How to choose the right speakers, part one: research

For an entry level stereo setup, how to start building.
Speakers. And then amplifier.
Or which one to be considered first buy in the chain.
 
I came across similar article when I was searching for my speakers. Infact, we should also have a recommendation thread here similar to headphones in head-fi.org for each budget so that people can at least shortlist. It would be really helpful.
 
IMO most of such reviews are paid news/articles and care should be taken not to fall trap to everything said and should use precaution while choosing and do our own independent research.
 
Definitely Sir, most of things on net are promoted. Please do take reviews with a little bit of salt.

For an entry level stereo setup, how to start building.
Speakers. And then amplifier.
Or which one to be considered first buy in the chain.

I think it should be based on your music preference, as no one speaker can meet all music requirements. However this is my arbitrary view, may be different for others.

I came across similar article when I was searching for my speakers. Infact, we should also have a recommendation thread here similar to headphones in head-fi.org for each budget so that people can at least shortlist. It would be really helpful.

Please be my guest and create a new thread on the same "Recommendations". An interesting thread is "Husband & Wife" which you may want to look up though.
 
Please be my guest and create a new thread on the same "Recommendations".
With all due respect sir, if I had that knowledge I would have created the thread. But unfortunately I know nothing. I joined this forum only to learn about this HiFi world. And the search for my 2.0 setup is still on ;)

An interesting thread is "Husband & Wife" which you may want to look up though.
Interesting thread indeed.
 
@Keith_correa

There are many mention of brands and model numbers in this article. Also there are links to many branded products and speakers to consider while reading this article. It's quite obvious why this is so. Don't require a detective mind to find out circumstanial evidence.

If people fall prey and buy such products after reading these articles then the purpose of the article is served. It's a know fact that indirect advertising fetches far more customers than direct advertisement. Only requirement is the publisher should be well known brand like whathifi and the article should be written by a so called well known expert in the industry who are well paid for such work.
 
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@Keith_correa

There are many mention of brands and model numbers in this article. Also there are links to many branded products and speakers to consider while reading this article. It's quite obvious why this is so. Don't require a detective mind to find out circumstanial evidence.

If people fall prey and buy such products after reading these articles then the purpose of the article is served. It's a know fact that indirect advertising fetches far more customers than direct advertisement. Only requirement is the publisher should be well known brand like whathifi and the article should be written by a so called well known expert in the industry who are well paid for such work.
Hari, you're tarring reviewers without basis. THAT is circumstantial! Conspiracy theories are just that - theories. Like UFO's. While I'm not denying that there MAY be cases like what you're insinuating, one cannot point fingers without conclusive proof especially in something as subjective as audio.

Take the example of What Hi-Fi, they diss products too. What's the theory behind that? No payment to the reviewer? Less payment? Or is that added to the mix to add legitimacy to their "paid" positive reviews.
 
Guys those who want to use the suggestions on the link use them else, just ignore. No need to get personal here. It may have worked for some and maynot for others as Hifi taste is subjective.
 
I
Hari, you're tarring reviewers without basis. THAT is circumstantial! Conspiracy theories are just that - theories. Like UFO's. While I'm not denying that there MAY be cases like what you're insinuating, one cannot point fingers without conclusive proof especially in something as subjective as audio.

Take the example of What Hi-Fi, they diss products too. What's the theory behind that? No payment to the reviewer? Less payment? Or is that added to the mix to add legitimacy to their "paid" positive reviews.

Keith - I mentioned that in my humble opinion (IMO) - others may choose to differ.

Anyway, who i am to tell anyone how they should be buying products and spending their money. So read the reviews and decide if that helps. This will atleast help to keep the money rolling in audio. Always.
 
If someone doesn't want to end up in my position with speakers too big for one's room.

1. Then choose the right speakers for the room and their intended placement. Consider front , bottom, rear ported and sealed designs. Sealed designs will always usually work best, but are very inefficient, and will need a powerful amp to drive them.

2. Floor standers vs bookshelf : floor standers are not the solution for every room. For the same floor space book shelves usually are easier to tame in a small or less than ideal room configuration. Book shelves usually have less bass extension than floor standers. If more bass presence is sought, it is better to add a sub later to book shelves. But once we go with floor standers , we cannot substract the bass. So whenever in doubt, start with a smaller speaker than start with a bigger one.

3. Depending on what speakers have been choosen and their efficiency . Then an amp can be decided next to drive these speakers. Quality watts are more important than out right brute power. There are known combinations of speakers + amps that work. So this will give us a rough idea about the amps to consider.

Well I didn't follow rule nos 1&2. So I have these huge speakers with too much bass in my small room. And now iam forced to consider room treatment and dirac room correction. Both additional investments I didn't originally budget for :)
 
2. Floor standers vs bookshelf : floor standers are not the solution for every room. For the same floor space book shelves usually are easier to tame in a small or less than ideal room configuration. Book shelves usually have less bass extension than floor standers. If more bass presence is sought, it is better to add a sub later to book shelves. But once we go with floor standers , we cannot substract the bass. So whenever in doubt, start with a smaller speaker than start with a bigger one.

How do we determine whether one should go with bookshelf or floor standers ? Is it purely based on room size & budget ? It would be good to know the reference or guide for novice buyers. I am new to this speaker world. I am still figuring out what to buy for my room.
 
IMO most of such reviews are paid news/articles and care should be taken not to fall trap to everything said and should use precaution while choosing and do our own independent research.
Hi Hari,
Just out of curiosity, want you to review the below review by stereophile and specially the summation at the end of page-2. Since I have the same speaker and I found this review after buying the same , I seriously had the doubt for genuine-ness of the article, but today scene is different with the speakers- Later on I will contribute to this thread by sharing speaker hunting experience

https://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/408psb/index.html
 
How do we determine whether one should go with bookshelf or floor standers ? Is it purely based on room size & budget ? It would be good to know the reference or guide for novice buyers. I am new to this speaker world. I am still figuring out what to buy for my room.

Hi dinesh...good evening. Unfortunately there is no rule of thumb to make out which works best. Apart from room size and placement, even the included furnishings have a say. And add to that some speakers are finicky with placement and available space around them. The only accurate way to make out is to borrow some speakers from forum members in your town and give them a run in your room. This way you can be sure of what size and configuration of speakers work in your room.

Or the second expensive and wasteful option is to go through a lot of speakers and see what works in your room. I've been through 4 different speakers in my room, so I now have a rough idea of what works. But I've lost a lot of money just to find out :)

In the western countries dealers allow in house auditions. Unfortunately we don't have this option. So best is to start a whatsapp Group with forum members of your city /town and then exchange equipment to see how it sounds in your room.

That said, if you can let me know your room size and distance from side and rear walls and amplifier power, I can give a rough estimate of what might work in your room. Thanks.
 
Thank you newlash09 for taking time and explaining in detail. Appreciate it.
Or the second expensive and wasteful option is to go through a lot of speakers and see what works in your room. I've been through 4 different speakers in my room, so I now have a rough idea of what works. But I've lost a lot of money just to find out :)
Wish I had spare money to try it out. Thats why I'm here to get the opinion.

In the western countries dealers allow in house auditions. Unfortunately we don't have this option. So best is to start a whatsapp Group with forum members of your city /town and then exchange equipment to see how it sounds in your room.
I have already joined this awesome whatsapp group from Chennai which contains lot of senior members. I'm loving it. But I cannot bug them often.

That said, if you can let me know your room size and distance from side and rear walls and amplifier power, I can give a rough estimate of what might work in your room. Thanks.
My room size is 10ft(W) * 20ft(L) * 10ft (H). I am yet to buy the AVR & speakers. Planning to go for 2.0 if its FS or 2.1 if its BS. I need AVR since I need to connect all my HDMI devices or else would have gone for stereo receiver/amplifier.
 
You are most welcome dinesh :)

As regarding avr vs stereo amp. My suggestion is always avr first. But you will have to spend more to get a avr with pre-outs atleast for the front L&R speakers. This will give you the flexibility to add a stereo amp into the chain in future when funds allow.

Please always remember, that a good sounding system is a life long pursuit. And not one achievable instantly unless we win the lottery over night. So start with a well planned road map of where you want to be 5 years down. And be patient getting there. Rushing down that street leads to lots of boxes being brought and sold in the interim at a loss.

Coming to my first point, please start with a avr with atmos, atleast front 2 channel pre-outs for the front, two hdmi outs and atleast 2 subs outs. This will be expensive to start with, but will be economical in the long run. With the same consideration I bought a marantz SR6011 two years back. And I have added a lot to its pre-outs to take it to another level. And if you are patient enough, used avr's with the above facility will soon started cropping up in the 'for sale by owner ' section.

Next coming to speakers, there two things you need to clarify before we can decide. I can see that your width at 10 feet is limited. So your speakers will be close to side walls. So how much distance can you give them from the rear wall.

Also I see that the length of your room is 20ft. So how far back will be the listening chair. And its distance from the wall behind it. Iam asking this becuase if you have a wooden partition or wall close behind your listening position, there will be a piling up of bass there drowning out mid range detail.
 
First I would like to apologize to OP and others for hijacking this thread. :oops: Hope this would be my last post in this thread.

Please always remember, that a good sounding system is a life long pursuit. And not one achievable instantly unless we win the lottery over night. So start with a well planned road map of where you want to be 5 years down. And be patient getting there. Rushing down that street leads to lots of boxes being brought and sold in the interim at a loss.
I will keep that in mind. I don't wanna end up in impulse buying as well. Couldn't resist though.

And if you are patient enough, used avr's with the above facility will soon started cropping up in the 'for sale by owner ' section.
I am waiting for that actually. Usually AVR with the above said features costs too much.

Next coming to speakers, there two things you need to clarify before we can decide. I can see that your width at 10 feet is limited. So your speakers will be close to side walls. So how much distance can you give them from the rear wall.
Yes. One speaker would be close to the side wall. And another would be 3 ft from the wall. I can keep them 1 or 2 ft from the rear wall.

Also I see that the length of your room is 20ft. So how far back will be the listening chair. And its distance from the wall behind it. Iam asking this becuase if you have a wooden partition or wall close behind your listening position, there will be a piling up of bass there drowning out mid range detail
I will be sitting 10 to 12 ft from the front wall and there would be 8 ft space behind my couch. After that its open to kitchen without any doors.
 
Greater dinesh...you are all clear to go for a floor stander from initial impressions. The other side where you have 3ft from side walk. Do you have a door behind this opening.

And let me explain why I said the above. A listening distance of approximately 10 ft from speakers will need scale of sound to sound convincing. So floor standers will give you that. Next you have a clear space of 8 ft behind your listening position, So you will suffer no uncomfortable bass pile up. And two feet of space from back wall means most rear ported speakers will also work without issues. Though I would suggest sticking with reasonably sized speakers. The only issue will be the one speaker spaced closer to one side wall. But room correction dsp will take care of it movies. But in pure two channel mode that speaker will have more presence.
 
Greater dinesh...you are all clear to go for a floor stander from initial impressions. The other side where you have 3ft from side walk. Do you have a door behind this opening.

And let me explain why I said the above. A listening distance of approximately 10 ft from speakers will need scale of sound to sound convincing. So floor standers will give you that. Next you have a clear space of 8 ft behind your listening position, So you will suffer no uncomfortable bass pile up. And two feet of space from back wall means most rear ported speakers will also work without issues. Though I would suggest sticking with reasonably sized speakers. The only issue will be the one speaker spaced closer to one side wall. But room correction dsp will take care of it movies. But in pure two channel mode that speaker will have more presence.
Thanks newlash09. Will PM you my hall pic just to avoid moderator jumping in:p. Hope I'm not bugging you.
 
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