"We" used to be a much larger community. I'm 62 and "back in the day" I didn't know anyone who didn't have stereo gear of some type (2 channel dedicated to music only). Now, other than my son because of me, I know one person in my circle of friends like me. Good job today Steve.
Is that because our group of friends tends to get more diverse as we get older though? When I was 21 all my friends liked the same thing, now at 40 we have all sorts of interests and are tied together by different kinds of questions. I ask, because hifi manufacturers are selling more products, not less in this day and age from what I can see. Or it could be because of the range of products available. In the 70's and 80's my understanding is if you wanted music to sound better than a pocket radio you had to get an amp, speakers and an input source. Now, people have Sonos, soundbars, all sorts of stuff that's good enough for the majority of people who don't need to go the full hog to get sound they find acceptable now.
@@ruk2023-- Nah, when I was 21 (about 7 years ago), nobody I knew was into audio equipment. Some were into digital DJing, but not into HiFi and definitely not into analogue HiFi. They were all about loudness, while I was interested in sound quality.
@@ruk2023-- Yeah I suspect that the HiFi community has shrunk quite a bit over the last few decades, especially considering the low amounts of new people entering HiFi.
I am 62 and remember my first good audio system I purchased second hand. I had no idea what I was doing but, I was so fortunate to find a serious audiophile who took the time to try and educate me on the importance of critical listening and understanding the synergy of the audio system. Instead of letting me decide on anything during our first meeting, he made me bring my favorite albums and spent hours going through my music over a number of systems he had at his home. I am forever grateful to that super nice guy who took the time and got me hooked on a lifetime of listening enjoyment. Take the time and share your passion like Steve is doing. Keep up the great work.
I like the quiet confidence Steve exudes about his growing subscriber base but it is part and parcel of the laid back ease with which he presents himself which I think is a large part of his appeal. I suppose much of it stems from his days as a hi-fi salesperson, he gives one a sense of personal attention.
Thanks Steve. I’d add to listen to your “quieter” recordings (piano etc) first, and steadily increase in volume. Loud from the get go stunts hearing capabilities momentarily.
The biggest satisfaction for me is having a goal of the way i want my speaker to sound. Good dynamics fast bass with good punch , smooth mids etc. And taking that idea and with a lot of work turning into reality with my own hands and the day I finally hook them up to my system and finally hear the finish product and it exceeds my goals. That's what makes me smile and brings me satisfaction. If you get that bug and are designing speakers you know what I am talking about because it becomes addictive.
Ages ago I took my 6 favorite records to an audio equipment shop in San Antonio to audition speakers. I listened to at least 6 systems, and when I listened to Joan Baez's From Every Stage album, and particularly the Amazing Grace acapella track, I was hooked on the Magnapan MG2As that I eventually bought. That I was familiar with the music helped in the choice process.
Exactly Steve! When testing new equipment I do listen to songs I know very very well. Not just greatly recorded but also poorly recorded ones I do know very well.
That's a good choice. I have been more of a metal guy and I design and build speakers so I looked up what people like to test speakers with and picked up that CD and wow , that drum solo.
Another right-on, provocative and cogent topic. Thanks, Steve! I'm blessed. Since I came aboard Planet Earth, most of the audio and video devices have been introduced. It's like watching your kids grow up. When tv was introduced, it was a little, round indistinct black & white screen. Post cards had more resolution. Same with phonograph records. Under our summer cabin in Minnesota, in the dirt crawlway, I discovered an ancient Edison cylindrical phonograph which still worked. It played music, but barely. My parents honeymooned here in 1933. Back home, we had my grandfather's Victrola console in the basement. It was spring-driven and you had to crank-up the clockwork motor. Again, the fidelity was only slightly better than the antique Edison, but the music lasted longer. It wasn't until I got to high school that record players began to sound somewhat like the real thing. Now, after more than 80 years of listening, I have a range of modalities by which to turn my listening room into a club, marching band, symphony hall or rock stadium. Who would have thought we would have such a range of sonic gratification? Serendipity smiles, just as I was about to give up on achieving music nirvana. Instead of new recordings, I bought an old but very fine professional speaker system and I am hearing details and subtle nuances, even the inhalation of vocal artists, that had been hidden before. My audiologists at the VA say I don't hear anything above 14,000 cps. This saves me money I don't have, because why pay for a 20-20,000 cps response, when you only need part of that bandwidth? If your ears are young, by all means, audition new audio systems and take along sources with which you are familiar, as Steve recommends. Me, I'm content.
Your comment offers an amazing history eloquently conveyed. You must be a writer. I’ve been around a while too, I can’t even hear 1200 Hz (and that was 10 years ago). I’ve seen, but not heard the early equipment you mention. Almost all my stuff has been second hand, it is only recently that I’ve started buying new stuff. But now the ‘vintage’ stuff from the seventies is starting to look good to me. We’ll see how it works out.
Steve; I don't understand how even the most intimate familiarity with music can possibly compensate for the the unknown value of the room's influence, even if one can test an unfamiliar component in a system that's identical to what one already has (which in itself strikes me as highly unlikely). When I first got into this obsession. . . er, "hobby", I ended up with a system that sounded great to me in the store but was extremely fatiguing in my room. That was the point at which I vowed never to buy anything I couldn't demo at home with a return option. I don't belive this has hampered assembling, over time, a very nice system and I haven't heard you say anything here that remotely tempts me to adopt a different strategy. Nor will I shed any tears for the demise of brick and mortar stores that expect customers to hand over many thousands of dollars based solely upon in-store demos. You can no doubt rely on your vast experience to help "fill in the gaps" but I must rely solely upon my ears. . . what am I not comprehending???????????
Years ago I went through my music collection and picked 20 songs that I know extremely well. I use either a CD-R or USB stick with those tracks to listen to a piece of gear that I'm auditioning. I sold Hi-Fi gear out of my house and used this music for others to audition the gear. I usually always made the sell.
Thanks for this vid Steve. I am auditioning a pair of speakers this weekend at a hifi shop. This video was very helpful...you shared some very practical advise. Thanks@
Okay Steve you’ve convinced me that I’m an audiophillac. You replied to me once telling me I was, but I wasn’t so sure. But when you mention what you’re listening to, it finally clicked. I focus my listening to the treble and percussion and drum sounds when I put vinyl on. I’ve always done this but did;t realize it. "Days of Future Past" the Moody Blues would be one of the LPs i would like to use if I were shopping for new, or different components.
A great recording is the 1812 Overture from Telarc. Not for the cannons, but the glockenspiel on the b-side. Only 3 notes, but a great way to check high frequency playback.
Have to agree! I very much like balkan brass bands and many of these are formed from ex military personnel. I find brass revealing at the best of times, and in a complex band setting with good dynamics its a good test.
Thanks so much for your excellent posts, Steve. I've only subscribed recently, but I always look forward to watching your new posts. Your love of and enthusiasm for good sound is inspiring! Speaking of vocals, I've often heard that female singers - sopranos or mezzo-sopranos - are ideal for listening to. Also, I love putting on a solo piano piece to see if I can get the sense of the piano being in the room with all of its percussive qualities - Beethoven's "Appassionata", especially the last movement, is my go-to.
You are so right, Thanks. I feel like on my own with audio except for the RU-vid community. Most people today just want Bluetooth with a little mono speaker and Mp3, not for me, unless on the beach !!
Thanks to the “spair” time during the Pandemic, and Steve!!! 😅, I now have the “Gutten playlist” on my Tidal following each of your recommendations. The raw the better... And even on my cheap “Frankensystem” I’ve been able to reproduce incredible sound. Be ready to get louder! 🎶🤙🏽
Congratulations on your 180 thousandth member! You deserve each and everyone of them except for the pests🥴. This is one of your best posts yet. All of your years of helping people in retail audio were just distilled into this video. Reminds me of the early days of the absolute sound where their writers went into great detail defining an Audio Dictionary.
@@cassioblucas The absolute sound is the biggest selling audio magazine in the country to the best of my knowledge and they started with a small format magazine in 1971 or 72. They started a whole series of articles about defining Audio terms like soundstage, inner detail, And many other definitions but they never made a dictionary. Steve’s explanation in this video is very similar to what the absolute sound definitions were.
Congratulations Steve on the 180k subscribers. It won't be long before you double that figure that I'm positive. Your enthusiasm and passion for what you do always shows through in your videos. Keep up the good work 👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
One suggestion I would like to make is that not only should you focus on the music, relaxed with your eyes closed, being in the moment, if things are sounding really right let go of your focus and let the music draw you in. If you find that you’re hearing more inner detail, better soundstage or that the music is engaging you in a way that it never did then I you may be onto something.
Congratulations on the number of subscribers 👏. Good information shared here. I'd like to share an occasion when I went to audition speakers at a known company (think lots of money! criptic) here in the UK , I arranged a demo and specified the equipment that I have which was acknowledged by them. On arrival, with my various selections of vinyl including Massive Attack, Ricki Lee Jones, Miles Davis and some blues, all of which I know well, I was met with a TT that was twice the cost of my own and an amplifier that was three times as much. I pointed this out and the items were changed. On testing the speakers the results were mixed so I left without buying. What I found a little off putting was the guy providing the demo was more interested in the production of the music, claiming to be involved in producing in his free time! All the points you raise here Steve are good advice. 👍
Thanks Steve. I’ve always schelped along something I’m familiar with but I never really took the full arsenal. Great tip! I’ve recorded a few albums that Bob Katz has mastered and they give me a good idea of how whatever I’m listening to responds. Be safe my Friend.
visit by Steve Guttenberg. He'd brought a new Chesky release with him, Nicola Frisardi's performance of Mozart's Piano Concertos 9 and 27 (CD136). It was recorded in the Mozarteum, Grosser Saal in Salzburg, Austria. (A wonderful recording I can recommend to Mozart Kugels everywhere.) After careful listening, Steve told us the playback sounded the way the music sounded in the Grosser Salle during recording. Hearing that from one of the recordists means something, even from one so polite as M. Guttenberg. Steve do you remember.
Excellent advice Steve. I would just like to add that playing music at approximately the same volume that it was recorded and mixed at is really important especially to get the bass right. Music made at 100dB SPL needs about +10dB boost at 20Hz when played at 80dB SPL to sound correct, or just play the music at about the right SPL. Of course you cannot know exactly what SPL a song was recorded at but most people can get pretty close just by listening I think.
I’ve always used music that also tested the speed response of the kit to be tested. Dark side of the moon, tested the big entrance of the music at the start. Doors - Morrison hotel for the fast variety of vocals and then Gregory Porter
Good thinking. I find that listening to the bass should include how good it reproduce the tunes of the bass and this is where a lot of systems fail. Listen to Walk on the wild side and you know what I mean.
Congrats, Steve, on the 181K+ subscribers!! You deserve, and will get many more! I have a few friends that are audiophiliacs as we are; some about the gear, and some about the music, but in the end, as long as it sounds good............
Nice timing on this vid, just got the message that my long anticipated (ordered in November) Magnepan LRS's will arrive Thursday! I am comparing them to my Focal Aria 948's and have been building a tracklist for the test. I don't think they'll take the place of the 948's but it will be cool to have a second set of speakers on hand to switch up now and then. Will be interesting to see how integrating them with the subs will go, no doubt will need to change the settings there. Congrats on the 180k and thanks for all you do for the Audiophile community
Thanks Jim. Remember the LRS speakers need break in, A few hundred hours playing playing time. But in 50 hours or so you’ll start to get a handle on what they do. They need current and space, don’t jam them near walls!
Best must be at home, and from my exsperience, it makes most sense if u demo at home. Some dealers does not provide it, and i tend to avoid these, and in my 35+ years as a hobby’ist, i only look for dealers who are willing to lend me the gear i’m looking for. Often it ends up, me buying a product from that specific dealer. I guess i’m a kind if an emotional buyer, where the interract between me and the dealer, is a huge part for me, wanna spend my heard earned mony. Best and Cheers from Denmark. Btw: looking forward to the 30+ round of showing my gear 💪❤️😎👍
Playing familiar stuff can be a double-edged sword, if the new equipment reveals weaknesses in the recording you didnt notice before. Personal example is Bowie's Space Oddity--love the music, but some of the production seems gimmicky on a good system.
hi steve another great video as always .was listening to Paul McGowan on his daily chat.show .insulted.my rotel set up not me personally lol that speakers are the most subjective in audio .as each persons room is different so my speakers will sound different in.different peoples room so this is the dilemma choosing or buying speakers online which is usually the way it is these days .mind you ive been dealing with audio for the last 40 something years so lots of dilemmas as you know Steve .keep up the good work .greetings as always from scotland .😊😊😊
I'm surprised there aren't more audiophiles out in the open country. No city sounds to interrupt listening sessions. Old barns are amazing to turn into private listening theaters.
The best music for you to use is music your most familiar with,and another note every piece of equipment will act differently in another space and ac current it’s hooked up to
At least your family doesn't understand you due to HiFi and not some wild conspiracy theory. That said, I read on Facebook the top HiFi manufacturers in the world are trying to take it over, and the fight is not between Republicans and Democrats but Tube Ampers vs SSer's, and between Streamers vs Vinylists.
Eddie Van Halen who is one of the greatest contributors to the development of the modern tube guitar amp and is widely known for his “brown sound” which he got from using a Variac on his Marshall Plexi Amp to lower the input voltage to his tube rectifier to get that brown sound, was famous also for how he would test his amps. He would crank them up to their maximum settings and volume levels and blast guitar through them non stop for a week strait. He would leave them going in a room at full volume and then would come back in a week and if the amp hadn’t blown itself up, it passed his test. lol
Yes it’s like the fragrance world we do feel like we are in a niche I mean seriously. And to be fair big box stores with their blue tooth battery operated options are good but it’s simply not HI-FI and the art is still so addictive and like music you either get it or you don’t.
Once again, thank you for your informative videos! I have a question for you. I have been using a Yamaha Musicast server for many years (I have 2, one for each of my systems) and am very happy with them! When I purchased them, I sent them off to a guy who put 1 TB hard drives in them and from there I put my entire CD collection, along with friends, family members kind enough to let me download their CDs on them as well. All the files are FLAC recordings and we have had years of enjoyment listening. Anyway, I wondered if you had any experience with these wonderful machines and if you had any thoughts on them. Clearly, it's old technology now but the ability to "cast" the music wirelessly to other rooms in my home is a nice addition! Thanks again for all you do!
Dear Steve, Great stuff, but that SPIDER PLANT is definitely not cutting it for a grown up audiophiliac. I suggest you get/buy/borrow from a fiend - whatever suits you - a proper audiophiliac plant and see if it is an improvement, a step sideways or a backward step. Try it at different distances - close up, from far away, mid-range - and evaluate it. With music on - with music off; does it sound clear and crisp or mushy? See if you notice proper leaves and growth - that sort of thing... In any case, it is important for you to try as many different plants as possible and see what works best for you. Enjoy the image - a strong, locked-in, tight in the centre image.
Barrie said it down below. If it doesn’t play your favorite well you won’t like the components or own them for long. I don’t listen to polka music so I don’t care the component does polka well or not.
Can improperly unplugging the headphone out of an amplifier damage headphones? What about the amp and the dac? What about my ears? I was listening to music and i yanked the cable out. Was using an unbalanced 32 ohm and the amp was at half gain. The headphone volume jumped as the cable was yanked out of the jack! VERY LOUD STATIC. My ears were ringing for a couple seconds. Proceded to pace my flat for a few minutes to make sure i was not having a heart attack and was not bleeding out of my ears. Got just enough courage to chech what I broke. Headphones sound the same and the amp sounds the same. I couldn't find a conclusive answer if I damaged my beloved gear in any way I would notice once i upgrade down the line? Love the channel! Ivan
When auditioning new equipment I listen to recordings of various quality. For me, how a system conveys a poor recording is the most challenging aspect as some systems can exaggerate how poor the recording is and some can mask this. Getting the best of good recordings is important too but could be considered less challenging.
I have a number of tracks to evaluate changes in the system. One must certainly pass: a track in which Tori Amos keeps the sustaining pedal of her piano down, producing a steady and slowly disappearing sound. That one must be as good as possible. I play piano, so I know the feeling using the sound effect in reality.
Wow! Fist time I’ve heard you mention Steely Dan in any context. As a SD nerd I always include Gaucho or Aja tunes in my list but I get that they aren’t for everyone. As a horn player I’m familiar with what a “big band” should sound like and if a system, speaker or piece of gear can pull it off I know it has potential. I wonder if you have any BB recordings you would recommend to viewers. One that comes to mind for me is Bob Mintzer Incredible Journey from the late eighties. The horns all Sat a circle around a single mic for the session and is one of the best sounding BB recordings I’ve heard. BB music can have incredible dynamic range and recorded well can expose weaknesses in your gear as much as a subtle acoustic vocal track. Congrats on 180k and thanks for the work u do!!!!!,
Regarding the Bob Mintzer release, it's sonics are great. There's a great deal of that DMP material Tom Jung put out back then, some 30+ yrs ago, it was tasty. It was superior to many of the releases of the era.
can i mention that if surround sound is re processed into stereo you can lose the centre channel, which is a bugger if your trying to listen to vocals in the missing centre channel of a movie say
Yes. Always bring your most beloved music to audition. The music you love and listen to, every day. Including several of your most beloved higher quality recordings. However, do NOT bring just your highest quality recordings. I always focus on speakers and gear that are capable of presenting all the music I love, sounding great. Analyze, but also shut down the analization process, and just sit back and listen to the music as a whole. Listen to the music, not the gear. Or else, you'll be stuck with a system that only sounds good with the higest quality recordings.
Yes, I totally agree 👍. Very good point. I'm auditioning a pair of Magnepan Speakers tomorrow. I am bringing in 25 tracks of high res music. I think for about a minute or so I will analyze what I'm hearing and after that..After that & for the duration of each track, I will close my eyes and soke it all in!
Steve not sure if this is the place to ask you an advice question but thought I would try . My system is I believe a nice budget high end system ( retirement gift to myself) Rouge Cronus Magnus 2 Integrated Golden Ear Triton 2 plus speakers Rega Planar 1 turntable NAD cd player ( rarely used) and Musical Fidelity v90 DAC . I do get a bit lazy and listen to a lot of Spotify ( Highest Quality) on my system. I am very happy w how it sounds but wondered if I should replace the DAC since tech advances so rapidly these days - if so any suggestions ? So Glad to discover your channel and I am spreading the word about it !! Thank you Russ
Hey Russ, congrats one retiree to another! Fwiw; another channel, John Darko, has extensive RU-vid submissions regarding the entire topic particular to your question. Best of luck
lets no forget the wow factor, it can mislead you. best if you can take the equipment home for a while there are some audio dealers on-line willing to work with you.
Technicaly you can't judge anything seriously if it's not in your own system. It must be your room and your music. The best is to compare the new equipment to the one you already own... and you need time to do this. Listen few songs with one equipment, switch to the other one and try to find differences. Normaly at the end of your test you should be able to know which equipment sound the best. Always choose the best sound, not the most expensive or newest equipment. Personaly my dac is 30 years old... not even 24/192. I've try a very popular $5000 new DSD AKM blablabla dac... but my old dac is still here. See... The best sound first.
I wonder how a HiFi shop owner would react if you bring along the old records you know since highschool, like cracking loud acid house or club music 😅 Especially if he doesn't know the records and just put the stylus on the records and it immediately starts to kick that bass out of nothing 🤣
Hey... Not to Rube it up like a Foolish Mortal here, but what is recommended for cabling these nice systems together? Im seeing schtuff on the correct base components, yet not the sonic ligaments...
Steve, do you listen to speakers in mono as part of the review process? I recently learned that research has shown that we are much more capable of hearing the difference between speakers when listening to one speaker (mono) as opposed to two (stereo). Cheers!
My issue is that most of my old favorites on C.D.s in my collection are terrible pressings. So I no longer listen to them on any thing aside from headphones.
Hi Steve, I’ve been researching about HiFi through your channel for quite sometime now. The Hifi market where I’m located is quite restricted. We can’t get hold of most of the brands, products and demos. I’ve ordered myself a pair of Pylon Amber MKII speakers which are as big as I could get( for the concert experience) and I’m pairing it with a Matrix Element P integrated amplifier. I’m using transparent power and speaker cables with these. I wanted to ask you if you have some information about these brands and for these particular products. Thank you Trivikram
My wife thinks I’m crazy because I have 4 separate systems, my real audiophile system in the living room, the a/v system in the family room, our bedroom system and my office system.
Is anyone familiar with the Presonus Eris E 3.5 and Eris E 5 ? I could get the 3.5 for 86 bucks compared to the E 5 for 215, and am wondering if the upgrade is worth more than double the price. Want to use them for mixing/checking mixes and listening to music and only have an audio interface and headphones so far.
