Sometimes even the very best speakers sound can go terribly wrong, here's why

Yeah, it happens. You've read one rave review after another, but when you finally heard the speaker, amp, DAC, or whatever the sound was nothing special. What's up with that?

#bestspeakers

[ProgRockKeys]

Biggest parameter I struggle with, is me. One day my speakers sound like trumpets of angels from another plane of existence, the next night, after a bad day at work, they sound like crap.

[dksculpture]

All you mentioned plus; coupling (spikes, pads, stands, etc), grills on/off, subwoofer use/not, biwire/biamp, speaker wire, EMF noise from speaker, etc ... Man, you have a challenging job! Not easy, but you do it very well.

[raycole]

Couldn't agree more with what your saying here Steve . I've been to many hi fi shows in my time . What struck me years ago was the difference not only in the sound of rooms but the differing sound produced by the other equipment mixed in. Also, I also recall at least 20 years ago some exhibitor plugged an oscilloscope to the main hotel supply and the dirty mains shown by this was staggering. This explained to me how some speakers or even amplifiers etc. can sound distinctly average when not in a favorable environment.

[carlosbauza]

Yes! Four ounces Pinot Noir improves audition 20 minutes before listening.

[gregNFL]

Me thinks perhaps Steve was premature in his dismissal of the DCM Time Windows. They opened the audiophile door for me in the late 70s & early 80s, sucked me in and here I stay. Always enjoy your show. Thanks.

[rb]

I eliminated so many of those "disappointing" moments by using decent acoustic treatment and a spectrum analyzer.
Friends and I play acoustic and electric instruments, and they also sound good in the room, when my old fingers obey my commands. Live singing sounds good in the room, when I'm not the singer.
And acoustic treatment never becomes obsolete.


Anybody remember the old Mattes power amps?

[rothschildianum]

I just like the way you convey the message. You are not like most of Audio Youtubers who talk too much. I hate especially the ones who tell what they are going to talk etc, JUST TALK fast and to the points. I have virtually listened to all of your videos. Luckily, you publish everyday, otherwise, I will be lost!

[TheMirolab]

My old B&W 801's are true full range speakers that go down to 30Hz in my room, but the tonal balance is greatly affected by their height. Directly on the floor, they sound a bit dark and tubby. I then put them atop some 4x4's (raising them 3.5") and that really helped. The highs & mids were better balanced, and the lows were tighter and less bloated. Then I built some nice looking 7" high stands. At 7" the low end got really thin, and the midrange sounded hollow because the tweeter was now too high for my listening position. I then cut the stands down to 5" and that's where they sit today.... For me, in my room, raising them 3.5"-5" is the Goldilocks zone for my 801's...… juuuust riiiight!! And yes I can hear the difference between 3.5 and 5"... I stick with the 5" mahogany stands because they look nicer!

[toddclarke]

Could not have said it better, thank you. Audiophiles do this and understand this.

[zrx]

I remember back in the 80s the rule of thumb was to only have one pair of speakers in the listening room when auditioning gear. I don’t see that mentioned these days. At the time it made sense. 😎

[stevorcompton]

Thanks for the tip on the LRS as I pick mine up later this week after being on order since the first week of June! Finally a dedicated two channel system to go with my 7.4 Pioneer Elite Atmos system

[andrewcrain]

Love this video I bought a pair of McIntosh LS350 about 8 months ago and I'm still moving them around and just Recently I think I finally found the sweet spot for them I can finally close my eyes and I really can't tell were the music is coming from so yes at first I thought well maybe these speakers are just not a good match...well come to fiend out they are a great match for my system...I guess my point is it took almost 9 mouth's to get them placed right I've learned to take my time with a set of IS VERY RIGHT IN WHAT HE'S SAYING HERE ON HIS VIDEO TAKE YOUR TIME ITS DEFINITELY GONNA BE WORK TO GET A PAIR OF SPEAKERS SOUNDING GOOD IN YOUR HOME..INJOY THE MUSIC ANOTHER GREAT VIDEO STEVE

[LuisLara-cqfj]

Totally agree with you Steve. World of sound is a world of tastes. I have a great time hearing your points of view. Greetings from Spain Steve.

[audiofun]

KEF LS50 is a proverbial example of a hugely popular speaker evoking completely opposite opinions. Some people say they're bright, others that they're warm and non-fatiguing. Some people think they are dull and two-dimensional, others hear a huge wide and deep soundstage. Some people think they absolutely need a sub, others do not need a sub with them, etc. Why are the opinions so different? Simple: peoples' rooms, speaker placement, amplification, music preferences and ears vary greatly. In fact, KEF LS50s are very demanding speakers that require great attention to room placement and the choice of the amp able to drive them properly.

[pennfootball]

I had to move some JBL L-100 speakers at a dealer a bit and changed 3 amps then bam they jumped off the ground once i hooked them up to a Hagel Röst and made way more bass, separation and imaging than the other stuff it was plugged into. I heard the Focal Kanta's on a Parasound Jc5 and it sounded like magic...When i hooked up my Naim Uniti Star it sounded thinner and flat and I couldn't buy them.

[christopherjackson]

I used to think my monitor audio silver 1 speakers were sounding thin, confused and shrill. But when I switched from audiolab to Quad amplification, I realised I had an incredible set of speakers with midrange to die for. Just to support what Steve says, its all about the synergy between components

[mag-wpyt]

A pair of Elac 310i nearly broke my heart during setup. Millimetres made a difference.

[vcp]

Excellent shout-out to Ken's channel. If you are interested in Jazz, he's a wealth of information. Plus, the record store videos are great and peppered with his sarcastic sense of humor. Definitely one you want to subscribe to.

[skipgordon]

Good advice … I have a pair of Klipsch RF-7III's and only recently have I found the best position for them in my home. I gave up on trying to have a audio plus HT setup. I have two set ups now and the Klipsch are only for the music. This allows me to place them properly in the long direction of the room and have about 3.5 feet behind them. My room is 14x22x10 so these big towers can go to work now. After many adjustments the speakers have the best sound stage I have heard in my home so far. I will probably always be tweaking though.

[dell]

i had a similar thing happen when I was fooling with the Adante AF61's, these are large towers and the tweeter/midrange coaxial aios 4 foot+ off the floor. Initially they seemed much too bright. I fooled with the setup over a good amount of time and the thing that helped the most was tilting them forward by putting a 3/4" block under the back edge that aimed the tweeter down closer to my seated ear level. I think I changed the interaction of the top end of the speaker with the room and that took a lot of the curse off the high end. I'm no padding the tweeters down a couple of DB's to lower the high end.


These speakers take a long time to break in but once they do they are capable of great sound if you get them properly situated in your room.