Best Stereo Speaker

Bluetooth smothtooth, I'm looking for a really good real stereo system with components and great sound. I'm kind of a traditionalist and like music recorded live and records. I want to sit in front of a system close my eyes and see where the drummer sits and where the vocalist is singing.

Ear buds are fantastic nowadays. I got a pair for $1X; I prefer the soft types that insert into the ear like shooting plugs. They drown out the noise even from a lawn mower and allow you to hear everything clearly. So many nuances in songs I never realized until I started using them.

The big drawback is being active. Seems no matter what I'm doing, I catch the cord on something and they get yanked out. And being a plug and sort of sealed in, it hurts.

For headphones, I swear by Turtle Beach.

I agree with Paco on the storage medium. Lugging around vinyl / cassette / CD is so dumb, and electronic storage with bluetooth is too cheap to pass up.

I like it to be clear enough that you can hear when the singer inhales air.

Good enough stereo reproduction will cause a noticeable energy drain, you should be able to feel the music not just hear it.

Quote: Face

Ear buds are fantastic nowadays. I got a pair for $1X; I prefer the soft types that insert into the ear like shooting plugs. They drown out the noise even from a lawn mower and allow you to hear everything clearly. So many nuances in songs I never realized until I started using them.

The big drawback is being active. Seems no matter what I'm doing, I catch the cord on something and they get yanked out. And being a plug and sort of sealed in, it hurts.

For headphones, I swear by Turtle Beach.

I agree with Paco on the storage medium. Lugging around vinyl / cassette / CD is so dumb, and electronic storage with bluetooth is too cheap to pass up.

You are talking apples and oranges.

Sure if portability is whats important, go ahead and load a thousand hours on a digital device. But if it is quality reproduction of sound, vinyl beats everything.

If you put digital sound on a graph, it looks like a stair step where the noise jumps up or down to the next level.

If you plot music or sound on a vinyl record the sound wave is elliptical and smooth, more for distinguished tastes. j/s

Bill Gates has become quite the vinyl connoisseur.

Quote: petroglyph

I like it to be clear enough that you can hear when the singer inhales air.

Good enough stereo reproduction will cause a noticeable energy drain, you should be able to feel the music not just hear it.

I heard plenty of criticism about CDs compared to vinyl. I then heard a great deal of criticism about MP3s compared to CDs and vinyl.

To be honest, I can't really tell the difference.

Quote: FrGamble

This thread is kind of an answer to prayer because I love music and was thinking about trying to put together a nice sound system so that I can just sit and relax and listen to quality sounding music. Someone suggested recently to me that all I need is a high end headphones but that doesn't seem right does it? I have a good record player right now but that is about it. Looking for cost effective receiver and speakers.

Well, you can stay under $200 with headphones and it will end up being better than what most people use for speakers.

Sennheiser or Audio Technicia, Anything in the $100-$200 range you should be really happy with.

You can of course go crazy and spend quite a bit on headphones, but unless you plan to become a super serious audiophile I wouldn't bother.

While there are some other good brands, I'd recommend staying away from "rapper" brands like "Beats" unless you like wasting money for no actual improvement.

Quote: Nareed

I heard plenty of criticism about CDs compared to vinyl. I then heard a great deal of criticism about MP3s compared to CDs and vinyl.

To be honest, I can't really tell the difference.

I know I tend to give away a heck of a nice stereo with each separation. I'm not paying for another.

My hearing is all gone to hell now anyway for a host of reasons.

All we have now is little boom box radio things. I would like to have better tunes again, if it works out. I seem to be on a bit of a spending spree.

It is pretty awesome to have music of such quality, that it drains you physically.

Maybe a decent comparison would be exceptional " Michelin quality" food, compared to a McDonalds?

Quote: petroglyph

Maybe a decent comparison would be exceptional " Michelin quality" food, compared to a McDonalds?

Quality here takes on a slew of meanings. If we go by the quality of the ingredients, McDonald's is excellent, considering the prices it handles. There's quality of preparation, quality of presentation, etc. In the preparation area there can be subcategories, such as quality of flavor/spice mix, quality of the cut of the ingredients, etc. Presentation includes everything from the food itself, to the plates used, to the ambience, to the service.

I'm a huge huge music fan
but
I am a lot more concerned with quality of the live concert recording.
The quality of live recordings runs the gamut of terrible to excellent and everything in between.
I almost never listen to commercially released music.
I just find live music more interesting to listen to.
Take the Grateful Dead. I literally have about couple hundred live concert recordings. Most sound great because they allow taping.
Also soundboards leak out to the deadhead community, recordings off the soundboard that sound stellar.
Bob Dylan does not allow taping. All his shows get recorded regardless , Dylan tapers are a determined bunch with high end equipment but have to do it in stealth mode. Some shows sound great, some not so great.
Take Elvis, never been a fan, cheesy movies
But his live shows rock. Been a big fan since listening to him live once I got some recordings.
I prefer the real deal, live music.
With the internet, its all free.
Here are sites with gazillions free recordings
http://www.thetradersden.org/
https://archive.org/details/etree

Quote: FrGamble

I want to sit in front of a system close my eyes and see where the drummer sits and where the vocalist is singing.

This demo linked is designed for a product -- but it's a demo specially made for creating a sense of aural placement.

For anyone who has room speakers, it should work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=y_uyU9ndwcM#t=29

(what type of music you prefer, can't help you there)