I'm about to build my first AV set-up from the ground up and my question is this; Should I first by a top amp and then match some speakers to it or vice versa?
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What to pick first, Speakers or Amp?
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Bear in mind that like 80% of your sound is determined by your speakers... I would start with picking a budget first, then spend 55% of that on speakers, 35% to an amp and 10% on cables and interlinks. Check the best buys and then start experimenting with different speakers or amps within your budget...
Basver, would you like a broom for that sweeping generalisation?
For example, smaller, 'style' speakers can carry a big premium over larger, more traditional designs - so the amount you're paying does not determine overall performance quality....
The size of your AV speakers may seem a mere aesthetic decision, but it affects your wallet (and what else you need from the rest of your system) too!
So, Copperhead, i'd consider the size of your room (and your tolerance for the size of speakers within that) as well as the size of your budget before you begin your system-building quest.
You also need to consider what you want your AV amp to do - in terms of features, inputs (looks like you've got a good few sources already
), power etc.
For example, smaller, 'style' speakers can carry a big premium over larger, more traditional designs - so the amount you're paying does not determine overall performance quality....
The size of your AV speakers may seem a mere aesthetic decision, but it affects your wallet (and what else you need from the rest of your system) too!
So, Copperhead, i'd consider the size of your room (and your tolerance for the size of speakers within that) as well as the size of your budget before you begin your system-building quest.
You also need to consider what you want your AV amp to do - in terms of features, inputs (looks like you've got a good few sources already
Neither budget or room size are really a limiting issue, my room is about 14' sq and I've been saving while.
So, other considerations aside, what's the best place to start from? Get something like an SC-LX83 or SR7005 and then find a set of speakers that suit it, or grab some Kef Q's or MA RX's and then look for an amp to get the best from them?
I know you're all going to say demo, demo, demo, and I'm going to, but, there's some cracking speakers and amps around at the moment and I'm just wondering out loud which is the best foundation stone to lay in a ground up build like this?
So, other considerations aside, what's the best place to start from? Get something like an SC-LX83 or SR7005 and then find a set of speakers that suit it, or grab some Kef Q's or MA RX's and then look for an amp to get the best from them?
I know you're all going to say demo, demo, demo, and I'm going to, but, there's some cracking speakers and amps around at the moment and I'm just wondering out loud which is the best foundation stone to lay in a ground up build like this?
bigboss
Moderator
It really depends on you how to start. I started with speakers because I was conscious about the room decor, & speakers are the most visible bit in your sound system. Then I looked for matching receivers.
bigboss:
It really depends on you how to start. I started with speakers because I was conscious about the room decor, & speakers are the most visible bit in your sound system. Then I looked for matching receivers.
I agree with BB, it really depends on what you want. Do you have any real specific desires, like a certain brand of amp you would absolutely love (and afford, we've all been there!
) or a look and type of speaker that sets your eyes and ears racing (if thats possible
)? These fundemental requirements can be the starting point for embarking on your exciting system building adventure.
For me, I'd always wanted to own a brutish Onkyo slab of an amp, so I started from there.
Happy hunting,
Nick
It really depends on you how to start. I started with speakers because I was conscious about the room decor, & speakers are the most visible bit in your sound system. Then I looked for matching receivers.
I agree with BB, it really depends on what you want. Do you have any real specific desires, like a certain brand of amp you would absolutely love (and afford, we've all been there!
For me, I'd always wanted to own a brutish Onkyo slab of an amp, so I started from there.
Happy hunting,
Nick
I have to agree with bigboss, I would choose speakers first purely for the greater aesthetic impact they will have on your room. I would be happier to live with an amp that didn't blow me away with how it looked than speakers that didn't. I know this may be perceived as very shallow, but at the end of the day, they take up a lot of space and if they look naff, it's only going to be a matter of time before you want rid of them.
I don't know that there is necessarily a great deal of need to worry too much about which you buy first, unless you have a particularly strong liking for a particular product. Or, like me, you are seduced by the beauty of a pair of floorstanders and would happily compromise on the amp if need be... That is exactly where I stand; I love my speakers to the extent that I'm not that bothered about the fact that it's not too easy finding an amp powerful enough to drive them...
If you are starting from scratch, there is no reason you can't have amp and speakers chosen together, eliminating the need to chose one first...
I don't know that there is necessarily a great deal of need to worry too much about which you buy first, unless you have a particularly strong liking for a particular product. Or, like me, you are seduced by the beauty of a pair of floorstanders and would happily compromise on the amp if need be... That is exactly where I stand; I love my speakers to the extent that I'm not that bothered about the fact that it's not too easy finding an amp powerful enough to drive them...
If you are starting from scratch, there is no reason you can't have amp and speakers chosen together, eliminating the need to chose one first...
Speaker first, or amp first? I apologize in advance, but IMHO that way lies madness.
Get speakers and amps that work well together. I recommend demoing the speaker + amp + source combo as one unit.
Unless you really wanted to be infected by the audiophile bug and want to constantly go chasing for the next component to upgrade.
Get speakers and amps that work well together. I recommend demoing the speaker + amp + source combo as one unit.
Unless you really wanted to be infected by the audiophile bug and want to constantly go chasing for the next component to upgrade.
MoData:
Unless you really wanted to be infected by the audiophile bug and want to constantly go chasing for the next component to upgrade.
Isn't that half the fun?
Unless you really wanted to be infected by the audiophile bug and want to constantly go chasing for the next component to upgrade.
Isn't that half the fun?
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
One thing to remember is not to skimp on an accompanying receiver in order to get the best speakers possible. While I agree that speaker technology is pretty static, The speakers chosen should be driven properly, otherwise that lovely looking/sounding £2,000 speaker package isn't really going to give you anything over one that's half the price. I've said many times that speakers can only sound as good as the amplification allows, so careful auditioning is needed to ensure that the receiver/speaker combination works well together, and that the pairing give you what you're after. If you really want to get the best speakers you can, leave the rear speakers, and maybe even the sub too, until a later date.
The size of the speakers needn't be an issue, as there are many little tricks you can perform to tailor the set up to work in almost any size room.
The size of the speakers needn't be an issue, as there are many little tricks you can perform to tailor the set up to work in almost any size room.
Hi Clare,
I agree that the amount you're paying doesn't determine the overall performance quality.
What I tried to say is that you could always go better and better, but that there's a balance too between budget and overall quality (what's in it for the money). Like you stated in Onkyo TX-NR5008 review: the unit was outperformed by an GBP 16K setup. But that looking at overall quality and the pricetag clearly made the Onkyo a good choice because it was way cheaper.
That would apply for many more comparisons I think. That's why I suggested to take the Best buys as a starting point and start vary from that. The percentages on what to spend on speakers, an amp and cables is arbitrary. For me its a rough guideline as I would always spend > 50% of my budget on speakers and some 5-10% on cables.
I'm not much touched by the size or looks discussion (but that's me) because I would feel uncomfortable knowing that a somewhat bigger speaker maybe would have done a better job in performance and sound quality than the aestethic speaker. Not to mention that every Pound spent on the looks of a speaker is not spent on its musical qualities. To me, that's a rather big issue. I would pick the best sounding one, and take the looks for granted.
I agree that the amount you're paying doesn't determine the overall performance quality.
What I tried to say is that you could always go better and better, but that there's a balance too between budget and overall quality (what's in it for the money). Like you stated in Onkyo TX-NR5008 review: the unit was outperformed by an GBP 16K setup. But that looking at overall quality and the pricetag clearly made the Onkyo a good choice because it was way cheaper.
That would apply for many more comparisons I think. That's why I suggested to take the Best buys as a starting point and start vary from that. The percentages on what to spend on speakers, an amp and cables is arbitrary. For me its a rough guideline as I would always spend > 50% of my budget on speakers and some 5-10% on cables.
I'm not much touched by the size or looks discussion (but that's me) because I would feel uncomfortable knowing that a somewhat bigger speaker maybe would have done a better job in performance and sound quality than the aestethic speaker. Not to mention that every Pound spent on the looks of a speaker is not spent on its musical qualities. To me, that's a rather big issue. I would pick the best sounding one, and take the looks for granted.
Hi basver, i agree on most of what you have said but i think you will find that if a speaker manufacture has spent a lot of time and money on best component quality then they are going to make sure that the cabinet is properly constructed more importantly inside and has at least a good finish on the outside, not saying that all manufacturers adopt that rule though.
Sure johnnyjazz, but "building quality" means something else to me than really "looks". Using proper materials for the constructions almost automatically gives a speaker a good look because there's the atmosphere of quality all around. But that air of quality is driven from the sole purpose of delivering quality as the main goal. Using top-notch materials to serve the quality itself leads to good looks in general IMHO.
Let me give you an example. Harman Kardon and also Onkyo on some models, have some blue shining in or around the volume knob. That's merely fancy stuff in my opinion, cos what purpose does it serve other than aestetics?
What's worse, it consumes power that I rather would have seen going to the amps or circuitry. If you're really a hardliner, you could state that this fancy stuff negatively influences the performance of the unit itself and therefore should be abandonned anyway. (but ok, that's pretty extreme).
Some speaker manufacturers have that "problem" too. What, for instance is the added value of piano finish on a speaker (other than litterally some added pounds to the price). The quality of the wood must be good. but the finish?
Let me give you an example. Harman Kardon and also Onkyo on some models, have some blue shining in or around the volume knob. That's merely fancy stuff in my opinion, cos what purpose does it serve other than aestetics?
What's worse, it consumes power that I rather would have seen going to the amps or circuitry. If you're really a hardliner, you could state that this fancy stuff negatively influences the performance of the unit itself and therefore should be abandonned anyway. (but ok, that's pretty extreme).
Some speaker manufacturers have that "problem" too. What, for instance is the added value of piano finish on a speaker (other than litterally some added pounds to the price). The quality of the wood must be good. but the finish?
Yep, once again basver i totally agree with you. Oracle and chord have produced components milled from solid alluminium blocks with all sorts of fancy glass windows and lights and put a very high price on them because of the so called manufacturing costs to achieve this level of finish. I used to own a sign company and we too cnc alluminium from scratch to manufacture extrusions and objects. What most people don,t understand is that when you have written the cnc programme for milling or routering your material then it does not cost any more to fashion a cylinder or pyramid structure than it does to router a box or rectangle. As for a piano finish on a speaker, you will probably find that a lot of speaker manufacturers get a cabinet maker to build the enclosures from mdf that has been pre-veneered and so to offer a coloured sprayed finish would indeed mean that they would have to contract it out again to a paint finisher and this would add more expense to the final product, reason being that because the manufacturer and cabinet maker don,t specialise in painting a lacquer finish then they have to class it as a specialised finish.
manicm
Well-known member
As others have said u have to look at your speakers everyday. So I picked what I thought was a relatively good looking set of sat speakers, and then finding an amp that had the features I was looking for (dlna, 3d, ethernet,flac) in my case.
However I dont believe in the very top end, like anything else theres a dimnishing return as u spend more and more money. So u need to find a point where u get best value at a pricepoint u are comfortable with.
I suppose my speakers cost around 50%, amp 35%, and cables 15% if I was to roughly break it down.
However I dont believe in the very top end, like anything else theres a dimnishing return as u spend more and more money. So u need to find a point where u get best value at a pricepoint u are comfortable with.
I suppose my speakers cost around 50%, amp 35%, and cables 15% if I was to roughly break it down.
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