As we started The Audio Beatnik I asked on several forums, what people would like to see us cover and what price range they considered budget, entry-level to high-end, midway to high-end and high-end and beyond. The responses varied a lot, especially on the price range part of the question. I thought it would be good to share some of this input with you and respond to them. So I picked out some I would like to share. The first five things below that many of you asked me to cover all have to do with equipment. I will respond to those dealing with music soon.
- Don’t forget the room. I totally agree and will try to work on this. I have spent years getting my room right. My goal is to get it as acoustically as good as I can without it looking like a studio. I promise to write about this and invite others to as well. I have also spent time helping other people set up their systems. This can be a great deal of fun or incredibly exasperating. I will share some of these experiences as well.
- Please remember how important system synergy is. This is so true! As an owner of Teresonic Ingeniums XRs with Lowther drivers, I don’t think anyone could be more aware of this than I am. I always review all source and amplification devices on more conventional speakers as well as on the Teresonics. One of my goals is to try to put together some bargain components that work well as a system. I will also try to the best of my ability to write about how the equipment I am reviewing would work with other equipment.
- Vintage and used gear keeps coming up in posts. A couple of my favorite audio writers, Jeff Day and Art Dudley, write a lot about vintage gear and even about DIY projects. I’m not a DIY guy at all, but I do like vintage equipment and will try to obtain some to review if possible. One thing that is important about vintage equipment is to be sure that it has been looked over and any parts that are needed to be repaired have been taken care of. That goes without saying probably but there can be some serious issues if vintage equipment isn’t working properly.
- There were several posts wanting me to address optimizing one’s system for playing mono recordings. I was pleased with this request because I so love great mono recordings. I developed my love for mono when SACDs were first being released, and so many of them were jazz mono recordings. I could not understand how they sounded so good and mono LPs sounded so poor. Then, I discovered cartridges designed from scratch for mono playback and the love affair was on. I will be glad to write about how to get the best from mono recordings in your system.
- One person suggested highlighting low cost/budget components that sound great. He suggested I do a monthly column called “It’s Grand” featuring components with a retail price of less than $1,000. He also suggested that this column could serve the purpose of helping listeners to slowly create a moderately-priced system over time using the components featured in the column.
These are all great ideas, and I love the idea of responding to your requests. Your feedback is always appreciated.
