Ear for quality sound
 

Just a thought but many here have very discerning palettes when it comes to the sound of your instruments and have spent a small fortune on them but when you playback a cd is your hifi up to the job.

This is actually a great thread, but would be better suited in a different sub-forum. Having said that, I own a set of Klipschorns that are the mains of my home theater system and a Belle Klipsch center for good measure. I enjoy listening to music as much as playing.

Bryant

I think so, but I always use Skullcandies. :)

In my case, um, perhaps. At home I listen on a pair of UREI 811c time aligned studio monitors that I picked up from a studio at fire sale prices. I added subwoofers.

http://www.in2guitar.com/stereo/stackl.jpg

At work I listen on the big brothers of my home speakers (813B/C) that contain basically the same main coaxial time-aligned drivers but add a secondary bass driver to fill them out.

http://www.in2guitar.com/stereo/813ssi.jpg

Power is from David Haffler amps.

So perhaps it is a passable pair of rigs.

Bob

I have a "decent" hi-fidelity system at home... NAD amp/receiver and a set of B&W speakers (the little guys...). Not what I would call audiophile, but decent.

I am surprised that, at 64 years with 45+years of performing behind me, I can still hear the difference between vinyl / CD / downloadable files (mp3 and the like...). Don't get me wrong, I am THRILLED that I can still hear distinctly... just surprised, is all...

At home I listen using Paradigm speakers. Very fine for acoustic guitar recordings.

at home listening
 

I have a couple of stereo systems at home, both older but quite good, only a bit short of a fanatic's audiophile quality. That said, most of my listening is when I drive and for that, it's whatever came with the car. Too much road noise to warrant better equipment.

But, true, I don't have the same standards for that as I do for guitars.

Your point is very, very well taken.

MP3 songs purchased from iTunes and played through my laptop speakers...? :D

I'm pretty sound conscious, my home theater has the flagship center w/sub, towers (paired with subs), surrounds and rears from DefTech, with Denon and Rotel electronics/power (3000 watts).

My PC goes a Mackie Big Knob, so I can listen to Youtube and surf the Internet listening through my studio monitors.

My studio has Adam Audio and Neumann reference monitors and sub. My ears are old now at 66, but yes I have an appreciation for quality sound....;).

Yamaha HS7 powered studio monitor speakers do the trick for me. Audio comes from the PC, patched to the microphone pre-amp/integrator and signals go to the speakers.

Is it live, or is is Memorex? Can't tell the difference from my own playing and recordings thru that setup.


Ray

Let's go to Bob's house and listen to some music.

Horns and tubes here. In my case its a pair of super efficient Klipschorns and a pair of custom 12 watt single ended class A amps and Audio Research preamp. Signal is from a Linn Sondek turntable. Spread is 17' for a life size three dimensional image.

BTW 12 watts with the super dynamic horns produces near real life dynamics and concert volumes (if that's what you want - but save those ears!). Sounds great at low levels too. Hey, it's all about matching power requirements between speakers and amps, not to mention correct impedance matching at every point in the chain.

You folks have some nice sound systems. Unfortunately mine have gone the way of the dodo.....

https://www.filepicker.io/api/file/E...rt?rotate=exifI was a hard core lifetime audiophile and listened to music nightly for hours until I picked up guitar again a couple years ago. Now I just want to play my guitars instead of the hifi which cost the same as three or four new Martin Authentics. When I do listen to the hifi it sounds lifelike and wonderful whether on acoustic music, jazz, classical, or techno. It works out great to play along with CDs like when I put the Stones on and play my Les Paul through the Mesa Boogie.

Then my wife comes home. I need a bigger house.

I was into home stereo in the '80s, when Carver was big, DBX and JBL weren't owned by Harman, etc... Most of that stuff is long gone, but I think I still have a Carver amp in the attic.

Now I'm not so particular. I've got an Onkyo home theater system with Polk speakers. For fidelity, I listen to music through a set of Beyerdynamic DT880's with the sound processed through a Schiit Bifrost DAC and Valhalla tube headphone amp.

Have not jumped on the mini monitor train yet. Dunlavy SCIV speakers that were made here in Colorado.


http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ps6hykiv3h.jpg

Love it I figured there would be more than a few audiophiles here I use a naim set up with pro ac speakers for stereo and a yamaha 3040 with rel sub and dali rears and ceiling speakers for the atmos cinema experience.

For me it has always been about the quality of the sound rather than the sheer volume and this seems to have transferred to my taste in guitars hmm I may start worrying now as hifi has cost an arm and leg so guitars may just make of with whats left

Yes, I have expensive tastes and ears that like expensive guitars, and yes, my hi-fi playback systems are up to the task.

- Glenn

Given the amount of views vs replies I'd say most people are happy with mediocre playback systems or simply are not aware of how good a decent system can be, but its nice to know I am not the only one that values high quality when listening to music.

I play my guitar for myself and others without amplification most of the time and record mostly for song ideas. My sound system is woefully lacking. Nice to hear that folks have some killer audio equipment. It is on my bucket list. :)

Best,
Jayne

I hear a very wide range of tones and am very sensitive to sharp/flat/dissonant notes. Bad intonation is a non-starter on a guitar I bring home.

Concurrently, bad sound reproduction in a home sound system also is not acceptable to me. I have invested nicely in a home sound system.

Bad tone truly irritates me and I cannot listen for long. Life is short, so I treat myself to great sound. I see it as a good investment for myself and this around me who also enjoy beautiful music.

I don't play CD's anymore, I'm back to the old vinyl's. My home system consist of the old Sansui and a Akai reel to reel.

Crazy, but it sounds great and it works for me

Nice Paul........

I run through Klipsch Forte II's, Chorus I's (with Crite's crossovers), and Heresies powered by Macintosh or an original Aragon 4004. Speaker placement was done with lasers and fine tuned over several weeks. The system is so detailed that it gave me a sonic hangover for the first week. Just like when you first watch a big screen tv and it takes a while for your eyes to stop jumping around. The problem is that the system is too detailed and cannot handle music that is not well recorded. Chesky's releases are immersive on it. The less well recorded stuff sounds great on the Axiom M-40's with an old HK amp. It is revealing with pinpoint imaging and a deep sound stage but provides just enough smoothing to take the edge off poor source material.

I tried low wattage tube amps with the Klipsch but even though the horns don't require much power to drive, those 15" woofers only come to life with lots of power for the transients and tight control by the amp. Going from 15 to 50 to 200 watts made a huge difference and the loss of some bit of smoothness in the upper registers moving from tubes to solid state was worth the tradeoff for the low end tightness.

Everything I have came from Craig's List. It's amazing what kind of stuff you can find for reasonable money. I would just search the electronic section for "audiophile".

For speaker cable I use "white lightening" cables. Just a 14 gauge extension cord with the ends cut off and two of the three internal wires twisted together for the negative connection.

A CL example: Took a break from mowing the lawn and perused CL while having a tea. A seller posted a pair of Klipsh Chorus 1's for $150. I responded to the add 5 minutes after it was listed and immediately headed across town to get them. In the 15 minutes it took to get there she had 9 calls for them and a waiting list. The deals are out there if you are diligent and patient.

ETA: Funny thing is most of my listening these days is with a Big Jambox or over the airport express to the Bose acoustic wave (the tall one) in the kitchen just because they are so convenient.

With any regular stereo system with two speakers speaker position is critical. A 1/2" of toe-in can be the difference between a pinpoint or smeared image. If careful positioning has not been done with your current system spend a bit of time aiming the speakers properly. You might be amazed how good what you have already is. : )

I have a decent system at home (Arcam & Mirage, not the caliber of the folks listing their stuff here, but decent). I think it's a shame that the vast majority of people now listen to the vast majority of their music via mp3s and earbuds. And, OTOH, it's pretty awesome that music has become so easily accessible and portable.

I agree with you on all of Klipsch speakers except for the Klipschorns. They are way more efficient than their other speakers. Also they are the only speaker in their line that utilizes a horn loaded bass. While it has a 15" woofer, the woofer is feeding a tri-folded horn. The driver barely moves and puts out a minimum of 104db at 1 watt. They are very alive, even at very low volumes.

To make/keep this related to guitars... Listening to Michael Hedges "Aerial Boundaries" is a sonic masterpiece. Also, for real dynamics, listen to Ricky Lee Jones "Under the Boardwalk" on the "Girl at the Volcano" Album. The clean dynamics on this cut, with a set of fully horn loaded speakers, will blow your mind. Not to mention it's a great version of this song.

Walk Away Renee on that EP is a long time favorite as well.



Paul

Further thoughts on high quality playback systems as it pertains to playing guitars:

First let me say, IMO, there is no playback system that's beats a live performance. Having said that, a high resolution audio system can allow you to hear every nuance of the performance as if the performance is being held in the room with you. This equates to hearing a performers technique in precise detail, as long as this quality is in the recorded performance.

It can be a great tool for working the last bit of nuance in your own technique. Or can be discouraging to hear how far you have to go!

I'll take Pierre Bensusan live in my room any day, haha.

Was that a question?

Some day I will get a chance to listen to K-horns. Thanks for the recommendations for some tracks to check out!

In addition to have a roster of some amazing guitar players CandyRat records does a phenomenal job of recording them so every nuance of the playing is captured. Adjust the volume to acoustic guitar level, close your eyes, and it's like having the artist in the room. It's sublime and inspiring.