Why do people buy "cheaper" speakers but still love them? - Page 2

Originally Posted by 67jason 

How much do I have to spend before I am allowed to "love" my speakers

Am I allowed to "love" my speakers if I got them brand new for appx 30% of MSRP pricing which put them nicely into the bang for your buck budget category?

What happens when when those nice speakers that cost $1500 dollar per speaker gets discontinued and are on readily available on clearance for $800 a pair?

if I spent a Benjamin on an okay set of bookies for a small pc set up am I allowed to "love" them?

Originally Posted by JerryLove 

So how much did you guys spend per knife on your cutlery? Why do people buy "cheaper" knives but still love them?

Originally Posted by likemovies 

I am noticing my Tsi300 speakers don't sound as nice as I want...What have you guys done to me?

Originally Posted by dmsdms 

I'm not sure this is a valid argument. A knife is a tool and a speaker is a reproduction device. If I only use my knives for cutting sandwiches, a very low quality knife is just as good as one made of adamantium with a handle made of strewn unicorn horn. When it comes to reproducing sound, a low quality speaker is indeed worse than a high quality one in that it's less accurately reproducing the information that it's being asked to reproduce.

Originally Posted by JerryLove 

So one is a tool for reproducing sound and one is a tool for cutting things.

And if your speakers are only reproducing TV test tones, then a very low quality one will be as good as one made of admantium with cables from unicorn horn.

No, you were talking about knives.

I find a lot of difference in good knives (and good cookware). Obviously: some do not. Same is true for speakers.

Originally Posted by Matts 

As others have stated it depends on where your reference lies. Same is true in every hobby or specialty. For example, take culinary. If all you have eaten your whole life is hamburger or generally an inexpensive form of meat, you may believe that hamburger is the best food ever. In this case your reference is very limited. To you hamburger is the best because it's all you know. Nobody can tell you that you're wrong, because your opinion is all that matters.

Again if the only speakers I had ever listened to were $500 HTIB from Sony or Def Tech, BTW not knocking them, I would think they were great. After all what would I have to compare them with. This would be considered my reference. If one day I heard a pair $2,000 Kef speakers, I would then have another reference. It would allow me to determine if I thought those $2,000 speakers were better than what I had at home. The more you hear and demo the larger your reference becomes and the more information you will have when it boils done to determine what you prefer. Eventually you will be able to narrow your preference done to handful of references or if you are really lucky just one ultimate reference that can then be used to judge all future speakers you may one day hear.

BTW price tells you very little about how a speaker will sound. I have heard $1000 speakers that were extraordinary. Not just extraordinary based on their price, but based on any price. I have also listened to speakers that cost well over $15,000 that sounded anything but hi-end.

Originally Posted by filecat13 

Why do we buy speakers? The primary reasons are to listen to music or to hear the soundtrack of a movie or TV show. There may be other, ancillary reasons like to match a room's decor, to show off, to be a conspicuous consumer, to demonstrate brand loyalty, etc., but if we don't listen to music or to soundtracks, it's hard to see why speakers are needed.

So, when I was six or seven and used lawn mowing money to buy my first transistor radio with a 3/4" speaker and a mono earpiece, I got to listen to AM radio top hits night and day. I loved being able to listen to the music I wanted, and I loved that little 3/4 Nippon Electric Company speaker. Yes, I loved a $0.75 speaker in a $5.83 radio.

When my parents bought a Magnavox console stereo with two 10" woofers ad a couple of tweeters, I loved those cheapo speakers when I'd sneak downstairs at night and lie on the floor between them listening to The New World Symphony, Scheherazade, Dave Brubeck, Peter and Gordon, or the Beatles.

I bought my first stereo with money from hoeing a peach orchard, and was amazed at how great that Electrohponic unit was with separate speakers I could put wherever I wanted. Those real wood cabinets were the envy of my HS classmates, and I loved them both for the wonderful sound and the envy they engendered.

Getting brand new JB L100s in 1970 along with a Kenwood receiver and Dual turntable put me at the top of the heap in my college dorm and took things to a higher plane for sure. Those L100s partied hard and kept on working no matter what, and the sound of Deep Purple, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and The Beach Boys only sounds right on them to this day.

I've had a lot of speakers since then, and in fact have several sets in use currently, including some that are pretty expensive. Yet, I still have the L100s and love them dearly. Sure, I've got other speakers that sound better, in fact MUCH better, but love is more than a single object. I actually love the different sounds that each set of speakers makes and enjoy the variety that is created as a result. Maybe I'm a speaker polygamist?

The bottom line in all cases is do I enjoy listening to music on them? Yes. Do I enjoy hearing multichannel sound on them? Yes.

Do I care if it's the $798 HTIB system attached to my computer, the $546 a pair (in 1970) L100s, or the $44,000 a pair K2 S9900s in the living room? No. What I care about is that I enjoy being with them, and that they make me happy to listen to my favorite music and soundtracks. If they give me those things, then I love them regardless of cost, age, appearance, or reputation. As a bonus, if my GF loves them (as she does the K2s), then so much the better.

Frankly, I think that people who worry about whether or not their speakers cost enough or meet someone else's standard of good enough are missing the boat. Your money, your time, your home, your music, your movies, your preferences, your expectations--these are what determine your satisfaction at any given moment in time, and, like you, these may change over time, and that's okay. But during every hour of the day, it's important to "be here, now," and if you're happy with what you have, it doesn't mean you were wrong if later you have the chance to move to something else.

I think people who worry about other people's choices and try to convince them that they really shouldn't be enjoying their Bose system not only ruin it for the guy with the Bose, but demonstrate a lack of understanding of their own personal needs themselves. Granted, if someone asks for a suggestion, that's one thing, but even then they're seeking affirmation more that rejection of their choice, and a little more care than "Bose sucks!" goes a long way in helping them to keep loving music and soundtracks more than hating Bose and the "bad" choice they made.

Originally Posted by filecat13 

Why do we buy speakers? The primary reasons are to listen to music or to hear the soundtrack of a movie or TV show. There may be other, ancillary reasons like to match a room's decor, to show off, to be a conspicuous consumer, to demonstrate brand loyalty, etc., but if we don't listen to music or to soundtracks, it's hard to see why speakers are needed.

So, when I was six or seven and used lawn mowing money to buy my first transistor radio with a 3/4" speaker and a mono earpiece, I got to listen to AM radio top hits night and day. I loved being able to listen to the music I wanted, and I loved that little 3/4 Nippon Electric Company speaker. Yes, I loved a $0.75 speaker in a $5.83 radio.

When my parents bought a Magnavox console stereo with two 10" woofers ad a couple of tweeters, I loved those cheapo speakers when I'd sneak downstairs at night and lie on the floor between them listening to The New World Symphony, Scheherazade, Dave Brubeck, Peter and Gordon, or the Beatles.

I bought my first stereo with money from hoeing a peach orchard, and was amazed at how great that Electrohponic unit was with separate speakers I could put wherever I wanted. Those real wood cabinets were the envy of my HS classmates, and I loved them both for the wonderful sound and the envy they engendered.

Getting brand new JB L100s in 1970 along with a Kenwood receiver and Dual turntable put me at the top of the heap in my college dorm and took things to a higher plane for sure. Those L100s partied hard and kept on working no matter what, and the sound of Deep Purple, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and The Beach Boys only sounds right on them to this day.

I've had a lot of speakers since then, and in fact have several sets in use currently, including some that are pretty expensive. Yet, I still have the L100s and love them dearly. Sure, I've got other speakers that sound better, in fact MUCH better, but love is more than a single object. I actually love the different sounds that each set of speakers makes and enjoy the variety that is created as a result. Maybe I'm a speaker polygamist?

The bottom line in all cases is do I enjoy listening to music on them? Yes. Do I enjoy hearing multichannel sound on them? Yes.

Do I care if it's the $798 HTIB system attached to my computer, the $546 a pair (in 1970) L100s, or the $44,000 a pair K2 S9900s in the living room? No. What I care about is that I enjoy being with them, and that they make me happy to listen to my favorite music and soundtracks. If they give me those things, then I love them regardless of cost, age, appearance, or reputation. As a bonus, if my GF loves them (as she does the K2s), then so much the better.

Frankly, I think that people who worry about whether or not their speakers cost enough or meet someone else's standard of good enough are missing the boat. Your money, your time, your home, your music, your movies, your preferences, your expectations--these are what determine your satisfaction at any given moment in time, and, like you, these may change over time, and that's okay. But during every hour of the day, it's important to "be here, now," and if you're happy with what you have, it doesn't mean you were wrong if later you have the chance to move to something else.

I think people who worry about other people's choices and try to convince them that they really shouldn't be enjoying their Bose system not only ruin it for the guy with the Bose, but demonstrate a lack of understanding of their own personal needs themselves. Granted, if someone asks for a suggestion, that's one thing, but even then they're seeking affirmation more that rejection of their choice, and a little more care than "Bose sucks!" goes a long way in helping them to keep loving music and soundtracks more than hating Bose and the "bad" choice they made.

Frankly, I think that people who worry about whether or not their speakers cost enough or meet someone else's standard of good enough are missing the boat. Your money, your time, your home, your music, your movies, your preferences, your expectations--these are what determine your satisfaction at any given moment in time, and, like you, these may change over time, and that's okay. But during every hour of the day, it's important to "be here, now," and if you're happy with what you have, it doesn't mean you were wrong if later you have the chance to move to something else.

I think people who worry about other people's choices and try to convince them that they really shouldn't be enjoying their Bose system not only ruin it for the guy with the Bose, but demonstrate a lack of understanding of their own personal needs themselves. Granted, if someone asks for a suggestion, that's one thing, but even then they're seeking affirmation more that rejection of their choice, and a little more care than "Bose sucks!" goes a long way in helping them to keep loving music and soundtracks more than hating Bose and the "bad" choice they made.

Originally Posted by arkiedan 

Me, being one of the great unwashed, I couldn't agree more.

Originally Posted by Dave1027 

Anybody can buy a good sounding system. The trick is piecing together a sweet sound on less money. My speakers sound even better knowing how little they cost.