So I have been in and out of this hobby for many years. I started when I was just a teenager and I am now in my early 40’s, though my passion for HiFi goes all the way back to listening to my fathers Arcam system when I was a young child. I still remember to this day enjoying that lovely bouncing heartbeat at the start of Pink Floyds dark side of the moon which sounded so nice from those big sealed speakers.
Years later just after I left school I had my first “proper” budget Hifi. Bass was very light, but still usable and had lovely tones to it and it introduced me to what a good Hifi can do with vocals. Vocals on this system where delicate, fluid and had very nice low level dynamics.
Being a teenager though I decided the bass was not enough, so I sold it and bought an appalling midi system with overblown bass.
My music was ruined!
Years past and I listened to less and less music.
Then Dolby Digital came out and I was back in the game, but this time with a new requirement. I still wanted my long lost music, but I also wanted high octane Cinema in my home and I got the later and I *thought* the music too. It took 3 speaker packages, 5 receivers and thousands of pounds to get there, but now movies sound better then ever and I thought this true of music too, even though I was hardly listening to any. The midrange is transparent with realistic vocals and the bass is flat (ish) down to 25hz. In other words, it past the demo room test. The ingredients are all there and yet over time I listened to very little music on the system.
I thought I was just bored of my music.
Then the lockdown happened and I’ve been forced to work from home. In order to break up the monotony I installed a pair of little Ruark Mr1 Mk2’s:
https://www.whathifi.com/ruark-audio/mr1-mk2/review
They’re expensive for pc speakers but cheap in HiFi terms and a fraction the price of my main system. At first they left me a little cold but as they’ve run in there’s a non-showy fluidity to the sound that sounds natural and draws you into the music. Don’t get me wrong they’re not perfect by a long shot. Bass is dry and they do not work for every track , but there is something about the sound that is very enjoyable and I find myself listening to track after track. I can once again hear traces of that fluid midrange I enjoyed in my first HiFi. Stranger in Moscow is truly captivating with the vocals brimming with emotion. Stereo imaging is impressive too once positioned write. If I shut my eyes I could be back in my bedroom in my late teens listening to those tracks all over again.
And my point?
Why are these “cheap” little speakers with so much going against them so much more musically engaging than my main system which images like a champ, digs out the tiniest detail and can rattle the house when needed.
It’s made me reassess everything I’ve been searching for in this little hobby of ours.
Does anyone else have similar experience? What have you learned?
Years later just after I left school I had my first “proper” budget Hifi. Bass was very light, but still usable and had lovely tones to it and it introduced me to what a good Hifi can do with vocals. Vocals on this system where delicate, fluid and had very nice low level dynamics.
Being a teenager though I decided the bass was not enough, so I sold it and bought an appalling midi system with overblown bass.
My music was ruined!
Years past and I listened to less and less music.
Then Dolby Digital came out and I was back in the game, but this time with a new requirement. I still wanted my long lost music, but I also wanted high octane Cinema in my home and I got the later and I *thought* the music too. It took 3 speaker packages, 5 receivers and thousands of pounds to get there, but now movies sound better then ever and I thought this true of music too, even though I was hardly listening to any. The midrange is transparent with realistic vocals and the bass is flat (ish) down to 25hz. In other words, it past the demo room test. The ingredients are all there and yet over time I listened to very little music on the system.
I thought I was just bored of my music.
Then the lockdown happened and I’ve been forced to work from home. In order to break up the monotony I installed a pair of little Ruark Mr1 Mk2’s:
https://www.whathifi.com/ruark-audio/mr1-mk2/review
They’re expensive for pc speakers but cheap in HiFi terms and a fraction the price of my main system. At first they left me a little cold but as they’ve run in there’s a non-showy fluidity to the sound that sounds natural and draws you into the music. Don’t get me wrong they’re not perfect by a long shot. Bass is dry and they do not work for every track , but there is something about the sound that is very enjoyable and I find myself listening to track after track. I can once again hear traces of that fluid midrange I enjoyed in my first HiFi. Stranger in Moscow is truly captivating with the vocals brimming with emotion. Stereo imaging is impressive too once positioned write. If I shut my eyes I could be back in my bedroom in my late teens listening to those tracks all over again.
And my point?
Why are these “cheap” little speakers with so much going against them so much more musically engaging than my main system which images like a champ, digs out the tiniest detail and can rattle the house when needed.
It’s made me reassess everything I’ve been searching for in this little hobby of ours.
Does anyone else have similar experience? What have you learned?
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