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First Trip outside of Best Buy, a real newbie.

I am a commoner; I have never been to a real stereo store until this weekend. The big box of Best Buy was all I ever knew.

I went out with my wife, Music Librarian with a Phd in Music who has been happy with her 1980’s Denon but the CD recently player broke on our system. I talked to a friend who loves audio and wanted something I have never heard of called. . . Magnaplaners?

Me I love beauty and things that last, I brought my Claudio Arrau Beethoven Emperor movement 3 DDD disk to test some stuff with and Clara Nunes a great Brazilian singer.

First we hit a place that had some “Maggies” to see and hear for the first time. We walked in, I told them I have a big bonus check and I want to hear the Magnaplaners against the best other speakers you got. The lined up these huge 6 foot panels against some giant B&W box type speaker and plugged these Mark Levinson power blocks. I stuffed in the Beethoven into a Classes CD player that would probably kill my whole bonus.

The Maggies took up this awesome Piano piece and the speakers just disappeared. It was an airy and transparent sound that was not really powerful but beautiful. We compared the B&W and it sounded boxy in immediate comparison. We played a bunch of stuff, but at the first place I was impressed by the Magnaplaners.

Then we went to another shop that had Kef and Spendor. My wife immediately liked the Spendor S9. It was pretty nice, It had a punchy quality but did not have the clarity of the maggies, but good all around power. Then we heard some Kef 207 / 2. The owner cranked up the volume so I am not sure it was fair, but Beethoven was totally epic with some soaring highs. I told the Kef guy that I also listened to the Maggies. He said the Maggies were too specialized and would not work as an all around solution.

I am going to spend another 2-4 weeks working this out and then spend my bonus on a new system. I think I want a good 2 channel system that I can use with my TV. From the thread it sounds like 5 of 7 channel is not worth it.

So what to get? Where to go from here? What will fit in my space well?

My home is open, modern with lots of glass, but small. Where I will put the new system will be in a long thin room. About 12 feet wide and 30 feet long. It is open to other areas of the house and is both a living room and dining room.

I want something beautiful that will last a long time. I loved the Maggies for being invisible, but I also loved the Spendor and Kefs for being powerful.

My house is small and I plan to use the new system as a stereo and 2 channel home theatre.

Thanks for whatever advice you want to give me,
Scott
128x128scottlanterman
undertow
1,032 posts
 
Well I have one comment, you don't need 5 or 7 channel as you state..

Definitely go for the best 2 channel gear that you like. I can suggest going and finding some shops that take in good used gear and speakers, you can find some gems that way too... Although today not as many hi end places with upper used gear around unless your in some of the bigger cities.

Good Luck
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Deposit and home audition anyone??????
rockadanny
1,037 posts
 
For someone starting out I would tell them:
1. Cost does not always equate to quality.
2. Many experienced audiophiles spend much time, effort, and money chasing the last 5% of quality which will give them perfection. Don't worry about this part (yet). Just concentrate on obtaining a well-balanced system. For example, do not pursue esoteric power cords, interconnect cables, or speaker wires (yet). Stick with stock power cords, well designed and built interconnects from someone like http://www.bluejeanscable.com, and build you own speaker cables from something like these http://www.axiomaudio.com/bulkcable.html.
3. Buy only gear you can audition (used or new, preferrably in your own home) and/or return for full refund, usually less shipping cost.
4. Check out gear from well established, no nonsense, scientific-based companies such as http://www.avahifi.com, http://hollowstate.netfirms.com/, http://www.thehornshoppe.com/index.html, http://www.audioc.com/index.html, etc.
5. Call these companies (owners usually answer the phone) and discuss with them your likes/dislikes. They will help you figure out what you're looking for.
6. If money is an issue you do not need to buy a speaker that plays into the 20 Hz region. You can add a (or two or three) subwoofer later.
7. Professional reviews can be used for a starting point and/or as guidelines, but don't buy just on someone's recommendation.
8. Once you get a decent, well-balanced system (sounds good for all of your music), before you spend any more money on upgrades, gear, whatever, the next step will be to address your room (acoustic treatments, equalizer, etc.)
scottlanterman's avatar
scottlanterman OP
24 posts
 
Wow. I was hoping to do a better job by consulting folks who have been into audio. Thanks for the generous feedback one and all. This is all started with the CD player breaking and going to Best Buy and seeing Blueray and then having some reward myself money.

I am taking the advice and slowing down.

We also have a Denon AV355 which is from the 80's. Can I get great sound from this? Could I hook a DAC into this as we have a huge collection and all of Stanford Music library is at my fingertips.

In all the feedback I got, the Apogees sounded really interesting if they have the clarity of the Maggies and the deeper base response would give them a well rounded great feel. In my small 12 x 30 living room could these be worth searching out? I am happy to buy used speakers and keep what I have.

The place where I heard the KEF 207's had them powered by Chord 50,000 dollar amps. I just looked them up. OMG!!! I want to think about the music, hear the music, just enjoy it, and blind fold myself to the supercharged world of power and electronics.

I dislike wasting good things. I am thinking of buying a good CD player and plugging in some speakers that really fit my space into the old Denon and seeing what happens.

Scott
undertow
1,032 posts
 
The denon might be fine.. Depending on the speaker you end up with… My friend has an early 90's Class A receiver from them, it’s a higher regarded piece, it sounds nearly as good as some of the mono blocks in the higher prices today.. So YES give it a shot, worst case you end up going and getting some new gear, but find the speakers you like best first absolutely.
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