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Old school music LOVER needs help designing simple high quality sound for son:)

  • Thread starter Thread starter lunalas
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lunalas

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Feb 28, 2019
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Extreme music lover here. I have a 17-yr-old who has never heard any real music (high quality). I have, years ago, but it was not a financial priority as my son was growing up. Now, I can see he loves music but seems doomed by having to listen to playlist on phone w/portable speaker. I know how much of the actual sound, notes, instruments, he is not even hearing. When I was young (60's-70's) it seemed everyone had a high quality system, just taken for granted. I no longer understand the technology since I'm old, but I want to give my son the gift of hearing as high a quality system as I can scrape up the money for.
Basically, I just will buy a reciever w/bluetooth and speakers. All I know is that the quality will depend on the speakers and as long as Amp has adequate watts all is good. (Unfortunately I know less than nothing, just spent 2 hours reading and still don't get it).
Can anyone suggest some speaker specs that I would need to start with? I'm interetested in efficiency, high dB, and how I can hear each individual frequency/tone separately. I am used to hearing music that literally vibrates througout your entire body and causes temporary hearing damage. Obviously, that may not be recommended, haa. Help. Any basic ideas deeply appreciated.
 
^^ This, plus...

How old is your son? What type of music does he listen to, and where?
 
Considerations:

1. Kids don't accept what parents say. They need to make up their own minds. So take the lad shopping. Don't say it's for him... but note what he likes/dislikes. Enlist the assistance of one of his friends.

2. Find out whether retro appeals to him or not. If it does, you can go used, lo-tech, old school. If he's a techie, he'll likely want all the bells & whistles, which generally means new.

3. What kind of music (style and format) does he use? If he's addicted to his tablet, buds, etc., then he likely has a large digital collection. So you might need a DAC if you're looking at used, low-tech amps etc. One with a headphone output might be nice, as it will give you more flexibility on the amp/receiver.

4. Keep the power output modest. Nothing will get you thrown out of a college dorm like a 1000W amp harmmering put the tunes. It WILL also grate on mom and dad's nerves after a while, not to mention give him tinnitus before the age of 30. Also, bedrooms, dorm rooms, apts etc don't always have robust power (certainly nothing above 15 amp, shared, receptacles),which will avoid sound issues and blown breakers.

5. Satellites/bookshelf speakers and a modest sub makes sense. Can fit in a bedroom, dorm room etc. Easily moved, set up without the assistance of roadies. It also allows near field listening if space really gets tight. (Another reason why big power amps aren't needed).
 
Last edited:
lunalas said:
Extreme music lover here. I have a 17-yr-old who has never heard any real music (high quality). I have, years ago, but it was not a financial priority as my son was growing up. Now, I can see he loves music but seems doomed by having to listen to playlist on phone w/portable speaker. I know how much of the actual sound, notes, instruments, he is not even hearing. When I was young (60's-70's) it seemed everyone had a high quality system, just taken for granted. I no longer understand the technology since I'm old, but I want to give my son the gift of hearing as high a quality system as I can scrape up the money for.
Basically, I just will buy a reciever w/bluetooth and speakers. All I know is that the quality will depend on the speakers and as long as Amp has adequate watts all is good. (Unfortunately I know less than nothing, just spent 2 hours reading and still don't get it).
Can anyone suggest some speaker specs that I would need to start with? I'm interetested in efficiency, high dB, and how I can hear each individual frequency/tone separately. I am used to hearing music that literally vibrates througout your entire body and causes temporary hearing damage. Obviously, that may not be recommended, haa. Help. Any basic ideas deeply appreciated.
Click to expand...
The most important item is your budget! How much are you willing to spend? We love to spend other people's money around here! ;)

Perhaps even a simple set of powered studio monitors would do the trick.
 
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slipperybidness said:
The most important item is your budget! How much are you willing to spend? We love to spend other people's money around here! ;)

Perhaps even a simple set of powered studio monitors would do the trick.
Click to expand...

Raised by zieglj01 earlier on.
 
Please don't take offense at this, but consider this.

I understand that you want the best for your son, but is he really that concerned with great sound?

I ask this because I have grand kids and, in spite of exposing them to good sound. they really don't care what they listen to. Many would be more than satisfied with a decent bluetooth speaker, maybe with a radio built in,

https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Radio-Retro-Bluetooth-Speaker/dp/B07JC3BX46/ref=sr_1_73?crid=1KHYP1NVRGZTP&keywords=bluetooth+radio+speaker&qid=1551411359&s=electronics&sprefix=bluetooth+radio,aps,185&sr=1-73.
 
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one more time said:
Please don't take offense at this, but consider this.

I understand that you want the best for your son, but is he really that concerned with great sound?

I ask this because I have grand kids and, in spite of exposing them to good sound. they really don't care what they listen to. Many would be more than satisfied with a decent bluetooth speaker, maybe with a radio built in,

https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Radio-Retro-Bluetooth-Speaker/dp/B07JC3BX46/ref=sr_1_73?crid=1KHYP1NVRGZTP&keywords=bluetooth+radio+speaker&qid=1551411359&s=electronics&sprefix=bluetooth+radio,aps,185&sr=1-73.
Click to expand...

This a good point and an unfortunate reality of our modern world. My counter is this. In my house there is a rule. NO phone speakers, no laptop speakers and no BT speakers.(BT speakers are ok in certain occasions like in the yard) Obviously this can backfire when someone is listening to something that...sucks. However, I’d much rather listen to a genre that I’m not fond of on a good system than something I do like on crappy speakers. So, it’s listen on a system(5 to choose from) or headphones. I’m obviously in the minority but I refuse to let my children go after the lowest common denominator out of convenience. It only teaches them to be lazy. We have enough lazy a$$ kids these days lol.

Kudos to OP for trying to share this.
 
lunalas said:
Extreme music lover here. I have a 17-yr-old who has never heard any real music (high quality). I have, years ago, but it was not a financial priority as my son was growing up. Now, I can see he loves music but seems doomed by having to listen to playlist on phone w/portable speaker. I know how much of the actual sound, notes, instruments, he is not even hearing. When I was young (60's-70's) it seemed everyone had a high quality system, just taken for granted. I no longer understand the technology since I'm old, but I want to give my son the gift of hearing as high a quality system as I can scrape up the money for.
Click to expand...
There are only a few spots where the tech has fundamentally changed.

1) Streaming music is a thing (and quality can be effected by things you didn't used to have like compression loss)
2) There are wireless connections (like bluetooth and wifi) that can involve more steps/configuration than attaching wires did.
3) There are "playback modes" built around the number of channels. (EQ has gotten more sophisticated too).

Basically, I just will buy a reciever w/bluetooth and speakers. All I know is that the quality will depend on the speakers and as long as Amp has adequate watts all is good. (Unfortunately I know less than nothing, just spent 2 hours reading and still don't get it).

Can anyone suggest some speaker specs that I would need to start with? I'm interetested in efficiency, high dB, and how I can hear each individual frequency/tone separately. I am used to hearing music that literally vibrates througout your entire body and causes temporary hearing damage. Obviously, that may not be recommended, haa. Help. Any basic ideas deeply appreciated.
Click to expand...

Are you after stereo (2-channel) or surround?
Are you specifically looking to run only the speakers, or are you open to a subwoofer as well?
What's the budget?
How far is the listening distance.

There's a lot that could be done on a used budget; though it would be great to have ideas what you consider the reference target.
 
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I wouldn’t go crazy... even going to college with an integrated amp and decent stand mount speakers is a little over the top. But there’s definitely some room for middle ground in an all-in-one bookshelf type system. Small, easy to move, inexpensive, some actually sound decent... and enough to get him to see a new world of audio to grow into. Save the integrated amp and speakers for graduation or his first apartment. ;)
 
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