There are some in the audiophile hobby who think that your system is only as good as the performance of your source component be it a turntable, CD player, some form of audiophile source like a streamer. That’s the Linn philosophy that comes from the Scottish company.
The other side of the argument comes from JBL or the “West Coast Sound” which says that the biggest place to get sonic benefits is from your speakers be it floorstanding speakers or smaller bookshelf speakers. This tends to be a more popular way of looking at things. In the U.K. they think that it is somehow OK to have no bass in your system as long as your speakers image really well. They tend to listen to more limited and less popular music like classic chamber music or smaller jazz ensembles. For those of us who like a more dynamic, visceral sound, a subwoofer or larger audiophile loudspeakers is often a better decision. It is also a much more meaningful way to get better, more full range sound while staying on budget.
Do You Need ESP To Pick Excellent Speakers?
Hell no, you don’t. It is easy to pick the perfect audiophile speakers. Here’s how to do it…
- Pick Your Form Factor. Bookshelf speakers are smaller and have less bass. They need stands and tip over more easily. If you have small kids or pets, this can be a nonstarter. The cost of good stands often is the same cost as buying the larger version of the speakers thus that can be a bad value.
- Pick the Look of Your Speakers. Some homes have a modern or contemporary look that takes to a more aggressive, new school looking speaker. Other homes are more traditional and they do well with wood finished speakers that fit the more comfy vibe of your home. You know what your style is and there are endless finish options in your speakers. Pick the best one and run with that.
- Are They Hard To Drive? Speakers come in many different forms and designs. Some are easier to drive than others. An 8 ohm load is often pretty easy to drive. So is a 6 ohm load. 4 ohm loads require the amp to double down on its power (which they do – at least good ones do). Where you get into trouble are 2 ohm loads which are respectfully rare to see in the modern era. They make your amp work so hard and require you to spend big money on a high current amp. Today’s semiconductor-based class-D amps can power anything, sound great (like tubes or class-A designs) but are affordable, low power consumption and output nearly zero heat. A tube amp, for example, might draw 100 watts of power from the wall and waste 70 percent on actual heat.
- Match the Sound of Your Speakers With Your Sonic Tastes. Not all speakers sound the same. A major industry icon who has created three of the biggest speaker brands in audiophile history is a big fan of acoustic jazz from the 1950s through the mid-1960s. And he loves listening to music on electrostatic speakers like Sound Labs, Diptyque and even planar speakers like Magnepans. Others like a more dynamic, hard-hitting sound that has more bass and more energy thus less space and air. There are speakers that do all of these things. Finding out what you like is key. For example: if you use your car to go the grocery store you might want a nice SUV versus a Lamborghini with a super-tight race suspension. Audiophile loudspeakers are the same thing. Some people want a soft sound and others want a more aggressive sound and there are thousands of options in between.
So, in the end, you hold the cards. You need to do your research before buying speakers but that doesn’t require ESP. In fact, it is part of the fun of the hobby. So embrace the process and have a blast. We hope that you’ve learned a little from our article!