haven't changed all that much I would say relative to their previous placement on the floor. However, I'm not too happy with the sound either way. Room size is 15x13x9.

Have I truly broken some sort of cardinal rule by either a.) placing the speakers on an actual bookshelf, or b.) placing the floor-standing speakers on their sides?

 

[Coolzrock]

I think the biggest mistake is always the look of the speakers, not the feel and sound. If they like the look they buy it, if they don't... well they don't even try it.

 

[haraldo]

I think the biggest mistake is always the look of the speakers, not the feel and sound. If they like the look they buy it, if they don't... well they don't even try it.

This also I guess has something with being realistic.... If the best speakers in the world looks like a train wreck I believe the chance of your girlfriend going out the door at the same time as speakers go in the the door.... Is quite imminent.

And I think it's impossible to take the design out of the equation, jut think of this, speakers is alse a piece of furniture and if all others being equal I believe the most of us will probably pick the ones that looks best, perhaps we all even imagine that good looking speakers sound better because they give us a better state of mind....

But there are some very well sounding "ugly" speakers out there, like the bigger Dunlavy's, the Duntech Classic range of speakers and others....

 

[Johnny2Bad]

" ... This article has only relevance to Audiophiles. ..."

If only audiophiles actually pulled out their wallets and bought speakers, I might agree. But non-audiophiles work just as hard for their paycheck and I don't think they should just roll over and buy whatever they happen to be pitched.

Which brings me to the article itself, and point #2, which I think they somewhat under-emphasized.

" ... 2. You bought speakers in a rush, without listening to them with your favorite recordings, and now you're disappointed because they sound boomy or harsh. ..."

The point starts off right, but the explanation falls a bit short in my opinion.

Always ... ALWAYS ... bring your own music to a store when shopping. Don't just rely on "music you are familiar with" from the store's collection; rely on music you're familiar with from your own collection.

Bring your CDs to the store and insist they use them to demo the speakers. Avoid mp3s, etc ... you want the original resolution songs, whether that be CD, DVD, SACD, LPs, ...

Now, perhaps your own personal preference in music is not exactly "audiophile quality". Save the salesman the embarrassment of saying it out loud (because he probably won't ... they're trained to flatter you, not insult you) ... bring a selection of disks.

The sales guy will hopefully be able to pick out one that meets "his" quality expectations if you have more than one or two disks. He does want to demo the speakers at their best, after all.

So bring six or ten. It won't matter which one he picks ... after all, it's music you are familiar with, right? And he might have his own favorites he wants to use ... go ahead and let him, but only if he plays at least one of yours as well. Of course, if you are not a novice and know a good recording when you see it, you can probably narrow down the number somewhat, and insist the disks you bring are used, but even then, a few more is better than one or two.

Always bring your own disks to audition a speaker. If they're trashed, buy a new copy of the "acceptable" one and go back. Sixteen bucks versus hundreds or thousands? Good money well spent. You are the one buying, after all.

If they refuse to use your disks (and you have met them half-way by bringing a decent selection to choose from), then walk.

 

[duckwaddle79]

I'm sure my friend wish he saw this before he bought those speakers from the white vans.

 

[haraldo]

Worst thing is not to listen enough.... some very very good speakers sound like "not so much" the first time you listen to them, and the second time..... and so on and so on....

The Duntech's I have are like this, very unimpressive at the start.... but after a while I learned to love them.... and now.... don't even ask....

Big big mistake is to hurry, not spend enough time, and buy the speakers that impress you the most at first listen

 

[Pure_Brew]

" ... This article has only relevance to Audiophiles. ..."

If only audiophiles actually pulled out their wallets and bought speakers, I might agree. But non-audiophiles work just as hard for their paycheck and I don't think they should just roll over and buy whatever they happen to be pitched.

Which brings me to the article itself, and point #2, which I think they somewhat under-emphasized.

" ... 2. You bought speakers in a rush, without listening to them with your favorite recordings, and now you're disappointed because they sound boomy or harsh. ..."

The point starts off right, but the explanation falls a bit short in my opinion.

Always ... ALWAYS ... bring your own music to a store when shopping. Don't just rely on "music you are familiar with" from the store's collection; rely on music you're familiar with from your own collection.

Bring your CDs to the store and insist they use them to demo the speakers. Avoid mp3s, etc ... you want the original resolution songs, whether that be CD, DVD, SACD, LPs, ...

Now, perhaps your own personal preference in music is not exactly "audiophile quality". Save the salesman the embarrassment of saying it out loud (because he probably won't ... they're trained to flatter you, not insult you) ... bring a selection of disks.

The sales guy will hopefully be able to pick out one that meets "his" quality expectations if you have more than one or two disks. He does want to demo the speakers at their best, after all.

So bring six or ten. It won't matter which one he picks ... after all, it's music you are familiar with, right? And he might have his own favorites he wants to use ... go ahead and let him, but only if he plays at least one of yours as well. Of course, if you are not a novice and know a good recording when you see it, you can probably narrow down the number somewhat, and insist the disks you bring are used, but even then, a few more is better than one or two.

Always bring your own disks to audition a speaker. If they're trashed, buy a new copy of the "acceptable" one and go back. Sixteen bucks versus hundreds or thousands? Good money well spent. You are the one buying, after all.

If they refuse to use your disks (and you have met them half-way by bringing a decent selection to choose from), then walk.

Even better and covers everyone concerned= bring them home to listen.

 

[TLN1]

couple of points

"Digital" is the ad replacement word for "New and Improved".
Audiophiles aren't snobs they just have a diferent set of priorities for their various budgets.
I've been shopping around for a system and would prefer to rely on an audiophiles ears than mine. Not many places in the area (IA) to listen to the selection that the internet provides. I did just purchase a Harman AVR 2600 and have been looking for speakers.
Here's a good one: While looking for speakers I came across a deal on Affinity speakers! I almost fell out of my chair.

 

[scottie2787]

Beginner Needs Advice

I am a beginner and I am looking for some whole house speakers and receiver to go into my master suite. They will primarily be used for listening to an iPod or stereo. I looking for something pretty inexpensive but something that is decent, I won't be able to tell if the speaker is perfect I just don't want it to sound like it has been blown. To some, inexpensive means $200 per speaker but I was hoping for even less. So please suggest products with your opinions, and give me advice like spending money on the receiver it worth it compared to the speakers or vice versa.

 

[rfolden]

Links

Apparently I can't post a link. Bummer.

My only experience with these "speakers" was when the director of an agency I worked for (An "intelligent" dude, but apparently not in this case) invited me over to see his new home theater sound system. I was perusing the cabinetry looking for a brand name, etc. for further research. All I found was "made in Hong Kong". The speakers he ad purchased were truly impressive looking!

 

[GranteedEV]

I am a beginner and I am looking for some whole house speakers and receiver to go into my master suite. They will primarily be used for listening to an iPod or stereo. I looking for something pretty inexpensive but something that is decent, I won't be able to tell if the speaker is perfect I just don't want it to sound like it has been blown. To some, inexpensive means $200 per speaker but I was hoping for even less. So please suggest products with your opinions, and give me advice like spending money on the receiver it worth it compared to the speakers or vice versa.

I'd say you should probably look for something that's relatively sensitive (90db or higher) and 6 or 8 ohms. That way whichever receiver you decide on won't leave you dissapointed. But since i totally don't bother to look at any of that important crap

try

Usher S-520 (find a local dealer)
SR4021 (accessories4less refurbished)

and for your room, just make sure it's carpeted and throw in a
http://www.gikacoustics.com/gik_artpanel.html
or 8.

 

[big_k]

good read, thank you

 

[hardal]

7. You bought a receiver or amplifier advertised as having "200 watts total power output" and now it seems to be underpowered. <-- I find this part very true when i ran through the post.

 

[k_lewis]

I've heard the Meridian line, very good. Only downside is you need to stick with Meridian all the way back to the processor. Best place to find high end speakers at a decent cost is on Audiogon. I am presently running Genesis G6.1 left / right / center and BG Radia surrounds, the Genesis speakers are simply amazing.

 

[Impelled]

It's interesting that there are now speakers that do their own D to A conversion, but I have to ask "Why".
...

Hi, my first post

Speakers being inductors can be used to filter high frequencies out.
Digital signals are either on or off, so a pulse (wave) will have very steep edges.
The steeper the edge, the higher the frequency content.
So if you can embed a direct digital representation of an analogue wavefoms power signature in a digital stream, you can amplify this in the digital domain (with a Digital Power Amplifier), then the high frequency digital edges are filtered out by the loudspeaker, averaging out leaving the analogue signals waveform.

There is a method of transmitting digital information such that when shown on a graph, the power under the PWM signal can be averaged to follow the curve/power of an analogue wave.
This is called PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), it is a single stream of data known as a Bitstream.
The idea is that the longer the bit or pulse width (ie the longer it stays as 1) "in a time frame", the higher the power.
The shorter the pulse width, the lower the power.

The PWM sample rate is many times higher than the audio frequency range, typically 384K samples per second to 1M+.
This means that a single pulse doesnt represent a wave directly, many pulses represent one analogue wave (typically 8 or more).

The amplifer must amplify the PWM bitstream so must be a digital amplifier.
It is fed with the PWM bitstream so other digital signal types need converting before being fed to the amp.
A Digital amp may do some conversions, it depends what the mfr implements.

Some advantages are that there is little to no phase distortion, they are highly efficient, smaller, lighter, cheaper to make.
They can provide very high power, maintaining a clean signal much easier than analogue amps.

I hope that helps.
(I know about the tech but havent heard a digital amp yet, its on my to do list)

 

[ARKaMAN]

thanks for the info

 

[Speakers88]

Experts

The takeaway from the original article seems to be the importance of consulting with experts when setting up your home audio systems. Buying off of flashy ads, based on brand name, or off the back of the truck is going to end up disappointing you in the long run because you're not getting whats right for you.