Why Do We Compensate?

[admin_exported]

After reading about hi-fi for many years and now being able to understand opinions electronically, I have always wondered why people recommend buying a piece of kit to compensate for another piece.

I mean often I have heard advice say that you need to buy a warm amp to compensate for bright speakers. Isn't this limiting for future upgrades? So you have to replace a bright amp with a bright amp, and so on.

I would have thought if you think the amp is the most important piece of the chain, then have neutral source, neutral speakers and amp to suit your choice of tone. My interest is in speakers, so I would choose neutral source, neutral amp and speakers to suit me. I wouldn't have to be limted to certain sounding components other than speakers.

People may have been tied to choices made earlier, but if this is the case then isn't it better to change a pair of components if system is out of kilter.

It was just a curiosity, as this seems to be something I have observed for 20 years and always wondered.

 

[Anonymous]

TBH this topic has cropped up several times.

I don't think there is a clear answer. You'd like to think in this day and age the a CD player and amp would be neutral but it seems they are not.

This leads lots of people to mess with their systems seeking that "just perfect" to their ears sound. I suppose that why this forum exists. Be no point if all you had to do to change the sound was change the speakers you used.

Of course there is a school of thought that says pretty much exactly that as well.

 

[Tear Drop]

I think what you're talking about TNTTNT is what the hifi press loves to call 'synergy'. Which basically means a way of selling poorly designed equipment to people and having each piece of equipment cover up deficiencies in the other components, and making the system far less than the sum of its parts. As you mention, it can be a vicious cycle as you will always be compensating for some kind of imbalance. As always, relying on your own ears and having proper reference points is the best way forward.

 

[Anonymous]

I didn't realise this had cropped up before, and will look for these opinons. I have to admit I haven't seen a post like it recently, but rather mostly advice saying to match a bright x to a warm y. I couldn't get my head around why not try to get some more balance into these systems. Another thing is I don't understand enough about electronics and manufacture, because I can't understand why a company would release a product which lived in the extremes in terms of tone....ho hum.

 

[Tear Drop]

TNTTNT:because I can't understand why a company would release a product which lived in the extremes in terms of tone....ho hum.

Numerous reasons - trends of the hifi press is one reason, trends of the public is another, but no manufacturer is sacred, a lot of them just don't know what they are doing! Believe me, I've met a number of them and they mean well, but that doesn't mean much when it comes to re-producing music properly.