Please help. I want to enjoy music again.

[Bucknekked]

I love reading about people's first audiophile experiences -- the wonder and awe of that first life-changing epiphany in front of a proper system. I'd like your post twice if I could Buck. I bet your daughter's ready for you to hand her down your SongTowers so you can upgrade to a pair of Soundscapes.

This particular daughter (I have 5 adult kids, 3 daughters and 2 sons) has a soft spot for music. I remember the first time I shared Andrea Boccelli's "Con te Partiro" (Time to say goodby) with her back in the day. It brought her to tears listening to it on my then "pretty good" sound system.

When we finished the other night I told her husband he could thank me later. I just did the heavy lifting on getting his sound system approved. All he has to do now is raise the money and spend it. We'll see. It's possible with enough promptings, she may invest or let him invest. Only time will tell. Her daughters, my granddaughters, all love great music. They come over just to catch a listen as well. I am planning a listening event just for them sometime in near future.

 

[MrBoat]

This particular daughter (I have 5 adult kids, 3 daughters and 2 sons) has a soft spot for music. I remember the first time I shared Andrea Boccelli's "Con te Partiro" (Time to say goodby) with her back in the day. It brought her to tears listening to it on my then "pretty good" sound system.

When we finished the other night I told her husband he could thank me later. I just did the heavy lifting on getting his sound system approved. All he has to do now is raise the money and spend it. We'll see. It's possible with enough promptings, she may invest or let him invest. Only time will tell. Her daughters, my granddaughters, all love great music. They come over just to catch a listen as well. I am planning a listening event just for them sometime in near future.

Same with my son who I gave my old rack system to. I had the Continuum speakers on stands next to my big speakers and we were sitting here (I was, he just happened by in the middle of it) listening and after about 10-15 minutes I told him that we were listening to the small speakers. He did a double take and I could tell he was perplexed. Not that it was loud, because it wasn't. You could tell he was really focusing on the purity of it all.

Yesterday, we're talking at work and out of the blue, he tells me he thinks he needs to build himself some speakers. Might have to try some of those Murphy Blasters and find the boy a proper amp. . . . and a subwoofer.

I would love it if my passion for quality sound passes on to my sons. It's one of the most life enriching ventures a young person can follow, and finally slam-dunk those god awful Bluetooth thingies they have. Of course they could just wait for me to croak and fall into it the easy way. I have enough to where they won't have to fight over it, at least.

 

[slipperybidness]

I love reading about people's first audiophile experiences -- the wonder and awe of that first life-changing epiphany in front of a proper system. I'd like your post twice if I could Buck. I bet your daughter's ready for you to hand her down your SongTowers so you can upgrade to a pair of Soundscapes.

Heck, I had a similar experience the first time I actually listened to some GOOD headphones!

I still prefer speakers, but I just "didn't get it" with headphones, until I finally got a GOOD set!

Either the AKG 845BT, or the Senn HD598. Each has its own set of attributes that make them a spectacular (but different) listening experience.

 

[KEW]

Scottter140,
You've received lots of good advice, but I thought I'd throw in the "pro audio option", especially since you have the guitar thing going and are talking about recording.
A pair of JBL LSR305's at $300 is probably the best value for quality sound. These are pro audio monitors. Places like Guitar Center sell them (the one by me stocks them), so you can probably find a place in your area to check them out. The amplifiers are built into the speakers so you completely by-pass needing an AVR.

https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Studio-Monitor-Interfaces-Laptops/dp/B00JFN3KLY/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1502475504&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=jbl+lsr305+pair

Note that the pricing on these speakers seems to be controlled (like Apple does), however some distributors throw in free cables like the Amazon link above. If you find them locally, see if they will match this.

 

[Bucknekked]

Heck, I had a similar experience the first time I actually listened to some GOOD headphones!

I still prefer speakers, but I just "didn't get it" with headphones, until I finally got a GOOD set!

Either the AKG 845BT, or the Senn HD598. Each has its own set of attributes that make them a spectacular (but different) listening experience.

Slippery:
The first time I slipped on a great pair of headphones and played some tunes, it was an audio epiphany type of experience. I think Pink Floyd was a raging success when they were because headphones were coming out of the stone age and PF sounds outrageously good on them. I can remember the first time I listened to Grank Funk's "I'm your Captain" song. There's a spot in it where there is some off mike studio noise and I heard it clear as a bell. It was a total shocker. From there on out, I was a headphone junkie for years.

I have the Sure inner ear monitors now. I got their next to the top end ones a few years back when I was traveling a lot. They cost a lot, but, wow, they are still stinkin' awesome after all these years.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah, much of my early years' audio goodness was on headphones as the speakers I had back then were pretty much crap (from a cheap little Panasonic record player/receiver stereo set); discovered I could get much more goodness via the headphone jack! Once I could afford a good receiver/tt/speaker setup several years later I used the 'phones much less, mostly just not to disturb others late at night. Now I very rarely use them at all.

 

[slipperybidness]

Yeah, much of my early years' audio goodness was on headphones as the speakers I had back then were pretty much crap (from a cheap little Panasonic record player/receiver stereo set); discovered I could get much more goodness via the headphone jack! Once I could afford a good receiver/tt/speaker setup several years later I used the 'phones much less, mostly just not to disturb others late at night. Now I very rarely use them at all.

Personally, wireless BT phones get a lot more use than my wired cans. The wires are just a nuisance, and BT is very good nowadays anyway.

 

[lovinthehd]

Personally, wireless BT phones get a lot more use than my wired cans. The wires are just a nuisance, and BT is very good nowadays anyway.

I could see a BT headphone particularly useful when I'm camping, one of the few times I could see using headphones....the last time I excessively listened to music through my van's setup I ran the battery down (fortunately the only other campers in the area were able to give me a jump!). I'd rather still listen to the van's audio system but not until I install another battery to power it. I do hate tripping over headphone wires, tho. (Mostly I just don't like speakers strapped to my head)

 

[Pogre]

I love reading about people's first audiophile experiences -- the wonder and awe of that first life-changing epiphany in front of a proper system. I'd like your post twice if I could Buck. I bet your daughter's ready for you to hand her down your SongTowers so you can upgrade to a pair of Soundscapes.

Me too. My friend, Mike, was poo pooing my setup, "As long as I like the music I don't care...". He now has a decent avr, just got a subwoofer and is saving up for some speakers. In the meantime I'm letting him borrow my Deftech Promonitor 1000's and he's loving it.

I can't wait to help him spend his money on some speakers! He was gonna go cheap at first, but a couple of visits to my place convinced him otherwise. He said he wanted sound like I have, but for hundreds instead of thousands. I said "keep saving".

 

[rojo]

He said he wanted sound like I have, but for hundreds instead of thousands. I said "keep saving".

Well, maybe cheaper than you'd think. And of course, as @MrBoat would probably agree, there are other ways to save money on great sound. In any case, it can't hurt to remind him that he probably has no problem paying thousands for a television he'll likely keep only for a half dozen years or so before it dies or becomes obsolete, but whatever he invests in his speakers will potentially last decades if he's patient and makes the right choice.

 

[Pogre]

Well, maybe cheaper than you'd think. And of course, as @MrBoat would probably agree, there are other ways to save money on great sound. In any case, it can't hurt to remind him that he probably has no problem paying thousands for a television he'll likely keep only for a half dozen years or so before it dies or becomes obsolete, but whatever he invests in his speakers will potentially last decades if he's patient and makes the right choice.

Those jbls look pretty awesome. I'm finding myself wanting to buy them! How do you think they'd compare to my Ultras? If I were judging by looks alone I'd say they look like they're on the same playing field. Must be a pretty big discount from the original price.

 

[rojo]

Those jbls look pretty awesome. I'm finding myself wanting to buy them! How do you think they'd compare to my Ultras? If I were judging by looks alone I'd say they look like they're on the same playing field. Must be a pretty big discount from the original price.

They retail about $900 each. I'd put them in roughly the same performance class as your ultras. I've read a few customer reviews claiming their tweets are glorious, while others are of the opinion that they're juuuust on the cusp of sibilant. That could just be their revealing nature of poor quality source recordings. But if it turns out they're right, I'm sure it's nothing a little toe-in couldn't fix. They're definitely worth an audition at that price.

 

[Pogre]

They retail about $900 each. I'd put them in roughly the same performance class as your ultras. I've read a few customer reviews claiming their tweets are glorious, while others are of the opinion that they're juuuust on the cusp of sibilant. That could just be their revealing nature of poor quality source recordings. But if it turns out they're right, I'm sure it's nothing a little toe-in couldn't fix. They're definitely worth an audition at that price.

I linked my buddy Mike to those. He might go for it. Similar performance to the Ultras at less than half the price is definitely worth an audition.

 

[rojo]

@Pogre: Cool. I ought to point out that they're being sold by a 3rd party seller, so your buddy will be on the hook for return shipping if they fail the audition. But I think he'll be pleased with them. What subwoofer did he get?

 

[Pogre]

@Pogre: Cool. I ought to point out that they're being sold by a 3rd party seller, so your buddy will be on the hook for return shipping if they fail the audition. But I think he'll be pleased with them. What subwoofer did he get?

He just sold his house and right now he's staying with his brother. He has a small setup in his bedroom wanted more bass, but didn't want to spend a ton until he's in his new place.

I recommended the Dayton 1200 because of price and it can be repurposed down the road for a nearfield setup or something. I might do that myself when I get my desk set up in the office. He's pretty happy with it and understands it won't do nearly as well in a large room.

The jbl's look like a pretty good deal tho and he might pull the trigger even if he has to keep them in storage until he gets his new place.

*Edit: Truth be told, I want to hear them! I'll nudge him toward the jbl's. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to return them. I might even be able to store them for him...

 

[zieglj01]

They retail about $900 each. I'd put them in roughly the same performance class as your ultras. I've read a few customer reviews claiming their tweets are glorious, while others are of the opinion that they're juuuust on the cusp of sibilant.

the Studio 5 tweeters are nice and do not enhance sibilance -- the speakers also perform best with a little toe in -- they have held up well for many against competition that was priced more than their list price.

 

[lovinthehd]

I've been quite pleased with my JBL 590/530/520 set...especially the $ 450 each I paid for the 590s...those 580s for $390 are a good deal...but matching center could be difficult.

 

[zieglj01]

I've been quite pleased with my JBL 590/530/520 set...especially the $ 450 each I paid for the 590s...those 580s for $390 are a good deal...but matching center could be difficult.

The 520 center is expected to be back in stock in the early part of September.

 

[KEW]

The 520 center is expected to be back in stock in the early part of September.

Do you know what JBL is doing with these?
I think sales of the 530 were probably excellent, but they have been out of circulation for a while now.
Are they just clearing out old stock? I might have thought we wuld have seen a replacement by now.

Scottter140 & Pogre,
The Studio 5 series has a great reputation and is one of the best values (especially at the discounted prices). I would expect you to find the sound different, but have a hard time deciding which is better if you compared against something like SVS Ultras. The one place where there is a definite and obvious difference is "fit and finish".
The fit and finish of the Ultras is stellar. By all accounts, the fit and finish of the Studio 5 series is a little rough. The plastic outrigger feet are supposed to be a bit weak for their purpose, and look at the drivers in the shot below - obviously, the designers are not trying to make a visually stunning product. On this model, the budget was not increased to make the details look good!
So, knowing yourself (or your friend, in Pogre's case), consider that.
If you like things clean and pristine, the Studio 5XX's are not a good fit. If you have a "utility" attitude about such things, these are perfect!

 

[Pogre]

Do you know what JBL is doing with these?
I think sales of the 530 were probably excellent, but they have been out of circulation for a while now.
Are they just clearing out old stock? I might have thought we wuld have seen a replacement by now.

Scottter140 & Pogre,
The Studio 5 series has a great reputation and is one of the best values (especially at the discounted prices). I would expect you to find the sound different, but have a hard time deciding which is better if you compared against something like SVS Ultras. The one place where there is a definite and obvious difference is appearance. I'm not talking the style, that is obvious. The fit and finish of the Ultras is stellar. By all accounts, the fit and finish of the Studio 5 series is a little rough. The plastic outrigger feet are supposed to be a bit weak for their purpose, and look at the drivers in the shot below - obviously, the designers are not trying to make a visually stunning product. On this model, the budget was not increased to make the details look good!
So, knowing yourself (or your friend, in Pogre's case), consider that.
If you like things clean and pristine, the Studio 5XX's are not a good fit. If you have a "utility" attitude about such things, these are perfect!

They definitely look better with the grilles on!