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Listening techniques to evaluate high-end hi-fi systems

I've heard enough linn speakers to know they aren't aimed at me and the reviewer liked them.

But if you are used to a low distortion monitor, as Bub is, you WILL be aware of such levels of distortion as measured by Miller Audio Research.
 
merlin said:
I've heard enough linn speakers to know they aren't aimed at me and the reviewer liked them.

But if you are used to a low distortion monitor, as Bub is, you WILL be aware of such levels of distortion as measured by Miller Audio Research.
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That's a fair comment, linn hadn't produced a speaker that has set my world alight for a while at the price until the akubarik, what you get with the akubarik is keltik like presence with a stunning midrange and treble, they are what the successor to the keltik always should have been.
 
Blzebub said:
Couldn't possibly comment on the Akubarik sound. ;)

They do seem a tad on the pricey side.
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They are pricey but they are very nice too, my only complaint is that the standard finish could be a bit better around the edges, the examples I saw weren't finished to the standard of the 242s or my keltiks for that matter. The high gloss ones are gorgeous though.

It's not something I can just run out and buy but for the first time in a few years I can see an upgrade path for my system and I want it. I'll wait a couple of years and pick some ex dem examples up (gives me a chance to start saving)
 
My suggestion would be to take a book or tablet device and try to read or use the tablet while the kit under evaluation is playing music and see what happens. If the music is doing it for you, it will make your toes tap or something similar and before you know it, you've stopped reading or whatever you were doing and are now enjoying the music. It might sound odd, but it works! By allowing yourself to be grabbed by the music in a spontaneous sort of way, your inner mojo or whatever you want to call it, lets you know if the kit's doing it for you in a way reading specs and analysing just can't.

If you do this and find you want to stop what you're doing and listen to what you're hearing, then that kit does it for you.

Fwiw, I'm typing this whilst listening to Crime of the Century and I'm struggling to stay focused on this and not the music. :)
 
I want to SECOND the request that you provide the name of the merchant who had the temerity/cheek/balls/chutzpah/cojones to tell you to your fact that you do not know HOW to listen to music. Forums, such as PinkFishMedia, are the ideal place to share this information.

As a recent emigrant to the UK, I encountered a number of experiences, similar ones, and even wrote about in a published letter to HiFi Choice magazine. I never thought they would publish it, but to their credit, they did.

In all my 30 years of shopping for hifi in the United States, mostly New York City and Boston, I have never encountered some of the attitude and gross assumptions made by shops in London:

1, being told that my American cables/interconnnects: Transparent, Kimber and Cardas were sub-standard and were impairing my hearing to the extent that I could not properly evaluate British gear.

2, being told that as an American that I, like all Americans were "MAC-DAC" happy and that if I was ever going to "properly" enjoy digital music I would to purchase a "proper" music streaming system - insert LINN and/or NAME here. :)

3, being told by one audio impresario, that just by listening to a pair of speakers, he could determine the cabinet composition (material), the cabinet design, and its country of origin.

What do I know? Your mileage may differ. At the end of the day YOUR EARS, YOUR WALLET and YOUR TIME.
 
The first instinct here is to protect the hive at all costs.

The second is to assimilate.
 
Blzebub said:
Couldn't possibly comment on the Akubarik sound. ;)

They do seem a tad on the pricey side.
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Akubarik are internally active speakers, as the cabinet also contains an active crossover and 6 channels of amplification.

Very smooth sounding (read active).

I prefer my cheaper solution of 242s driven by the much better Klimax Twin power amp.
 
Warren Day said:
Akubarik are internally active speakers, as the cabinet also contains an active crossover and 6 channels of amplification.

Very smooth sounding (read active).

I prefer my cheaper solution of 242s driven by the much better Klimax Twin power amp.
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Yes I know I have heard them. I am not going to comment, though..
 
Warren Day said:
Akubarik are internally active speakers, as the cabinet also contains an active crossover and 6 channels of amplification.

Very smooth sounding (read active).

I prefer my cheaper solution of 242s driven by the much better Klimax Twin power amp.
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They do a passive version now, they sound great driven by klimax amps.
 
Indeed, poor comment from the dealer, either a lousy dealer or a good dealer having a lousy day.

I auditioned B&W 802d and Linn 242. I've also heard some excellent Vivid speakers in a shop and at a show recently, where I was also very impressed with the imaging capabilities of Kyron cabinet-less speakers. I've also heard plasma tweeters in someone's home, the most transparent treble I've ever heard, and a friend has Celestion 7000 ribbons.
 
merlin said:
I learnt a long time ago that the main listening technique I employ is to listen to myself.
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Do you record yourself and listen to yourself through the hifi? Or do you listen to yourself live, if so how do you separate the internal sound from the external? How does this help to audition hifi?
 
The technique I use when I try some new equipment at home is not to listen to the music :)
What I mean is, if I carefully listen to the music, looking for new details or nuances, then everything sound the same to me. The mind is focused on the music and can't detect any difference...I know it sounds odd but it's so in my case.

So rather than sitting down and listening I prefer keeping the music in background and read a book. Now, if I get distracted from the reading it means there is really something different in what I'm hearing, something that I've never perceived before. And that's the reason why I always try to listen at home and not in a short demo in a shop, if possible.
 
windhoek said:
My suggestion would be to take a book or tablet device and try to read or use the tablet while the kit under evaluation is playing music and see what happens. If the music is doing it for you, it will make your toes tap or something similar and before you know it, you've stopped reading or whatever you were doing and are now enjoying the music. It might sound odd, but it works! By allowing yourself to be grabbed by the music in a spontaneous sort of way, your inner mojo or whatever you want to call it, lets you know if the kit's doing it for you in a way reading specs and analysing just can't.

If you do this and find you want to stop what you're doing and listen to what you're hearing, then that kit does it for you.

Fwiw, I'm typing this whilst listening to Crime of the Century and I'm struggling to stay focused on this and not the music. :)
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That is basically what I have found to work best, with the slight mod that I usually play solitaire or similar. Any serious reading and I find 1/2 a cd or record has gone by without me really noticing anything of value.

Solitaire helped me selecting a phono stage, cartridge and power amp.

Steve
 
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