Creating a system you love shouldn't be difficult. The Acoustic Frontiers blog is here to help.
Three stand-mount speakers and a floor stander.[/caption] Speakers overlay their own signature on the music much more than sources or amplifiers. Even the best speakers overlay a little coloration, changing how you perceive the sound. That is because no speaker has a flat frequency response. Many high end stereo speakers are actually designed to have a non-flat response! There are a very large number of speakers on the market and most are in our opinion just 'ok'. Maybe it is because the barriers to entry for a new manufacturer are lower in the speaker category than in the source or amplifier category. You can buy drivers off the shelf from major original equipment manufacturers like Seas, get a computer program to design a crossover for you and then build the box in your shed. The results from these types of endeavors are seldom great. The best speaker manufacturers will design all their own drive units in house and will perform extensive measurements as part of the design and QA process. You should start the process of assembling a high end stereo system by choosing speakers. For more see our article "How to Shop for High End Stereo Speakers". These days the main sources used in high end stereo systems are:
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Sample CTA 2 Cables are required to connect source to amplifier and amplifier to speaker. It's easy to spend a ton of money on audiophile cables. In our experience the differences between cables are small, and it is much more important to invest your dollars in the speakers and room for the reasons we outlined above. Finally you'll need somewhere to put your sources and amplifier. Entertainment cabinets, widely available from many manufacturers work fine. Again in our experience speakers and rooms are the critical things.Fill out our online form to request a quote
Sample CTA 3 Cables are required to connect source to amplifier and amplifier to speaker. It's easy to spend a ton of money on audiophile cables. In our experience the differences between cables are small, and it is much more important to invest your dollars in the speakers and room for the reasons we outlined above. Finally you'll need somewhere to put your sources and amplifier. Entertainment cabinets, widely available from many manufacturers work fine. Again in our experience speakers and rooms are the critical things.Fill out our online form to request a quote
Sample CTA 4 Cables are required to connect source to amplifier and amplifier to speaker. It's easy to spend a ton of money on audiophile cables. In our experience the differences between cables are small, and it is much more important to invest your dollars in the speakers and room for the reasons we outlined above. Finally you'll need somewhere to put your sources and amplifier. Entertainment cabinets, widely available from many manufacturers work fine. Again in our experience speakers and rooms are the critical things.
Fill out our online form to request a quote
Clint, an avid DIYer, planned on building his own home theater to cut costs until he realized the complexity of the task. "One piece of advice I came across most often was to hire a professional. I was hesitant, but I just found myself going in circles and didn't want to invest in something I'd later regret."
Nyal Mellor, Founder, Acoustic Frontiers
Nyal Mellor
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