Internet reviews are a really good way to identify some of the best, most consistently good-value products in almost any hobby or field. If you look at this sub, you would think there are only a dozen brands in the entire hardware industry (I even made a meme about it).
There is so much great gear out there that you will never find reading reviews and forums. Not that there’s anything wrong with LS50’s and Schiit and Topping and SVS and Monoprice. But I think we would all do ourselves a favor to try to listen to a wide array of equipment, especially used equipment, which is often fantastic and worth 10x its cost in sound quality.
Then this guy comes around and reinvents and reimagines stuff https://youtu.be/qe_Gg0m-DaM?si=aojK2BwLy-LlJ8_K
Mr. Young Ahn is a mad mad genius. The nicest and most gentle soul I have ever met.
Completely agree.
There’s a lot out there folks! Try as much as you can.
Yes, boutique brands have a smaller following
The audio subs on here do love to only recommend certain brands and, worse yet, parrot opinions they’ve picked up second-hand without any real world experience or otherwise good reason for doing so. Case in point, I recently picked up a 12” REL home theater sub that was on sale and basically every audio sub considers REL overpriced and dramatically worse than SVS, Rhythmik, Hsu, PSA, which may be true at the MSRP, but on sale I’ve been extremely pleased with it. Sounds drastically better than the Bic F12 it replaced and shakes the whole house if I want it to; don’t even need two like the majority of the home theater sub will tell you, at least not in a living room the size of mine.
Fact is, if you’re buying dedicated bookshelf speakers and an amp in this day and age instead of a soundbar or Bluetooth speaker, you’re already way ahead of the pack, whether that’s with Klipsch stuff you picked up at Best Buy on Black Friday or Sonus Fabers or Focals you auditioned at a showroom of a hifi dealer first.
I do think REL is overpriced, doesn’t have anything to do with what people here say, but more based on my understanding of speaker design. I don’t see any DSP in their subs which really puts it off my list of ever considering, and their is some data out there to show they don’t quite keep up with some cheaper options out there. For the cost you should really be getting DSP, which is damn near essential for actual good bass, I don’t mean “this sounds good to me” I mean actual flat low end without peaks and nulls. I also have a problem with how REL just uses audiophool BS to market their subs, like “fast drivers” and their suggestion of sub stacking seems to show they don’t really understand low frequency reproduction in rooms. It works though, because most people don’t know jack about room acoustics. See below.
don’t even need two like the majority of the home theater sub will tell you, at least not in a living room the size of mine.
This sub rightfully suggests multiple subs not for output, but because multisub is one of the best ways to get good bass response in a room. By placing subs around room the in strategic positions you can excite room modes more evenly leading to a much more even response with much better coverage in the room. REL’s stacking doesn’t work the same at all and it really is just a waste of output.
So true! Also why does every American post go on about Klipsh speakers?
Being in a small town over two hours from a couple state capitols, listening to a wide array of equipment isn’t an especially realistic endeavor. We rely a lot on the reviews. But, you are definitely correct as we all see the same gear pop up in conversations. I tend to cruise forums and if I see something mentioned I’d never heard before I google the shit out of it and see what comments are consistent.
Great observation. It’s really tough. Places on the internet tend to be an echo chamber of view points and hostile toward alternative views.
I’m lucky to have great shop in Portland (Echo Audio) that buys & sells nice used/vintage equipment at fair prices along with new equipment they feel is a good value when new (for instance KEF) so a person can listen to a variety of different things in person and decide for themselves instead making a decision based only what they read online. Will admit that I have purchased a variety of things over the years based on what I read online without listening to it first and regretted it every time (for instance equipment from Schiit).
With speakers, I need to hear them. With electronics, I need to hold them in my hand, feel the controls, use them.
Feel the same. Guess I want both. Have a very hard time with electronics unless I hear them at home in my system so even a demo in the store is not enough unless everything else is the same. One shop used to let me take multiple floor models home (cables too) and demo for a few days with everyone else before making a decision.
I mostly buy used, knowing I can resell for a similar price. I figure I take a 20% loss and call it my “rental fee”.
I think it’s because the companies that send out equipment have found their 10 or so youtube guys and they only do good reviews or no review at all
He raised a very good point. I had a pair of mission m70 bookshelf speakers that I thought were just wonderful, yeah I never hear anyone talk about mission. I know it’s probably considered mid-fi but if placed head to head against many of the recommended speakers I think they would do quite well.
i’ve only heard one schiit component and it was overpriced garbage. i couldn’t believe how bad it was
You really need to try shit out in person.
Everyone has subjective taste in audio gear.
My friends that have bought shit without trying it based only on reviews always seem disappointed.
I will only buy shit I can try.
I’m running 2x NAD class D amps that get bad reviews / press and honestly I think they’re amazing.
I have bought ‘end game’ speakers but I did try 2/3 other bookshelves prior also based on reviews online but found them not to my taste or lacking in performance.
I had a conversation with the guys at the local (high end) HiFi shop to me where I bought my speakers from ‘ex demo’ who basically shit all over NAD and class D stating that ‘it’s not hifi unless it’s Class A or AB. Has to be Naim, Linn or Mcintosh.
Talked about Mcintosh watts vs watts claimed by other manufacturers, at this point I ended the conversation, left and I’ve not been back since.
High end audio is a boutique world, many people don’t know how to navigate it. Lots of various reviews for decades from stereophile, most will just watch YouTubers review the same Arendals. Lots of direct ship companies with trial periods, many will just get what is available on Amazon. I’m guilty of starting this way; paying the privilege to hear something in my own room didn’t seem like a good use of money for some reason initially.
My favorite uncommon (in US) brand is Acoustic Energy. Carbon fiber midrange/bass and tweeter is just cool. Not about having the best sounding, greatest value; things changed for me when I realized it was about having fun listening to stuff.
It sounds like you’re just annoyed that the increase in consumer knowledge has led to many losing interest in the majority of brands out there, which is fine because that info mentioned above has shown us that A LOT of gear is junk.
I haven’t heard any older brands like you’ve mentioned sound anywhere near as good as more modern designs that aim for better neutrality on axis and employ techniques to get off axis response these older brands could only dream of.
Always intrigued at just how many brands of high end there are in the world. There was a post here today of a beautiful looking system & I had never heard of any of the speakers or components.
I genuinely don’t understand how the market supports so much ultra high end highfi gear. It’s almost every week I see some speaker or amplifier that costs 50,000k+ from a manufacturer I’ve never heard of, you check out their website and it looks like they’ve not changed it since 2003. Some of these must sell sell like 5 products a year tops.
Simple economics has to say you aren’t going to get a good deal on a company that has to make all their profits for a year on a handful of sales vs one that can make their profits on hundreds of thousands.
Along those lines, I’ve thought of making high end speaker cables. I’d just need one of those sketchy ‘early internet’ websites and a few good reviews and as long as I sell one I’m in massive profit. I’d only be touting the same bullshit that anyone else selling £10k cables is doing.
The market for ultra expensive, low volume gear is more like the market for unique art items or very high end watches rather than mass manufactured electronics. To me a $50k monoblock amplifier seems more like a modernist sculpture that happens to also amplify electronic signals.
You’ve succinctly wrote my exact thoughts on the scaling.
I mean how many units are being sold to keep an esoteric $10k tube preamp maker afloat financially? Are they mere hobbyists with another source of income?
Some, like Geshelli for example, get a marketing boost good review or two & become “overnight hits.” But they are a known giant killer bargain.